SO!!! all the books (and other things) about Paul during the Swinging London era and his connection to the avant-garde that I could find. a lot of beatles "historians" that are based off their books on what was known many years ago will say that in those book Paul is trying to "rewrite history" which is not true at all, like we see here... yeah i just wanted to put it all in this one post like why am i so crazy about this
SO, WE'RE STARTING 1. Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles
honestly essential book that is covering paul's every year of being a beatle it's written so fucking good. it was written by barry ofc like really a lot of other things that cover all this. it is like THE biography of paul. it's written in direct collaboration with paul, with many interviews of him talking about the events the way he remembers them so ofc it's not very "objective" but it's paul's story to tell. and even though barry and paul hadn't been talking for 10 years before writing they started working on this book, paul considered him the best person to write the story, since he'd been there all the time alongside him, and is giving his perspective on some events too, so it's all not really all that one-sided. there's not a lot about the other beatles (before the very end) at all in this book but it's justified, this is a story about paul and his artistic journey, it's not even about the relationship in his life. i believe EVERY fan of paul should read this book. huge chunk of this book is dedicated to paul's experimentations with music in 1966-67, his love for avant-garde jazz and musique concrète and avant-garde literature (thanks to barry), to which john was introduced to only later.
2. Grooby Bob: The Life and Times of Robert Fraser by Harriet Vyner
this book isn't about paul but it's about a man who, how paul said, was the most formative art influence in his life. the amount of influence that robert had on paul is very underrated, especially when this is exactly where the Apple logo and the cover of Sgt. Pepper came from! and of course, cocaine. and to that, paul said that robert led him into that almost "aristocratic" life that he'd lived in 1967, art galleries, parties, etc. this book gives a wonderful glimpse into that time without it being sugar-coated. really the raw reality of junkies, weirdos and intellectuals and of course there's something about how paul was fitting into all this. this one and previous books for me really feel like they belong together and once you read one of them you should read the other one too to get the full picture! really, both books, the one about paul and this one about robert end really at the same place in the story, on robert's death and paul's memories of their last meeting, and with that, the end of an era.
and now the books that i haven't finished yet or i haven't started yet... 3. London Calling: A Countercultural History of London Since 1945 by Barry Miles
this might seem like a lot at the first glance but from what i've read so far in it it's an absolute banger. just the first few chapters are covering the birth of the London underground scene, all the literature and art, and then Barry starts to tell the story from what he'd seen with his own eyes. starting with founding International Times and the opening of Indica, all the other people involved, the importance of peter and jane asher and everything from the moment he befriended paul. the stories about all the crazy things that were happening around there then, continuing the vibe of the two previous books and adding new details and contexts.
4. The Unknown Paul McCartney: McCartney and the Avant-Garde by Ian Peel
this book is supposed to cover paul's non-beatly work and experimentation he did with his music during the beatles years and then in his solo work, too. i've so far read just a bit of it and it's not very good, though there are some interesting moments that aren't talked about in other books.
among other things that i haven't checked out yet is really all the other barry miles's books, like In The Sixites and The Zapple Diaries. anyway, there are probably many other books that i still don't know about... so, there will be a NEW book about paul and the swinging sixites that is called
5. McCartney in London by Ann Powers
this is what the ann said about her upcoming book in her instagram post: "Saw Sir Paul twice this year and wrote a long academic essay on the Beatles and that immersion got me thinking about how fun it would be to paint a portrait of the artist as a young man. I'm excited to continue my exploration of how biography, criticism and lyric essay writing can meld in telling essential music stories." and this is really all that is known so far, i think...
now MOVIES!!!
1. Going Underground: Paul McCartney, the Beatles and the UK Counterculture (2013)
this is a documentary featuring barry miles and others, focusing not only on paul but on many other things and people from then... it's really an essential watch, and you can watch it on youtube for free since it was leaked on there by someone not so long ago. THE LINK
2. It's So Far Out, It's Straight Down (1967)
it's an episode granada television news/documentary series from where that one interview with scene special comes from. there's also interview with barry miles and footage of pink floyd at the ufo club. and someone also uploaded it on youtube in high quality recently! THE LINK so... really this is all. Bye also check out my #edits
