The landmark international bestseller—The Beatles’ own story, in their own words—reissued on the 25th anniversary of its first publication.
From their years growing up in Liverpool through their ride to fame to their ultimate breakup, here’s the inside story. Interwoven with The Beatles’ own memories are the recollections of such associates as road manager Neil Aspinall, producer George Martin, and spokesman Derek Taylor.
The Beatles Anthology is a once-in-a-lifetime volume: warm, frank, funny, poignant, and bold—just like the music that’s been a part of so many of our lives. It is, for the first time, the story of The Beatles by The Beatles. Created with the full cooperation of Paul, George, Ringo, and Yoko Ono Lennon, it also includes the words of John, painstakingly compiled from sources worldwide. In effect, The Beatles Anthology is The Beatles’ autobiography.
Featuring over 1,300 images—most previously unpublished—the book is brimming with personal stories and rare vintage photographs. Paul, George, Ringo, and Yoko Ono Lennon all opened their archives for this project, as did Apple, EMI, and others long associated with The Beatles. The result is an extraordinary wealth of visual material: snapshots from family collections, photographs, documents, and memorabilia, all bringing the story to life.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Richard Starkey recount their early years in Liverpool, before weaving back and forth through the astonishing tale of life as The Beatles: the first rough gigs, the phenomenon of their rise to fame, the musical and social change of their heyday, and the journey through to their breakup. From the time Ringo tried to take his drum kit home on the bus, to their much-anticipated meeting with Elvis, from the making of Sgt. Pepper to their final photo session at John’s house—The Beatles Anthology is a collection of memories like no other.
“Who knows why the Beatles happened?” John Lennon asked in 1980. If anyone did, it would be the Fab Four themselves, who tell their own story—with plenty of visual aids—in this giant compendium. The book opens with the band members’ separate accounts of their childhoods, then moves into a year-by-year format that allows for great detail and digressions. Most of the text appears oral-history style, in short paragraphs with rapid switches between one Beatle and another, making it feel as if they’re being interviewed simultaneously. The visuals add cartoons, signed letters, scrawled drawings, and photos.
This book is perfect for Beatles fans of every generation.
The Beatles Anthology book is available for pre-order here.