The Beatles are the cultural phenomeon of our time, arguably - unarguably? - of all time. In addition to their outstanding and clearly timeless music, their influence still pulses around the world in unaccountable aspects of everyday life. FAB has one aim: to be the all-tile standard word on the Beatles. Comprehensive, objective, unexpurgated and the product of definitively deep-level research, it will set down the whole story, easily, in three volumes. Volume One tells the early part of the story in two parts: 'Passion' from 1940-62 discusses the beginnings of the band, and 'Explosion' focuses on 1963, the year when everything changed.