These are informational, historical and entertaining articles archived from the pages of the rec.music.beatles newsgroup. Most of these articles are not available at other Beatles sites.

The articles in this archive are divided into four sections:

Beatles History Personal details in the lives of the Fab Four Beatles Facts The Gear Reference and Trivia Corner Beatles Related Articles Recording industry and musical info and news Beatles Humor Place tongue firmly in cheek before reading these articles

Also see the Beatles Recordings Reference Library for recordings-related articles.

Beatles History

Alf Lennon - An article about the comings and goings of Alfred "Freddy" Lennon, John's estranged father.

Badfinger History - The up and down story of Joey Molland and Badfinger, Paul's Apple discovery.

Badfinger's Mike Gibbins - A recent interview with Mike Gibbins, one of the original members of Badfinger.

Beatles on Ed Sullivan - A rundown of the entire Ed Sullivan show on February 7, 1964, on which the Beatles appeared, and some relevant comments, by Saki, and a posting of all the songs the Beatles played on all four Ed Sullivan appearances. Also see The Ed Sullivan Show.

The Breakup - An article about the facts and chronology relating the period of time that the Beatles broke up.

Brian Epstein - Two articles about Brian Epstein's life, and what Brian meant to the Beatles and the world.

Carnegie Hall - Some information about the Beatle's least documented live performance at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Catharsis 101 - A very personal rememberance of John Lennon on the date of his birthday.

The Day John Died - I personally hate thinking about this, but this question is asked frequently on the r.m.b. newsgroup. Here are three newspaper articles that were written on the morning after the night that John was assasinated.

Dr. Winston O' Who? - The various pseudonyms that the individual Beatles have used over their careers.

Drummer or Dweeb? - Articles from r.m.b which discuss and disprove claims by Bernard Purdie that he overdubbed the drums on all early Beatles recordings.

From John to Paul and Linda - A letter which was recently sold at auction, that John Lennon wrote to Paul and Linda McCartney in 1969.

George Harrison's Birthdate - Was George born on February 24 or 25? Some new evidence is provided by saki in this article.

Handmade Films - Articles telling the end of the sad story of George's Handmade Films and his law suit against former partner Dennis O'Brien.

Hours And Times - A review of the 1992 film Hours and Times which was a fictional story about John and Brian.

Jane and Paul - A brief article by saki answering the question, "Who is Jane Asher, and what did she have to do with Paul?"

John And Brian - After a discussion of long standing rumors from dubious literary sources about a possible relationship between John and Brian Epstein, May Pang tells what she knows regarding John and Brian, and John's sexual preference.

John and J. Edgar Hoover - Two newspaper articles describing the recent release by the FBI of some of the "John Lennon Papers".

John and Ringo Interview - The text of an interview of John and Ringo on August 23, 1964, while the Beatles were in Los Angeles for their famous first visit to the Hollywood Bowl.

Linda's Legacy - An article which describes Linda's last wishes.

The Passing of Derek Taylor - The official Apple press release, and remembrences of Derek Taylor by saki.

Paul and the Bass - Several articles dealing with Paul and the bass guitar, and how he came to be the bass player for the Beatles.

Paul Is Dead: An Historical Perspective - Two New York newspaper articles from 1969 reporting the original roots of the Paul Is Dead controversy.

Paul Is Still Alive - On Wednesday, February 14, 1996, a story was presented by several news sources of a thwarted paid contract on Paul's life. These are the real facts on this story from the Associated Press.

Pete Forever, Ringo Never! - The famous article from Mersey Beat on August 23, 1962, announcing the Beatles' change of drummers, thanks to Bill Harry of Mersey Beat.

Pete: Best or Worst? - Alan Kozinn talks about the relative merits of Pete Best as drummer with the Beatles.

Pete: No Longer Forgotten - A recent article describing Anthology's financial and personal impact on Pete Best.

Pete Best in the 90's - Pete talks today about how he feels about his treatment by the Beatles now, and back in the sixties.

Raymond Jones - The young man who first brought the Beatles to Brian Epstein's attention by requesting My Bonnie at Brian's store NEMS. Did Raymond Jones ever exist? This article tries to solve the mystery.

Ringo Interview - 1989 Magazine interview with Ringo Starr shortly after his first All Star Band tour.

Ringo on Prodigy - Ringo answers questions on the Prodigy on-line service.

Ringo 1998 - A 1998 newspaper article about Ringo from the Daily Telegraph.

Sean's Birthdate - May Pang sheds some light on the lingering mystery of Sean Lennon's birthday coinciding with John's.

What Killed Stu? - A recent thread discussing the possible causes of death of Stuart Sutcliffe in 1962.

Who Killed John? - A recent article about Sean Lennon's recent allegations that the CIA could have possibly been behind the murder of his father.

Winston - An excerpt from Pete Townshend's book "Horse's Neck" about the death of John Lennon.

Beatles Facts

Anthology on American TV - A detailed index to everything in the American ABC TV airing of Anthology.

Anthology Home Video - A detailed index including timing of everything in the home video release of Anthology made from the laser discs.

The Beatles by Alan Kozinn - A review by saki of the book The Beatles by Alan Kozinn, writer for the New York Times and frequent participant on the rec.music.beatles newsgroup.

Beatles Bibliography - A very comprehensive list of most of the books about the Beatles that are currently in print in the US and the UK, updated April 1996.

Beatles Cartoons - An article about the Saturday morning Beatles cartoon TV show made in the 60's, including a list of all the shows. Also see How To Draw The Beatles.

EMI Primer - Everything you ever wanted to know about the history of EMI, Capitol, Apple and ATV.

Fab Gear - An interesting detailed article describing where the equipment the Beatles used came from and ended up.

Finding Abbey Road - Visting London? You might want to check out this article first to make sure you can the famous crossing. Also see London Trip Guide and Why Does A Beatles Fan Cross The Road?

Goldman and Beatles Fans - Articles by saki and Allan Kozinn about author Albert Goldman and why he is not liked by Beatles fans because of the innaccuracies in what he writes.

The Gospel According to the Beatles - An article about the new Beatles Bible, the Anthology book to be published in late 1997.

Help Cover Picture - Most believe that the boys are spelling 'HELP' on the cover of the album, atleast the UK version, since Capitol switched the order of the boys on the American cover. However, according to this article, that's not even close!

How To Draw The Beatles - An article from Mojo Magazine with inside information about the making of the Beatles cartoons. Also see Beatles Cartoons.

I Am The Walrus - An excerpt from Pete Shotton's book "John Lennon In My Life", describing how the words to I Am The Walrus came about, the text of the small bit of King Lear that appears at the end of I Am The Walrus, and an attempt at an interpretation of the lyrics of the song.

It Was Thirty Years Ago Today - An article by saki reflecting on the "Sgt. Pepper Experience" on the occasion of its thirtieth birthday.

It's All You Need - An article by saki answering a question regarding who the Beatles wrote about in their songs.

Joe Orton and the Lost Beatles Movie - An article about the third live action Beatles movie that a script was written for but was never produced.

Klaatu is the Beatles? - An article about a group who's first album in 1976 sounded so much like the Beatles that people started believing it was true.

Lewisohn and his Bible - A brief article by saki answering the question, who is Mark Lewisohn, and how, while researching his books, he get to see what practically no one else ever has.

London Trip Guide - Two articles about what to see, if you're a Beatles fan, when you go to London and Liverpool. Also see Finding Abbey Road.

Number Nine Dream - The number 9 eerily appears over and over in the life of John Lennon. This article compiles a list of them.

Magical Mystery Tour: B&W Or Color? - Was the Magical Mystery Tour TV movie shown on the BBC in Black and White or Colour? This article pins it down.

Oh, Yoko - An article reviewing the recent appearance of Yoko Ono on the TV show "Mad About You", and the Lifetime cable TV show "A Lifetime Intimate Portrait: Yoko Ono".

Paul and The Fireman - Is or isn't Paul The Fireman? An article from Club Sandwich with interviews with Paul McCartney and Youth regarding the album Strawberries Oceans Ships Forrest tells all.

Sessions - A newspaper article from the Chicago Sun-Times regarding the Sessions album, the album of Beatles alternate LP cuts and outtakes that was due to be released but never came to be, and an article by Alan Kozzin describing why Sessions was never released.

Songs They Gave Away - A list of the songs written by Lennon and McCartney which the boys gave to other artists to record.

Tokyo Beatlemania - Newly released papers from the British government tell the story of the insanity of the Beatles' tour to Japan in 1966.

Will the real Paul McCartney raise your hand? - Is Paul McCartney right-handed or left-handed? A long-standing confusion among Beatles fans is cleared up by this article.

You Can't Do That - Ed Chen's review of the new Beatles documentary, "You Can't Do That - The Making of A Hard Day's Night".

Beatles Related Articles

The Beatles and Bootlegs - Two articles by Allan Kozinn about why Bootlegs aren't necessarily evil, and how the Beatles feel about Bootlegs. Also see The History of Beatles Bootlegs.

Beatlefest Bust - An article about the bust of a bootlegger at the 1998 Los Angeles Beatlefest.

The Ed Sullivan Show - An important chapter in Beatles history, saki talks about what the Ed Sullivan Show meant to America. Also see The Beatles on Ed Sullivan.

How The Album Got Played Out - Why the LP and 45 have become extinct over the years and how listening to music has changed.

The History of rmb - Two articles by saki about the history and early days of the rec.music.beatles newsgroup, one of our favorite places in cyberspace.

The Vinyl Frontier - Which is better, vinyl records or digital compact discs? In this article, saki writes that the answer might depend on how old you (or your records) are.

Beatles Humor

Anthology Pre-history - An article by an imaginative fan which tells the story of why the upcoming Beatles releases are to be called "Anthology".

Covert Art Awards - A partially serious, mostly humorous article about something each Beatles cover is most famous for.

Eleanor the Computer Nerd - Some Beatles songs for computer programmers.

How To Talk To Your Teens About The Beatles - Feel alone in your family regarding your Beatles fandom? This article may help.

Saturday Night Live - The text of two Lorne Michael speeches inviting The Beatles to appear on Saturday Night Live.

Sgt. Pilcher's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The mostly historical story of a man and his dog, and rock 'n' roll.

This CD Stinks! - Why does the Beatles Anthology CD smell like celery? Another Beatles conspiracy? Find out in this article.

Top Ten List - Some of Dave Letterman's Top Ten Lists that concerned the Beatles, including February 7, 1994, which was the 30th anniversary of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Why Does A Beatles Fan Cross The Road? - The answer to this age old question is provided in a very informative article by saki about shooting the album cover photo on the famous pedestrian crossing oustide the front door of the London EMI studios. Also see Finding Abbey Road.

This page last updated April 6, 1999.