It was the most famous love triangle in rock ‘n’ roll history, spawning one of the most iconic songs of all time and arguably the best-known guitar riff of all time.
Mention the name Pattie Boyd and most people over the age of 40 will know who you mean. Mention the word ‘Layla’ and the most perplexed younger eyes will light up. Any kid learning the guitar wants to play those beginning notes.
Pattie Boyd’s story is extraordinary. It sums up the wild excesses and free love of the sex, drug, and rock ‘n’ roll years, an era that began in the early ’60s and fizzled out in the early ’80s with most of the leads dead or hopelessly addicted to alcohol, drugs, or both. The bands that remained were torn apart by infighting among the surviving members. The hard rockers who threw televisions out of smashed hotel room windows were replaced by new fluffy romantics who would never ride a motorcycle through a hotel lobby for fear of ruining their hair or smearing their makeup.
Memorabilia from the 1960s and 1970s are changing hands at auction for increasingly ridiculous amounts of money and Pattie Boyd clearly has a ton of stuff. This ‘improved’ version of her autobiography, ‘Wonderful Tonight’ (the original paper version was curiously called Wonderful Today in the UK) is packed with letters, photographs, drawings and images that apparently haven’t seen the light of day for decades.
The opening chapters tell of his childhood years, usually a boring necessity in an autobiography, but before moving on to the juicy parts, it’s worth taking a look at his childhood photos. Presented as a slideshow from a movie, Pattie talks through a series of snapshots, much like a friend showing you her photo album. It’s an original approach that is repeated later in this iBook with a collection of photographs of The Beatles in India, with the Maharishi.
A photograph of George and Pattie with Frank Sinatra is accompanied by an audio description of how they joined Sinatra in the studio for the “one take” recording of My way.
Later in the iBook, he talks about George’s solo album cover photo.Living in the Material Worldexplaining that the driver and babysitter were simply part of the set.
Beatles anoraks, or anyone with an interest in that era, will be fascinated by memorabilia such as the postcards George wrote to Pattie while on tour with the Fab Four, George and Pattie’s marriage certificate, a children’s Christmas card created for Pattie by George, and even George’s concept for his own record label.
A letter written by George to Pattie while in New York for the concert for bangladesh it has also been given the audio commentary treatment. In his letter, George writes that the trip on the SS France to NY was not as much fun as the previous one on the QE2. Pattie explains that Tommy Cooper had entertained them on the QE2 trip. Why does George write that he has seen a sink but doesn’t know if they can afford it? He sure was one of the richest rock stars on the planet! Pattie explains that they never carried any money and didn’t know if they were rich or poor. Cleverly, the presentation allows the reader to listen to the comment and then read the letter.
Perhaps most magical of all is a letter written by John Lennon that has been buried in a drawer for nearly forty years. In the letter he talks about the grass outside his window (Central Park), which luckily he doesn’t have to mow. He describes an amazing new invention he has discovered, the Polaroid camera, and how the image comes out of the camera and unfolds before your very eyes. He suggests that Apple (The Beatles’ record label which was causing them great grievance at the time) should be given to the highest bidder or sent to slaughter, and talks of spending old age in the Wilfred Pickles Memorial Home. It really is Lennon at his eccentric best.
The story everyone wants to know the secrets of is exactly what happened between George Harrison, Pattie Boyd and Eric Clapton, and this iBook version puts it all on the table. She recounts how a letter addressed to ‘Dearest L…’ arrived, which she assumed was from a crazy fanatic; how Eric sat her down, he played her a tape and it was the most powerful song he had ever heard and he knew it was about her. The song, of course, was layla. At this point, you can touch the screen of your iPad, connect to the iTunes store, listen to layla and buy it, if surprisingly, you don’t have it yet.
The madness of the period between 1970 and 1974, when she and George finally divorced, is extraordinary and difficult to follow. Popular opinion was that Harrison and Clapton fell out and there was a lot of animosity between the two, but in this iBook, Pattie presents a note to both of them from George that seems to give her blessing on their relationship.
In addition to the letters, the iBook contains another Christmas card, this time drawn by Eric. Were these ’70s rockers so desperate to hold on to their childhood that they created greeting cards like exuberant grade-schoolers?
Ronnie Wood, who reportedly had an affair with Pattie during the George and Eric riot, gives his thoughts on this special enhanced version of the book with a video foreword, and appears later in the book to talk about a drawing he did of Pattie in Friar Park (Harrison’s mansion).
Wonderful Tonight, the enhanced iBook, is a rare example of what can be done with Apple’s iPad platform. The theme and accompanying content really lends itself perfectly to the 3D eBook treatment and the use of clever techniques (like commenting on photo slideshows) works very well.
If you’re interested in The Beatles, Eric Clapton, or just a glimpse into the future of publishing, this iBook is worth a look.
Wonderful Tonight, the enhanced version, is available from the Apple iBook Store for iPad and iPhone.
