Product Description

Yesterday: The Beatles Once Upon A Time documents the Beatles and the city of their birth during the making of their first film, A Hard Day’s Night, in 1964. It captures the rhythm and texture of the tough English port city where the smell of cigarettes and seawater mingled and the strains of pop music were transformed by an early 1960s music scene that gave birth to the Mersey Beat and the greatest band of all time.

Before they achieved world fame, the Beatles perfected their craft in another port of call, the northern German city of Hamburg. There they met Astrid Kirchherr, a budding photographer who became close friends with the band and later was engaged to the Beatles’ original bass player, Stuart Sutcliffe. Some four years later—by which time the Beatles had conquered the world—Kirchherr with Max Scheler visited the band and took the photographs that appear in this book. Kirchherr and Scheler focused on the Beatles in private and public moments, during the filming, and also on the city itself, on the streets, the music scene, the people, evoking for us today the gritty humor and passion of 1960s Liverpudlians.

This book offers a moving testament to the inspirational effect of the Beatles’ success on their hometown as well as an important chapter of the Beatles’ almost- mythic story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #250937 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

Review
"...A rare, intimate view of the group as they moved toward superstardom...capturing the spirit of that particular yesterday." -- Copley News Service, November 15, 2007

"...Offers a rare glimpse of The Beatles, as seen through an insider's eyes." -- What Goes On Beatles Website, November 19, 2007

"A wonderful idea for a holiday gift for your favorite Beatles' fan." -- What Goes On Beatles Website, November 19, 2007

From the Author
From NPR's January 15 interview with Astrid Kirchherr

"The first time I met the Beatles was through my former boyfriend... who saw them one night when he was wandering around Hamburg, and then he heard this beautiful sound of rock and roll music and he went down into a quite dark, filthy cellar where these boys were standing on a very, very tiny stage and [performing] in such a way that he was absolutely--let's call it knocked out--by their music, and by their looks, and everything around it. So he told me about it.... I just said, alright, I'll come with you. So we went there, and when I went down the stairs and looked at the stage, I was just amazed at how beautiful these boys looked. It was a photographer's dream.... Then, when I heard the music, it was even more fantastic for me.... After that first night, I went nearly every night to see them and that's how it started.... I asked them if they were willing that I take their pictures, and they [jumped] up and down with joy."

About the Author
Astrid Kirchherr is a German photographer and artist. She has exhibited her work in Hamburg, London, New York, Tokyo, and at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. She was a close friend of the Beatles in the years preceding their international fame.

Max Scheler was a photojournalist for Stern magazine in Hamburg and an associate of the photographer Herbert List.

Customer Reviews

NOSTALGIA AT ITS BEST
If you are a Beatles keenie and would enjoy seeing previously unpublished photos of the boys, this book is for you. It's a unique, bittersweet collection showing the joy and innocence which characterized the group's very early days together. A wonderful bonus is Astrid's introduction which provides information about these early days that was news even to this life-long Beatles fanatic!

Yesterday: The Beatles Once Upon a Time
My wife loved it and it made an a great addition to her Beatles collection.

Lots of photos of the author
I like this book but it has as many photos of Astrid as it does her subjects (I am exaggerating). Her preference for George is well known so there are many wonderful photos of him, just in case you are looking for a book with great George photos. Anyway, I am cynical I know but it seemed to me that Astrid really wanted to ride on the Beatles bandwagon. I would not have expected that being around the others, knowing that her love Stu was gone, would have pleased her so much. I noticed also that she abandoned the Beatles haircut and was vitually indistinguishable from Pattie and Cynthia. She looked good. All in all a nice photo essay of the early Beatles.