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Love Me Do: How the Beatles Shaped Modern Love - book review

The Fab Four, their romances, and how love is reflected in their songs ...

MARTINA NICOLLS

Feb 20

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What do Love Me Do, All You Need is Love, and Something have in common? More than just iconic Beatles songs, they are part of an epic love story – one that spans teenage crushes, whirlwind romances, marriage, heartbreak, infidelity, and Beatle babies.

Scott Robinson’s The Beatles Guide to Love & Sex (2024) draws back the curtain on how John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr shaped modern love through their music – whether they meant to or not. More than half of their 213 songs are about love in some form – and although Paul and John wrote most of the Beatles songs, all of them wrote love songs.

Structured like a time capsule, Robinson’s book explores The Beatles’ love lives alongside their most iconic songs – from the swooning innocence of I Saw Her Standing There to the introspective nostalgia of In My Life. As the Fab Four evolved from Liverpool lads to global superstars, their music mirrored their relationships.

This book doesn’t just analyze the lyrics; it gives readers the backstories. Their long-term loves, fleeting flings, and muses behind the music, from Cynthia Powell and Jane Asher to Pattie Boyd and Yoko Ono. Who inspired Something? Why was Hey Jude about a breakup? And who really got the raw end of the deal in Beatles romances?

The Beatles songs were not all about hand holding, and Scott Robinson has a chapter on "Beatlesex: Naughty Bits." From euphemisms to innuendos, the book explores the Fab Four’s risqué side – because Norwegian Wood wasn’t just about a cozy evening by the fire.

This isn’t just a book for Beatles fanatics. It’s for anyone fascinated by the intersection of music, culture, and romance. Robinson delivers an easy-to-read, wildly entertaining deep dive into how The Beatles’ music both reflected and revolutionized people’s ideas about love, romance, and relationships.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Can’t see the whole article? Want to view the original article? Want to view more articles? Go to Martina’s Substack: The Stories in You and Me