Customer Reviews

Magical Mystery Tours: My Life With The Beatles

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love this book. I stopped reading Beatles books after the Goldman Lennon biography, partly out of disgust, but this one is a great one to come back to. It's a bittersweet joy. Bramwell, who basically knew all the Beatles since they were pretty-much kids is full of great stories I've never read anywhere else (or forgotten), like how Stuart Sutcliff got the head injury that eventually killed him or what Paul did the night he joined the Beatles. On several pages you get a marvelous feel for exactly what it was like to be sitting with John or Paul, rubbing elbows, talking, in a pub, or at Mick and Keith's house. Bramwell's take on Yoko and Lennon's initial negative reaction to her is fascinating--as are his tales about Brian. Some of the dollar/pound figures he tosses about, estimating how much the Beatles lost to bad deals, will leave you slack jawed. Thanks for this fantastic book Tony! It's got a lion's heart. Both the beginning and ending of this book left me sighing, sadly, gladly...

I bought this book because, while not a hardcore Beatles fan, I lived through that magical era when I and my friends were young and anything was possible. It's an evocative gem, a little chunk of history, one that brilliantly paints the fun, the music, the madness. Tony Bramwell tells his story in an intimate way, as if you're his best mate, drinking a pint of beer down at the local. You can imagine yourself sitting there half the night, talking, discussing, having a laugh, remembering.

There are moments of irony, witty stories, sad stories. There are many wonderful pages when whole scenes come vividly to life, such as the opening scene, riding through snowy Liverpool Streets one Christmas with a young George, when the world lay before them and the future seemed bright and shining with promise; or later, riding on a midnight train with a jaded John, who was totally off his rocker. We read of Paul in sunny, languid Hotel California, and then move with him to a rainy day in London Town when he discusses his hero, Buddy Holly. The Stones talk of music; Ringo shaves his head in Paris and wonders how he looks ("Bald" Bramwell tells him.) I'll never forget reading of the summer's day when Paul escapes the pressures of fame, to walk along a meandering stream in the country with his dog, Martha. The day ends with Paul playing the piano in a traditional country pub while the locals sing along. Bramwell was there; but even though people like me weren't, every word paints a picture and you can imagine that you were.

Much is made of Brian Epstein, full of angst and torment. His kindness, genius and neuroses are portrayed vividly. His bizarre sex life and manic use of drugs, when everyone thought he was goody two shoes, is discussed. Bramwell runs a theatre for him and some moments leap off the page: such as James Baldwin - fresh from his exile in France - telling Brian to admit that he's a queer; Jimmy Hendrix dazzling London; an unknown Yoko Ono running across stage like a spider, then sitting stoically while the audience cuts off her clothes. When Brian sees her, starkers and illegal, he almost swoons in dismay. Bramwell goes on to describe how Yoko initially stalked John before capturing him. He describes rave-ups in erotically charged mews flats all over town; dinners with Joan Crawford, millionaire Getty and the louche Chelsea set; the hilarious punch-up in Cannes with Sharon Osbourne; the night Bruce Springsteen ran away from his big come back concert and ended up watching films in Bramwell's home... the stories just keep on coming. You feel you were actually there, caught up in the frenzy and the fun. And yet -- don't get it wrong -- this isn't a drug or sex-driven book, or even a tell-all. It's charming and kindly told. And, although you would need to go to the index to appreciate the full extent of all the famous and great names mentioned, the Beatles are its core and its strength.

I wish more books had the narrative story-telling voice of Dickens, or R.L. Stevenson, as this biography does. Bramwell actually lived through those vanished years and lived to tell the tale. This book is as enjoyable and as deeply satisfying as a pint of good nutty ale. Cheers!

If you're a Beatles "scholar" like myself who has read virtually every single book on The Beatles, this book will immediately jump to the top of your pantheon. I frequently read entire books on The Beatles just to learn a single fact about the boys that I did not already know. This book was, cover to cover, packed with new anecdotes and stories with which I was unfamiliar. Bramwell's accounts are warm and frank. This book is also, after years of indecision, and along with Pete Shotton's, the book that finally convinced me that Yoko Ono was not only the disruptive force that split the Beatles but also an out and out evil woman. I loved every page of this book and read it slowly to savor the experience.

I had great hopes for this book based on all the five star reviews. The first half of this book is very good. The author knew the Beatles from childhood through their rise to fame and relates that very well. However, once the Beatles stopped touring, the story goes astray. At this point it becomes more about Tony Bramwell's experiences in swinging London then about the Beatles. This is interesting to a degree as it did sound like it was quite a bit of fun to be there.

The book goes horribly wrong once Yoko Ono entered the picture. At this point it is virtually a good versus evil story with Linda and Paul able to do no wrong, Yoko evil incarnate, and John as a madman going along with her. If you are a fan of George or Ringo, at this point they essentially do not exist and are only mentioned in passing.

The final part of the book entitled 1971 to present is almost exclusively about Tony Bramwell's experiences in the music industry. This was interesting in a gossipy kind of way, but I thought I was buying a book about the Beatles.

If Amazon allowed a three and a half star rating, I would give it that for the superior first half of the book, but the second part made it not worthy of a four star recommendation.

This has been some year with some excellent Beatle books being published. This year three books on the Beatles have been published that are, to some extent, companions of each other. Tony Bramwell's book, Tony Barrow's Book and Geoffrey Ellis' book. Each of the authors were part of the second or third ring (Mal Evans and Neil Aspinal being part of the "first ring") of Beatle intimates who were part of "the back room boys" helping the Beatles in their business and other endeavours. Of the three, Tony Bramwell comes over as the more jovial character who enjoyed himself and had fun during the swinging sixties, dating many girls and so on. Of all the books I have read about the Beatles (50 plus), I think only Tony Bramwell, Richard Dilillo and Derek Taylor come out enjoying themselves and having little, if any, resentment.

Tony Bramwell was originally a friend of George Harrison's and graduated to working with Brian Epstein at NEMS and then became a Record Promoter at Apple. It is very hard to argue against his impressions - because that it was what they are - his impressions of what happened and what life was like during his tenure at NEMS and Apple - it is not a history book. There are criticisms of certain factual errors in the book, and I do not think that is so important - what is invaluable and what makes it an absolute must for all Beatle fans is his description of the behavior of the Beatles and their times during the 60's.

There are criticisms posted here that Tony is too "pro Paul". I think such criticisms are unwarranted and imply that the author has a grudge against John. Simply put, John was no saint - and it's the human, eclectic and contradictory qualities in John which, today, so many of his fans, including me, find interesting (in fact far more interesting than certain other members of the fab four). If John gets a "bad press" from this book, then please also read the other books, referred to above - the recollections of Geoff Ellis and Tony Barrow are not too different (and even Derek Taylor, in his wonderful, but out of print book, "As Time Goes By", alludes to the difficulty in handling John when Yoko comes on the scene). I would also add, for those who criticize this book as being "anti John" that they should also read the John Lennon Rolling Stone interview (published as a book under the title "Lennon Remembers") where the great man himself admitted he (as well as the other Beatles) were complete b******* to their entourage (especially Neil and Mal). For those who think the book is "too pro Paul", I would suggest reading Alistair Taylor's book who balances matters by revealing the lack of any support Paul gave him when Klein dumped him (or alternatively read Peter Brown's book).

All in all Tony Bramwell's book is very good, well written and well worth reading. BTW, for those advanced Beatlemanicas out there it is interesting to compare Tony Bramwell's description of his visit, with Paul and Derek Taylor, to a pub, one summers day in 1968, to the village of Harold with Derek Taylor's description of the same event in his book "As time goes by".

Lastly, for those who are interested in the life of Brian Epstein, this book gives an excellent description and wonderful recollections of the man, which, combined with the recollections of Tony Barrow and Geoffrey Ellis in their respective books, probably gives the best rounded picture of the man (indeed, I think you'll learn more about Brian Epstein than you will about the Beatles from those three books).

This one is good. Really good.

Ever fantasized about sitting in a pub with Paul and just chat - or go crawling the clubs with John? This book tells us what it's like, from someone who did.

So many Beatles books tell the standard story. This one provides the background of how things came together; the motivation, the coincidences, many times I found myself saying, "Ah, so THAT'S why they did that." Much material was new (to me), and I have LOTS of Beatle books! John dyslexic?! Background about Yoko, her daughter and her previous husband(s)? Substantiated speculation of how, after constant rejection and under pressure to prove his boasting to the Beatles, Epstein finally got that first recording deal through? All the interconnections between people around the Beatles, the music business, who knew who, where the connections were - juicy stuff, soberly told. All here, all very "Ah-ha!"

Details, details, details. Yet with humour to have me laughing loud and often. And when Tony Bramwell sprinkles doses of self-irony in the narrative, you find yourself smirking with him!

Negatives? Let's think...

Tony is usually careful to separate what he knows first hand and what he gathered from others, but not always. The lapses are few but significant. Did he really personally witness all the scenes as John and Yoko got together? Surely not. Which bits did he hear it from other Apple employees? This to me was the most important part of the book and I wish he'd been more specific, all the more important since he clearly is very anti-Yoko. Nevertheless, it is fascinating to compare this with Yoko's version of events, for example as told in her interview with Larry Kane in "Lennon Revealed".

I could go on for ages, but I won't. The book is, I'd say, in the top 5 of Beatles books in terms of relevance AND entertainment value. Excellent stuff. Can't recommend it enough.

Go ahead and call me stupid for claiming in early June that this book will be amongst this year's Top 5 on rock 'n' roll. But after you've read it, you'll probably agree. It's that good and also easy to read. What is more, it's a new way of seeing the Fab Four than can be found in previous books. This is a genuine insider's perspective, that of the band's childhood and lifelong chum Tony Bramwell.

Mr. Bramwell doesn't pull punches. His is a straight shot of what he's seen and done, from the beginnings of The Beatles to their rise to the pinnacle of pop culture, through the band's painful demise, and beyond into their highly successful solo careers. His insights are fresh and reveal colorful facets heretofore unknown.

Each Beatle is given about equal weight through the book. As a quartet their sound made them inseparable. In reality they were four very different personalities, albeit high ambitious and superlatively creative. At no time does Tony disrespect John, Paul, George or Ringo. On the other hand, he doesn't sugar-coat their shortcomings.

Mr. Bramwell doesn't pussyfoot where the brutal truth needs be told. Some people, especially Yoko and Allen Klein, are blasted for their very calculated, mean and destructive impact on The Beatles, both as a band and individually. These passages reek of rot. In contrast Linda McCartney is shown as a supportive companion for her beloved husband through the unimaginable pressure of leaving The Beatles.

Other core characters in The Beatles career are portrayed as all-to-human but who had excellent intentions. Brian Epstein is the most underrated manager in history, and this book builds a strong case why he should be inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame's non-performer category. George Martin is confirmed as a studio genius.

Along the way, we also get Bramwell's first-hand accounts of hanging and working with Jimi Hendrix, The Stones, The Who, Eric Clapton, Phil Spector, Ray Charles, Marianne Faithful, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis and so many other legends.

The undercurrent chronicles the birth of pop culture, from Swinging London in the '60s to the New York/L.A. scenes of today. It's a fine social commentary on one level.

Did I forget to mention sex and drugs? Mama, there's plenty of that in this book, but -- hey!! -- we already knew that fact. The book's real value is its people and the music they made.

Tony Bramwell is a rare writer on the Beatles. Unlike many biographers and pseudo-journalists who pretend to know the "boys", he knew every one of them, growing up with and working alongside each one. His memoir is one of the great books on the Beatles ever written: poignant and credible and told with love and affection for the times and the members of the greatest band ever. As the writer of two books on the Beatles and John Lennon, I can tell you with certainty that Tony's life story is gripping and revealing, and in some cases, surprising. It is both breezy and directly honest. This is a story for the ages. and it my view, it belongs in the home of every Beatles' fan.

Larry Kane

Phiadelphia

December 2009

I have read the reviews listed below regarding this book is titled "My life with the Beatles". People are forgetting that OBVISOUSLY the author is going to include passages/chapters regarding himself.

I feel this book was a very insightful book into the lives of the Beatles. I enjoyed reading a different take on the "Yoko Ono invasion" from an outsiders view.

If you want to read a "fluff" book about the Beatles then this is not the book. I enjoyed reading this book and at times could not put it down. He included several pictures in the book that I had not seen before. I borrowed this book from the libary but now have book in my collection!

This book is a riot! Tony's approach is very different than most biographies & is extremely entertaining!. He doesn't tip-toe around The Beatles' stories as if it were "holy history" or if they were made of fine china. He dives right in with sex jokes and gossip (where else will you come across a line, "to celebrate, he lost his virginity that evening and then told his mates" that comes off totally like your friends teasing you and not being mean or sarcastic)

Once Yoko makes an appearance.... well... lets just say the bite in the sarcasm might just leave you missing a few fingers. Surprised her "PR camp" hasn't sued the pants off of him for getting this down on paper. On the flip side, Linda is written up like an angel with a halo

Some of the facts might be played with a tad loose, and 3rd of the book has nothing at all to do w/ the Fabs (seeing as the band was broken up by that point) I'm sure die-hard "Beatle historians" would be pointing out things left and right, but really... this is how Tony remembers things goin down and it is HIS book of HIS MEMORIES after all.

Hop on and enjoy this ride!