When I look back 10 years, most of my friends on Facebook and Twitter wouldn’t have known me. This last 10 years has been a whirlwind as my life took another turn.
Having had to give up work through ill health in 2000, I wasn’t sure what would happen from there. I started to write for the London Beatles Fan Club magazine – which later became the British Beatles Fan Club – and found that I enjoyed writing about The Beatles that I started on a project that would take 9 years to complete; “Liddypool: Birthplace of The Beatles“. Little did I know where that would take me.
Liddypool was published at the end of 2009 and, much to my amazement, became a worldwide hit. I had never written a book before, and couldn’t have done it without my publisher, Glyn Morris, and Marshall Terrill, my editor. The book sold out in 18 months and the second edition came out in 2011 and a third edition in 2017. It has taken me to America numerous times and around Europe to Beatles conventions and festivals. I never expected any of it. I have met and interviewed so many people connected to The Beatles; what a privilege and honour.
The Fab One Hundred and Four
In 2013, my follow-up to “Liddypool” was “The Fab one hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles“, which has also sold well and has had some incredible reviews too.
From that book, film producer Garry Popper contacted me and asked me to be the historian for a documentary about John Lennon. “Looking for Lennon” came out in 2018; what a privilege to work on that with Garry and director Roger Appleton.
John Lennon: The Boy Who Became A Legend
Through a good friend of mine, Mark Naboshek – who also edited The Fab one Hundred and Four and Finding the Fourth Beatle – introduced me to Michael Hill, John Lennon’s school friend from the age of 5. It was a privilege for me to edit and help Michael publish his book, “John Lennon: The Boy Who Became A Legend“. A fascinating book.
The Beatles Book
I was then contacted by Hunter Davies, the only ever official Beatles biographer, to collaborate with him, Keith Badman and Spencer Leigh, on a book called The Beatles Book. What an honour!
Finding the Fourth Beatle
Garry then suggested that he and I should write the follow-up to The Fab one hundred and Four, based upon the number of drummers I had identified in that book; 12! So we started with 12 Drummers Drumming, but then I started finding more and more drummers who had played with The Beatles, eventually ending up with 23 drummers, while also solving the mystery of what happened to Pete Best in 1962; he wasn’t sacked! Finding the Fourth Beatle was published in 2018.
Inspector Rocke
While working on all those other projects, I wanted to also indulge my love of crime fiction, so I combined my Beatles research with crime fiction and published my first detective book, “Inspector Rocke: That’ll Be The Day That I Die” in 2017. More books are planned there too!
I am so grateful for everyone who has purchased one of my books. I never expected anything and I still get the biggest thrill whenever I am asked to autograph a book.
Thank you for joining me on this journey. 2020 promised to be an exciting year, with several books planned.
Keep in touch with the latest news by signing up at this website. And don’t forget that you can listen to me and my friend Paul Beesley on our Podcast, “Liddypod“.
A final thank you to my wonderful family and friends for their unending support, which means so much.
What a decade! I am so thankful for everything.
David Bedford
