Few music biographers have lived with the Beatles’ story quite like Philip Norman. Across shelves of bestsellers, Norman has charted the group’s myth and minutiae, from the Hamburg grind to Apple’s undoing. In a live conversation with Jason Barnard, he revisited his earliest encounters with the Fab Four, the writing of Shout!, and the shifting lens through which he now views John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
With anecdotes drawn from time spent inside Apple Corps in 1969, and encounters with figures like Yoko Ono, Brian Epstein, and Little Richard, the evening veered between poignant reflection and mischief. Norman’s candid take on Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary and his evolving appreciation for George Harrison made for particularly sharp moments. And as always, the question lingers: just how much more is left to be said about the Beatles? If you’re Philip Norman, quite a bit.
Further information
Read Me Do with Philip Norman – Substack
Podcasts also available: Ray Ennis – The Swinging Blue Jeans, Philip Norman on John Lennon, George Harrison by Philip Norman, Mike McCartney’s Early Liverpool
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Every author focussing on the Beatles is trying to find the secret or the recipe for their success. So did I many years for radio. And I was lucky to have met several important people from Hamburg. My opinion today is, that the whole Beatles story is a result of countless unbelievable coincidences – both good and bad. Take just one away – and the whole story might have turned out completely different!
For example: If Klaus Voormann had not had an argument with his girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr one night, he probably would have never taken a walk to the Reeperbahn, where he “discovered” that little british Rock’n Roll coverband. He was fascinated and later brought his clique along and tried to get in touch with that band. They became friends. And that little band even adopted the hair-style of those german art students. And this style was the big thing, when the Beatles rose to fame. The media was often writing more about the hair than the music ! And young people all over the world adopted that “new” look…..Or what had happened, if Decca had said “Yes”??? Had the Beatles developed that way without George Martin?
It’s all about coincidences…..and then “talent can help”…..