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To be honest, I'd never heard of this book until…well, about 5 minutes ago. But The Big Beat Scene by Royston Ellis does sound interesting.
First published in 1961 (and republished with a new foreword by the author), the book is said to chronicle Britain's teenage generation, as well as the jazz and emerging pop music of the era. Ellis himself was just 16 when he wrote it – hanging around coffee bars and jazz clubs in Soho, describing 'in poetry' the life he saw around him.
I'm trying to get a review copy, but you can take a chance on it now – the book is available now in paperback for £11.39.
Find out more at the Amazon website
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Thank you very much for the mention of the re-issue of my 1961 UK paperback THE BIG BEAT SCENE. I’d love to have been 16 when I wrote it but that’s when I left school in 1957. I began the book when I was 18 and hanging around Soho.
My bio says: “Royston Ellis, author of over 60 biographies, novels and travel guides, now lives in Sri Lanka having left England, where he began as a beat poet, in 1961, age 20, for a life of travel. His latest book, The Big Beat Scene, has just been published by Music Mentor Books (http://musicmentor0.tripod.com/book_big_beat_scene.html), in a new edition for the first time in 50 years with a foreword and afterword about his association with The Beatles. More information from: http://roystonellis.com“
Beat regards
Royston