And in the End: The Last Days of The Beatles

by Ken McNab

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

It's hard to imagine at any point the greatest rock band in the world was spiraling downward - with Paul's grievances with John, John's drug use, George and Ringo cast aside and with Apple Records in dire financial straits. In what would be their last year, the "Fab Four" recorded Abbey Road and the rest is history.

Ken McNab's in-depth look at The Beatles' acrimonious final year is a detailed account of the breakup featuring the perspectives of all four band members and their roles. A must to add to the collection of Beatles fans, And In the End is full of fascinating information available for the first time.

McNab reconstructs for the first time the seismic events of 1969, when The Beatles reached new highs of creativity and new lows of the internal strife that would destroy them. Between the pressure of being filmed during rehearsals and writing sessions for the documentary Get Back, their company Apple Corps facing bankruptcy, Lennon's heroin use, and musical disagreements, the group was arguing more than ever before and their formerly close friendship began to disintegrate.

In the midst of this rancour, however, emerged the disharmony of Let It Be and the ragged genius of Abbey Road, their incredible farewell love letter to the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250758750
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/18/2020
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	526,577
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

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.

Editorial Reviews

06/08/2020

Scottish journalist McNab trudges month-by-month through the discordant days of 1969, the year the Beatles imploded, in this informative though uneven history. In a tedious narrative—jumping from one minute detail to another (“the only major hitch was the late arrival by train from Birmingham of Paul’s best man, his brother Michael”)—McNab reveals the creative miasma and artistic stasis that had engulfed the band in its last days. He covers the antagonism toward Yoko Ono and John Lennon flowing under the faltering relationships, often resulting in intense bickering between band members. By the end of February, George Harrison, hurt and angry that neither Paul nor John wanted to include many of his songs on albums (he had considered giving “Something” to Joe Cocker), was ready to leave the band. The dissolution of the Beatles also grew out of each musician’s chasing after solo recording contracts and gigs. In spite of the acrimony and ego, the four lads agreed, by the end of June 1969, to do one more for the road, Abbey Road; on April 10, 1970, Paul McCartney “officially announced to the world that the Beatles had split.” McNab’s straightforward detailing of the demise of the Beatles will appeal to die-hard Beatles’ fans who thrive on the nitty-gritty. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"McNab’s straightforward detailing of the demise of the Beatles will appeal to die-hard Beatles’ fans who thrive on the nitty-gritty." —Publishers Weekly

"A great, wildly engrossing read." —Forbes

"McNab focuses engagingly, and insightfully, on the band’s final year . . . and neatly conveys the hazards of fame and the enduring value of youth, talent and a touch of madness." —Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

2020-07-07
A look at the downfall of the Beatles.

In this dutiful but not particularly revealing biography of the band’s final year, Scottish journalist McNab delivers some entertaining stories but fails to bring much new to the discussion. Although he wisely chooses to focus on a single year—1969, the Beatles’ last as a cohesive unit—his book operates too much in the shadow of Peter Doggett’s You Never Give Me Your Money (2010), a history of the band’s finances. Doggett sees 1969 as important for a host of reasons, not least as a precursor for what one might call the Beatles’ afterlife, which continued for decades in the form of the business the four members shared. McNab is far less wide-ranging in his analysis, and the division of the text into 12 chapters, one for each month, constrains the narrative chronologically. Certainly, there’s logic in the decision: 1969 was a key year for the Beatles, not just because it marked their dissolution, but also because they continued to make superior music, culminating with Abbey Road. Throughout, the author tracks events that have been recorded elsewhere. To be fair, this is not without its charms; no matter how many times we have heard these stories, it’s always fun to read about, say, how the rooftop concert at the Beatles’ offices took shape. “Researching a subject like The Beatles requires you to combine the dexterity of a rock ’n’ roll detective with the patience of a jigsaw compiler,” writes the author. “It is a layer cake of intrigue, complexities and contradictions—one where stories have become myths, and myths have become legend. And quite frankly, it’s a massive undertaking to piece together the overall picture, even for a fan like myself.” The author’s patience is clear, but the final product is a middling contribution to Beatles scholarship.

A book that feels warmed over, dependent on material that any serious fan will already know.

Kirkus Reviews