St Mary’s Academic Signs Book Contract with Publisher

Dr Richard Mills, a Senior Lecturer in Irish Literature and Popular Culture at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, has signed a contract for his forthcoming book The Beatles and Fandom: Sex, Death, and Progressive Nostalgia, with Bloomsbury Academic.

The book will look at The Beatles and its fans from the 1960s to the present day and among the topics being discussed are The Beatles Monthly magazine, cultural tourism to Liverpool and Abbey Road, tribute bands and online fandom.

Richard developed his book from his module on the Film and Screen Media BA and The Beatles and the Counterculture as well as his extensive research on popular music studies. He has written it as part of the Communciations unit of assessment for the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

The book follows on from the House of Commons launch of Mad Dogs and Englishness: Popular Music and English Identities, which was co-edited by Richard and fellow St Mary’s lecturers Lee Brooks and Mark Donnelly.

Richard said, “I am delighted to have signed a contract with such a prestigious publisher. As a fan myself I have always wanted to write a book on The Beatles and their cultural significance. Some of my students think I never shut up about The Beatles and this is one way of making sure that doesn’t happen.”