Description
Book SynopsisThe Beatles’ lives and work continue to delight fans and influence musicians half a century since their heyday. Yet their contribution to contemporary culture and their relationship to social change remain controversial topics in need of reappraisal. This collection brings together fourteen leading scholars of The Beatles to examine their origins, output and legacy. Interdisciplinary in its approach and international is its outlook, The Beatles in Perspective showcases the latest research by historians, literary critics, musicologists, sociologists, poets and cultural critics bringing new perspectives on The Beatles and their milieu which will interest academics and fans alike. This book explores the relationship between The Beatles and their times, situating them in the changing class, gender and ethnic dynamics of postwar Britain, and considers them as Liverpudlians, Orientalists, and creative pioneers.
Table of ContentsIntroduction Culture and History 1. “Where You Once Belonged”: Class, Race and Liverpool Roots of Lennon and McCartney’s Songs James McGrath 2. Notes on the Beatles from a Black Liverpudlian Perspective Mark Christian, Lehman College (CUNY) 3. From Liverpool to Tibet: “Tomorrow Never Knows” and the Troubled Path to the East Sharif Gemie, University of South Wales 4. Magical Mystery Tour: Suburbia and Utopia in Music and Films of The Beatles Jon Goss, Clarkson University, New York 5. The Bohemian Beatles Colin Campbell, University of York 6. Interlude 1: Growing up with The Beatles Russell Reising (University of Toledo), Peter Mills and James McGrath Audience, Fanhood, Interpretation 7. “My Name’s Ringo and I Play the Drums”: Being a Beatles’ Fan in the Age of Interactivity Stephanie Fremaux, Birmingham City University 8. The Beatles and Fandom Richard Mills, St Marys University, London 9. “Some kind of innocence...”: The Beatles Monthly and the Fan Community Mike Kirkup, Teesside University 10. “Misunderstanding all you see”: Charles Manson Reading the Beatles at the End of the World Gary Carlin and Mark Jones, both at University of Wolverhampton 11. Interlude 2: The Beatles, Interpretation and Influence Russell Reising, Peter Mills and James McGrath Savoy Truffles: Further Perspectives 12. Paul in the Picture: Anatomy of a Snapshot Martin Malone, Aberdeen University 13. The American Beetles: How a Fake Beatles Band Defined a Movement, Changed a Culture, and Beat The Beatles at Their Own Game Ed Prideaux, journalist 14. Listening and Remembering Russell Reising, Peter Mills and James McGrath
