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The Beatles: The Authorised Biography
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 18 hrs and 1 min
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Summary
There's only one book that ever truly got inside the Beatles, and this is it....
During 1967 and 1968, Hunter Davies spent 18 months with the Beatles at the peak of their powers as they defined a generation and rewrote popular music. As their only-ever authorised biographer, he had unparalleled access - not just to John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but to friends, family, and colleagues. He collected a wealth of intimate and revealing material that makes this the classic Beatles book - the one all other biographers look to. Hunter Davies remained close with the band and as such has had access to more information over the years.
This 40th anniversary edition contains new material which has never been revealed before, from the author's archives and from the Beatles themselves, that will bring new insights to their legend.
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What listeners say about The Beatles: The Authorised Biography
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- James Anslow
- 28-11-21
A must listen
If you’re a fan of the Beatles, read this book. The readers scouse accent is a bit ropey at times but it’s a great story.
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- GS
- 27-03-19
Excellent Biography of The Beatles
This is an excellent audio book recounting The Beatles lves and career as of the late 60s and then subsequently updated. Excellently read.
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- a person
- 17-10-21
Revealing
I had always assumed that this would be quite sterile as the official biography but it’s quite revealing about the Beatles. Definitely not a kiss and tell but equally not a hide it all. The updates are quite revealing too. One to read for fans of the band.
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- Cloudy Hutchings
- 19-09-23
Great narration and interesting accounts
Having been born long after Beatle Mania, I found their history and accounts interesting. The narrator made the quotes seem authentic and I really enjoyed it from start to finish.
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- keith
- 12-02-20
I love the beatles
Hunter deserves credit for this book he has done his research I love music biographies that is why this is another good addition to my collection he really delves into the subject I agree too many books print rubbish but hunter knows what he's talking about and it's worth buying thanks for this great book not many know that the Beatles was on polydor before parlophone they did some good songs with tony sheridan thanks hunter for the best and true biography and a good read
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1 person found this helpful
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- Laird
- 16-08-20
excellent read, good narration
excellent read, good narration . I especially enjoyed the later part to update it. Would have been nice to bring it completely upto date.
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- Julian wetter
- 19-03-20
must read for any beatles fan very informative
great biography for any beatles fan
the author had unlimited accees to friends and family and to the beatles themselves thats why its such a great book
a great insight to the inner workings of this great band
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- ChrisH
- 05-09-21
the Beatles
Good book at the time made more intresting with the updates over time.
Well read by the author
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- Graham G Grant
- 16-08-19
The greatest pop story ever told...
As a Beatles fan for a very long time, I imagined I’d read most of the key biographies/memoirs. I knew about Davies’ book, but assumed it was so widely quoted elsewhere that there would be limited point in reading it. In fact, this bumper edition, which includes various updates since the original publication date in 1968, and a long, revealing foreword, was gripping throughout. There’s a lot of detail I’d forgotten, or hadn’t ever come across before; Davies’ fly-on-the-wall account of Beatle life, including a Lennon and McCartney songwriting session, is fascinating. It’s a vivid snapshot, and particularly good on Brian Epstein. Epstein died before the book was published, and had been happy to be ‘outed’ in it as gay. But after his death, his mother Queenie vetoed this. The foreword provides this detail and other material that was left out. In some ways, the foreword is the most compelling section. The biography is authorised, and inevitably has a slightly ‘sanitised’ feel. But it works because Davies got astonishing access to friends, family and staff, at a key point in time - few of them had spoken publicly about the Beatles at any length prior to his book. Davies has a reassuringly level-headed approach to the subject, despite being a Beatle fan - the tone is worldly, and perhaps slightly dismissive of really obsessive Beatle fans. But again, it’s such an important historical document that true fans will enjoy it regardless. The narration is very good - the voice is similar to Davies’. Liverpudlian accents are attempted, and though not always accurate - maybe sounding more Midlands thank Scouse? - they do help to bring the text alive. An obligatory listen for all Beatles devotees, and those curious about the Fab Four’s amazing journey.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-12-15
Book OK, but the Beatles were from Liverpool!
The book was OK but I was irritated by the narrator using what sounded like a Birmingham accent when portraying one of the Beatles. It rather spoiled my enjoyment.
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