WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS: The Beatles changed the world. But who changed theirs? cover art

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS: The Beatles changed the world. But who changed theirs?

The Beatles changed the world. But who changed theirs?

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS: The Beatles changed the world. But who changed theirs?

By: Stuart Maconie
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

The most engaging, surprising and revealing look at the Beatles story you’ll read.

Everyone knows a Beatles tune. But their story goes beyond the omnipresent songs and iconic albums. Theirs is a tale that has become one of the core stories we tell about ourselves as a nation. The Beatles narrative has both shaped and reflected the country we live in today. Four lads from Liverpool have taken a seat alongside Shakespeare as one of our key cultural exports to the world, a world they changed and re-made in their own image in a blaze of creativity. But these four distinct personalities changed the world not in isolation but with more than a little help from their friends.

Like all the best stories there’s an incredible supporting cast, and all the most compelling elements of the great dramas: ambition, power, triumph, disaster, heartbreak, tragedy, drama, intrigue, lust…and of course, love.

Split into 3 sections, Before The Beatles, With the Beatles and Beyond the Beatles, bestselling writer and broadcaster Stuart Maconie tells the epic tale of the people who made the band who made Britain, and along the way adds his own experiences, encounters and conversations that show the Beatles like you’ve never seen them before.

©2025 Stuart Maconie (P)2025 HarperCollins Publishers 20th Century Entertainment & Celebrities Modern Thought-Provoking Heartfelt Inspiring

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Hope and Glory cover art
The Nanny State Made Me cover art
The Full English cover art
The McCartney Legacy cover art
Pies and Prejudice cover art
Dip My Brain in Joy: A Life with Neil Innes cover art
Revolution in the Head cover art
Nothing Is Real cover art
What Have I Done? cover art
The Absence cover art
Uncommon People cover art
In One Ear cover art
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers cover art
The Big Midweek cover art
Crossroads cover art
Et Tu, Cavapoo? cover art

Critic reviews

'Exceptionally good' – Mark Ellen

***

PRAISE FOR STUART’S WRITING

'Maconie is a funny, astute writer, alert to the absurd’ Sunday Times Book of the Week

‘Observant and witty’ The Times

‘As funny as Bryson and as wise as Orwell’ Observer

‘The best thing to come out of Wigan since the A58 to Bolton’ Peter Kay

‘A fine writer: sharp, funny, tender and thoughtful’ Spectator

‘Maconie’s engaging, conversational prose is full of telling detail, jokes and deft quotation’ Telegraph

All stars
Most relevant
A work of love. A great way to approach the story of the greatest band.

The Topermost

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Stuart Maconie is one of the UK’s top writers and presenters, producing numerous insightful, thought-provoking and just overall interesting accounts of key moments in our modern history, always underpinned by methodical research and attention to detail. He’s also a massive Beatles fan. I probably like many thought I ‘got’ the Beatles until I became hypnotised by the Peter Jackson epic. And then I read, and read and read, and listened. At the end of this I thought I knew a fair bit and didn’t think there was space for another account. But because it was Stuart Maconie, I felt I must give it a try. And some how, his ‘list’ book did not become one of those easily digestible and easily forgotten accounts. Instead it’s a must have for even general music fans. Well-researched, lovingly produced, with Stuart’s customary forthright and analytical approach to the fore. So glad I listened to this. I now own a hard back copy as well as I think this will remain a ‘go to’ reference book. Excellent stuff. Stuart, Glos

Another top book by Stuart Maconie

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hearing how some of these peripheral characters were responsible for moving the Beatles story along seems to add even more magic to the history that we all know.

Wonderful and oddly moving

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Full of detail and fascinating insight into how The Beatles rose to glorious worldwide success - with a little help from their friends. I loved it. Great work, Stuart! Great 👍

Brilliant in every way...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Interesting facts galore. My Beatles knowledge isn’t bad. This book has lots of unusual stuff I’ve never heard before. Great

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews