This sections provides news about the book and some feedback from buyers

From The Applejacks original members

Al, 06/03/23

WOW! ! have just opened a parcel from the postman and rushed to the office to email you to tell you how “chuffed” I am with the book. Many thanks Andrew for a job well done.

Don, 08/03/23

Absolutely splendid thank you! You must be very proud. My children are facinated …

Gerry, 14/03/23

I have enjoyed dipping into it and seeing some of our exploits from those days, particularly those of which I have no real memory of my own.

Martin, 16/03/23

Just finished the book. Very good …. Was fun to remember all that stuff.

Phil, 20/03/23

Thanks so much for the book absolutely brilliant, several friends have bought copies on line …. Hope sales go well, I will keep pushing it for you.

From fans who have bought the book

Tony, 12/03/23 (friend of Phil)

The books has arrived thank you. It looks very comprehensive and I’m sure we shall enjoy it. We shall learn more about Phil for a start!

Wolfgang, Austria, 30 March 2023

Just to let you know, the book arrived safely this week.

And..I'm really enthusiastic about it!

So informative and excellent researched, my sincere compliments!

Such a hefty tome about a band's musical history is hard to find- but you managed it!

This is a book which I will read again and again, that's for sure!

Kevin, 11 May 2023

I got your book in early April and I want to say it’s brilliant. I was born in 1954 and have been a Beatles fan since I was 14. But it is your section on the Beatles which caught my eye ….

Richard, 19 December 2024

Just to confirm that I safely received the book yesterday and that I'm absolutely delighted with it. It's an incredible piece of work and an absolute goldmine of information about the Applejacks and their history and I particularly like the scrapbook newspaper cuttings and the very early photos of the group in different guises. I congratulate you on putting together this superb book as a fitting tribute to a very much underrated 60's beat/pop group. Definitely my music book of the year!

Fest for Beatles Fans, Jersey City, USA, April 2023

Andrew attended the Fest for Beatles Fans in Jersey City, USA, 1-2 April 2023, and did some promotion of the book. He took two copies and sold them both to his good friends Tom (holding book on the right) and Jacqueline.

Chinese Applejacks Fans

Luoluo’s friends (holding book L-R) Dr Tan, Dr Xie and Dr Zhou, who all together attended Hunan Chinese Medicine University, China in the 1980’s, have recently bought a signed copy of the book.

Liverpool Beatles Week, August 2023

Andrew attended the Liverpool International Beatles Week, 26-28 August 2023. On the Convention Day (27 August) he shared a sellers table with his good friend and Beatles Author David Bedford, and sold some copies of the book.

Wick Assembly Hall Concert, December 1964 - Actual Date?

Andrew recently bought a set of Applejacks autographs on eBay, which the seller stated were personally obtained at the Wick Assembly Rooms and are dated 18 December 1964. In the book the date of the Wick concert is given as 15 December. This date was based on the group members’ recollection of getting to the Wick concert (Page 152) and the December Scottish gig listing published in the 30 October edition of NME (which incidentally didn’t include Wick). However, the set of autographs suggests the date may have been 18 December, for which the NME listing gives Kirkaldy Raith. So there is a little bit of uncertainty in the actual date of the Wick concert, and whether the Kirkaldy concert took place. This illustrates just how difficult it has been to ensure total accuracy in the concert listings in the book.

The Applejacks Final Line-up

Andrew recently bought an original promotional photograph on eBay of the (close to) final Applejacks line-up, including (from L-R) Martin, Megan, Paul Willetts (who replaced Gerry on Drums) and Jon Washington (who replaced Al). This probably originates from 1969. What a find?

The Applejacks Radio Interview, November 2024

Andrew attended the Liverpool International Beatle Week, 24-26 August 2024. By chance, on the Convention Day (25 August) he met Nigel Pearce who is a radio presenter on the Community Radio Station, Future Radio in Norwich. Nigel hosts a weekly show called “Groove Britain”, which is themed on nostalgia ‘moments in time with music’, and it is broadcast on Sunday afternoons from 15:00 to 17:00 on 107.8 FM.

When Nigel saw my book, he showed a lot of interest, and asked me if I was in contact with the group members, and I said I was in contact with all 6 original members. He said it would be great if they could be interviewed on a forthcoming show, and I agreed to put this idea to the group members, and they expressed interest in the project.

The recording for the Applejacks Special show took place on 21 November, and was broadcast on 24 November. Along with the group members and myself, there were three other guests, Ray Anderson (Owner of Radio London), broadcaster Alan Thompson and legendary presenter Pete Brady. It was an interesting and enjoyable recording session.

The show can be heard via:

https://futureradio.co.uk/show/groove-britain/

The show was also repeated on other Community Radio stations, including SWINDON 105.5.

It is hoped that further opportunities for Applejacks radio interviews will occur over the coming months, watch this space …….

One interesting thing which came out of this wonderful interview, which I had not thought about when writing the book, was ‘what did Dick Rowe think about the group releasing “Like Dreamers Do”?’ I reproduce the groups response to this question.

“That was the song which got The Beatles turned down from Decca. When we recorded it and it was presented to the selection committee for the release, every month they used to meet, you can image Dickie Rowe, who was the Managing Director of Decca, listening to that for the first time after he had turned The Beatles down, so he wasn’t very happy. He didn’t insist that we didn’t release it, we did release it, but I don’t think we made a big friend of him, not really!”

Fest for Beatles Fans, Jersey City, March 2025

Andrew attended the Fest For Beatles Fans, Jersey City, USA, 28 - 30 March 2025. This was mainly to promote his new book, jointly written with David Bedford, called “Beatles What-if?”, which was published that weekend. This new book explores the many times the Beales story could have turned out differently. It looks at 70 what-if scenarios (each being a change to what actually happened) and considers, from their evidence-based opinion, the potential outcomes whether catastrophic (The End), change to the journey (Tomorrow Never Knows) or no real change or even better outcome (Let It Be). For example, What-if The Beatles had been signed by Decca? We have an insight on how Decca may potentially have used The Beatles from The Applejacks experience.

There are more details on this new book in thebeatleswhatif.com

Of course, Andrew took along some copies of his Applejacks book, which were all sold.

Beatles Weekend, Felixstowe, June 2025

There is a Beatles Weekend on 20-22 June 2025, which will be held in the Spa Pavilion in Felixstowe, featuring The Korgis (Friday evening), The Quarrymen (Saturday) and, tribute band, The Upbeat Beatles (Sunday evening). There will be a number of Q&A sessions throughout the weekend. One such session, on the Saturday afternoon, will be The Applejacks Story, led by Andrew, using video extracts from the Zoom sessions he hosted with the original group members when writing his book, to provide a ‘virtual’ attendance by the group as unfortunately they cannot attend in person. Together with an overview of their story, there will be some links to The Beatles story.

Details of the Felixstowe Beatles Weekend can be found in beatlesfest.co.uk

Rare Applejacks Album

Andrew recently bought on eBay a rare vinyl version of The Applejacks album, which was a promotional copy with a “SAMPLE RECORD (Not For Sale)” sticker on the label of Side 1. Another great addition to his Applejacks memorabilia collection.