Beatles versus Shakespeare on cultural reach

Mark argues the Beatles may have greater modern cultural penetration than Shakespeare.

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Episode notes

Mark Lewisohn began his Beatles’ trilogy in 2003, the first volume appearing ten years later. He’s hoping the second, Turn On, which covers 1963 to 1966 and every recording session, might be ready by 2031 and working “nine days a week to achieve it, assembling a framework and then sliding it together”. Further good news – his lecture about their life in 1962, Evolver62, is now available on film! “No matter how deep you dig, there’s gold there”. He talks to us here about …

… how you research such an infinite subject and know when to stop

… the one-in-a-million coincidence in the story of I Saw Her Standing There

… the attractive world of telegrams, postage and showbills from the days “when the Beatles were still like us”

... how AI has muddied the waters and misinformation (like “Woodbine’s Boys”) becomes established fact

… “people are reshaping the Beatles’ story as what they want to believe”

… those perilous moments when their career seemed in the balance

… the Beatles v Shakespeare and which has the greater agency

… the Lewisohn work schedule - “6am til bedtime, nine days a week”

… the “rank amateurs” Decca signed the year they turned down the Beatles

… James Brown’s invented spat with Beatles and the struggle to separate fact from fiction

… Paul’s private battle with Nik Cohn

… and the US merchandise disaster, “a book in itself”