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On October 5, 1962, the very first Beatles single "Love Me Do", and the very first James Bond film, DR. NO, were both originally released in Britain. In the 60+ years since that auspicious day, both franchises have continued to thrive, and to define and reinterpret what it means to be British. LOVE AND LET DIE, written by John Higgs, details how the Beatles and Bond have affected pop culture and society, and how they have surprisingly intertwined over the years.
Higgs puts the difference between the Beatles and Bond in Freudian terms--the Beatles represent "Eros", or love, while Bond represents "Thanatos", or death. It's a lofty thesis but the author is able to back it up without becoming too pretentious.
Higgs details how when the Beatles first rose to prominence in the early 1960s, they were seen by many as a threat to the British establishment. At the same time, the Bond films were starting to dominate the box office. The irony of that according to Higgs is that the character of Bond, as portrayed by his creator Ian Fleming, was that of a man whose job it was to defend and protect the British establishment.
The book also contrasts the backgrounds and upbringings of the four Beatles and Ian Fleming, and shows how the personal lives and experiences of each affected their creative outputs.
The connections between the Beatles and Bond are far more numerous than one would expect. There's the obvious ones: Paul McCartney writing the title song for LIVE AND LET DIE and Ringo Starr being married to Barbara Bach, the female lead of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. Higgs uncovers several others, such as the many links between A HARD DAY'S NIGHT and GOLDFINGER, probably the two most influential films of 1964.
Higgs also presents how the critics have reacted to both franchises over the decades (and yes, I think now it's appropriate to refer to the entity known as the Beatles as a franchise).
This is a thought-provoking book, especially if you are a fan of both Bond and the Beatles (which I am). While I didn't agree with all of the author's ideas, he does have some perceptive analysis. He also gets extra credit from me by having a chapter on Christopher Lee, who started working on THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN a few weeks after taking part in the photo shoot for the cover of Paul McCartney's BAND ON THE RUN album.
It appeared to me that Higgs is much more a Beatles than a Bond fan. The author looks at things from a 21st Century perspective, and the character of Bond, as portrayed in the original Fleming novels, does not hold up well to those with a politically correct globalist attitude. Higgs is far more appreciative of NO TIME TO DIE than I am. This is still an impressive book, especially for those who are Beatles and Bond fans. The volume is also about 500 pages, but there's plenty in it, and plenty to think about while you are reading it. (I purchased the book at a discount from Edward R. Hamilton Booksellers.)
Connections between A HARD DAY'S NIGHT and GOLDFINGER? Who knew? And I had no idea Love Me Do and DR. NO were released on the same day. I'm not a diehard Bond fan, but this sounds like another good read. How many books do you read in a year?
ReplyDeleteA lot! I don't have much on my social calendar, needless to say.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I'd rather read books than deal with people.