FIRST OF THE TRUE BELIEVERS

‘The Autobiography of Theodore Hennessy’

THE BEATLES formed in 1959, and by March 1964, every one of the top five singles in the American Billboard chart was theirs. They had become a worldwide pop sensation and their home town of Liverpool was the centre of the thriving British music industry. Among other less celebrated Merseybeat groups of the time were The Nighttime Passengers, led by Theo Hennessy, who – according to his own testimony, at least – very nearly replaced Pete Best as drummer of the ‘Fab Four’.

First of the True Believers tells of a decade in the life of Theodore Hennessy. It begins in the late 1950s with his first meeting with the beautiful and elusive Marianne Burgess, and follows their subsequent on-off love affair and his rise to prominence as a musician and music agent. Intertwined is the story of The Beatles themselves. Undaunted by his near miss, Theo remains an enthusiastic Beatles fan and he follows their progress with interest.

First of the True Believers charts the rise of The Beatles through the eyes and ears of a fan, from their early days in Hamburg, through the years of pop stardom to the bitter break-up that signalled the end of the ‘Decade of Love’.

The Beatles provided the definitive soundtrack to the Sixties, and in First of the True Believers, novelist and musicologist Paul Charles combines their phenomenal story with a tender-hearted tale of sex, love and rock ’n’ roll in Sixties Liverpool.

FICTION * UK £15.00 (hardback) UK £7.50 (paperback) * Recommended retail price

'Charles makes good use of his inside knowledge of the rock business: an author to watch.'– Martin Edwards, Solicitors Journal