I remember when I first discovered the Beatles in college. Somehow I had missed them completely prior to that and I spent much of my freshman year listening to their cassettes over and over. I had never heard anything like it.
In a similar fashion I inhaled the biography. We're all familiar with the story, but the details make up for a fascinating read.
I learned that John was basically an ass from beginning to end. He was an angry drunk, getting into frequent fights and inciting violence and outbursts with fans from the very start, long before Beatlemania. When performing in Germany he would taunt the audience, reminding them "who won the war" on multiple occasions. At Paul's 21st birthday celebration he beat up a friend so bad, including pummeling him with a shovel, that the friend spent quite a while in the hospital. It's tough to reconcile the reality of John with his Yoko bed-ins and his call to "give peace a chance".
Paul was the happy leading man, but the book tells of his controlling nature which increased with every album. Long before the end of the Beatles his band mates grew resentful of his domination and micro management in the studio, telling George how to play guitar and John how to sing. I think he grew out of it in the post-Beatles era, but Paul was a challenge during the band's heyday.
George was the introvert who sought inner peace through transcendental meditation, bringing the band along on his journey to India. He loved to write and record, but was the first to grow weary of performing live.
Ringo was happy to be along for the ride, the happiest in his own shoes, probably the Beatle I could most relate to, minus the flamboyance and love of flashy clothes.
The Beatles were (Paul and Ringo still are) incredibly human. Who knows how any of us would handle their meteoric success.
Glad to have read the book and enjoyed this stroll through recent pop-culture.
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