Liddypod is back after a short absence during the coronavirus pandemic and we have started with this new episode. My partner in podcast, Paul Beesley, interviews me as we discuss my upcoming new book, “The Country of Liverpool”. We have a good old chinwag about the country music scene in Liverpool, skiffle, The Quarrymen and The Beatles and how their roots are firmly in country music.
Enjoy!
David
It was 20 years ago today (almost) that, after being treated for rheumatoid arthritis for 2 years I went to see my doctor as I was ill yet again. He signed me off for 1 month. A month? That is ridiculous. But he was right. He hadn’t been trying to tell me for a few months that I couldn’t keep working like I was doing. I was a physical wreck. I hadn’t slept well for over 18 months, was constantly tired, my body was aching and I couldn’t think straight. That was June 2000 and I never returned to work again.
I was another 12 months before I was properly diagnosed. The consultant who had been treating me since September 1998 for rheumatoid arthritis was wrong. A second opinion from another consultant re-diagnosed me in less than 30 minutes. He told me I had fibromyalgia. Eh? Never heard of it!
My doctor told me straight, having been off work for 12 months already, that I would not be returning to work. I was, by then, 36 with three young children. Retiring at 36 sounds ideal, but I had worked since leaving school and was suddenly unable to work.
I am still learning about it all these years later. It is a syndrome which means that there are a collection of symptoms gathered together under the one umbrella term of fibromyalgia. The definition is fibro= fibrous tissues of the body, my=muscles, algia=pain.
The definition is given as: “A rheumatic condition characterized by muscular or musculoskeletal pain with stiffness and localised tenderness at specific points on the body.”
Main symptoms of the condition are:
1. Chronic fatigue
2. Joint pain, stiffness and disorders
3. IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
4. Poor circulation and tingling in peripheries especially fingers and toes
5. Forgetfulness – short-term memory especially
6. Sleep disturbance
7. Lack of concentration
What I have learned over the years is that everybody who suffers with fibromyalgia has a variation in the symptoms.
What this means is that I have chronic pain in every muscles and joint in my body, 24/7, 365 days a year. However, the rheumatism aggravates it when it is just damp or raining. This causes every joint in my body to ache even more than it does usually.
One of the biggest changes was going from playing football, cricket and golf to not being able to walk 50 yards without pain in less than 2 years. That was a dramatic change to my life.
I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since the summer of 1998 – that is not an exaggeration either. I have tablets to help me sleep every night, but I never feel that I have had a good night’s sleep and always wake with a “hangover”.
I take about 16 tablets a day to keep me going and, after a while, you gain a tolerance to the pain, because you just get used to living with it. The associated conditions for me are generalised arthritis in my joints, diabetes (type 2) and high blood pressure, which all developed with the fibromyalgia.
There isn’t one! All they can do is treat the symptoms, hence the tablets.
My doctor, the late Peter Griffiths, was an amazing support with coming to terms with living with fibromyalgia. He told me look for something that interested me and finding a new way to spend my day. It was then that I started writing about The Beatles and Liverpool for the London Beatles Fan Club, which became The British Beatles Fan Club, for whom I still write. Dr Griffiths encouraged me to pursue that, which got me out of the house and engaged mentally in following this as a hobby. It wasn’t until 2007 that I got a publishing deal for my first book, that became Liddypool. Little did I know how much that would change my life.
I loved the process of researching and writing Liddypool, so I wrote The Fab One Hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles, again to critical acclaim. By now I was being invited to Beatles conventions in the UK and US especially. Amazing. I have jointly published a book with Beatles Biographer Hunter Davies, Finding the Fourth Beatle and working on 4 book projects at the moment. I was also engaged as the historian and Associate Producer for the documentary, Looking for Lennon. What a privilege.
So I still live with fibromyalgia and that is not going to change. Many people now know more about the condition than they did 20 years ago, though I am still learning about it. Celebrities like Morgan Freeman and Lady Gaga have helped to raise the profile of the condition, though there is still so much ignorance surrounding it, especially among the medical profession, which is tough.
BUT! I have made so many friends through having fibromyalgia and we help each other. That support is essential because it is a hard condition to describe. You can’t show somebody an x-ray, a blood test, a scan, to prove you have the condition. There is no physical test you can show anybody that says you have fibromyalgia.
The support of my wife Alix, my daughters and extended family have been invaluable. I could not have done it without them. It also sorted out who those genuine friends were, because they were the ones who stood by me. Again, that has been invaluable. I have had so much encouragement and support it is truly humbling. Don’t be afraid to reach out.
if I hadn’t fallen ill and had to give up work, I would never have become an Beatles historian, author and researcher. I LOVE what I do. It has become my therapy and the best way to deal with a condition like fibromyalgia. I can do what I want, when I am able, and rest when I need to rest. Sometimes I over do it, and that knocks me out for a few days. But there is hope, if you are a sufferer too.
As some Liverpool band once sang; “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make”.
All You Need Is Love – and a pocketful of pills too!
More information about fibromyalgia from the NHS is here
Help and support is available from charities like Fibromyalgia UK
With the news of the sad death of Little Richard, what was the true impact of this rock ‘n’ roll icon?
“Long Tall Sally” by Little Richard was covered so many times over the years, but it was especially important to John Lennon, which is featured in a fantastic book by Michael Hill.
A few years ago, some friends of mine told me about Michael’s story and how it should be published, as it was such a good story. I was therefore more than happy to help it get published. His book, “John Lennon, The Boy Who Became A Legend“, tells the story of how Michael bought “Long Tall Sally” on a school trip to Amsterdam, brought it back to Liverpool and played it for John Lennon at Michael’s home. John’s reaction was silence, followed by an incredible quote:
“Little Richard was one of the all-time greats. The first time I heard him, a friend of mine (Mike Hill) had been to Holland and brought back a 78 with ‘Long Tall Sally’. That’s the music that brought me from the provinces of England to the world. That’s what made me what I am.”
Michael’s story is unique, having been a friend of John’s from the age of 5 at Dovedale School continuing through Quarry Bank too. I recommend the book, which you can get here.
The song features at some many important events throughout Beatles history. When Paul auditions for John on 6th July 1957 at the Woolton Fete, Paul performed some of “Long Tall Sally”. On the stages of Hamburg, it was an important part of their set.
When The Beatles returned from Hamburg in 1960, their iconic performance at Litherland Town Hall began with “Long Tall Sally”. When The Beatles travel to America in February 1964, they perform “Long Tall Sally”. At their last concert at Candlestick Park on 29th August 1966, their final song was “Long Tall Sally”. The song, in a way, defines The Beatles career.
Little Richard was a true rock ‘n’ roll hero for The Beatles and the rest of the world too.
I had the quite unexpected privilege of seeing Little Richard in person when I travelled to Memphis and Nashville a few years ago. I had heard that he was living in the Hilton Hotel in Nashville. I had checked my suitcase into the Hilton while I was sightseeing, before heading to Memphis.
When I checked my bag out, the door of the hotel opened, and in came Little Richard! I was dumbstruck, which doesn’t often happen. He was now in a wheelchair, but wearing a smart three-piece suit and tie, being pushed in his chair. I looked at him and he just looked up and smiled, so I smiled too and then he was wheeled away. I had seen one of my musical heroes close up. If only had the presence of mine to speak to him, but I was so shocked at seeing him I was unable to speak!
Little Richard will forever be connected with the birth of rock ‘n’ roll and The Beatles.
David Bedford
So, if you haven’t seen it yet, I have launched a new website last week called The Beatles Bookstore. It is a collaboration between Beatles authors to support each other, and to showcase out books to the world!
We have author pages for each of the authors signed up and there are already nearly 30 books in the store.
In the current climate, there are so few stores open and all the Beatles festivals have been cancelled, so this is a great opportunity for us authors to, hopefully, sell our books!
Just for singing up at The Beatles Bookstore you will be entered into a draw to win a signed copy of my book, “The Fab on Hundred and Four” for the month of May 2020.
Please share the link and spread the word – The Beatles Bookstore is open 8 Days a Week!
Thanks for the support
David Bedford
