It's their story in their words. Not warts and all but superlative nevertheless.

with the above.

Also, watch A Hard Day's Night just to get a flavour of how fab they were and the madness that surrounded them.

For a deeper insight into why the music is still so revered, read Revolution in the Head by Ian McDonald.

For a deeper insight into how the madness eventually consumed them, read You Never Give Me Your Money by Peter Doggett.

are clearly the best way to go, but at 5 DVDs and 12 hours they may be daunting for a newcomer.

Perhaps the shorter (2 hours) Compleat Beatles DVD might be a better place to start (if you can find it).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Compleat_Beatles

TMFHL

The Love You Make: Insider's Story of the Beatles by Peter Brown & Steven Gaines. Came out in 1984. Remember that being a rather good behind the scenes book.

And Ray Colemans Biographies on John Lennon.

Shout by Philip Norman is also meant to be a good read.

Unfortunately, I don't think you'll ever get the full story from one book.

Revolution In The Head for the music, Lewisohn's Complete Beatles Chronicle for the events.

I'd recommend that. Good book.

Also, and we're getting into the realms of 'faction' a little bit here, but coincidentally I watched 'Backbeat' again last night. This might be the best way of getting an insight into the madness that was Hamburg, but more importantly is possibly the best way of getting a feel for the importance of Stu Sutcliffe in the early Beatles story - and particularly the way he affected John Lennon.

In contrast, 'Nowhere Boy' should be treated as an enjoyable piece of fiction only.

But really, the story of the Beatles is there in the music - watching the documentaries, reading the books and avoiding the music would be a real case of not seeing the wood for the trees...

A pile of steaming bee shit (IMHO).

TMF... etc.

(maybe?) sees the first volume of Mark Lewisohn's three-volume opus on the group.
You'll have to wait around for a decade but I suspect it will turn out to be the definitive text.
I take it you aren't on speaking terms with your parents, then?
I know I wouldn't be.

Avoid at all costs the Anthology DVD's lest you get distracted by Ringo Starr's stupid haircuts, George Harrison's bad temperedness, Macca's way of saying nothing new or interesting and the whole air of revisionism and point scoring.

Instead grab a copies of Beatles 62-66 (Red) and Beatles 67 - 70 (Blue). and take if from there.

For reading wise start with Shout by Philip Norman which was available in HMV a couple of weeks ago when I was in the UK for 3 pounds which apropos of nothing is 2 pounds 95 pence cheaper than the paperback version I got for a Christmas present in 1982. Thats right in actual terms the price of the book has halfed in 29 years. Its a good read and the best general biography on the Beatles around at the moment, once you've read that there is plenty more for the more advanced Beatles scholar.

Believe me there are plenty here willing to guide you onto the next level.

does it for me. It tells the story of the Beatles as well as providing an increible insight into how and why the made the records they did. Indispensable, plus it's alot cheaper than the DVD boxset of Anthology.

Antholgy DVD's
Hard Days Night Film
Shout and John Lennon by Philip Norman
Revolution In The Head by Ian McDonald
Love Me Do: The Beatles Progress by Michael Braun

I have never read You Never Give Me Your Money by Pete Dogget but I hear its a goodie.

Don't forget these chaps...

http://www.rutles.org/rstory.html

Buy the mono boxset. Seriously. I was a Beatle-nut for over 20 years before the mono box came out - it's awesome. I was listening to the mono Sgt Pepper this mornig - it's just better, full stop.

So yeah, mono box, anthology dvds and when I was 14 I read this before actually hearing most of the records:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_Beatles_Recording_Sessions

...it's better than any biography.

is a great read if you've any interest in music. It's about the nuts and bolts of their songs, but it puts it into context as well. I'm not the biggest of Beatles fans but I've read that book at least a dozen times, both alongside the music itself and separately.

I've ordered 'Revolution in the Head' thanks to your recommendations.
I do agree that trying to read or watch about them is missing most of the point, but this should give good detail about their discography and will make me want to explore their music even more..

Yellow Submarine (The animated movie) won't give you the whole story but it does hold up surprisingly well.My kids loved it when younger and still view it fondly.Hey Bulldog still rated as a top track by them.

And Paperback Writer by Mark Skipper was a nice fictitious biography of the band. It's years since I read it though so I don't know how well it's aged.

its here

the BBC 1990s radio documentary series In My Life: John Lennon Remembered
has some amazing stuff in it. Fascinating interviews, crazy amounts of detail (it was TEN hour long parts) and very much unlike the varnished version of the story than you hear from the participants today. Unavailable on CD of course but available *on the internet* if you catch my drift.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0316729604?ie=UTF8&tag=thebeabib-21

ADVANCE INFORMATION The Beatles – The Complete Story

Key Editorial Points: UK Publication Date: 01 September 2011 Edition: Hardback

First part of the definitive three-volume biography of the Beatles

ISBN-13: 978 0 316 72960 4

UK Pub Price: £25.00

Classification: Biography

The Book: Format && Size: R (234 x 153 mm)

Illustrations: 16pp of b/w photos Extent: 800 pp

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.

Mark Lewisohn is the author six previous Beatles books and has been described by the Independent as the band's 'Emeritus Professor'.

Backlist:

The Beatles Live!, The Beatles: 25 Years in the Life, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, John Lennon: In My Life, The Complete Beatles Chronicle, The Beatles' London

Reviews: 'Mark Lewisohn stands supreme. His dedication in getting all the true facts, coupled with a style of writing that is most readable, leaves him with no rival. Time and again he has proven that he knows far more about what we did than any of us' George Martin.
-

FAB is the working title one presumes.

This presents a great collection for those who want to get into the band.

You may all hate this, but I really got in to them via Beatles Rock Band. I can hear voices shouting at me now that it's a total sell-outs way to go, but I really do think there is something in these games.
Before playing the games I'd heard some songs but never really appreciated how much the scores vary within the space of a few minutes. Compared to AC/DC Rock Band it's so much more varied in rhythm. Not that I'm nocking AC/DC....

Who agrees/disagrees that Beatles Rock Band is a good way of getting into the group?

got into them via the early morning showings of the American Beatles cartoon tv series which is a worse way than getting into them via Rock Band! Still hold the series in some affection despite never having seen it since.

anyone discovering the Beatles for the first time, no matter the route. Though I already had the video, I recall watching 'The Compleat Beatles', in two parts, in our high school lecture theatre not long after it came out. The live footage from Japan was truly startling, though I later realised how jaded and lethargic these performances were. But the suits; that stage lettering (later nicked by the Kaiser Chiefs); the beautiful Epiphone guitars: could a band look any cooler? The end credits, a montage of clips with 'Blackbird' superimposed, were incredibly melancholy. Of course, it was all to be superseded by a welter of material in years to come, but for a teenage fan hungry for their Beatle fix, that video was a great primer. I still have it somewhere, in its super-sized box. *Sigh*.