While Mrs C was selecting packets of
seeds at a local garden centre yesterday I killed time by browsing among the
books on sale, most of them unappetising remainders. There were military books,
gardening books, children’s books, books of photographs of ‘old Surrey’, and
the like, and there was also a chunky volume by the eminent journalist Simon
Jenkins called A Short History Of England.
Out of curiosity I glanced through the index looking for any entries that
related to rock and pop but the only one I could find for any modern rock
musicians was for The Beatles with one mention on page 260, so I looked them
up. It was a brief reference to them being awarded their MBEs in 1965, which
Jenkins snootily dismissed with a remark to the effect that awarding MBEs to a ‘pop
group’ somehow diminished the award, in effect suggesting they didn‘t deserve
it.
Now
Jenkins has written some intelligent articles for The Guardian, not least several proposing the decriminalisation of
marijuana, but this struck me as the view of a pompous idiot. I was momentarily
angry that the achievements of The Beatles could be dismissed so arrogantly,
especially since Jenkins would have been writing in hindsight, many years after
the group disbanded and also after the deaths of John and George. I couldn’t
help but wonder how many others who were awarded the MBE that year, or any
other year for that matter, are remembered, if at all, with anything like the distinction
(and affection) in which The Beatles are held. Indeed, type ‘MBEs awarded in
1965’ into Google and the top ten listings all relate to The Beatles’ award. It’s
difficult to find out who else got one – and there’s probably thousands – that year
or any other year.
The
nature of John’s death caused headlines throughout the world, of course, but so
did George’s whose passing was far less dramatic and, to a certain extent, foreseen.
When I was in Barcelona last week I spent time with my friend Fernando, a
Beatles fanatic, who has saved copies of UK daily tabloid papers for 29
November, 2001, the day George died. He brought them out for me to look through and it was pleasing to note that every one of them devoted at least ten
pages to their coverage of George’s death. I wonder how many other public
figures, regardless of the field in which they made their name, could command
such attention in death.
The
mere ‘pop group’ to which Jenkins so haughtily refers in his Short History of England are as famous worldwide
as any kings or queens, popes, statesman, sportsmen, writers... anyone you care
to mention really. Their records continue to sell by the truckload. Paul and,
to a lesser extent, Ringo are feted wherever they go. Their songs are the
mother-load of popular music. Their achievements are such that their most eminent
historian, Mark Lewisohn, is in the process of compiling a biography that, when
the extended editions are complete, will occupy over 5,000 pages in six cased volumes.
This is the tip of an iceberg that has seen hundreds, if not thousands, of
books published about The Beatles – probably more than any other entity barring
the Royal Family, certainly more than any other ‘entertainers’ in history.
So
I threw Jenkin’s book back down on the table in that garden centre with the disdain it warranted. Like the rest of
the books there it had been remaindered and was being sold off cheaply, a sure
sign that it didn’t sell well. It deserved its fate, and this knowledge somehow
restored my good humour. ‘Pop group’ indeed.
What did Britain give the world after World War II? Some great comedy and some amusing royal scandals but, far and away, it was in music that Britain excelled. Without those "pop groups", Britain would have been mostly forgotten by the world over the last few decades.
ReplyDelete