Roll up, roll up...
The Beatles Blog Carnival is featuring The Beatles & Bournemouth blogspot this month alongside such major players in the field as thebeatles.com, The Beatles Bible and our old friends In the Life of... The Beatles.
Exalted company indeed.
The Beatles Blog Carnival is a lively, informative monthly round up of Beatles-related blogs and websites. To tempt further subscribers to the Carnival the first 25 each month can swap their postal address for a generous helping of Beatles memorabilia.
Last month the Carnival sent out original 1964 Topps collectors' cards, like these, from the third of the three series issued that year. Very nice.
Ever wondered what happened to Alan McGee, the man who signed Oasis, Primal Scream, Jesus & Mary Chain and Kevin Rowland, as well as his own dad (and Nick Heyward!)?
Well, the former Creation Records boss has recently invested in the really-rather-good e-zine, ZANI. Covering music, film and telly, sport and culture in general, the site's editor Matteo Sedazarri recently demonstrated his good taste by reproducing the This England magazine article about Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth.
You can see the coverage right here. While you're there, take a good look around the site as it's packed with good stuff.
A few weeks ago this photo was shared on Facebook with a suggestion it had been taken in the lounge bar at the Palace Court Hotel in Bournemouth during the week in August 1963 that The Beatles stayed at the hotel while appearing at the Gaumont Theatre next door.
Thanks to eagle-eyed Beatles fan John Cherry we're happy to confirm the photo was taken at the Palace Court by 60s celebrity snapper Fiona Adams who took the famous Beatles Jumping shot that appeared on the Twist and Shout EP cover, as well as countless other iconic images of the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan, David Bowie and Michael Caine.
It seems Adams was on assignment for Boyfriend magazine and took several shots including these, copies of which can be ordered from her website, www.fionaadamsphotography.com:
Fiona remembers: "Maureen O'Grady of Boyfriend and I travelled to Bournemouth where The Beatles were staying in a hotel, the name of which escapes me. This photo (above left) was taken of John in the hotel lounge."
She also took a shot of Paul in the lounge of the Palace Court, before the hat came into play.
"From somewhere this bowler hat appeared and Paul started fooling about with it."
:: There are just four days left to catch Richard Latto's fine documentary for BBC Radio Solent, The Fab Four Down South, on the iPlayer here.
And if all this media attention has prompted you to think early about the impending Christmas festivities, it's worth remembering copies of Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth are available from www.beatlesandbournemouth.com as is a selection of art prints of photos from the book.
As BBC local radio remembers 50 years since the release of The Beatles' Love Me Do on Friday, the Beeb's regional evening magazine show South Today has been running a series of films exploring the links between the Fabs and the south, specifically Bournemouth.
The content of Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth is heavily featured, as is author Nick Churchill and interviewees including Jon Kremer and Howie Casey, reprising his riff from Wings' Jet.
Viewers also see the town's few remaining locations such as the Gaumont Theatre (now Odeon) and Palace Court Hotel (now Premier Inn) on Westover Road, as well as the Pavilion Theatre in front of which crowds gathered to watch the Gaumont and Palace Court opposite. There's also a section of maplewood stage from the Winter Gardens theatre on show at the Beacon Hotel and an interview conducted within sight of where Mimi's home stood at Sandbanks.
You can see Monday's film here.
Then click here to see Tuesday's and here to see Howie Casey in Wednesday's film.
The Fab Four Down South is broadcast on BBC Radio Solent at 7pm on Friday, presented by the legendary Tony Blackburn.
Listen here on the iPlayer.
Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth can be ordered here, as can a selection of art prints of some of the rare and previously unpublished photos from the book.
