The Beatles are of course the best band there ever has and ever will be. Of course, of course. Nobody could argue with that. Or could they? Well Gary Hall does and he’s written a book about it. He calls it a survivors guide and very good it is.
Gary argues that The Beatles are so overrated it’s untrue and that if only we could release ourselves from the mind control of the media and Beatle Heads, we’d see them for what they really are. An ok pop group with no claim on the mantle of being the greatest.
He divides beatle fans into seven groups each with their own reasons for placing the fab four on a pedestal and he systematically breaks down their reasoning giving the none Beatle lover a defence and attack strategy to show the fans that they are wrong.
The book is dead funny and well written. I read it in one sitting but then I’m a lazy bastard who looks for anything that will enable me to sit in my room smoking and avoiding responsibility. The chapter on Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is hilarious and my latent but hidden anti-maccaness bubbled to the surface as I read.
I would suggest to all music lovers that this book is well worth buying if only to confront your own prejudices and perhaps make you think again. That said it didn’t work on me. My love for the Beatles remains undiminished but I certainly enjoyed having my beatle-brain attacked.
Gary emailed me to say that my music is better than 99.9% of all Beatle music and coming from anyone else this would be a huge compliment. From Mr Hall though I’m not so sure……
Gary is from Liverpool and is obviously a funny, intelligent and right on guy (his digs at right wing politics is fab) but he doesn’t like The Beatles. That’s ok by me, he’s just wrong.
0 Responses to “Living Life Without Loving The Beatles”