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Bert Thomson

@westcoastsmirr.bsky.social

1.4K followers 1.3K following 2.2K posts

Once we were lawyers. Scottish, European, Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. Born @ 312.2 ppm. MD Ant. Largs Thistle F.C. Glasgow, Ayrshire, Argyll. books, writing, music, art, film, photo, nature, climate. 'cela nous concerne tous'

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Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 3h

Since I'm posting book covers today...

Paperback copies of ' Lennon Remembers' John Lennon's Rolling Stone interview with Jann Wenner and 'The Penguin John Lennon' a Penguin compilation of ' In His Own Write' and 'ASpaniard In The Works'

Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 4h

#TheBeatles A bonus no. 6. Wilfrid Mellers 'Twilight of the Gods' This for musicologists really and a book which to some extent mystified the Beatles themselves. There's much of it I don't understand but I couldn't part with it😄

The photo shows the hardback cover of Wilfrid Mellers' ' Twilight of the Gods' on hardback. The cover is a cartoon reflective of the cover of 'With The Beatles' showing the four faces drawn in a stylised way on a black background m red tears drip from each of the band's eyes. The title of the book is in black lettering the subtitles outlined in red 'Thr Beatles in retrospect ' the authors name is in smaller black lettering than the title.

Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 4h

#TheBeatles 5.You Never Give Me Your Money. The battle for the soul of The Beatles' by Pete Doggett. A blow by blow account of the descent into the bitter squabbles that ended the group. The book documents what has almost become a trope for the destruction of bands( though obviously not on scale)

The cover of the hardback of Peter Doggett's 'You Never Give Me Your Money's. The dust jacket of the book is black with silver and white lettering The main title is in silver capitals. Below that there is a stylised picture of a drum kit and 3 guitars one of them being McCartney's violin bass . Below that is the books subtitle in white lettering ' The battle for the soul of the Beatles' and below that the author's name in silver.

Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 4h

#TheBeatles 4. Ian MacDonald's brilliant 'Revolution in the Head'. A beautiful elegiac essay takes up the first part of a book which gives a song by song analysis of the Beatles entire output this for me is not only the best book about the Beatles but one of the best books ever about rock and roll.

Photo showing the original hardback edition of Ian Macdonald's Revolution in the Head. The Beatles records and the sixties' the cover of the book is largely white, the bottom third of the cover taken up by a Don McCullin photo of the band on 'The Big Day Out' The authors name is in green lettering with the main title in white embossed capitals on a white background. There's a definite tip of the hat to The White Album here. The subtitle of the book is written in dark lettering.

Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 4h

#TheBeatles 3.The Beatles. The Authorised Biography. Hunter Davies.
Warm hearted, sometimes sentimental, this has been a comfort read for me since 1968. Captures how Britain and a good part of the world felt about them at the height of their power. i.e. they were widely almost universally, loved .

The photo shows a first edition of Hunter Davies' 'The Beatles. The Authorised Biography' The dust jacket is somewhat tattered and is mostly white with 'The Beatles' written in plump red/pink text with yellow stars where the holes in the B and the A are. The subtitle ' The Authorised Biography' and the authors name are written in red on yellow banners. The rest of the cover has what was regarded at the time as a 'psychedelic' look.

Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 4h

#TheBeatles 2. 'Love Me Do' by Michael Braun. How they broke, first Britain then the world. Again, strong on atmosphere and full of indicators that the cynical Lennon and the winsome McCartney wasn't all there was to them..

Photo shows the cover of the Penguin paperback of Michael Braun's "Love Me Do"! The Beatles Progress. A black and white photo shows girls, dressed in early sixties fashions reaching out. "Love Me Do" is written in pink lettering with 'The Beatles' Progress' in red lettering. An exclamation mark on the cover is also in red. The author's name is in white with a quote from John Lennon also in white. ' A true book. He wrote it like we were, which was bastards'.

Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 4h

#TheBeatles A wee thread on some Beatles books I wouldn't swap for a gold pig.
1.'The Man Who Gave the Beatles Away' Alan Williams and William Marshall. Just a great wee read about the early days in Liverpool and Hamburg. Thick with atmosphere, it seems absolutely real. 'I laughed a lot' John Lennon

The cover of the Coronet paperback of The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away by Alan Williams and William Marshall. The photo shows a black and white picture of The Beatles taken in the Cavern with an overlaid colour picture of the four Beatles c.1967/68.
The book title is in red capitals with the two author's names in white.

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Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 8h

Couldn't they wait another 25 years or so before making any more Beatles biopics, so that anybody that was around during their time is dead.
Every single picture to date has been absolute pish.

Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 8h

'Fall of Civilisations' podcast by Paul Cooper well worth a listen.

Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 21h

Homes and industry at risk? Sounds like the least of it.

Bert Thomson @westcoastsmirr.bsky.social · 2d

Beautiful too that your talking about guising instead of trick or treat, Ruth. The kids who come to our door have to come armed with a joke, a poem or a song. (on one occasion we got a chemistry experiment😲)