My guest today is the writer, broadcaster and journalist, Samira Ahmed, who joins me to discuss her BFI Film Classics book on The Beatles first film, 'A Hard Day's Night'.

Drawing on her own experience of first discovering the film as a child and going on to work in the television industry, Samira shines a spotlight on the craft behind the film's enduring appeal. What makes this film still so thrilling and vital? What made it stand out from most of the pop films that had been made previously?

My guest today is Gary Astridge, who has co written 'Beats and Threads' with a certain Ringo Starr.

Gary's book collects beautiful pictures and stories of some of Ringo's legendary outfits from his Beatle years and also delves into the history and significance of each of Ringo's iconic drum kits.

Gary's book can be found here - https://store.juliensauctions.com/ShopCatalog?id=219

My guest today is Dan Absher, who joins me to discuss his book 'The Fab Four Pillars of Impact'.

Dan's book looks at The Beatles as the ultimate case study for building exceptional teams and examines how each Beatle and the people around fulfilled a role in the organisation, why this was successful and why ultimately, they failed.  

To celebrate reaching 100 episodes of the Beatles Books Podcast, I've collated together excerpts from some of my favourite conversations over the last 5 years.

Thank you to every single author that came on to talk to me, and of course to every single listener! I'm looking forward to the next 100...

My guest today is David Guerrero who is here to discuss his book 'You Won't See Me - How The Beatles Ghosted Imelda'.

The story of The Beatles misadventures in The Philippines is well known, but what was the background? Who was to blame for what went wrong? How much danger were The Beatles realistically in? David's thrilling book answers all of these questions and many more and paints a vivid picture of a dramatic few days in The Beatles career.

I'm welcoming Allan Kozinn back to the pod today, this time to look back on his amazing career and his journey to the remarkable McCartney Legacy books he's co writing with Adrian Sinclair.

Allan worked as a culture reporter and music critic for the New York Times for 37 years, between 1977 and 2014, and during that time became the papers unofficial Beatles correspondent. He tells us about his his encounters with Paul and Ringo, his experience in the Dakota with Yoko and how his long career was building toward the amazing McCartney Legacy books.

My returning guest for this episode is Tom Doyle who brings his mosaic biography of Ringo Starr. 

Tom's book covers all of Ringo's remarkable life from his impoverished childhood to the dizzying heights of Beatlemania, from his alcohol hazed 80's to the sober elder statesman of rock, it's all here in Tom's brilliant book. 

I'm joined for this episode by Andrew Cook to discuss his book 'Capitol Gains'.

Andrew's book tells the story of The Beatles up and down relationship with their American record label and looks at the way they managed The Beatles catalogue through the 1960's - not always to the satisfaction of the band themselves.

I'm joined by Peter Doggett for this special episode as we look back over his entire career.

Peter began writing for Record Collector magazine in 1980 and was also engaged in work for Beatles Monthly, meaning he was soon in the sphere of many Beatle adjacent people. By the late 1990's he had become a renowned author and his books 'The Art and Music of John Lennon' and 'You Never Give Me Your Money' are two of the finest ever written on The Beatles.

I'm welcoming Richard Mills back to the pod today, this time to talk about his book 'The Beatles ad Black Music'.

Beginning with the grand narrative of British colonial history pre-Beatles, Richard's book covers the influence of Black music and culture on the Beatles' teenage years in the 1950s, their association with Lord Woodbine, their love of American Rhythm and Blues in the mid-1960s, and extends to a discussion of post-colonial British identity and the lasting effect Black music has had on the Beatles' legacy and continues to have on the solo careers of Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.