MAGICAL
MYSTERY TOURS
My Life With The Beatles
By Tony Bramwell with Rosemary Kingsland
Published by Thomas Dunne Books
Review by Ritchie Champagne
My Life With The Beatles
By Tony Bramwell with Rosemary Kingsland
Published by Thomas Dunne Books
Review by Ritchie Champagne
“Tony
– he’s my second pair of hands.” – Brian
Epstein
Bramwell
pulls few punches. He does not shy away from the unpleasant details that
many insiders would gloss over. He tells of Ringo Starr deciding
he doesn’t want to be married anymore and leaving home to become
a party animal. He tells of visiting Paul McCartney’s
home, only to find a number of half naked fans/groupies having the run
of the house. He tells of George Harrison’s growing
resentment of his status in the band and his raging jealousy over his
first wife, Patti. He tells of John Lennon’s
growing instability and obsession/addiction with Yoko Ono.
Yet he does not attempt to downplay the sexual escapades that he and the
band got up to during the birth and adolescence of the sexual revolution
that they inadvertently helped to shepherd. Nor does he candy coat the
drug use of the band and their manager, Brian Epstein
or attempt to excuse the ignorant business decisions the band made following
Epstein’s death in 1967.
Bramwell
lived the life of a rock star, minus the performance aspect. A big part
of his job working under Epstein was to socialize. He
covers more than the Beatle parts of his life, including
stories of his love life and of working with other musicians, such as
Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Ferry, and
The Who. He tells of losing all of his money three times
in his life, bottoming out financially and working his way back out of
the pit.
right: the author circa 1965
right: the author circa 1965
