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The Walrus Was Ringo: 101 Beatles Myths Debunked
"Fact is separated from fiction in this unique study of the Beatles, as myths are debunked and commonly held beliefs about the Fab Four are proven false. Popular convictions that John Lennon was a working-class hero, that Lennon and McCartney never recorded again after the Abbey Road sessions in 1970, and that Paul McCartney's original title for ôYesterdayö was ôScrambled Eggsö are proven to be rumors at best and lies at worst. Drawn from interviews with long-term associates of the band as well as other lines of investigation, this is a unique testimony to the way history gets rewritten, exaggerated, and warped."
- GenresMusic
300 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2003
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Alan Clayson
64 books10 followersAlan Clayson (Dover, England, 1951) is of a late 1970s vintage of composer-entertainers that also embraces the likes of Wreckless Eric, Tom Robinson, Elvis Costello and John Otway. While he is still making regular concert appearances, he has become better known as an author of around thirty books - mostly musical biography. These include the best-sellers "Backbeat" (subject of a major film), The Yardbirds and The Beatles book box.
He has written for journals as diverse as The Guardian, Record Collector, Ink, Mojo, Mediaeval World, Folk Roots, Guitar, Hello!, Drummer, The Times, The Independent, Ugly Things and, as a 'teenager, the notorious Schoolkids 0z. He has also been engaged to perform and lecture on both sides of the Atlantic - as well as broadcast on national TV and radio.
From 1975 to 1985, he led the legendary Clayson and the Argonauts - who reformed in 2005, ostensibly to launch Sunset On A Legend, a long-awaited double-CD retrospective - and was thrust to 'a premier position on rock's Lunatic Fringe' (Melody Maker).
As shown by the existence of a US fan club - dating from an 1992 soiree in Chicago - Alan Clayson's following grows still as well as demand for his talents as a record producer, and the number of versions of his compositions by such diverse acts as Dave Berry (in whose backing group, he played keyboards in the mid-1980s), New Age Outfit, Stairway - and Joy Tobing, winner of the Indonesian version of Pop Idol. He has worked too with The Portsmouth Sinfonia, Wreckless Eric, Twinkle, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things, Mark Astronaut and the late Screaming Lord Sutch among many others. While his stage act defies succinct description, he has been labelled a 'chansonnier' in recent years for performances and record releases that may stand collectively as Alan Clayson's artistic apotheosis were it not for a promise of surprises yet to come.
He has written for journals as diverse as The Guardian, Record Collector, Ink, Mojo, Mediaeval World, Folk Roots, Guitar, Hello!, Drummer, The Times, The Independent, Ugly Things and, as a 'teenager, the notorious Schoolkids 0z. He has also been engaged to perform and lecture on both sides of the Atlantic - as well as broadcast on national TV and radio.
From 1975 to 1985, he led the legendary Clayson and the Argonauts - who reformed in 2005, ostensibly to launch Sunset On A Legend, a long-awaited double-CD retrospective - and was thrust to 'a premier position on rock's Lunatic Fringe' (Melody Maker).
As shown by the existence of a US fan club - dating from an 1992 soiree in Chicago - Alan Clayson's following grows still as well as demand for his talents as a record producer, and the number of versions of his compositions by such diverse acts as Dave Berry (in whose backing group, he played keyboards in the mid-1980s), New Age Outfit, Stairway - and Joy Tobing, winner of the Indonesian version of Pop Idol. He has worked too with The Portsmouth Sinfonia, Wreckless Eric, Twinkle, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things, Mark Astronaut and the late Screaming Lord Sutch among many others. While his stage act defies succinct description, he has been labelled a 'chansonnier' in recent years for performances and record releases that may stand collectively as Alan Clayson's artistic apotheosis were it not for a promise of surprises yet to come.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 15, 2012
2005:
"Oooh, I had a lot to say about this one. Definitely like Pete Shotton. Anyone who would remain friends with John Lennon after having a washboard broken over his head in order to fire him from a band is a hero to me. Aaand the more I read about John Lennon, the less I like him. He was always my least favourite Beatle, though I respect his music (for the most part) and some aspects of his sense of humour. But altogether, I find him an arrogant, hypocritical, self-important ass, and the fact that it seems that not only is he respected and admired, but idolised irks me to no end.
Aaand the more I read, the more I like Ringo. He was my favourite Beatles first. (Then Paul was, then George, and now George and Ringo, with Paul a close thecond, and Lennon somewhere down there. Me? Fickle? Nah. Seriously, I love George.) I fell in love with Ringo's voice, I swear. It ALWAYS makes me smile, it's just so awesome. Paul's is fantastically versatile, but Ringo's is just so friendly; relaxed, easy-going, laid-back (you'd think I was abusing the thesaurus, but I actually have no idea where it is). And he is NOT a bad drummer (stupid...just because he doesn't show off...keeps a steady beat...I'd like to see YOU...*grumble*)
On a completely different note, it's very bad for me to read badly edited books like this one, because it gives me a huge feeling of superiority, which can't be good if I want to hate Lennon for the same thing.
In short, I love the Beatles. Moving on."
"Oooh, I had a lot to say about this one. Definitely like Pete Shotton. Anyone who would remain friends with John Lennon after having a washboard broken over his head in order to fire him from a band is a hero to me. Aaand the more I read about John Lennon, the less I like him. He was always my least favourite Beatle, though I respect his music (for the most part) and some aspects of his sense of humour. But altogether, I find him an arrogant, hypocritical, self-important ass, and the fact that it seems that not only is he respected and admired, but idolised irks me to no end.
Aaand the more I read, the more I like Ringo. He was my favourite Beatles first. (Then Paul was, then George, and now George and Ringo, with Paul a close thecond, and Lennon somewhere down there. Me? Fickle? Nah. Seriously, I love George.) I fell in love with Ringo's voice, I swear. It ALWAYS makes me smile, it's just so awesome. Paul's is fantastically versatile, but Ringo's is just so friendly; relaxed, easy-going, laid-back (you'd think I was abusing the thesaurus, but I actually have no idea where it is). And he is NOT a bad drummer (stupid...just because he doesn't show off...keeps a steady beat...I'd like to see YOU...*grumble*)
On a completely different note, it's very bad for me to read badly edited books like this one, because it gives me a huge feeling of superiority, which can't be good if I want to hate Lennon for the same thing.
In short, I love the Beatles. Moving on."
January 7, 2016
101 myths might be a bit too much, even for The Beatles, as the book felt repetitive, as it covered several events from various, overlapping angles over the book.
What started out as a fun read, became more and more annoying with (perhaps unintentional) digs at the group members. By the end, you just emerge from the book with the feeling that Lennon was a mean bastard, McCartney - a self-righteous egotist, Harrison was a cynic and a fool and ringo just a goofball.
What started out as a fun read, became more and more annoying with (perhaps unintentional) digs at the group members. By the end, you just emerge from the book with the feeling that Lennon was a mean bastard, McCartney - a self-righteous egotist, Harrison was a cynic and a fool and ringo just a goofball.
March 27, 2013
Clayson and Leigh should really have called this book "We Hate John Lennon" as they don't seem to have a good word to say about him and slag him off as much as possible (as well as quoting others slagging him off) - ok John wasn't perfect, and could be a jerk at times, but he had good qualities too. These guys might want to read a bit less Albert Goldman.
February 5, 2022
Decent book going through the most common myths in The Beatles, if you're a big fan of the Fabs, you'll know them all already but it's still alright. I don't know if it was the epub I got but there were a lot of wo rds th at were spl it in ha lf like this and that was quite irritating to read but it might just have been the formatting of the epub and not the actual print copy itself.
November 10, 2011
I enjoyed the book . Just a fun little way for a fan of the Fab Four to pass a little time...a veritable font of useless Beatle trivia here, LOL!
May 16, 2024
A must read for Beatles fans. Very interesting reading. Some facts were already known to me and others are new. The authors were very thorough in their research for this book and this is very well written.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2023
Not bad. Not great. Good for Beatle completionists.
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February 12, 2025Did anyone notice on the John's birth during an air raid section the authors didn't even check to see John's birthdate was wrong? He was born October 9, not October 6.
June 18, 2022
Started reading this book while riding my personal Beatlemania wave half a year or so ago.
Half a year later, I only barely finished it, and I don't feel as if I learned anything about the Beatles that stuck. I feel as if many of these 101 Myths were just chosen to pad out this arbitrary number.
That wouldn't be such a problem if the elaboration of each myth wasn't so poorly written. At times (read: during most of the book) I even had problems actually telling what the myth and what the true story was - so full of sometimes confusing or unnecessary details each section was. Collecting obscure information isn't enough to make a good read, apparently.
Basically, this book gave me the impression it was written for people who would already know everything it had to offer, i.e. people who already were Beatles fans when The Beatles were still around.
Trying to read it was almost like having a new hobby and going to a meeting at the local club to meet other fellow hobbyists but having all the oldtimers just ignore you instead of welcoming you because they were arguing about the exact same things they've been arguing for the last two decades over.
Half a year later, I only barely finished it, and I don't feel as if I learned anything about the Beatles that stuck. I feel as if many of these 101 Myths were just chosen to pad out this arbitrary number.
That wouldn't be such a problem if the elaboration of each myth wasn't so poorly written. At times (read: during most of the book) I even had problems actually telling what the myth and what the true story was - so full of sometimes confusing or unnecessary details each section was. Collecting obscure information isn't enough to make a good read, apparently.
Basically, this book gave me the impression it was written for people who would already know everything it had to offer, i.e. people who already were Beatles fans when The Beatles were still around.
Trying to read it was almost like having a new hobby and going to a meeting at the local club to meet other fellow hobbyists but having all the oldtimers just ignore you instead of welcoming you because they were arguing about the exact same things they've been arguing for the last two decades over.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews