Robby Elson of Genesis writes about Postcards From The Boys:
'A lot of other people know more about my life than I do' writes Ringo Starr in Postcards From The Boys.
He may well be right. Many others' lifetimes have gone into chronicling those of The Beatles. Countless hours of research, analysis and debate have consumed amateur myth-makers and professional pedants alike. Such has been the Fab Four's impact on western society, the facts of their lives have become public property. [read more]
REVIEWS:
'brilliantly produced...unique and unusual.'
BBC Radio, January 2004
'Cynics will say that shelves all over the world are already collapsing with
the weight of Beatles books.... But Postcards from the Boys will delight Fab
Four connoisseurs and send writers scurrying to revise their biographies.'
The Sunday Times Magazine, January 4th 2004
'Ringo Starr's wonderfully inventive new book ... If you know a Beatles fan,
this is the ultimate gift ... the extravagant package ... gives a rare,
intimate look into the Beatles' personal lives.'
Foxnews.com, December 2003
'Clearly in an official publication like Postcards from the Boys, one
doesn't expect the kind of revelations you'd get in an unauthorized
biography. Yet combing through the book, a number of curious and interesting
facts emerge.'
La Repubblica, December 2003
SUBSCRIBERS' COMMENTS:
Hi
Just received my copy of Postcards from the Boys - quite simply, your best
book - incredible!
Brian Roylance, founder of Genesis: "We've waited 20 years to publish a book
by Ringo. Therefore this had to be one of the finest and most unusual
volumes we've ever produced. It is."
2,500 numbered copies signed by Ringo Starr
For twenty years George Harrison was a friend to Genesis Publications and we
were proud to publish several of his signed limited edition books. Genesis
is now delighted to announce the publication of an enchanting volume from
George's fellow Beatle - Postcards From The Boys by Ringo Starr.
Ringo kindly took time out to talk... (Click on the play button)
Please note the book contains 53 facsimile postcards. Every
copy in the edition of 2,500 is housed in the red 'postbox', and every copy
is signed by Ringo.
You are listening to a track from 'Ringo Rama', Ringo's first new studio
album in six years. 'Never Without You' was written by Ringo in memory of
George Harrison and features lead guitar by Eric Clapton. The album also
includes a beautiful duet with Willie Nelson - 'Write One For Me' - as well
as some of his best material since leaving The Beatles.
Customers will be offered the option to include a copy of the three-disc
Deluxe CD/DVD edition of 'Ringo Rama' in their order of Postcards From The
Boys.
'His best work since 1973's hit-filled 'Ringo'. Rolling Stone
'Ringo's best album since The Beatles shattered.' New York Post
This charming limited edition features the reproduction of 53 postcards sent
by George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Ringo.
The superb facsimile reproductions of the cards, complete with the
occasional drawing, depict both the spontaneous wit and art of The Beatles.
The messages sent with love and kindness give insight into the unique bond
which existed between the members of the Fab Four. The reproduction of the
postcards is supplemented with a revealing and humorous text from Ringo
explaining the meaning behind the cards and documenting the corresponding
moments of his life. This is quite simply a "must-have' item for anyone
interested in the story of The Beatles' phenomenon.
There is more handwork involved in the craft bookbinding of Postcards From
The Boys than with any previous Genesis title. The two sides of each
facsimile postcard are carefully pasted into every book to the extent that
there are 108 individual pieces of paper pasted into every single copy.
The text is printed in silver onto heavyweight black paper to create a true
postcard album. The binding is in light brown Nubuk, a new material from
Winter and Company. Each book is housed in an aluminium faced post-box style
solander box and personally autographed by Ringo, making it the ultimate
original collectors' item.
Each subscriber to Postcards From The Boys will delight in owning an album
with remarkable facsimile postcards individually pasted onto the pages -
postcards from George, John and Paul so accurately reproduced that each copy
in the limited edition will have the appearance of an original photo album.
When your unique copy arrives you will find a stamp glued onto the title
page. This stamp will have been selected from the hundreds of stamps from
around the world, specially purchased for this edition. Therefore no two
copies of Postcards From The Boys will be the same.
Each copy in the limited edition has been personally autographed by Ringo.
A page of stamps and three postcards housed in a black envelope have been specially
made for the book and are included in every copy in the edition.
Once Harry Nilsson and I ended up in Austria looking for Johann Strauss! We met Robert Altman instead and finished up in a hotel in Denmark and I believe we had a heated discussion halfway through dinner - him, Harry and I - and the end result was I ended up in Greece with somebody, in Athens!
One Bonfire Night that we had at my place, John and I decided to show our kids (they must have been two and three) some fireworks. We went and bought all these fizzy ones. We'd smoked a lot of herbalized stuff so we didn't want anything really loud. We were doing this whole set up and sitting around, relaxing a little and we went outside to give the babies this big show and everything we bought just exploded! Exploded! What the kids must have thought, I don't know because the grown-ups were going 'Ow! Ow! Aaaagh!' We were so shocked we had to go back inside.
And that's what makes our children what they are today.
There was so much good music in Rishikesh. A lot of the guys wrote some good songs there - if nothing else, that was well worth it. In many ways it was also our first experience of being left alone, although the press caught up with us and photographed us leaving. But we did have plenty of time on our own. The bathroom was full of scorpions - these are just flash memories - you had to make a lot of noise before you went in. And that was that. I'm still glad I went and feel so blessed I met the Maharishi - he gave me a mantra that no-one can take away and I still use it.
The Author has directly donated all royalties from the sale of this book to
The Lotus Foundation. The Publishers have also made a donation for each copy sold to the same charity.
The Lotus Foundation
1st Floor, 90 Jermyn Street
London SW1Y 4JD
Registered charity No. 1070111 in England
Visit the Picture House, which features a QuickTime movie in which Ringo shares his favourite story of George Martin: a recollection from work on the 'Sentimental Journey' album.
Visit the 