Bring On The Session Musicians
They may not have made it as a Beatle, but they sure had good careers.
I love finding unexpected connections. While preparing the list of people to include in THE FORGOTTEN BEATLES podcast series, I just wrote a quick one-line entry for each, consisting of their name and a note about their Beatles connection.
For the latest episode that included these entries:
Bobby Graham - Offered the job as Pete Best’s replacement - Sat in for Ringo during a BBC session in 1963.
Johhny Gustafson - Beatles - Bass - one-off gig - 17 August 1961.
The real fun starts when doing the research for those episodes: not just finding out how they ended up playing with The Beatles (even if it was just for one gig or a radio recording session), but what happened to them afterward—and that’s where the real surprises often pop up.
I was more familiar with Bobby and Johnny’s musical output than I anticipated. Both developed careers as two of the UK’s top session musicians, appearing on multiple hit records over the years.
Want to hear Bobby Graham on drums? Well check out The Kinks hit “You Really Got Me”
As for Johnny Gustafson - how about the iconic bass line that opens Roxy Music’s ‘Love Is The Drug”?
Alan
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Podcast Updates
The latest Forgotten Beatles episode is now live and can be found on your favorite podcast platform, or directly right HERE.
This month the spotlight falls on drummer Bobby Graham, the Quarrymen’s guitarist Eric Griffiths, and one-gig bass player Johhny Gustafson
The Savage Young Beatles
Want some rocking Christmas entertainment? Then join The Savage Young Beatles at Liverpool’s historic Jacaranda Club on 15th December.
Beatles Books From My Shelves
“Finding the Fourth Beatle” By David Bedford and Gary Popper
By focusing on the Beatles' seemingly never-ending search for a drummer prior to the arrival of Ringo, this highly researched and informative book takes a fresh look at the development of the band, both musically and in terms of personnel.
Covering 23 drummers who either played with The Quarrymen/Beatles or had the opportunity to but didn’t quite make it, this is both a highly personal book as well as a critique of each drummer’s style.
In particular, there is extensive notes on the contrasting styles of Pete Best and Ringo Starr that puts the answer of which one was most suited to the evolving Beatles style firmly to rest.
A must-own volume if you love drummers.
You can order a copy on Bookshop.org HERE and help out your local independent bookstore.
Beatles In Comics
“Nowhere Girl” a graphic novel by Magali de Huche.
Original French edition published in 2021, English translation published in 2022
A touching, frank, and reflective memoir of a young girl struggling with the transition into adulthood who finds solace through the music and story of The Beatles.
Set in Paris in the late 1980s and early 90s some of the cultural references passed me by, but the central theme of a young woman overcome by a combination of peer pressure, stress, and social anxiety is beautifully and compassionately told.
The moment she first hears a snatch of Beatles music introduces color into the monochrome narrative that powerfully communicates a transitive psychedelic and psychological experience for the author.
This is a story that could only be told this effectively using the language of comics.
One slight negative is the use of small cursive script throughout which I found a little cramped and difficult to read at times. It made me wonder if the original French edition was published in the standard BD 12” page size rather than the 9” page of this translated edition.
But even with the small text it’s worth the read. A very different personal and rewarding approach to the Fab Four on the comics page.
You can order a copy on Bookshop.org HERE and help out your local independent bookstore.
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Rock out to our BTWB Playlists
If you would like to listen to full versions of the songs mentioned in either the main Before They Were Beatles podcast, or the new Forgotten Beatles series you can now find them on my new YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@AlanPorterWriter
Or you can check out the Before They Were Beatles playlist on Spotify at
What Else Is Alan Working On?
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See you next time.
Alan J. Porter
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