A Tale of Two Beatles Books
From Hamburg to New York (A review by a devoted Beatles enthusiast)
Cor, when it comes to books about us lot - sorry, I mean the Beatles - there's enough to fill the Albert Hall twice over! Today we're looking at two rather interesting pieces from 1964, right when Beatlemania was reaching fever pitch, y'know what I mean?
First up, we've got this brilliant German number called "Das Sind Die Beatles" by G. Thomas Beyl, and then there's the American "The Beatle Book" from Lancer Publications. Both came out when we - I mean they - were absolutely massive, right after "She Loves You" and all that gear stuff.
Let's start with the German one, shall we? Dead impressive, this. Coming from Germany feels proper right, considering the lads' history in Hamburg. The book's got this smashing format - about 32 pages, loads of pictures (some full page, mind you), and get this - it even comes with this boss little extra called "Die Horoskope der Beatles" by Elfriede Keiser, complete with colour portraits and the signatures of all four lads. The author's foreword is just "Yeah!" - now that's what I call getting straight to the point, just like John with his lyrics!
Contemporary reviews in Germany were quite positive, though finding them these days is like looking for Ringo's drum key in the middle of a concert. The book's held up remarkably well, despite showing its age a bit round the edges, like some of us old rockers, eh?
Now, onto this American effort, "The Beatle Book" from Lancer. It's one of those early bits of Beatles memorabilia, y'know, from when America was just catching on to what we'd known in Liverpool for ages. It's got this gorgeous fold-out centrefold with autographs (reminds me of signing hundreds of those back in the day), and about 100 black and white photos. The funny thing is, it's got this brilliant little tag line: "Hey Luv, This is the book on the really gear group." Sounds like something our George would say, doesn't it?
Reviews at the time were mixed - some called it "teen beat drivel" while others saw it as a valuable snapshot of the moment. One reviewer on Goodreads - that's this modern internet thing, absolutely fab - calls it "valuable now as an artifact," which is spot on, considering it was selling for 50 cents back then!
If you're asking me which one's better (and since you are), I'd have to give it to the German book. There's something about German precision, reminds me of those nights in Hamburg when we were learning our craft. The quality of the photographs is superior, and having those horoscopes is a nice touch - though I never did believe in all that astrology business myself, unlike John who was always reading his stars.
The Lancer book, while charming in its way, feels a bit more like what we used to call a "quick knock-off" - though don't get me wrong, it's still a fascinating piece of history. It's like comparing our early covers to the later original songs - both have their place, but one clearly has more depth.
To wrap it up (like the end of a medley on Abbey Road), these books are both fantastic time capsules from 1964, when the world was going absolutely mental for four lads from Liverpool. The German one's like a well-produced record, while the American one's more like one of those bootlegs that used to pop up - rough around the edges but still absolutely essential for any serious collector.