Barry Miles - Life and Work

Life and Work

In the 1960s, Miles worked at Better Books, which was managed by Tony Godwin. Godwin was friends with Lawrence Ferlinghetti with whom he would exchange Penguin books for City Lights publications. In 1965 Allen Ginsberg gave a reading at Better Books which led to the International Poetry Incarnation, a seminal event that was co-organised by Miles.

In 1965, Miles and his wife, the former Susan Crane, introduced McCartney to hash brownies by using a recipe for hash fudge which they had found in The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook.

Following the International Poetry Incarnation, Miles established the Indica Gallery and Bookshop, allowing him to meet many of the stars of the Swinging London social scene. Miles brought Paul McCartney into contact with people who wanted to start the International Times, which McCartney helped to fund.

With John Hopkins, Miles organised The 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, a concert on 29 April 1967 Alexandra Palace to raise funds for the International Times. It was a multi-artist event, featuring poets, artists and musicians. Pink Floyd headlined the event; other artists included: Yoko Ono and John Lennon, Arthur Brown, jazz-rock group Soft Machine, Tomorrow and The Pretty Things.

Miles became the de facto manager of the Apple's short-lived Zapple Records label in 1969. While temporarily living in California, Miles produced an album of poetry readings by Richard Brautigan titled Listening to Richard Brautigan for Zapple. Miles' friendship with Brautigan ended when Miles became involved in an affair with Brautigan's girlfriend Valerie Estes. By the time, the album was completed Miles and Brautigan communicated to each other only through their respective lawyers. Zapple was closed before it could release the Brautigan album, but it was eventually released in 1970 by the U.S. division of Harvest Records.

In 1970, Miles moved with his wife to rural New York state, where he lived with Allen Ginsberg on his farm. However, Miles' marriage soon ended and he returned to England.

Miles' book Hippie is a reminiscence of the Hippie sub-culture of the 1960s and early 1970s with interviews, quotes, and images. He co-wrote I Want to Take You Higher (documenting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit by the same name) with Charles Perry and James Henke.

Miles wrote Paul McCartney's official biography, Many Years from Now (1998). Miles has also written biographies of Frank Zappa, John Lennon, William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski and Ginsberg, in addition to books on The Beatles, Pink Floyd and The Clash. as well as a definitive history of London's counter-culture since 1945. London's Calling.