To see how the other half lived! - Ex-Macca Rep to write The Beatles Fanathology

I urge you all to support Geoff Baker in this project. Geoff did good work for Paul and Linda professionally and personally and has acted with dignity since they parted their ways. 

This looks like a Beatles project which is slightly different for once. It can cover the period from the day John met Paul right up until today. 


Therefore, all ages and many sorts of different people can contribute, regardless if you were there the first time or are just a new fan.

So, get you thinking caps on 'Macca people' and help Geoff have a best seller on his hands. Remember, this is not just Geoff's book - it is your book too, and you could be part of a best seller!

We know enough from the eye of the hurricane and we will now be able 'to see how the other half lived' from the perspective of the millions of lovers in the greatest romance of the 20th century.


PSM

Geoff Baker, former PR to Linda and Paul McCartney and The Beatles, is to write a history of Beatles fans - using the fans' own words and calling it The Beatles Fanthology.

Baker, who worked at Apple Corps as press assistant under Derek Taylor on the actual Beatles Anthology projects, is asking Beatles fans around the globe to send him their stories, memories and moments about their love for the world's most-enduring rock band.

Baker will edit anecdotes and observations from the fans into the first full and illustrated biography of The Beatles fan phenomenon.

'I have a lot of respect for them, there is absolutely nothing like a Beatles fan and I love 'em,' said Baker, who worked for 15 years as Paul McCartney's publicity chief.

'The fans made the band and they have continued to make the band through five decades - but I feel their crucial side of the story that Derek called 'the 20th century's greatest romance' has never been told properly before. I'm reasonably qualified to write this book and it is the only Beatles book that I shall ever write.'

Baker said he was spurred to do the book after a Beatles fan wrote to him and suggested that he did it.

'I've always been fascinated by the fans. I did three world tours with Paul McCartney and on each one it was the dancing fans with their cheeky banners, friendly faces and expert knowledge who made each show a smash. I have no interest in the posh people who buy the expensive seats and then just sit in them throughout the gig. (edit: good line)

'The kind of things I'm interested in are what was it like for a Beatles fan in the Sixties, what was it like seeing them in Liverpool, what's it like being a Beatles fan now, what's it like having a son as a Beatles fan, or a grand-daughter, what's special about them above every other band, how did they affect your life - I want to know what the fans think about The Beatles, not the biographers' opinion or the critics', the fans. Other than forever admiring their screaming, we've not paid enough attention to their voice.'

Baker is asking fans who want to put their voice in the book to tell him their stories - by email to geoffbaker@beatlesfanthology.com

'I want to cover the whole Beatles period, from the beginning of the birth of the band in 1957 up to the current day. The fans can send me as much or as little as they like. Email me pix or anything they want, but don't send me originals because everybody knows I'll lose them,' said Baker. 'I'm looking for those little moments that may be personal to one but will be understood by us all. I want to get in as many voices as possible from as many places as possible.'

Although Baker has been kicking fan-related book ideas around in himself for years, it was his business partner Jill Newton who came up with the name The Beatles Fanthology after the fan's prompt. The pair, both former journalists, recently formed a books-writing partnership, Newton & Baker Books. The Fanthology will be their fourth book currently in production.