DCMerryweather

I write and things.

My Stuart Sutcliffe/Beatles-related book, Some Other Guy, out now.

Fear and loathing in general.

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

Has any band had a more compelling pre-history than The Beatles?

From the chaotic flux of being just another bunch of teenage boys with guitars to the slow, gradual coalescing into a formidable unit, the band’s beginning is a fascinating story in itself.

And, on the fringes of it, is the enigmatic figure of #StuartSutcliffe. Although there are no recordings, audio, or visual evidence of him, he manages to cast a significant shadow due to his closeness to #JohnLennon, his accomplished student paintings, and, of course, the artfully moody and stylish photographs by his modish German girlfriend, #AstridKirchherr. Her photographs of the Beatles members, bequiffed in leathers, help make that early history so captivating – even established bands rarely have such striking images and lore.
But the eye is always drawn towards Stuart. An ethereal presence. Despite his early death, which occurred before The Beatles became a household name, he remains alive through photographs, testimonies, and memories, and he is woven into the very fabric of Beatles history. He appears like a spectre on the cover of Lennon’s 1975 album ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll' and is present amidst the vivid colours of the Sgt Pepper artwork, lurking at the edge, on the far left of the band of lonely hearts, frowning and gazing out from their black-and-white past — a reminder, a memory, an ever-lingering presence. He is also there in the famed mop-top haircut, arguably the first in the group to sport the trendy French fringe, and he is there in the very name ‘The Beatles', a name he and art college pal John invented, drawing inspiration from both the beatnik Beats and Buddy Holly’s backing band, The Crickets.
I was inspired to write something from his viewpoint for once. There is a tiny blank spot in the frequently recounted tale of The Beatles, and it’s kind of a significant one, metaphorically speaking. The voyage from Liverpool to Hamburg, including the overnight passage across the North Sea, was the time when they were suspended between being schoolboy amateurs and working towards becoming legends. The moment between stages of their metamorphosis, between chrysalis and butterfly.

And for Stuart, it is even more intriguing. He abandoned his studies at the Liverpool College of Art, where he was a prize-winning student, to perform in late-night clubs in Northern Germany as a novice bassist. Reflecting and pondering this unusual choice, grappling with self-doubt and standing at a crossroads in his young life, wondering what the future on that distant shore had in store for him as the ferry pushes through the night out at sea. This is where my book, Some Other Guy, finds him.

Neither a hagiography nor a hit piece for him or his travel companions, John, Paul, George, and Pete, along with the extended entourage, Some Other Guy is a roman à clef, a fictionalised account of a turbulent night, and it was a daunting task putting the words into another man’s mouth and thoughts in his head. I hope I have honoured his memory appropriately.

Dead at 21. His name liveth forevermore.

Link to the book in the comments->

#Beatles #BookTwitter #BookRecommendation #BookLover #writerscommunity #indieauthour #TheBeatles #BeatlesinHamburg #BeatleBooks
#publicationday #bookpublsihed #Paperbacks #writing #writers #PaulMcCartney #GeorgeHarrison #PeteBest #StuSutcliffe #FabFour #NowReading #beatlesbiopics #historicalfiction

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

With #DoctorWho up for tender, what are the odds of it being picked up by Tony Baddingham's Corinium Television?
#Rivals #DavidTennant

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

Just wanna know what the Duffer Bros and Vince Gilligan felt when they found out their respective new alien-invasion series were both, to all intents and purposes, set in the same Albuquerque cul-de-sac, with the central characters living in the same house?

Anyway, enjoying The Boroughs so far. Just not as much as I did Pluribus.

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

@bbcdoctorwho Time for a re-release...

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

Only a little surprised by the hype around this Body Snatchers-style SF about memory-eating entities. Very Steven Moffat-era Dr Who (similar idea to his baddies, The Silence).
It takes its pulpy, enjoyable concept very seriously, which is fair, tho I'm no fan of the quasi-scientific tone
#nowreading #books

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

If this is supposed to be #ScoobyDoo, then we may as well have Jeremy Corbyn play Shaggy...

[DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm]

First look at Scooby Doo in the live-action ‘SCOOBY DOO’ series.

Coming soon to Netflix.

[Londonist @Londonist]

In honour of the Bayeux Tapestry coming to London later this year, Greggs has commissioned an eight-metre-long 'Ta-Pastry'.

You can see it in the Design Museum for free - but only this Friday and Saturday (5 and 6 June).

[James B @piercepenniless]

It is stupid, cowardly and illiberal for the Home Secretary to deny Hasan Piker a visa. Absolutely risible move, if unsurprising.

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

Word on the street is right, the new Boards of Canada is gorgeous.
But I'm split between thinking the album is overlong and wanting some of the tracks to go on forever.
#NowPlaying

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

On one hand, the current #heatwave is getting close to being uncomfortable.

In the other hand, I have a 99 Flake. Sooo...

Respect to the man in the ice cream van.

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

What a scorcher. Luckily I was up at 6am to get the dog run, hedge trimmed and other garden stuff done before the sun's hammer came down hardest. Now sipping icy cider in the shade. Stay cool, even in summer's kitchen 😎 #bankholiday #heatwave
https://t.co/dAcTGULfJl

[MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch]

Here’s what Trump did today instead of attending his son’s wedding:

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

Dead at 79: Michael Keating, best known as Villa Restal in Blake's 7.

Pour one out for a real one.

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

1960 proved to be such a pivotal year for the fledgling Beatles. Little did they, or anyone else, know that a fascinating upheaval lay ahead.

The pre-history is my favourite Beatles period, and I wrote a book set in this era, following Stu Sutcliffe as he travels to Hamburg with the band. If you like, check it out:

https://t.co/q1s2rfx3SX

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

The Guardian's 100 best novels list.

The only thing you can do with lists is disagree with them. And, as I see that Shaun Hutson's Slugs has once again failed to make the grade, I'm going to have to call this list invalid.

Joking aside, I read Middlemarch and Mrs Dalloway for the first time in the past year and thought that they were both... very good. But wouldn't make my list.

If I were to compile my list of the 100 best novels, it would be hard not to fill it with books I read between the ages of 18 and 25, the ones that affected me more than little can now.

#books
https://t.co/W3LSRySzMJ

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

Lord Muck

#dogs

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

#NowPlaying
Faith No More - Angel Dust

Just the most consistently blistering rock album of the '90s. Sardonic and scornful. Doesn't give an inch.

"Relax. It's just a phrase..."

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

#NowListening
Music to write to: My Bloody Valentine, Loveless.

Bought from Magpie records in Worcester, November 1991, my copy is now a little scratchy. Which I like.

As for the music, call it skygazing.

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

David Foster Wallace's sister, in clickbait speak, 'breaks her silence'.

But no, this is a fascinating read. #books

https://t.co/3Iv6r9MBFK

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

Like you, I had completely forgotten that The Stone Roses released new material ten years ago.

As a reminder, "All For One" uses the riff from The Fall's "Squid Lord" and sounds reminiscent of a 1970s kids' TV show theme tune, such as Magpie.

Inessential, but I still kinda like it! #NowListening

https://t.co/WJP6zHjE0L

[DCMerryweather @DavidM2000AD]

@PaulHeatonSolo Top pop stars or total willy-noses?