This free Zoom talk for Age UK Richmond will be delivered by Richard Mills, author and Senior Lecturer in Literature and Popular Culture at St Mary’s University, London. The session will last an hour. The talk is around 45 minutes long and there will be time at the end to ask questions.

Mills has been programme director for the Film and Popular Culture, Cultural Studies and Irish Studies degrees. He has published extensively on popular music, Irish literature and culture, film, fashion and British television. Mills is the author of The Beatles and Fandom: Sex, Death and Progressive Nostalgia (Bloomsbury 2019). He is co-editor of Mad Dogs and Englishness (Bloomsbury 2017) and he is author of the forthcoming The Beatles and Black Music: Post-colonial Theory, Musicology and Remix Culture (Bloomsbury 2021).

Reviews of The Beatles and Fandom: Sex, Death, and Progressive Nostalgia by Richard Mills :

"Mills takes a deep dive into the Beatles' history, and he explains their influential longevity and sustained credence as a group and as individual musical entities ... [Those] in the world of academia will find this journey to understanding the artistic phenomenon known as the Beatles--where, why, and how it began and why it still continues--right down Penny Lane. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty." – CHOICE

“I found it hard to put down … The Beatles and Fandom is absolutely recommended reading for Beatles researchers and music fandom scholars.” – IASPM JOURNAL

“A fresh, comprehensive take on the fans we thought we knew for all these years! The Beatles and Fandom will be an indispensable resource for Beatles and pop culture scholars, as well as a fascinating read for anyone else seeking to know more about fans of the Fabs.” (Katie Kapurch, Assistant Professor of English, Texas State, USA, and co-editor of New Critical Perspectives on the Beatles)

“The Beatles and Fandom shows how looking back can be a way of creating new communities, mash-ups, tributes and commentaries. Covering an impressive variety of fan practices and media, Richard Mills challenges stereotypes and engages with the real complexities and pleasures of Beatles fandom. Whether analysing the 'journalist-as-superfan', Beatles Monthly or the band's presence on YouTube, this thought-provoking book leaves no room for doubt: fan studies is fab.” (Matt Hills, Professor of Journalism and Media, University of Huddersfield, UK, and author of Fan Cultures)