Shake It Up, Baby!: The Rise of Beatlemania and the Mayhem of 1963

by Ken McNab

A vivid, captivating account of the Beatles’s musical transformation throughout the pivotal year of 1963, as the world became caught up in the maelstrom of Beatlemania and its far-reaching cultural impact.

The Beatles broke up more than half a century ago, yet millions around the globe are still drawn to the legacy of four lads from Liverpool. From the carefree innocence of "A Hard Day's Night" to the experimental psychedelia of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” their message of love, peace, and hope still resonates.

In Shake It Up, Baby! we go back to the start—to 1963, when they went from playing in small clubs in the remote Scottish Highlands to four number one singles, two number one albums, three national tours, and being besieged by thousands of fans at gigs all over Britain.

Ken McNab tells the story through gripping, exclusive eye-witness accounts from those who were the Beatlemaniacs, the journalists, broadcasters, and television producers who were scrambling to make sense of it all—and the other bands who could only watch in awe as the Beatles went from bottom of the bill to headline act to the biggest band on the planet, forever transforming musical history.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Audiobook

416 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2024

About the author

Ken McNab is a lifelong Beatles fan and well-respected journalist with Scotland's Evening Times. He lives in Glasgow with his wife and children.

Reviews

[Alex Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a bit of a paradox when reading accounts of the Beatles breaking out in 1963. Despite all of the rising excitement and seminal moments there is a certain tedium and distancing effect from reading about them endlessly crisscrossing the UK playing mostly interchangeable theater gigs. Perhaps it’s appropriate since that boredom echoes the conflicted feelings of the Beatles themselves. Similarly, while the Fab Four obviously feature prominently they have little agency and seem like minor characters in a story driven by Epstein, Martin etc (which also was probably how the Beatles experienced it).

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable Beatles book. The author clearly put a ton of time into tracking down and interviewing people who encountered them on their rise to fame, and the result is sort of a “Beatles through the eyes of ordinary people,” which is more fascinating than it sounds. Especially when there have been so many accounts of the increasingly glitzy and surreal experience of the Beatles themselves.

I guess I'm a moderate Beatle freak, I've read maybe 30 or 40 books about them over the years. (Only for the Beatles can you have read that much and still not count as fully obsessed, lol.) This one wasn't the most memorable of all, but it was really fun, and I like the framing of describing this single year month by month.

I learned a few new things (or I once knew them and forgot, but same diff). The writing itself is sharp and funny, and I learned a bunch of new terms like “outwith”.

A few times while reading I had a vivid mental picture of what a moment was like, and the futile desire to know what it was really like to the last detail. At this point even Paul McCartney himself can't possibly remember all that well the first time he walked Jane Asher home 62 (!) years ago- from what she was wearing or what was said at the doorway that evening (or the morning after, I guess) as he departed. But man, I would kill to know! And I think this book evoking that desire means it was pretty good.

My only big critique is, the author gets way too rhapsodic and misty eyed when he alludes to events past 1963. “No one could possibly have forecast that with one spin of this seven-inch piece of vinyl, worlds – universes, even – would collide.” - dude, that's too much even for the biggest band of all time.

This was a good read. 4 / 5 stars.

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was 7 in 1964 when I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, so as for most Americans, Beatlemania started for me in 1964. When I first saw this title, I thought it was a misprint. Surely the author meant 1964! But of course, this book is about the very first cases of Beatlemania, in England in 1963. I enjoyed reading about the band's rise solely through the lens of 1963 (the author does occasionally look back and ahead, but not too often, which I think is all to the good). The book goes chronologically, month by month, and the author has certainly done a good job of collecting information, some of which even an old fan like me didn't know; for example, the full story of how Capitol Records in the US ignored the band and how they were finally made to see the light by British EMI and Brian Epstein.

A couple of complaints which stop me from giving this five stars. McNab seems to have included every single bit of info and testimony he ran across, and by the halfway point, there is a lot of repetition of detail, especially from casual fans. I found myself skimming paragraphs that basically repeated info from paragraphs a few pages before. Also, his back-of-the-book note on sources is pathetically skimpy. This book needs a full bibliography, especially as he seems to have done little to no primary source research himself. Still, this is mostly a fun and informative read. "She Loves You" and "From Me to You" have been stuck in my head for days.

[Bruce Raterink · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a American teenager in 1964, for me The Beatles story began with their historic Ed Sullivan show in February, 1964. Their meteoric rise in Britain during 1963 was completely unknown to us at the time. Back then, we didn't even know the American albums were completely different from their British counterparts. I've read numerous group and individual Beatles biographies, but this month by month documentary of 1963 was not only instructive, it was fun to read. I found myself listening to a playlist of The Beatles live on the BBC and searching YouTube for concert and TV footage mentioned in the book. Overall an very enjoyable nostalgic read. Highly recommended.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An honest rating of this book would be 3 1/2 to 4 stars.

As the ultimate fan of the Beatles, one who is old enough to remember Beatlemania and is still here to talk about it, I feel qualified to say that this book does not meet expectations.

A number of key facts are simply incorrect.

This is not the first book I’ve read with incorrect information about the Beatles. It is mind boggling that, sixty years after the hysteria began, authors are still getting things wrong. Either they are sensationalizing, or simply haven’t done their research.

Most of this book would be very interesting to the casual reader, but Beatles fans have the bar set quite high.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a portrait of the Beatles and of the United Kingdom on the verge of Beatlemania. As 1963 began, few people in Britain, let alone the rest of the world, knew of the Beatles. By the end of the year, they were about the change the world. McNab takes us month-by-month through that pivotal year, starting with the out-of-the-way gigs that made up the band's itinerary in dreadful winter weather. It's a perceptive, well-researched, and highly readable account, and I found it difficult to put down.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great look at the year in which it all changed. On New Year's Day they were flying home from Hamburg and getting ready to play in every tiny dance hall across the north of England and into Scotland. By December they were getting ready to play Ed Sullivan and their manager signed a merchandising agreement that probably cost the band $100M in revenue. So yeah, a big year.

The book is just right in length--substantial chapter on each month, but never tedious, monotonous, boring, etc. I am hoping to read about 1964 next!

[Jojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I did learn some new things from this (such as the fact that apparently the story of Ed Sullivan seeing the mayhem of the Beatles at a London airport before booking him is a lie...and that Anna Wintour had a hand in Maureen Cleave heading to Liverpool to cover them), this wasn't written in the most compelling manner. It could feel like a bit of a slog which is never something you want and certainly not something I ever want with a subject I love! Overall, it was enjoyable enough if not a little academic? (Not really the right word but whatever)
Grade: B-

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I've rounded it up because it's really well researched and seems to evoke what 1963 was like really well. But the speculation about John Lennon's sexuality seems dated and jarring, and the constant long-winded references to the Beatles as 'John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr' are a waste of paper!

[Allan Heron · Rating 4 out of 5]

From obscurity to omnipresence in the space of a year.

Quite the tale, and it's good to help you untangle the intention from the almost random events that together combined to create the phenomenon of The Beatles.

[Mickey McIntosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

1963 was the breakthrough year for the Beatles. Starting off as an up and coming band, and ending the year as the biggest music phenomenon in British history, and conquering Europe. The year ends with their eyes on the big prize: America
It's all here

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. The book chapters each represented a month in 1963. McNab ties in the cultural and political events. Strong emphasis on Epstein during that year.

[Michael Searle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading slump began and finished with this one. Happy to be out of it, 2025 is hopefully brighter.

[Ralphz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An epochal year for an epochal group, this is 1963 from the point of view of the Beatles.

It starts at Jan. 1 as the group is a bunch of nobodies from the north, where nothing good ever comes from. During the year, neatly wrapped up month by month, chapter by chapter, we see the development of the group, their first hits, their first TV appearances, and their first albums.

It's a fascinating account that includes the struggles to get their songs released in America, John Lennon's mysterious vacation in Spain with manager Brian Epstein, and the growth of Beatlemania.

By Dec. 31, they have conquered England, are getting ready to make a film, and are about to change American TV and music history.

A few typos and incorrect information here and there keep it from being a 5.