I was commissioned to write The Gospel According To Lennon, a pot-pourri of incidents and events in the subject's life, by Sanctuary Publishing. I completed this in 2005, just before the firm ceased trading. Though I assumed then that the book would never reach the shops, I was surprised to discover that it was about to be published by Bobcat, a subsidiary of Music Sales - who had not troubled to let me proof-read it.

        Bemused, I began glancing through it, noticing many typing errors in what was otherwise "a good read" and an attractively packaged item of merchandise. Then something ghastly leapt out from page 202.

      A segment entitled "I'M SO TIRED" begins: "In 'I'm So Tired' on The White Album, Lennon quoted the title of  'Got My Mind Set On You' from James Ray's 1962 album, If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody, as he had a line from Elvis Presley's "Baby Let's Play House' to begin 'Run For Your Life' on Rubber Soul."

      In between me submitting the manuscript for sub-editing by Sanctuary and its publication, the following sentence was added:  "George Harrison wrote a song entitled 'Got My Mind Set On You' which was recorded by his ad hoc group The Traveling Wilburys in 1988."

      As the author of many tomes about Lennon and The Beatles - including a well-received biography of George Harrison - and as a guest speaker at several high-profile Beatle Conventions on both sides of the Atlantic - I would not have written anything so glaringly inaccurate. Perhaps a sub-editor at either Sanctuary or Bobcat is to blame. All the same, this instance of sub-editorial stupidity makes me look a bit of a twit.

      Immediately, I contacted Bobcat/Music Sales supremo Chris Charlesworth to ask if it would be possible to insert an errata slip. Here is his response:-

 "I am afraid we are unable to do anything about it. I cannot authorise the expense for what is essentially a minor error in an inexpensive book with a short print run. If I were to do this for you then I would have to do it for any error that might have crept into any of our books, almost all of which are taken care if and when we reprint.

I am sorry but that's the situation. Putting in an errata slip will merely draw attention to the error which I am sure no-one will notice anyway, not unless you tell them."

       Well, I have told you in case you do notice (as Beatles fans certainly will) - and because, as Horace reminds us, littera scripta manet: the written word remains - and I'm the bloke who has to live with it.

                                                                                        Alan Clayson, 6 February 2007