Liverpool Fantasy by Larry Kirwan

What if the Beatles had broken up in 1962? Maybe not the most burning question of history, yet Larry Kirwan creates a bleak picture of the world without the Beatles. Kirwan does two things very well in this book: he captures the voices of the Beatles beautifully, especially John Lennon, and he writes about music as only a musician can.

The book opens with a scene from 1962 in the recording studio. Brian Epstein is pushing for the release of Till There Was You a sentimental ballad from the Broadway show The Music Man. The song is about as far from the raw sound of the early Beatles as you could get. John is pushing for the release of Please Please Me as the follow up to their first hit Love Me Do.

In the heat of the argument John walks out of the studio and Ringo and George go with him. Paul stays and that is the end of the Beatles.

We pick the story up 25 years later in 1987. John Lennon is an alcoholic unemployed musician in Liverpool hanging out with Gerry Marsden (of the Pacemakers) and Billy J. Kramer, Ringo and the other has-been-that never were stars of the defunct Mersey Beat. England is in turmoil as the street toughs, including Julian Lennon, of the Fascist National Front challenge the government for power.

Paul McCartney, now known as Paul Montana, is one of the biggest draws in Las Vegas and has a hit prime time TV show, but things are starting to slip. About to marry his fourth wife, an ex-prostitute, Paul has a string of ex-wives including Nancy Sinatra and Cher and a $50,000 monthly nut to make. When his TV show is canceled Paul decides to return to his roots in Liverpool.

George Harrison a parish priest, recovering form a nervous breakdown, quits the ministry and returns to Liverpool to try to recapture what might have been. Meanwhile, Ringo remains faithfully beside his friend John, and uses his allowance from his hair salon owning wife, Maureen, to support their drunken escapades.

The politics and history are a very minor part of the book. The British turn toward Fascism is the most important point. In America Spiro Agnew seems to be President and America has been in a long-time war in Iran.

The story focuses on the meeting of the old friends on an evening in Liverpool. In the drama that ensues Kirwan explores the vagaries of friendship and fame, along with the power of the moment. This is the essence of alternate history, the moment when things can change. If we take this action, one thing will be, if we fail to take this action the other thing will be.

In the tragedy of John Lennon we see the power of that moment and its elusiveness. Kirwan seems to say that once the moment is past it is gone forever. Maybe he is right, because once the moment is past the world as it was no longer exists, but maybe every moment is the moment.

Liverpool Fantasy by Larry Kirwan