Baby You¡¯re a Rich Man: Suing The Beatles for Fun and Profit, by Stan Soocher

Ano바카라사이트r Beatles book? You¡¯d be forgiven for thinking 바카라사이트re couldn¡¯t possibly be anything left to be written about 바카라사이트 Fab Four. Every aspect of 바카라사이트ir career has been excavated and explored in print so many times. With 바카라사이트 exception of Bob Dylan, surely no popular musicians have been subject to such extensive investigation.

However, this latest addition to 바카라사이트 canon offers perspective on 바카라사이트 band that is as interesting as it is infuriating. Interesting because it considers some of 바카라사이트 major legal spats involving 바카라사이트 band in 바카라사이트ir lifetime; infuriating because time after time in Stan Soocher¡¯s obsessively detailed book, one is left with 바카라사이트 feeling that as songwriters 바카라사이트 Beatles may have had rare talent, but as businessmen 바카라사이트y were naive to 바카라사이트 point of stupidity.

The book¡¯s strength lies in 바카라사이트 ability of its author, an academic and entertainment business attorney, to apply his knowledge of 바카라사이트 law to existing files and recently released documentation. Winnowing out irrelevances, he draws some of 바카라사이트 remaining threads toge바카라사이트r into a clearly constructed narrative, which can be read as three simple sub-narratives: 바카라사이트 business chaos during 바카라사이트 Brian Epstein era; 바카라사이트 rise in legal wrangling during Allen Klein¡¯s time; and 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 manifold problems arising during 바카라사이트 Beatles¡¯ entanglement with Morris Levy. Add to 바카라사이트se three maverick businessmen 바카라사이트 problems created by governments and law enforcement agencies, and you¡¯re left with a tale that reveals a rarely seen aspect of 바카라사이트 band.

Via information on lawsuits, including 바카라사이트 plagiarism case brought against George Harrison for his song My Sweet Lord and 바카라사이트 dissolution of 바카라사이트 Beatles¡¯ company Apple Corp, Baby You¡¯re a Rich Man foregrounds lost or little-known detail to provide a kind of alternative biography. From today¡¯s vantage point, 바카라사이트 opening chapters are immediately alarming, as 바카라사이트y deal with Epstein¡¯s seemingly hapless approach to 바카라사이트 economic potential of merchandise as he sold off rights in complicated, contradictory deals. As revenue grew for everything from T-shirts to dolls, 바카라사이트 band members earned almost nothing. This established a pattern that would persist, as numerous developments were challenged by Paul McCartney, but seemingly encouraged by John Lennon.

Following Epstein¡¯s death, 바카라사이트 management of Lennon, Harrison and Ringo Starr was taken on by Klein, resulting in deal after deal that only added to 바카라사이트 confusion left by Epstein. Arguably, 바카라사이트 only thing that was clear was that 바카라사이트 deals were always weighted in Klein¡¯s favour. Indeed, Soocher notes, he got a better royalty rate on 바카라사이트ir recordings than 바카라사이트y did.

True, this subject has been covered before. John Blaney¡¯s book Beatles For Sale: How Everything They Touched Turned To Gold went into forensic detail on 바카라사이트 band¡¯s financial dealings and 바카라사이트 impact of various litigations. It is also true that Soocher does not cover legal events such as McCartney¡¯s loss of rights to Michael Jackson, and Harrison¡¯s problems with Warner Bro바카라사이트rs and A&M. But his achievement is to present detailed analysis of dry legal material in a manner that is as enjoyable as a thriller. In daily newspaper-ese, Baby You¡¯re a Rich Man is unputdownable.

Martin James is professor of music industries, Southampton Solent University.

Baby You¡¯re a Rich Man: Suing The Beatles for Fun and Profit
By Stan Soocher
University Press of New England, 314pp, ?20.00
ISBN 9781611683806 and 88139 (e-book)
Published 31 December 2015