Alf Bicknell's Beatles Diary

Starring:Alf Bicknell, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr
Studio: Simitar Ent.
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Alf Bicknell, who narrates and conceived the idea behind Beatles Diary, was the Beatles' chauffeur for three years. From 1964 to 1966 he drove John, Paul, George, and Ringo from gig to gig and airport to hotel. In this personal reminiscence, which is chronicled on two tapes (probably to earn a higher retail price for the fans and profit for Bicknell), the guy pushes his yearning for days gone by as he takes the viewer through a collection of memories disguised as real, revealing gems about the Liverpool lads. We rove from Shea Stadium and the Beatles' first U.S. appearance to a trip back to Liverpool and a glimpse at the houses where the Fab Four grew up, and there are clips from the Hollywood Bowl appearance and the final concert in Japan in 1966. But Bicknell gives us little that's fresh or interesting. We can look at Paul's Hofner bass or John's guitar till we turn blue but there is still little of relevance in this sad, searching, despondent clutch by an ordinary guy who achieved some sense of status for 15 minutes, then lost it and desperately wants to grab the ring again. --Paula Nechak

Customer Reviews:

Very interesting!.......2003-12-21

I've been a Beatles fan since '67, but had never heard of Alf Bicknell until a friend sent me a VHS copy of this. I think it's great to hear Alf's recollections of his time with the Fabs and to see the actual places that played a role in their lives. I never knew that Johnny Cash met the lads until I watched the video. Alf seems like a great guy and I hope he releases more things like this.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz............2003-10-11

I was given the VHS of this title several years ago.

It's got nothing much to offer the avid Beatle fan. Some trivial stories and uninspired vignettes from The Beatles' former chauffeur.

I guess he needed some quick $$$.

ALF BICKNELL'S PERSONAL BEATLES DIARY!.......2001-10-18

Before you see this DVD you will be asking the QUESTION: "Who is Alf Bicknell"? After you see this DVD you will be asking the QUESTION: "Who cares about Alf Bickenell?" For TWO-YEARS good old Alf was the Beatles' DRIVER and ROAD MANAGER! Thrilling, huh? You get to see a party with the ROLLING STONES! You get to see the BEATLES in the studio and on the road! But every once in a while there is some ORIGINAL FOOTAGE by PAUL McCARTNEY! That has to be worth something! But you also get a lame interactive TRIVIA section! If you are an absolutely die-hard BEATLES FAN and you have NOTHING ELSE in the world to buy about the FAB FOUR, then you can pick up this one! Otherwise, since you already know who ALF BICKNELL is, why bother?

Absolute rubbish!.......2001-09-03

Poor old Alf says he kept quiet about his Beatles involvement from 1966 to 1989. It's a pity he didn't leave it that way.
This video is so poorly directed and edited that it is not clear whether you are in Liverpool, London or USA at any given time.
Alf MUST have had some interesting memories from three years with The Fabs, but they're not recorded here ... John pinched a bottle of milk, there was a large crowd at Shea Stadium etc.
At least half the footage is filled with Alf plodding along a street somewhere, plus many clips from Paul's world tour. (Relevance? Alf went to one concert and Paul spoke to him...)
Most of the anecdotes are rehashed (George Harrison didn't like George Martin's tie) and there is little here to interest even a serious Beatles fan.
Spend your money elsewhere!

utter crap.......2000-09-12

Don't even consider buying this crap. Alf is trying so hard to cash in on the Beatles, it is rediculous. Alf retells his really pointless stories while the viewer looks at crappy stock footage. You get to see Paul solo for a few minutes but that's about it. I am a die hard Beatles fan who thought there wasn't any bad Beatles related merchandise. This video proved me wrong.

Average customer rating:

Avoid this
Avoid this garbage
Kind of OK
WOW! This is REALLY Bad!!
Pretty Darn Good

Beatles Diary
Starring: Alf Bicknell
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

Biography | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Documentary | Genres | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000094J6Z
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Description

The Chronicles of Alf Bicknell, Beatles driver and road manager, are your ticket to ride on a personal video tour with the most influential rock band of our time. There is only one Beatles. And there is only one Alf, the most knowledgeable and reputable source of Beatlemania information there is. Features special live 1990's concert footage supplied by Paul McCartney. Includes a special interactive BEATLES TRIVIA GAME!

Customer Reviews:

Avoid this.......2005-03-25

This is an absolute piece of garbage not even worth the materials used to make it. I give it a negative 10

Avoid this garbage.......2005-03-14

Its a 1 star rating only because I couldn't give it zero stars. A horrible home-made video with extremely low production values. I have the VHS version - recorded in EP mode! - and I'd say the signal to noise ratio is about 1:1. The video has nothing for a Beatle fan of any type. Dull, insipid yarns from the one-time Beatles limo driver. You have been warned - AVOID THIS PRODUCT!

Kind of OK.......2005-01-04

This DVD is OK in the information dept. Lots of re-hashing of the age-old Beatle tail, but this fellow was there for a chunk of it all. Drove them around, brought them their dinner, runner- go-fer, drove them up to met Elvis. On the sideline but a fairly interesting side and your glad he survived it, some didn't. His tour of Liverpool is quaint and silly but it's the most I've seen of the place in one sitting. This DVD also obviously has a fairly large endorsement by McCartney. He's let Alf use segments of his solo music as background as well as snippets from what looks like early 90's live footage. Pretty nice of Paul helping out his old driver. I would recommend this to the more hardcore fans to add to your library.

WOW! This is REALLY Bad!!.......2004-08-29

Examples:
"*I* was there! I drove them home! I kept them safe!"
"Here is the corssing at Abbey Road. Thousands of people have walked across it and now I am going to walk across it." <camera follows him walking across Abbey Road>
"John, Paul, George and Ringo, I pledge my loyalty to you, always."
It really is that bad! I wish I could rate this one a negative star.

Pretty Darn Good.......2004-04-21

3 1/3 for sure. I'll tell you what, for the insider it is a very interesting Video, He tells lots of stories of The Beatles, Mal Evans & Neil Aspinal themselves, Maybe he was trying to make a buck, But I would pay to sit and listen to a road manager tell their stories as well as I paid this bloke, tell his, which were pretty good
Like the story where he didn't strap down a Banjo correctly and John says if you find the banjo you'll get a bonus or when a police man thought Alf Bicknell stole The Beatles car and Alf had John Lennon step out of the car and the policeman just walked away dumbfounded & many more. I think it was interesting for those who like the inside story's, Yes no real Beatles music but it's a great video

But don't take my word for it, YOU GOTTA SEE IT.

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