The Beatles in America:: The Stories, The Scene, 50 Years On - Hardcover

Early in 1964, with Beatlemania raging in the UK, the Beatles topped the US charts with "I Want To Hold Your Hand," and became a sensation on American TV with The Ed Sullivan Show - on which they appeared no fewer than three occasions, on consecutive Sundays in February, 1964. In April 1964, they held all Top Five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 and were playing such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Shea Stadium. With exclusive interviews with fellow musicians, promoters, and audience members, together with rare photographs and memorabilia, The Beatles In America is the definitive, fully illustrated account of their concerts, the controversies, and of how the country dominated their lives in so many ways - written by one of the acknowledged experts on the Fab Four, Liverpool's own Spencer Leigh. Covers all the group's North American appearances/tours in detail: their first two live American appearances in 1964, the first full North American tour of August and September, 1964; the second, short tour of 1965; and the third, 13-date tour of August and September, 1966 - with maps showing the cities they played on each tour. Describes how Beatlemania "broke" in Canada before it did in the US - and why. Includes exclusive and previously unpublished interviews with key figures of the era, such as Del Shannon, Roy Orbison, Sid Bernstein, Cynthia Lennon, Bill Wyman, Roger McGuinn, Pete Best, Davy Jones and Peter Tork (of the Monkees), Larry Kane (journalist), Suzy Quatro, Tony Barrow, Alf Bicknell, Ronnie Spector, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, May Pang.

Spencer Leigh is an acknowledged expert on Mersey Beat and his 'On The Beat' programme has been broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside for over 25 years and has contributed to many BBC documentaries. He writes for The Independent, and Record Collector. Mojo describe him as 'rock music's most enthusiastic amateur historian.' He is also the author of The Beatles in Hamburg and The Beatles in Liverpool, both published by Omnibus Press.