Promotional poster advertising Keith's first appearance on a 3-part Marilyn Monroe / Weird News Weekly special which aired during the evening of August 31 2017 across the following US radio stations; BNNS Internet Radio (in Illinois), Diversity Broadcasting Network (New York), TMV Café (San Antonio, Texas) plus others including Pyramid One Network, Pyramid One Network Two, White Light Infinity Radio and even several over in Australia. (Keith was a guest on the programme again, aired one week later, September 6.)

July 2017 - Mexico, Liverpool, London, Canada and Marilyn...

(31) Sunny Berkshire – Another busy day to start the working week; trips into London, later in the week, were arranged, early archive work on the next movie, Mexico ’70, was carried out and the 2017 Liverpool Beatles Convention video show was sorted, typed and sent over to Bill at Cavern City Tours. And, oh yes, Keith had another progress update chat with Alan G. Parker… "All go here!"

- Keith’s Marilyn book (softback version) suddenly climbed back to the #1 spot in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada (I kid you not)…

(29) US/ www – It was announced that It Was Fifty Years Ago Today… will be released in America, on both DVD and Blu-ray on September 8.

(28) Overcast Berkshire – A chat with Alan G and a flurry of emails concerning yesterday’s meeting were sent, all regarding a proposal which will be sent to out to potential investors on Tuesday.

- Bill from Cavern City Tours was in touch… details of the 2017 Liverpool Convention video show were needed.

- News reached Keith that publication of the new (incredible, bound to be controversial) Beach Boys book, written by two very close to the band, in the 1970s, was edging nearer to publication. (Keith has been involved in this book, in one form or another, since its conception almost four years ago.)

(27) Central London – Another pre-production meeting for Mexico ’70, with director, Alan, Producer, Alexa and (for the first time) film financier, Tony. “Looks good, onwards and very upwards.”

(25) USA – Another fine, five-star Marilyn review on Amazon.com, this time from the reader, “Born to shop” who described the book as “An Interesting Read” and wrote, “I'm enjoying reading this book… as a fan I can say this particular author gives a very honest account, highlighting the good and not so good points and facts about Marilyn's final days.” Thank you!

(24) Germany – It is announced that the Pepper movie, It Was Fifty Years Ago Today, will be released in Germany in August…

- An interesting chat about the next movie project with director, Alan G…

- Another Marilyn Monroe-related interview request came in, by way of his representatives at United Agents. This time it was from a widely-circulated US radio station, broadcasting in New York, Texas and even Australia. The reason? A show celebrating what would have been her 91 birthday.

- In the Amazon Canada book charts, the paperback version of Marilyn was at no.4 in the “Most gifted in Monroe, Marilyn” section on the site.

(22) London, England – Keith travelled back into London, to rub shoulders with celebrities at the BFi, as an invited guest of Kaleidoscope's Chris Perry for another of their events celebrating the recovery of several lost UKTV music clips and programmes. Among those present, (the legendary comedienne) Madeline Smith and (the true broadcasting giants), David Hamilton and (I kid you not) Pete Murray... "It was an honour being in the same room as these legends."

(19/20) Overcast Berkshire – Two days, preparing text and video grabs for the new Record Collector, Rockin’ The Box piece. This time, a trip back to July 1964 for The Yardbirds’ appearance on Granada ITV’s Go Tell It On The Mountain.

- Also on the 19th, news came thru the final negotiations for the next movie project (Mexico ’70) should be wrapped in the next two weeks.

(18) Canada – Marilyn (softback) suddenly raced back to the No.1 position in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada. "Not bad for a book that first appeared almost seven years ago…"

(15) UK/ Europe – The latest edition of Record Collector crashed thru the letter boxes of subscribers… and featured Keith’s recent article on the 1964 Granada music show, A Whole Lotta Shakin’….

(12) Sunny Berkshire – A round of email catch-ups and train ticket bookings.

- One for the “just brought to my attention department.” Alan G’s recent interview for Entertainment South Wales, in which, when discussing an alternate version of John, George and Ringo’s Bangor 1967 interview, he was quoted as saying…

“Keith Badman, our archivist is well known in the industry, they call him the Columbo of rock n roll, if he can’t find it, it doesn’t exist,” laughs Alan, “We’re sat one day chatting away and we’re at that point in the film where we are at the very early stages of the first cut, Keith goes “Hang on a minute they’re the Beatles, presumably when something as big as their manager’s death happens there’s not one camera crew, but probably 150!” He literally got up and walked out of the studio returning 5 minutes later grinning like a Cheshire cat, (and saying) “I’ve just rung HTV in Wales, they had a crew down there, the lady I spoke to said yes we’ve got the clip here, it’s not a problem but do you realise we’ve never been asked to license it in 49 years!”

(11) UK – The big official announcement… Keith/ Alan G and the team’s latest film will be… MEXICO 70 'The One We Should've Won, a documentary on the 1970 World Cup in Mexico City. (It is already scheduled - pencilled in - to open in Cinema in the summer of 2018, prior to next year's global soccer event.)

(10) UK/ World – Another big achievement for It Was Fifty Years Ago Today when it was announced that the movie/ documentary is now available to view on all long haul British Airways flights....

(8) UK / Europe – Stanley Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey (easily, by far, the greatest film ever made) was screened for the fifth time on the BBC in England, this time on the second channel, at 11:15pm. (It's first-ever UK TV screening took place on BBC1 at 7:36pm during the evening of January 1 1982.)

(7) Canada – Still there. Marilyn (softback) was still in the #2 position in the “Most Gifted” in Monroe section on Amazon Canada.

(6) London – 1pm. The first serious meeting about the new movie took place at the trendy, Sanctum bar in Soho, Central London. Those present included director, Alan G and The Bootleg Beatles’ co-manager, Andre Barreau. Most productive indeed, the get-together wrapped at approximately 4:40pm. After which, Keith faced a long journey home after signal failures in Hayes completely disrupted trains running in and out of Paddington. “Dear me.”

(5) Rather Warm Berkshire – Another big text update took place on this site.

(4) Sunny Berkshire – The new film/ movie project edged even nearer to fruition with the news that two Premiership footballers are now keen on getting involved in it…

(3) Overcast Berkshire / twinned with London – Another film/ movie project edges nearer towards a starting date when a meeting for… roll on Ringo’s drums… the Mexico ’70 project is called for this coming Thursday.

June 2017...Marilyn, RC, BBC, Pepper, new Projects and wonderful Adam...

(29) Warm Berkshire / London – The turning of Keith’s Marilyn book into a major film/TV drama took another big step today. As before, watch this space…

(27) Overcast Wet Berkshire – Another lengthy discussion, with Producer Alexa about the propsed, new movie project. The upshot of it is; once funding is in place, filming should begin at the end of July. Its subject? You’ll soon know…

(26) Sunny Berkshire – Emails catch-up, this site is tweaked and plans for the week were hatched…

(22) Rather Warm Berkshire – RC, for this month at least, was wrapped when the video grabs for A Whole Lotta Shakin’… was sent over, ready for publication.

- Very early, pre-production archive research work on the new movie was carried out by Keith and an amazing, rarely-seen 1970 film clip was incredibly unearthed…

(21) Still Sunny Berkshire – Change of plan… Nice Time was dropped by Record Collector. In its place, the 1964 Granada live rock ‘n’ roll music extravaganza, A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin ‘ On…

- Conversation this morning with Alan G about the new movie project went very well indeed and it sure looks like a go-er. Fingers crossed filming should start in Late July.

- Amazon Canada – It’s as you were with the paperback version of Marilyn at #1 in the “Most Wished for in Monroe, Marilyn” and at #2 in the “Most Gifted” sections devoted to the great actress on the site.

(20) North London (near the home of Arsenal FC) – Another catch-up with one of Keith’s long-time friends, the property extraordinaire, Laurence. (“Lovely pizza! Thank you!”)

- Further meetings regarding the next movie project took place in London. Director, Alan G was naturally present.

(19) Beautifully Sunny Berkshire – Work continued on Nice Time for Record Collector magazine…

- Many thanks to “Middlethought” for his five-star rating of Marilyn on Goodreads. The person rated it as... 'amazing.' “Thank you!”

(17) Italy – The Pepper doc, It Was Fifty Years Ago Today; The Beatles Sgt Pepper & Beyond opened in cinemas across Italy. Box office takings during that opening weekend were… most impressive indeed!

(16) Rather Sunny Berkshire – Work on the Kenny Everett/ Nice Time (1968) edition of Rockin’ The Box for Record Collector magazine finally got underway.

- Talking of the mag, the latest edition, featuring a report on Brian Epstein’s last-ever TV appearance, taped just a month before his death, dropped through letter-boxes across the country.

- While over on (good ol’) Amazon Canada, the paperback edition of Keith’s Marilyn was spotted at #1 in the “Most Wished for in Monroe, Marilyn” section of the site. It was also at #2 in the “Most Gifted” section devoted to the great actress on the site.

- It was announced the new movie, It Was Fifty Years Ago Today; The Beatles Sgt Pepper & Beyond was (incredibly) placed at No.12 in the UK’s top movie chart listings.
(15) Overcast Berkshire – Further CCR Pledge discussion with Paul S. A decision of it will be made early next week.

- A long overdue, text update of this site was finished today.

(14) USA / UK – The CCR Pledge book campaign was not progressing as well as expected so Keith had a long, hard discussion about it with the designer on the project, Paul S. A talk about it was also had today with Mike Randolph.

(12) UK – It Was Fifty Years Ago Today, The Beatles Sgt Pepper & Beyond… was at No 1 in the music/documentary charts.... AND at No 16 in the national UK Film charts, alongside Trainspotting 2, Denial and Gold etc. etc.... “Simply incredible!”

(9) Los Angeles, California – Adam West passed away following a brief battle with leukaemia. He was 88. Six days later, on June 15, 2017, Los Angeles shined the Bat-Signal on City Hall as a tribute to him. “He will be, and will always be the finest Batman ever. EVER! I truly adored him and the series. He will be sorely missed,” Keith said after hearing the sad news.

(9 - 14) Canada – My goodness! Still there… number one in the “Most Gifted in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

- Well, incredible as it seems but even now, there are more revisions to the Cavern club book text. (Release date of it was pushed back to December 2017.)

(8) BBC London – Director Alan G was a guest on BBC Radio 2’s Jonathan Ross radio show. Naturally the Pepper movie doc was discussed. (Mr Ross loved the film… So does Mike Joyce, former drummer with The Smiths.)

(7) Canada – Hey, hey, still there… top spot in the “Most Gifted in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada. Stocks of the paperback edition were once more depleted on the site, with customers being told a new delivery of the book will ship within “2 to 5 weeks.”

- Chart positions a go-go here… The It Was Fifty Years Ago Today documentary was found at #1 in the DVD & Blu-ray “Music Video & Concert” chart today, as well as #3 in the DVD & Blu-ray “Documentary” listing and at #8 in the DVD & Blu-ray “TV” run-down. “Quite remarkable.”

(5) Canada – Still there… the softback version of Marilyn was still in the #1 in the “Most Gifted in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

- UK – It’s out. Despite being shipped out 10 days earlier, the Blu-ray /DVD versions of It Was Fifty Years Ago Today were officially released today… on Amazon and all major retailers, and already it had climbed to #1 in the “DVD & Blu-ray > Music Video & Concert,” listing, #3 in the “DVD & Blu-ray > Documentary” chart and #7 in the “DVD & Blu-ray > TV” run-down… “Yes!” As you would have guessed, it was the #1 “Best Seller in Music Video & Concert” on Amazon UK.

-Berkshire - More (most interesting) developments with the (get ready) Marilyn and Queen Projects.

-Self-employed for 29 years now and amongst the “Congrats” messages to Keith on Linkedin was one from ‘Everlasting Love’ himself, the famous, Love Affair front-man, Steve Ellis. “Thanks, Steve! Appreciate it.”

(4) Goodreads – Yet another five-star rating of Marilyn… Many thanks to “dale connors” for supplying it.

(2) Overcast Berkshire – Latest Rockin’, featuring Brian Epstein’s very last television appearance, was typed and sent to Record Collector magazine.
- Marilyn (softback) was suddenly spotted at #1 in the “Most Gifted in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

(1) Central London – Another day of Pepper-related promotional interviews, mainly today at Wogan House. Two were carried out in quick succession, one for Radio Kent. (The piece was repeated on the station on Sunday afternoon, June 4 between 2 and 3pm.)

-Liverpool – Then a mad rush for the train… for the Northern premiere of the movie, which took place this evening…

-Many thanks to “Pamela Kincheloe” for her five-star rating review of Marilyn on Goodreads.

May 2017... Pepper at 50, Polish Radio, Eppy, Marilyn, Pepper Film Premiere, Arsenal, CCR & Another TV Credit,...

(31) St John’s Wood, (near the world famous Abbey Road Studios) – A trip out to North West London for a lengthy interview at the exclusive, Ivy restaurant, with (the delightful) presenters, Magdalena and Pawel of the top, East Poland, national radio station, Radio Lublin. The Pepper album and movie were naturally discussed.

The first part of the interview was aired on the station the following day; the rest the following week. This was the first of two rather busy days of Pepper promotional interviews for Keith. (Celebrity spotted in the Ivy restaurant that day; English actor, Bill Nighy.)

(30) Overcast Berkshire – Further work on the latest Rockin’ The Box piece for Record Collector magazine, a fiftieth anniversary feature on Brian Epstein’s very last, now largely forgotten, television interview, for News At Ten in July 1967.

- Marilyn was still placed at #1 in the “Most Gifted in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

(29) Overcast Berkshire / twinned with Canada – Bank holiday Monday, another amazing day on Amazon Canada… when Keith’s Marilyn featured prominently in three different charts, #1 in the “Most Gifted in Monroe, Marilyn” section, and at #2 (kindle) and 3 (paperback) in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” listing. “Incredible!!”

- It did not end there. The book was also found at #11 in the Kindle Store, in the “Humour & Entertainment > Movies > History & Criticism” section and at #27 in the “Books > Humour & Entertainment > Movies > Biographies” section. The downside of it all, stocks of the softback edition were now completely gone on the site, with deliveries expected to be shipped in “1-2 months.”

(28) Goodreads – Many thanks to “Peter Wilson” for his five-star review of Marilyn on the world renowned, book reading site, Goodreads.

(27) Wembley, London – Yay!!!!!!!! Keith’s beloved Arsenal won the FA Cup AGAIN, (easily) beating Chelsea 2-1. “What a superb, stunning performance from Wenger’s boys!” And a truly magical day!!

- Many thanks to “Stefano C” for his five-star review of Marilyn on Amazon Italy.

(26) West End London, Picturehouse Central – The big-day finally arrived. The UK/ London Premiere of the new Pepper movie , It Was Fifty Years Ago Today took place in Central London. A Q&A with the film's director, Alan G, preceded it… "A splendid time was certainly had by all."

- The movie (incredibly) also opened today in 72 cinemas across the country…
- BBC film reviewer, Mark Kermode reviewed It Was Fifty Years Ago Today,  The Beatles: Sgt Pepper & Beyond on BBC Radio 5 Live.
- BBC Four aired (at 10pm) Sharon Osbourne Presents Rock N Roll’s Dodgiest Deals, which featured Keith’s latest TV credit.

(23) Overcast Berkshire… sincere and heart-felt thoughts went out to those involved in the Manchester Arena atrocity…

- Another BBC Pepper fiftieth anniversary interview was arranged, this time for BBC Radio Kent, for the following week, June 1 at Wogan Host, West End London. ("Many thanks to Sara Cash for her help in arranging this.")

(22) Canada – For the third straight day, Marilyn was at No.1 again in the “Most Wished For in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon in that country.

(20) Canada – Marilyn went to the No.1 AGAIN in the “Most Wished for in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

(19) London - Beatles movie promotions continued with Alan G. appearing live on Sky News Sunrise. (“Many thanks AGP for yet another name check.”)

- Early morning phone call with legendary, 60s/70s photographer, Mike Randolph…
- AND another big move forward with the Marilyn TV drama came when it was announced that the two parties concerned in the project had (wait for it) reached an amicable agreement… now on to contracts…

(18) London - Beatles film promotions began with director, Alan G. making a live appearance on BBC Breakfast Time. (“Yes! Thanks Alan for the name check!”)

(16-17-18) Sunny Berks – Three mad days of CCR researching and typing.

- Big news time! The Pledge CCR (in London 1970 and 1971) book / photographic campaign officially went live on the eighteenth.

(15) A Rather Sunny Berkshire – What a day… what a day… CCR, Queen, and Marilyn… conversations with Simon L, Mike R, Paul S and my TV agent, Yasmin. What a day! Non-stop!

- Both Apple News and Empire Magazine carried most favourable reviews of the It Was Fifty Years Ago Today movie on their websites.
- Goodreads – Many thanks to reader “Jessica Avery” for her five-star review of Marilyn on the site.

(11 - 12) Overcast (but dry) Berkshire – Even more typing on the CCR book Pledge project. ("Dear me. It goes on.")

- The new Pepper film, It Was Fifty Years Ago Today was STILL at #1 (DVD at #2) in the “Hot New Releases in Music Video & Concert” listing on Amazon.co.uk.
- Keith’s Marilyn (softback edition) was at #3 in the “Most Wished For In Monroe, Marilyn” listing on Amazon Canada.

(10) South London – A trip out to Bermondsey to see Keith’s old, long-time mate, Terry R. Several bottles of… Diet Coke were consumed in a most eventful 3-hour session.

- Interesting news… the Mexico ’70 movie documentary looks like a go-er. (Fingers tightly crossed.)
- Further major news. Pepper movie director, Alan G. will be a guest on BBC Breakfast Time next Thursday (May 18) to discuss and promote the new Pepper film.

(8/9) Sunny Berkshire – Even more work on the forthcoming CCR book project.

-It is announced that the new Pepper film will be screened on August 27 at the big, annual Beatles Convention in Liverpool. A Q&A with Alan G. is scheduled to follow it.
- A Marilyn interview request came in today from one of the top US radio programmes, The Scott Helmer Show…

(3/4/5) Overcast Berkshire – Further text work on the new CCR project.

- On the fourth, an interesting archive breakthrough came on the proposed Mexico ’70 documentary idea. (Keith knows where the rare archive footage is!)
- Marilyn sat very nicely in the #3 position in the “Most Wished For in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

(2) Sunny Berkshire – Another RC Rockin’ The Box column beckoned, this time a 1968 edition of Kenny Everett’s Nice Time series. (Video grabs were sent today… but unfortunately the publication of them in the mag would be held back for several months.)

- Keith’s Sgt Pepper / 50th Anniversary interview for an East Poland radio station, on May 31 was confirmed today, but the logistics of it had yet to be confirmed.
- Still there. The Blu-ray version of the Pepper film was STILL at #1 in the “Hot New Releases in Music Video & Concert” section on Amazon.co.uk. (DVD was now up to #2)
- Big news time! The USA/South America distribution for the new Pepper film was now complete. It will be handled by Bob Frank Entertainment.

(1) London & Slough – Keith’s credit on a new BBC Four music documentary was confirmed today. “Thanks, Andy!”

April 2017...Football, New Projects, Pepper 50, Amazon, Marilyn, a Buzzcock & The Grand National...

(28) West End London – Another trip into the capital, this time to meet Alan G and Gabriel Clarke, a rather important, highly influential individual from the sports television production industry. After which, Alan and Keith attended a 2:30pm meeting with the distributors of the Pepper movie. This was followed by… a Diet Coke or (five) with Buzzcock, Steve Diggle and (former) Bootleg Beatle, Andre Barreau…

(27) Overcast Berkshire – A day of email catch-ups and discussions with Alan G about the important meeting tomorrow.

- Anticipating the exciting new project, Keith made preliminary contacts with some rather important, UK TV archive-based figures.
- Yep, the run was uninterrupted… The Pepper film (Blu-ray version) was still at #1 in the “Hot New Releases in Music Video & Concert” section on Amazon.co.uk. (DVD now at #3)
- TV Legend, Ross L came forward with a truly amazing archive lead for the next project Keith was planning…

(26) Amazon – Due to high amount of advance sales, Amazon in the UK had no option but to move forward, by one whole month, the release dates of both the Bu-ray and DVD version of It Was Fifty Years Ago Today…. The new issue date is now June 5.

(25) A rather sunny Berkshire – Email catch-up, and more development work on the aforementioned discussed new movie projects.

- Yep, still there… the new Beatles / Pepper film (Blu-ray version) was still at #1 in the “Hot New Releases in Music Video & Concert” section on Amazon.co.uk. (DVD at #4)
- The new Pepper movie received another invite-only, press screening in Central London.

(24) Windsor, Berks – Another hook-up with the legendary photographer, Mike Randolph.
- New (rather exciting) movie projects were also discussed with the film director extraordinaire, Alan G.

(21) South West London – Another trip out to Wandsworth to chat over the several ongoing, rather exciting new projects with (director of the moment) Alan G. Parker and producer, Alexa Morris. Safe to say, several Diet Cokes were consumed during the afternoon/ 12:15pm meet.

(20) Goodreads – A very big thanks to “Octobur Frost” for her five-star rating of Marilyn on the site. “It was amazing,” she typed. As it stood today, 92 per cent of the readers on the site loved the book.

- The paperback version of Marilyn sat quite proudly at #2 in the “Most Wished For in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada. It was also at #8 in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” listing on the same day. Not bad for a book that was first released way back in 2010.
- The Blu-ray version of It Was Fifty Years Ago Today was still at No.1 in the “Hot New Releases in Music Video & Concert” listing on Amazon in the UK… And on the same day, the movie officially became the #1 Best Seller in the “Music, Video & Concert” section on Amazon.co.uk.
- Meanwhile, the Director’s Q&A tour dates for the Pepper movie were announced today, with events scheduled to take place throughout May and June in Norwich, Leeds, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool and, of course, London (on May 26).

(19) Rather Sunny Berkshire – Phone calls / emails / discussions about future projects with various friends and colleagues…

(18) Sunny Berks twinned with Canada – A return after the Easter break… Superb news… The paperback version of Marilyn returned to No.1 in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” section of Amazon Canada.

- Talking of No.1s… Two weeks on and it’s STILL there! The Blu-ray release of It Was Fifty Years Ago Today… was still in the top spot in the “Hot New Releases in Music Video & Concert” chart on Amazon in the UK. (The DVD version stood at No.4 in the same listing…No.2 one day later!) On April 18, 2017 Keith had two Number One projects, with two different items in two different charts. Fact! “Amazing!”

(17) Italy – Major news. It was announced that the new Beatles / Pepper movie will be given an official cinema May 2017 release in Italy … its new title, by the way, is Dal 30 Maggio al 2 giugno, The Beatles: Sgt Pepper & Beyond.

(14) Good Friday in a cold & overcast Berkshire – Email catch-up and further work on the CCR project. “Happy Easter everyone!”

- Amazon.co.uk – Still there! The Blu-ray version of IT Was Fifty Years Ago Today was still in the No.1 position (DVD at No.5) in the Hot New Releases in Music Video & Concert chart on the site (and still outselling The Rolling Stones’ latest)…

(13) South West London – A trip out to Wandsworth to discuss several ongoing projects with director, Alan G. Parker and producer, Alexa Morris. Keith learnt today that press screening invites for It Was Fifty Years Ago Today had gone out to the “red top” and several other UK newspapers. The response was magnificent and instantly, every seat for the screening, in Soho, London, on April 25, had been taken.

- Also today, Badman received news, from two different sources, that the proposed Marilyn drama series project had “optimistically” moved on a little bit further…

(12) Sunny Berkshire – Fine tuning/ developments on several projects took place today.

- One week after being placed on the site, the movie, It Was Fifty Years Ago Today (Blu-ray version) was still at No.1 in the “Hot New Releases in Music Video & Concert” section on Amazon.co.uk. (The DVD version meanwhile stood at No.4.)
- Display copies of the Circus ’68 book went on display in The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street, Liverpool. (“A big thank you to both Anne Marie and Stephen… Wonderful people!”)

(11) Berkshire / The World – Cavern club text – was work on it finally finished? It looks like it was…
- Conversation with ace designer, Paul S and the ongoing CCR project took an unexpected, rather pleasant twist today.

(10) Overcast Berkshire – 47 years since The Beatles officially split, it was a monster email catch-up day…

- Incredible to think, but “It Was 20 Years Ago Today” that his definitive, co-authored Rolling Stones book, Good Times, Bad Times was released by Complete Music.

- Keith received news from movie producer, Alan Byron that the long planned; Odeon Entertainment film on The Beatles’ early years (which featured an interview with him) was back on the cards, and nearing completion.

(8) Aintree, Liverpool – The sporting highlight of the year, the 170th running of the world’s greatest horse race, The Grand National. It was another great betting year with Keith successfully backing the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th placed horses.

(7) West End London – Another monstrously busy day, taking in Windsor, Slough and then the West End of London where our Mr. Badman had a meeting with director, Alan G, producer, Alexa Morris, and film financier, Michael. The reason for the hook-up, to discuss (I kid you not) the purchase and development of one of Keith’s Beatles books into a fully-fledged movie.

- Amazon – Incredible, but true!! Just one day after going on sale, the Blu-ray and DVD releases of the Beatles movie reached Nos 1 and 2 respectively in the “Hot New Releases in Music Video & Concert” chart on the site. “Wow!”

(6) Amazon – The Blu-ray and DVD releases of It Was 50 Years Ago Today were listed for the first time today on Amazon.co.uk and… sales were very brisk indeed!! Incredible really since they will not be released officially until July 3.

- The Beatles' Pepper 50 Years Ago Today movie trailer was picked-up by The Guardian website and, by the following Monday, it had been watched by over half-a-million people. The trailer was also carried by the New Musical Express site.

- Windsor, Berkshire - Another almighty catchy-up, this time with Keith’s old, fellow Beatles-loving mate, Daniel.

(5) Rather Sunny Berkshire, thank you – (Roll on drums) after a two week delay, the official movie trailer for Alan G. Parker’s It Was 50 Years Ago Today was finally released to the world on YouTube. On the same day, a report on the movie was carried by the Classic Rock website.

-Further discussions took place today about the aforementioned Sandie Shaw project.
-Another surprise, with stocks practically out, Keith’s Marilyn (softback) returned to the #1 spot on the “Most Wished For in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

(4) Overcast Berkshire – Discussions about the CCR project took place between Keith and designer, Paul. A lengthy chat about the legalities of the new Beatles movie was also had today with producer, Alexa Morris.

(3) Quite Sunny Berkshire – Promotional text, for the CCR Pledge campaign, was prepared today.

- London - Confusion / heated arguments over the trailer for the new Beatles Pepper movie took place today between the companies in charge of promoting the film.
- Discussions commenced today involving the aforementioned Sandie Shaw project as well as ones involving the new one, the Beatles film drama, And In The End...
- Director, Alan G. announced the trailer for It Was 50 Years Ago Today would be officially released this coming week…

March 2017... Unveiling of The Beatles film, Lawford, BBC Four, CCR, the Cavern, and Marilyn!

(31) West End – Another monstrously busy business day, with activities firstly taking in Slough. Then (after boarding a fast train), operations shifted to London with visits to Langham Place (for work on a new BBC Four show), High Street Kensington, Charing Cross Road (aka “The Office” where Keith met director, Alan G and Andre formerly of The Bootleg Beatles and now co-manager of them) and then Langham Place again (when he saw colleague and long-time friend, Andy).

- A trip to see his dear Mum wrapped-up this busy day. “Phew!” Another rather exciting, highly productive month was now over…

- Another nice end to March came when reader, Helen R Waddington gave Marilyn a five-star rating on Goodreads. “Thank you!”

(30) Sunny Berkshire – Busy on CCR. Keith also received an offer today to work on a new, official Sandie Shaw documentary.

(29) Leafy (but overcast) Berkshire – Work time today was split between the forthcoming CCR book and a new project involving Sara Cash, the wife of legendary DJ, Dave. With an ace design for it, just sent in from top designer, Paul S, the venture excitedly (and suddenly) moved-up another notch.

- The Cavern club book endeavour… was the copy for it finally completed today? All 33,00-plus words of it? With a final piece of fine-tuning of the text today, it looks like Keith’s role on it was finally over. (A June 2017 release still looks certain.)

(28) Sunny Berkshire – Formative work on a new photo book project involving the legendary American rock band, Creedence Clearwater Revival.

(27) Canada – With stocks of the softback now sold out on the site, and deliveries of the book not expected for 1-2 months, the paperback version of Marilyn unsurprisingly returned to the #1 spot again (!!!!!!!!!!!), this time in the “Most Wished for Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

- Goodreads (again) – Many thanks to reader, “David Cain” for his five-star rating of Marilyn on the site today. “Thanks, David.”
- Speaking of the legendary actress, plans to turn Keith’s book into a major television production moved that little bit closer when optimistic discussions about it, between him and his Film/TV/Media agent, Yasmin took place today.
- Has the Cavern book text finally been approved and signed off, we wonder??!!
- Plans for another hook-up in London, this coming Friday, with Alan G. was hatched this afternoon.

(23-24) Leafy Berkshire – Further work (can you believe that) on the Cavern book text, in addition to conversations with Sara Cash (about another new, ongoing project). Keith also prepared an updated version of his biography for use in promotions of the new Beatles film.

- Also on the 24th, the softback version of Marilyn was spotted at #2 in the “Most Wished For In Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

- And talking about the great lady, today saw another major development in the plan to turn Keith’s book into a major TV drama series. More news soon! Watch this space…

(22) Leafy Berkshire – More forthcoming projects discussed, including one (a film biog) on a very well-known nightclub personality… with a background of over 50 years.

(21) Leafy Berkshire – Another frantic day of emails/ phone calls, catch-ups and sorting things, particularly with regards to the special Record Collector / Circus piece and the on-going book idea with Sara Cash, widow of the legendary DJ, Dave.

- A much-needed update on this site was carried out today.
- Another project with the Rock Gods, Queen in the offering, we wonder?

(20) Canada – In the Marilyn Amazon Bestsellers Rank, with stocks completely depleted, the softback version found its way up to #3 in the “Most Wished For” category. While in some of the other charts that day, the paperback edition was to be found at #18 in the “Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” and at #231 in the “Humour & Entertainment > Movies > Biographies” sections of the site.

- UK - Excitement continues when Record Collector magazine announces they will be featuring the remastered Circus ’68 images in a spread of a future Rolling Stones special edition version of the mag.
-The planned premiere today of the official trailer for It Was 50 Years Ago Today failed to materialise due to various unforeseen problems.
- Leafy Berkshire – “Have we reached the end for the Cavern book text?” That was the question today. We will soon know…

(17) London, England – Monster big news on the Beatles / Pepper movie front when the UK distribution for it, It Was Fifty Years Ago Today was picked up by Kaleidoscope Entertainment which means it will, without any doubts whatsoever, be in multiple cinemas across the country on May 26, the 50 anniversary of the UK release of the great album. (“Bet that will please Apple!”)

- West End, London (afternoon) – For the first time in possibly five-years, Keith met with his old, long-time pal of almost 30 years, Andy Neill. A pizza restaurant was chosen and a rather pleasant, four-hour catch-up was had by both of them.

(15) London, England – Keith was invited to the “Beatles Unseen” launch party, at the Proud Gallery in Camden this evening but, due to logistical problems, was unable to attend.

(14) West End – The first-ever screening of the completed, new Beatles movie took place at the private, swank, Hospital Club in Camden, London. (Event began at 5:30pm) Richard Porter, of the London Beatles Walks company, in the audience that night was the first to review it, describing it “a great tribute to a great album. Highly recommended.”

Keith’s role in the picture was also noticed, with Porter saying, “there is plenty of footage of the Fabs, much I hadn’t seen before, as collected by Keith Badman, Beatles archivist extraordinaire.” Thank you, Richard!

(10) Canada – Paperback Marilyn suddenly raced up to the #11 position in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada. And with that, the site / company was completely out of any actual psychical copies of Keith’s book on the actress.

- Would you believe, even more editing / revision of the text to be featured in the forthcoming official Cavern club book.

(6– 9) South Coast – Keith took his twice-yearly trip down to Lawford-Land by the sea.

(3) Leafy Berkshire – Keith’s work on the Beatles documentary finally came to an end which at 11:43am, just seventeen minutes before the deadline, he submitted, for inclusion in the film, the last remaining piece of HD archive footage on the band. The very last picture, for inclusion in the picture (the Getty image of John Lennon leaning out of the train carriage window, Euston, in August 1967) had been sent just minutes before that. “The job was done.”

(2) Leafy Berkshire – Another frantic day when video grabs for another Rockin’ piece was sent to Record Collector magazine.

(1) Leafy Berkshire – Keith met for lunch with his old friend, the comedy producer and Queen production legend, Simon Lupton.

February 2017...Marilyn, The Beatles film is (almost) finished but the Cavern book is not!

(28) Leafy Berkshire – Keith spent the afternoon helping American author, John Brady with questions relating to Marilyn for his forthcoming book on the love affair of screen legends, Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner.

(27) Leafy Berkshire (evening) – Another old-mate catch-up when Keith crossed paths with Gary, a friend of his for over 40 years!

(21) UK - Amazon.co.uk announced today the release of a new softback version of Marilyn.

(20) Berkshire – Keith sent the two completed Cavern files to the others in the production. Fingers crossed, his work on the book is now finished…. Alas not. (Work on the project, for one reason or not, would run on for another four months.)

(17) Soho, London – Fine-tuning of the film took place at Timeline Studios. This meant the start / end titles were added to the movie. Keith’s credit in the movie is (get ready) that of… “Archive Producer.”

(16) Soho, London – Following a special screening of the completed movie, the producer of it, Reynold liked what he saw and happily “signed it off,” which meant the release of it edged that much nearer. “Great news!” the team on the project screamed.

(1 – 15) Leafy Berkshire – Pretty much throughout the first two weeks of the month, our intrepid researcher spent most of his time intermittently dividing his time fine-tuning the Cavern club text and researching / finding / clearing footage and stills for the new Beatles documentary. “All go here, ya know!”

January 2017...Beatles movie work, a poster is designed, Ealing and Marilyn...

(25 – End of month) Leafy Berkshire – Unperturbed, Keith continued with his work researching / clearing archive footage and stills for the new Beatles film. “The WeTransfer site was certainly kept busy during these days,” he joked.

(25) London, England – An official, legal reply was sent to the legal representatives of a certain “well-known” British pop group. The letter made it abundantly clear, “You cannot stop us. We are doing nothing wrong and we are not infringing any of your copyrights.” We waited for a response… And until we receive one, the production on the movie would rumble on.

- Amazon Canada – With just one copy left in stock, Marilyn (paperback version) was spotted at #2 in the “Most Wished For in Monroe, Marilyn” section on the site.

- Legal matters on the film were discussed with producer, Alexa M this afternoon.
(24) London/ Berkshire – A flurry of emails / phone calls were sent / swopped, all of which concerned the imminent “cease and desist” notice from the lawyers of a “certain well known pop group.”

(23) Beatles movie poster – A “legal” letter was received by the producers of the It Was 50 Years Ago Today movie. It had been sent by lawyers acting on behalf of a certain, well-known “pop group.” They made it perfectly clear their “clients” were not happy with the film they were producing and demanded to know more about it. As a result, the movie poster and all literature about it had to remove from several sites, including this one until the matter had been resolved.

(18) London, England – Early promotions for the new Beatles documentary continued when the London-based film promoting company, Primal Screen distributed the newly created, excellent poster for the movie…. It was noticed by representatives of a certain, well-known “pop group” who immediately decided to take action against it.

(16 onwards thru month) Leafy Berkshire – Keith carried out continuous archive research and clearance work on the Beatles movie documentary.

(13) Ealing Film Studios – A return visit to the studios, famed for classics such as The Ladykillers and The Lavender Hill Mob. “Wow!”

(10) US – Goodreads – Many thanks to reader “Michael” for his five-star rating of Marilyn on the site. (For the record, during the period between July 22 2016 and January 14 2017 a total of 13 out of 16 readers on the site each gave Marilyn a five-star review. “Thank you all!”)

(9 – 12) Leafy Berkshire – Four days of non-stop archive research on the new Beatles doc.

(5 – 6) Leafy Berkshire – Time for another Rockin’ episode in Record Collector magazine. This month, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames’ January 1975 appearance on the long forgotten, Tyne-Tees music series, The Geordie Scene.

(3) Ealing Studios – The New Year continues with another trip out to Ealing Film Studios to see director, Alan G and editor, Ian who were there, hard at work constructing the new Beatles movie. “It was a freezing cold day,” Keith said, “so much so; I even had to put on my beloved, woolly Arsenal hat.”

(2) Leafy Berkshire – Welcome back. Here’s to a great 2017… It was a day of email catch-ups, Liverpool train and hotel bookings and further work on the new Beatles movie. A return to the world famous Ealing Film Studios in London is on the cards for tomorrow (Tuesday).

- Canada. Still hanging in there. The paperback edition of Marilyn was seen in the #23 position in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” listing on Amazon Canada. This meant Keith’s book on the late, great actress (in any format) has been in the Top 40 charts on the lady consistently since its release in Canada in August 2012.

Big News! Trailer lands for It Was Fifty Years Ago Today!

Excitement reigns as the release date gets closer!
You can pre-order your DVD or Blu-Ray copy at Amazon UK by clicking here.


In the meantime feast your eyes on the trailer.



Other Links -
Film Website (includes Free Draw for tickets to see the film)
NME Article
Guardian Article
Here's an article for our Italian friends!

December 2016... Hunter, Beatles, RC, Cavern, Marilyn, Ealing and another No.1...

(30) Amazon.co.uk – another impressive landmark came when Hunter’s The Beatles Book once more returned to the top spot and became the sites No.1 “Best Seller in Beatles” for that particular day / week. "Happy New Year all. Here's a Happy and Prosperous New Year... for everyone.”

(25) Berkshire - The Big Day for everyone across the world, and Keith wanted to wish the management, staff and residents at the Care Home for making the great day so special for him and his dear Mother, Kathleen.

(22) World – The latest edition of Record Collector crashed thru the letterboxes of subscribers across the country, and included in it, after a short break, was Keith’s latest Rockin’ The Box piece, on the Tyne Tees show, The Georgie Scene. “Happy Christmas all.”

(21) Leafy Berkshire – Work on The Beatles’ movie wrapped for Christmas. “It’s been quite an adventurous year… Here’s to an exciting and prosperous 2017.”

-For the fourth straight year, Marilyn featured in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada. The softback edition sat at #16 while the hardback version was seen in the #40 position. “Incredible!”

- A year-end, Cavern book catch-up with Bob Young.

(20) West End London – Another trip into London to meet director, Alan G and the gang, film producer, Rob Harvey, Buzzcock, Steve Diggle and DJ, Gary Crowley for a Christmas drink.

(19) UK – Keith’s tome with Hunter Davies, The Beatles Book was, once again the “#1 Best-Selling Beatles” item on Amazon in the UK.

(9 - 18) Leafy Berkshire / world – A day of downloading / sending Beatles files over to Ealing, a conversation with producer, Alexa Morris and a big push towards the selling of an extremely rare Beach Boys film punctuated another most busy day. “All go here!” (The researching on the Beatles movie, involving both video and stills, continued for the next 9 days.)

- For the second successive year, copies of Marilyn (paperback version) were once more depleted on both Amazon.co.uk. and Amazon in Canada.

(7) Leafy Berkshire / Goodreads – further archive transferring via the WeTransfer site and a big, big thank you to “Vettius29” for posting a five-star rating of Marilyn on the Goodreads site. That’s three top-rated reviews in a row in just 10 days. “How cool is that?”

(6) Leafy (but still extremely cold) Berkshire – A bit of blogging sandwiched in-between another frantic day of archive clip sending to the Beatles edit suite in Ealing Film Studios. And, oh yes, “Happy Birthday to me!!”

(5) Leafy (but cold) Berkshire – Archive Beatles research continues on the new documentary including the sending of the first archive clips to the Ealing edit suite by way of (the most friendly website) WeTransfer.

(3) Leafy Berkshire – Keith’s 2016 Birthday celebrations began at The George with some of his closest and dearest mates.

(2) Ealing, London – 11:30am. First meeting with director, Alan G. Parker and editor, Ian Farr at the historic, legendary, most famous, Ealing Film Studios .“Wow!”

(1) Lawford – Sunny Slough – Keith returned from his latest “Lawford excursion.” His arrival in Reading was greeted by some truly superb news (from Simon L) about plans to turn Keith’s Marilyn book into a 3-part drama series. “How incredible! More news soon. Watch this space!"

- Goodreads – The month got off to a flyer with yet another five-star, Marilyn review on Goodreads, this time from the reader called ‘Gwearbennenon’. “ Thank you, indeed!!”

November 2016... Canada, Beatles, Beach Boys, Ealing, Liverpool and... The Scotch!

(28) Canada – Wow!! Marilyn (hardback edition) suddenly raced back to the #1 position in the “Most Wanted in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada.

- Another very busy day on the Beatles documentary. While Keith continued with the research, director, Alan G. began the task of putting the whole thing together, over at the (world famous, highly renowned) Ealing Film Studios, in Ealing. (Archive research / licensing / negotiating work on the new film continued for Mr. Badman for the remainder of the month.)

(27) USA/ World – A big thank you to “Kady” for giving Marilyn a big five-star rating on the renowned Goodreads website.

(25) Leafy Berkshire - Phew another day of Beatles archive work. Hot moments today included the arrival, from Screen Visuals, of the 1967 Pepper-era image which will adorn the front cover of the DVD / Blu-rays and appear in advance promotional material for the documentary.

- Keith also (rather excitedly) received today a short sample of a totally unseen / un-broadcasted Beach Boys documentary from March 1970. “And incredibly wonderful it was too,” he screamed after viewing it. The 16mm colour clip was then sent onto the group themselves by way of the band’s official archivist, Alan. “All go here!”

(23/24) Leafy Berkshire – Another mad/ busy day of archive research and form filling on the new Beatles movie.

- Following a lengthy discussion with producer, Simon Lupton, the working day concluded on a rather exciting bit of news regarding the film/ TV dramatization of Keith’s Marilyn book.

(22) – Leafy Berkshire – An archive licensing progress report chat with Chris B at ITN Source, followed by another buy day of negotiating fees and Rights (with three different companies) for the use of a certain image to be used for promotional purposes and on the cover of the DVD / Blu-ray release of the Beatles documentary. Other pieces of extensive archive research on the show also took place today.

(21) - Thanks to Robert E. Goldon for his splendid four-star review of Marilyn (hardback edition) on Amazon.com. “An interesting work on Monroe,” he typed, “with much new information for this reader.”

(16/17/18) Leafy Berkshire – Further extensive archive (film / video / stills) research on the new Beatles movie. The WeTransfer website certainly did overtime during these three days.

(15) North West London – 4pm slot. More interviewing for the documentary took place when Keith travelled again to the London home of Hunter Davies, The Beatles’ only official biographer. A most splendid 3-hour session was had by all. “Thank you, Hunter, a delight as always.”

(14) The Scotch of St. James, London – More Beatles-related interviews were filmed in London for the new movie. Among the luminaries present this day, at this most famous, legendary 60s venue, was noted Beatles author, Philip Norman, and two men famously close to the band in their 60s hey-day, Bill Harry and Tony Bramwell.

Keith took great interest when the latter pointed out to him where pop legends such as The Beatles, The Stones and The Animals etc. used to sit when they visited the club. Another high spot for him came when Tony identified the stage (just inches off the floor) where (in September 1966) Jimi Hendrix (I kid you not) gave his very first British performance. “Phew! Unbelievable!” Interviews (and incredible stories) over, Bramwell and Badman shared a lengthy walk back to Paddington Station.

(7) UK – Many thanks to “S. Williamson” for his five-star review of Marilyn (paperback version) on Amazon.co.uk. The review was succinct, “Brill,” he said simply. “Thanks, kind sir.”

(6 – 9) Liverpool, England – Production on the new Beatles movie documentary finally got underway when three of the team on the project, Alan G., Robin and Keith travelled up to Liverpool. With First Class tickets in hand, the fab trio boarded a train at London Euston this morning en route to Beatle-Land. Once there, they all checked-in to their respective rooms at the (most luxurious) Hard Days Night Hotel. Keith (once more) found himself in a “Paul McCartney” themed room. Three nights were booked, one of which was spent watching through-the-night live coverage of the American Presidential Election.

Filming in Liverpool went as follows: On the 7th, exterior / location shots were taken at Mathew Street, Penny Lane, St. Peter’s Church, Admiral Grove, Menlove Avenue, Strawberry Field, Forthlin Road, the Ya Cracke pub in Rice Street and (at 5pm precisely) The Beatles Story on the Albert Dock. Interviews with Billy Kinsley & Tony Crane (of The Merseybeats), Debbie & Nigel Greenberg (Cavern club regulars in the 60s), and Freda Kelly (original Beatles Fan Club secretary) all took place on the 8th, the latter being in the “John Lennon Imagine Suite” at the Hard Days Night Hotel.

A piece with original Beatle, Pete Best, set to take place on the morning of November 9, failed to materialise due to unforeseen circumstances. (It was swiftly rearranged for two weeks later.) In-between times, Keith paid a visit to (the wonderful, charming and delightful) Anne-Marie who was hard at work in The Beatles Shop on Mathew Street. (A selfie was even taken of the event.) The Beatles’ doc filming team all headed back to London on the 9th, Alan, Robin and Keith once more in First Class, the others in cars.

(1-4) Leafy Berkshire - With shooting set to begin in just five days time, Keith continued his pre-production archive research work on the new Beatles film documentary.

October 2016...Beatles, Pepper, Slough Town FC, the Cavern, the Circus and the extremely sad passing of Dave Cash...

(26 – till end of month) Leafy Berkshire – Yet more blogging, typing of proposals and additional pre-production work on the new Fab Four ’67 movie.

(25) Leafy Berkshire – Even more blogging, emails, discussions and work on the new Beatles movie. The day concluded with some rather news from director, Alan G… a chap, who loomed very large in The Beatles’ inner circle in the 60s has agreed to participate in the movie.

(24) Leafy Berkshire – Keith received news from designer, Paul Skellart that our Circus ’68 book was now being printed and should reach the UK in the third week of December.

(22) Leafy Berkshire – A great honour indeed when Keith received his… wait for it… “Cavern Club VIP Membership Card”! I kid you not. “Thank you all at CCT for thinking of me.”

(21) Kent – The entertainment world was in mourning at the sad loss of the famous 1960s/70s DJ, and extremely nice gent, Dave Cash. The news came at the end of a very busy day, with Keith contacting and booking star names, such as Hunter Davies and Tony Bramwell for the new Beatles documentary. Dave himself had even been approached to appear in it. “I really loved Dave,” Keith solemnly said, “and his passing was a tremendous loss to me, and everyone who knew him. I grew very close to him and classed him as a friend. Like so many, many others, I shall truly miss him.”

(20) Leafy Berkshire – Meeting with the famous television producer, Simon Lupton. A number of projects were discussed, but the major one was Marilyn, with news that it had progressed by leaps-and-bounds with the announcement that an actress to play the great actress had even been even been approached.

(19) Leafy Berkshire – A “Seinfeld” catch-up with two of his old, long-time mates, “Big” Dave and Brian.

(18) Berkshire / London – With pre-production work on the new Beatles project now underway, the production team involved on the project received a big surprise today when it was announced that the world famous London venue, The Scotch of St. James, used by the group, and so many other famous music stars and celebrities of the 60s, would be available to us to film some interviews.

- Also today The Beatles Book (hardback edition) returned to the No.1 position on Amazon.co.uk and was the “Beatles Best Seller” on the site.

- Also today, news reached Keith that the official Cavern club book will be now be released in April 2017.

(17) Charring Cross, Central London – A trip into the Capital to see again director, Alan G. Parker and the rest of the team for the first serious production meeting on the new Beatles movie documentary. “Loads were discussed… we now had a plan.” And highly fruitful it was too. After which, Keith headed-off down Oxford Street and ended-up standing shoulder-to-shoulder, at the traffic lights, with the English television and radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister, Clive Anderson. “You just can’t stop yourself thinking of the Bee Gees when you see him….”

(12 - 16) Leafy Berkshire – More blogging, planning and progressing with future projects…

(11) Leafy Berkshire – Conversations were held with Bob Young (about the imminent Cavern book), Paul Skellert (about the Circus ’68 project), as well as with friend, Big Dave. Various blog works was also undertaken today. Plans for the following week, involving a meeting with the highly-respected, comedy and Queen Producer, Simon Lupton were also finalised today.

(10) Wandsworth, South West London – Fruitful Beatles movie discussions were held with noted movie director, Alan G. and producer, Alexa Morris. The first proper meeting about the proposed film, with everyone in the team present, was arranged to take place in seven days’ time, October 17.

- In America, “50 years ago today,” The Monkees released their first album… the cover of which, remains one of Keith’s all-time favourite LP designs… by far!

(8) Slough – Accompanied by his dear Mum, Keith paid his first visit to the new home of Slough Town FC. The team pleasantly won 3-1. “A most enjoyable afternoon was had by one and all,” Mr Badman happily declared afterwards.

(7) Leafy Berkshire – First view of the new, highly-recommended, Debbie Greenberg book, The True Story of the Cavern book.

(5) Bermondsey – Another trip into London to see Keith’s old mate, Tel. Safe to say wine flowed freely during their 3-hour catch-up.

(3) Canada – A surprise return to the #2 position for the ebook version of Marilyn in the Amazon , “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn,” list on Amazon Canada. AND… on the same day…

- This time on Amazon in the UK… Hunter’s The Beatles Book returned to the TOP SPOT in the “Beat Sellers in Beatles” listings on the site. “Two top-5 books in one day… how good is that??”

(2) UK – Event magazine - The first proper, serious review of The Beatles Book appeared in the national press. In the four-out-of-five review by Stuart Maconie, he wonderfully described Keith’s trivia-laden section as “the most fun,” saying, “This is the stuff us Beatle nuts adore; quirky details reeking of period.”

(1) Leafy Township of Berks – Another trip to the fine local dinery, Barratts’ Bistro.

September 2016... Still at No.1, Arsenal, Marilyn, Beatles, Pepper, Carlin and the Circus!

(28) North London – Lunch with long-time mate, Laurence (to discuss a new book idea) and then another trip to the Emirates to see his beloved Arsenal play Basle on Match Day 2 of the Champions League. 7:45pm kick-off. (Final result, 2-0 to the fabulous Gunners!)

(26) Leafy Berkshire – After a flurry of last-minute changes, the Circus ’68 book was FINALLY sent to the printers. At last… but it was certainly worth the wait… as you’ll soon see.

(24) UK - September 2016 – Many thanks to “davidandrewson” for his five-star review of Marilyn, Kindle Edition on Amazon in the UK. His words were succinct, “Great reading.”

(21) UK – Hey, hey, still there. Hunter and ours The Beatles Book was still in the number one position and the “Beatles #1 Seller” in books on Amazon.co.uk.

- On the same day, Keith received an offer from Potato Productions / ITV Studios to appear in a new documentary about the final hours of Beach Boy, Dennis Wilson, but logistic and time restraints meant no firm plans about it could be put into place.

- UK / South / USA – Another day of more exciting news. The new Beatles/ Pepper-inspired movie documentary edged ever nearer to an official start date and, at the same time, it was announced that Momentum Pictures in the States will be releasing the new George Carlin film in December.

(20) Leafy Berkshire / UK – Even more fine-tuning on the new, highly-anticipated Circus’68 book… “It’s looking good.”

- Still there! One-week on, the hardback edition of Hunter’s The Beatles Book still sat at #1 in the “Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Rock & Pop > Singers & Groups > Beatles” section on Amazon.co.uk.

(15) Leafy Berkshire – With the release of the Circus ’68 now regrettably held-up, Keith typed a “Sorry for the delay” note for the Pledge Music site.

(13/14) UK – “It’s a best seller!” The hardback version of The Beatles Book, co-written by Keith, Hunter Davies, Spencer Leigh and David Bedford was still in the #1 spot in the “Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Rock & Pop > Singers & Groups > Beatles” section on Amazon.co.uk. “Wonderful. Well done all,” Keith screamed.

(12/13) Leafy Berkshire – More fine tuning on the new Circus ’68 book. “It’s almost finished,” the team screamed.

(8) Windsor, Berkshire – With work on the Circus ’68 project coming to an end, it was time for another, most pleasant afternoon catch-up with Keith’s partners on the project, Michael Randolph and Paul Skellert.

(7) Canada – Hey, hey, Marilyn (hardback) returned to the #1 position in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada. Excessive sales of this version meant it was also seen at the #3 position in the chart.

- Leafy Berkshire – Well, it’s here. Text on the Cavern book was finally completed and sent to the designer. “It’s been a long, hard slog… but well worth it.” (Spoke to soon… further work on it was soon required.)

August 2016... Liverpool, Canada, Hunter, more No.1s and a Monkee!

(31) Leafy Berkshire / USA – Normality returned to Keith’s life when the last of his American guests flew back to the States.

- Leafy Berkshire – Back to work, and another Record Collector Rockin’ article to prepare. This month, another look back at ITV’s long forgotten music series, The Geordie Scene from 1974.

(27- 30) Liverpool, England – Another, most enjoyable trip to Liverpool, for the annual Beatles Convention, hosted and run by Cavern City Tours. It was also the first time in 30 years that Keith did not present the video show. Meeting friends such as Steve, Bob, Neville, Steve, Gloria and (of course) Anne-Marie, amongst many, many others, it was a most enjoyable 3-days.

Quite possibly, the highlight of which came on the final day, August 30, when (at approximately 3:40pm) Keith had the privilege of meeting one of his ultimate, all-time heroes, The Monkees’ drummer/ singer, Micky Dolenz in the dressing room of the Cavern Live Lounge. “What an absolute delight to meet him again,” the first being in Reading, Berkshire back in 1989. Keith was also in the audience to watch Micky’s superb performance at the club shortly afterwards. After which, and with his head still spinning, he climbed aboard his train, with friend Mr. Boyer in tow, and headed back to Sunny Slough… to see his dear Mum.

(25) Leafy Berkshire – The build-up to the annual Beatles Convention in Liverpool begins when the first of Keith’s three American guests arrive at Chez Badman.

(20) Canada – The story continued. Quite possibly the greatest day in Keith’s Marilyn sales history when, on Amazon Canada, in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” chart the hardback was at #1, paperback at #3, (another) hardback version at #4 and the kindle version at #5. Quite simply… INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- And on the same day, this time in the “Most Wishes For” in Marilyn section, the paperback version was seen in the #2 position… wow!!

(19) Canada – Incredible! Amazon Canada, in the Marilyn Best Sellers list, Keith’s The Final Years was spotted in 3 different charts; the hardcover at #1, kindle at #2 and in the “most Wished For” section of the site, the softback edition was seen at #2. All 3 versions in the chart, on the same day. Amazing!!

- The finish of the Cavern book text? Was it completed today, we wonder?

(17) Canada – It gets better! Marilyn raced back to #1, but this time in the Kindle “Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” section of Amazon Canada. Wow! Also today, the ebook version of Keith’s book was spotted at #4 in the “Humour & Entertainment > Movies > Biographies” and at #24 in the “Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Entertainers” sections of the site. Also, The Kindle and hardback versions respectively were seen at Nos 1 and 4, in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” chart, on the very SAME day!!

- And it did not end there! On Amazon in the UK, Keith’s book with Hunter Davies, The Beatles Book, became the “#1 Best Seller in Beatles” on the site!! “Can you believe that??!!” (Incredible, considering the official release date of the book, 1 September 1 2016, was still two weeks away.)

(15) Leafy Berkshire / UK – Hunter Davies’ The Beatles Book, co-written with Keith, due to impressive advance orders, it was spotted at #3 in the “Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Reference” #3 in the “Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Rock & Pop > Singers & Groups > Beatles,” and at #23 in the “Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Rock & Pop > Songbooks & Lyrics” listings in the Bestseller Ranks on Amazon.co.uk.

- Meanwhile in Canada, the hardcover Marilyn raced back to the No.1 position in the “Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( M ) > Monroe, Marilyn” and “Humour & Entertainment > Movies > Biographies” listings and the #2 spot in the “Humour & Entertainment > Movies > History & Criticism” sections on Amazon Canada. “Thank you!”

(9) Canada – A return to the TOP SPOT, yes NUMBER ONE of the hardback edition of Marilyn in the “Best Sellers in Monroe, Marilyn” section on Amazon Canada. Also #6 in the “Humour & Entertainment > Movies > Biographies” and #7 in the “Humour & Entertainment > Movies > History & Criticism sections on the site.
- Interesting, lengthy Cavern club-related phone discussion with the venue’s current co-owner, Dave Jones.

(8) Leafy Berkshire – Further research / typing of the Cavern text. “Much of the information presented here has never been in print before,” Keith declared.
- UK – A mighty big thank you to “Mr M. Kostyrkaon” for his 5-out-of-5 review of Marilyn (Kindle Edition) on Amazon.co. uk. “I think this is the book that throws light on what really was the cause of Marilyn's death,” he said, “and throws considerable doubt on the various conspiracy theories going about… this book convincingly explains the situation and surrounding problems she had to cope with at the end.” He ends by saying, “Best book I've read on Marilyn.” Thank you, Mr M. Kostyrkaon very much indeed.

(5) Windsor – Another trip out to Eton to meet and discuss things with photographer extraordinaire, Mike Randolph. (1:30pm start.)

(1/2)Leafy Berkshire - Record Collector deadline day comes round again. This month, the start of a 4-part look back at the largely forgotten 1970s ITV / Tyne Tees TV series, The Geordie Scene.

Also (on the 2) – Keith wrapped another version of the Cavern club book text. It was sent for approval immediately afterwards. A June 2017 release still looks on the cards, as they say.

It Was Fifty Years Ago Today! The Beatles: Sgt Pepper & Beyond

After a short delay the forthcoming and highly anticipated Alan G Parker film about Sgt Pepper's is back on track for it's scheduled release and we can all get excited about it. Keith is responsible for the archive work on this labour of love.
Stayed tuned, there's more new to come!

Interview with Alan G Parker about the film.
Screen Daily Article about the film.
Beatles In London Website with the first review of the film.

Photo Page Update

The photo page has just been updated, with news of Keith's continuing adventures in all things Beatles.