| Description | This collection is one of the largest research libraries on the Beatles, consisting of the rare and unique published material and original archive material used by the author Barry Miles in his research for his published works related to the Beatles. The most significant of these works by Miles was his authorised autobiography of Paul McCartney, 'Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now,' first published in 1998. The collection includes: the working drafts of this book, including early drafts with material which was later edited out, sometimes at McCartney's request; approximately 3,750 pages of clippings and tearsheets; over 500 complete magazines; almost 100 newspapers and specials published at the time of John Lennon's death; over 125 reference books; 42 cassette tape interviews with Paul McCartney conducted by Barry Miles, plus 25 other interviews with George Harrison and John Lennon, and 1,800 pages of interview transcripts; sixty VHS tapes; and over 30 bootleg CDs, including The Beatles Complete BBC Sessions totalling nine volumes.
The earliest recording and transcript in the collection was Miles' first interview with Paul McCartney for International Times in December 1966. |
| AdminHistory | Barry Miles, born 1943, is an English author known for his writings on the British 1960s underground and counterculture scene. Among many other publications, he was the co-owner of Indica Gallery which helped start the independent newspaper International Times. Miles first interviewed Paul McCartney for International Times in December 1966. In the late 1960s, Miles worked for the Beatles' Apple Records as the label manager for Zapple, which is where some of the scarce Apple in-house magazines were sourced. Over the years, Miles wrote extensively about the Beatles in magazines like: Crawdaddy, Oz, International Times, NME, High Times, The Observer, Q and Mojo. Miles also wrote about The Beatles in many more obscure titles, including American underground newspapers like the San Francisco Oracle. His authorised biography of Paul McCartney was published in 1998. |
| CustodialHistory | This collection was assembled as a writer's reference library and archive collection to gather and organise information on The Beatles, which was used by Miles to write many articles and books. His most significant publication on this topic was his authorised biography, Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, first published 1998. It was purchased from Barry Miles by LJMU Special Collections & Archives in 2009. |