Gassing for the Beatles, bit expensive !

Danny1969

I'm just reading Mark Lewisohn's excellent book "All these years, Tune into the Beatles" 

McCartney has just brought his first bass as he's been lumbered playing it. It's not exactly great but it cost him £34 when the whole band earns about £12 a gig and a weeks wages is £10. These days you can pick up a perfectly good instrument for half a weeks wages, we really got it good in comparison.  

boogieman

Somewhere I've got a Rose Morris catalogue from the early 70s. A Les Paul is priced at well over £300. My first proper job paid £18 a week before deductions at the time. Gear has definitely got a whole lot cheaper.

You youngsters, you never had it so good. In my day, blah, blah, blah....

*Goes off to buy corn plasters, a nice comfy pair of slippers and a tin of Horlicks *

Jalapeno

Is it pension day down the Post Office then ?

Clarky

in 1980 I bought my Strat new [a 1978.. so it'd been sitting around a while.. lol] for £480..

took me just over a year to save up for [weekend job washing cars at a used car dealers]..

Danny1969

I can remember buying a used Hi Watt Custom 100 for £100 in 87 which was 2 weeks wages at the time and an Ibanez Roadstar II for £200 which was a months money

duotone

Really fancy that book, from memory the standard book is 800pages and the special edition that goes into more depth is 1200pages. Is there much about the beatles when they were in Hamburg?

Danny1969

duotone said:

Really fancy that book, from memory the standard book is 800pages and the special edition that goes into more depth is 1200pages. Is there much about the beatles when they were in Hamburg?

Yeah chapters and chapters of them in Hamburg, the full story of why they were there, the money they were on, where they slept, the brutal hours they worked. Rare photo's, the models of guitar and amps they had. It's very, very well researched and a real eye opener for people like me who think playing 3 x 45 at a club is hard work 

duotone

Cheers for the info. having a look around there is now a downloadable audio version available http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beatles-These-Years-Beginning-Unabridged/dp/B00FLKR2FU/ref=tmm_aud_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

suspiciousminds

Just spent a couple of days at liverpool and the cavern for beatlesweek.
Seriously gassing for beatles guitars at the mo.

duotone

Always fancied an Epiphone Casino myself, have never played one tho.

Hootsmon

I have just ordered the book...thanks for heads up

xSkarloey

duotone said:

Always fancied an Epiphone Casino myself, have never played one tho.

Pop into a guitar shop and have a go. They're completely hollow, which is interesting in itself if like me all you're used to really in electric guitars is Strats, Teles and SG's.   

The one I tried wasn't bad at all, but not quite good enough to make me want to splash the current new RRP of £479. £379 maybe but not the extra 100. 

duotone

Downloaded the first part of the audio book a week ago on Amazon for £14.87. Almost half way through the 21 hours. Thoroughly enjoying it, very detailed and expertly put together, well worth the cash. Cheers for recommending it Danny1969!

Skipped

I am just reading the Tony Bramwell book and I am a bit puzzled.
They are smoking pot all over London which is strange because they haven't met Bob Dylan yet.
They haven't met Bob Dylan because they have not been to the USA yet.

lustycourtier

boogieman said:

Somewhere I've got a Rose Morris catalogue from the early 70s. A Les Paul is priced at well over £300. My first proper job paid £18 a week before deductions at the time. Gear has definitely got a whole lot cheaper.

You youngsters, you never had it so good. In my day, blah, blah, blah....

*Goes off to buy corn plasters, a nice comfy pair of slippers and a tin of Horlicks *

Historic RI Gibsons are cheaper now than the originals were in 50s. Thats why I aways chuckle when folks moan about todays prices. 

duotone

Finished Part 2 of the audio book a couple days ago. It was superb.

Did you see that Cynthia Lennon passed away last week?

suspiciousminds

Yep, 75.

DJW

lustycourtier said:

boogieman said:

Somewhere I've got a Rose Morris catalogue from the early 70s. A Les Paul is priced at well over £300. My first proper job paid £18 a week before deductions at the time. Gear has definitely got a whole lot cheaper.

You youngsters, you never had it so good. In my day, blah, blah, blah....

*Goes off to buy corn plasters, a nice comfy pair of slippers and a tin of Horlicks *

Historic RI Gibsons are cheaper now than the originals were in 50s. Thats why I aways chuckle when folks moan about todays prices. 

Too right. My Dad lent me the money for my first 'proper' electric, a '59 Tele that I bought in 1971 for £150. It took me four years to pay him the money back, I was earning £11 a week at the time.

duotone

@Danny1969 ;

Found this today, a podcast/interview with Mark Lewisohn 

http://www.travelsinmusic.com/episode-01-mark-lewisohn/

Danny1969

duotone said:

@Danny1969 ;

Found this today, a podcast/interview with Mark Lewisohn 

http://www.travelsinmusic.com/episode-01-mark-lewisohn/

Thanks man

Good podcast, still 2020 for the next book, gonna be a long wait. I will probably read the first one again in the meantime 

duotone

Hav re-downloaded the audio books from Audible to my mobile, so will probably run through it again, all 44 hours of it.

Out of interest is there pictures/photographs in the book?