Mark Lewisohn and why writing the real Beatles story just got harder

Mark Lewisohn and why writing the real Beatles story just got harder

Author: Mark Ellen, David Hepworth and Alex Gold March 3, 2026 Duration: 49:12
Word In Your Ear
MusicCommentaryHistoryInterviews

Mark Lewisohn began his Beatles’ trilogy in 2003, the first volume appearing ten years later. He’s hoping the second, Turn On, which covers 1963 to 1966 and every recording session, might be ready by 2031 and working “nine days a week to achieve it, assembling a framework and then sliding it together”. Further good news – his lecture about their life in 1962, Evolver62, is now available on film! “No matter how deep you dig, there’s gold there”. He talks to us here about …

 

… how you research such an infinite subject and know when to stop

 

… the one-in-a-million coincidence in the story of I Saw Her Standing There

 

… the attractive world of telegrams, postage and showbills from the days “when the Beatles were still like us”

 

... how AI has muddied the waters and misinformation (like “Woodbine’s Boys”) becomes established fact

 

… “people are reshaping the Beatles’ story as what they want to believe”

 

… those perilous moments when their career seemed in the balance

 

… the Beatles v Shakespeare and which has the greater agency

 

… the Lewisohn work schedule - “6am til bedtime, nine days a week”

 

… the “rank amateurs” Decca signed the year they turned down the Beatles

 

… James Brown’s invented spat with Beatles and the struggle to separate fact from fiction

 

… Paul’s private battle with Nik Cohn

 

… and the US merchandise disaster, “a book in itself”

 

https://www.marklewisohn.net/

 

Order Evolver:62 on these links:

UK

https://amzn.to/4bP7bGS

US and Canada

https://apple.co/46m6L7x

https://bit.ly/4qsUXHy

https://bit.ly/45SSvTu

https://amzn.to/4pXf4gL

DVD

https://bit.ly/3Zap37F


And copies of the Tune In book here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beatles-All-These-Years-Tune/dp/1408705753/ref=asc_df_1408705753?mcid=3bbe6ad2416f31d59786d0f169b18876&th=1&psc=1&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697210774528&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7934131385361801281&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9072502&hvtargid=pla-525100023999&psc=1&hvocijid=7934131385361801281-1408705753-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

 

Tune In (trade edition):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beatles-All-These-Years-Tune/dp/1408705753/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Z5U3TCUCHL4Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iARC_o0NanHFRSyWD51V1iwunMv6f4RVXwczxRVhEfk.HhdP2t3MG4xUMoVQHwdVFQUL7a9gWFWI-jjw6pvwhNw&dib_tag=se&keywords=lewisohn+tune+in&qid=1771317358&sprefix=lewisohn+tune+in%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.95fd378e-6299-4723-b1f1-3952ffba15af

 

Tune In (Extended special edition):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beatles-These-Years-Extended-Special/dp/1408704781/ref=sr_1_2?crid=Z5U3TCUCHL4Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iARC_o0NanHFRSyWD51V1iwunMv6f4RVXwczxRVhEfk.HhdP2t3MG4xUMoVQHwdVFQUL7a9gWFWI-jjw6pvwhNw&dib_tag=se&keywords=lewisohn+tune+in&qid=1771317358&sprefix=lewisohn+tune+in%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.0fa28f01-6fca-4422-af4e-d52d5ad71bfe


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There’s a particular kind of conversation about music that happens between friends who’ve spent a lifetime immersed in it-not as distant critics, but as participants in the culture. That’s the atmosphere you’ll find in Word In Your Ear, a podcast from Mark Ellen, David Hepworth, and Alex Gold. With a collective eighty years of writing and broadcasting for titles like Smash Hits and Mojo, and shows from "The Old Grey Whistle Test" to VH-1, they don’t just recount history; they unpack the stories behind it with the ease of a shared laugh. This podcast grew naturally from their work on the late, great magazine The Word, where they began recording over thirteen years ago, building a dedicated following who found something genuinely special in the mix. Each episode weaves together music, commentary, history, and interviews, moving seamlessly from deep-dive analysis of a seminal album to a frank chat with a surprising guest, all delivered with the warmth and wit of a late-night chat. It feels less like a formal show and more like you’ve been invited to pull up a chair in a room where the anecdotes are plentiful and the expertise is worn lightly. The result is a consistently engaging listen that treats music not as a museum piece but as a living, breathing part of our lives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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