Photo Credit: Laura Francavilla
After 50 years of believing that The Beatles final moments were filled with angst, animosity, and anger, director Peter Jackson will finally show the world what really went down during The Beatles famous Get Back sessions in January 1969.
On November 25, the first part of a three part documentary entitled The Beatles: Get Back will be released on Disney+ only one month after the Let it Be (Super Deluxe) album and the The Beatles: Get Back book were released. Get Back was released on October 12 and works hand-in-hand with the film, by including transcriptions of conversations that will be heard in the film, along with never before seen photographs taken by Ethan A. Russell and Linda McCartney. The Beatles: Get Back is also the first official book to be released by The Beatles since Anthology in 2000.
This new book gives readers a fresh insight into the Get Back sessions of January 1969. These recording sessions were in preparation for an anticipated concert on T.V., which would have been one of the few live performances given by the band since August 1966. The group agreed to be filmed and recorded by director Michael Lindsay-Hogg for the film and special, but in the end The Beatles performed on the roof of the Apple building in London, and a different film was released, called Let it Be.
Apple Corps and Callaway Arts and Entertainment produced the book. “The creativity and inspiration expressed in this landmark book and in Peter Jackson’s film are as important and relevant today as ever,” said founder of Callaway Arts and Entertainment, Nicholas Callaway, according to The Guardian.
Kicking off the 240 pages of new Beatles content, director Peter Jackson begins the journey with an insightful foreword. In it, he describes his own memories of The Beatles as a young boy in the 60s, and how he came to become the accompanying film’s director.
Apple Corps was responsible for the idea of the book, whose content comes from 120 hours of footage. Jackson was hesitant about the idea of a book to accompany his film, but after reading it to write his forward, he quickly saw its important purpose.
“…the first time I read the book you hold in your hands, I realised how wrong I was. It’s an entirely different way to present the Get Back story, and equally compelling,” Jackson writes.
The book also includes an introduction by British playwright Hanif Kureishi, who calls the book and film a “fly-on-the-wall opportunity.” His introduction reminds the reader of the dynamics of the group at the time and how their issues actually made them more “productive.” Kureishi also gives background on Britain as the 1950s saw recovery from World War II and the rise of a new youth culture and the rise of American rock ’n’ roll across the pond. The Beatles were in the right place at the right time with the right talent.
The first page of Beatles conversations begins on page 31, which starts on January 2, 1969. The group has just reunited from the holiday season and are getting ready to make some of their most famous songs. As the book progresses, their true feelings begin to show through in their conversations. Events, such as band member George Harrison leaving the band, are captured with its pages and show Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr’s feelings towards the situation.
The Beatles: Get Back lets fans of all ages step back into 1969 to witness the production of the last album by The Beatles, Let it Be. Along with the new documentary in November, this new book shows just how relevant The Beatles were and continue to be to this day.
