One Two Three Four - The Beatles In Time By Craig Brown

ONE TWO THREE FOUR - THE BEATLES IN TIME BY CRAIG BROWN (320kbs-m4a/156mb/67mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 22nd to 26th March 2021

Craig Brown presents a series of kaleidoscopic glimpses of The Beatles through time. Drawing on interviews, diaries, anecdotes, memoirs and gossip, he offers an entertaining series of vignettes that capture the mood of an era.

It's a journey that takes us from 9th November 1961 when Brian Epstein first heard the four young men in a sweaty basement, via their mop top haircuts, to the jaw-dropping prices paid for the most trivial of memorabilia. And along the way there is the music, always the exuberant, the playful and ever-changing music.

Written by Craig Brown
Read by Mark McGann and Craig Brown
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Jill Waters

A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.

Extract from the HarperCollins audiobook read by Craig Brown used by kind permission of the publishers.

ONE TWO THREE FOUR - THE BEATLES IN TIME BY CRAIG BROWN - 1. EPISODE 1 (320kbs-m4a/31mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 22nd March 2021

ONE TWO THREE FOUR - THE BEATLES IN TIME BY CRAIG BROWN - 2. EPISODE 2 (320kbs-m4a/31mb/13mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 23rd March 2021

Today - Jane Asher was already a celebrated young actress when she met The Beatles, but she had more to offer than the inside track on fame.

ONE TWO THREE FOUR - THE BEATLES IN TIME BY CRAIG BROWN - 3. EPISODE 3 (320kbs-m4a/31mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 24th March 2021

Today - the American moral majority disdained The Beatles music, but a reception at the British embassy proved to be startlingly enthusiastic.

ONE TWO THREE FOUR - THE BEATLES IN TIME BY CRAIG BROWN - 4. EPISODE 4 (320kbs-m4a/31mb/13mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 25th March 2021

Today's episode looks at the playfulness of their lyrics, often riddled with half hidden meanings. We also take a look at how disguise offered Paul a chance to hide in plain sight and his realisation that adopting a persona could lead to a certain kind of freedom.

ONE TWO THREE FOUR - THE BEATLES IN TIME BY CRAIG BROWN - 5. EPISODE 5 (320kbs-m4a/31mb/14mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 26th March 2021

In the final episode - it's hard to pinpoint whose idea it was but the characteristic moptop became a Beatles trademark, spawning thousands of imitation wigs. Their legacy lives on in unexpected ways.