The Beatles
Page 122
“Can I have that song?”: Author interview with Billy J. Kramer, 12/16/97.
“their act [was] fast”: Boyfriend, 10/63.
“We were like kings”: John Lennon, 1974 interview, in Anthology, p. 101.
“This is it! London!”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 120.
CHAPTER 23: SO THIS IS BEATLEMANIA
“there was nothing bigger”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 102.
“My mum, Annie”: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
“various decoy routes”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
BEATLEMANIA!: Daily Mirror, 10/14/63.
“Screaming girls launched themselves”: “Siege of the Beatles,” Daily Herald, 10/14/63.
“It was exactly the story”: Author interview with Don Short, 8/11/63.
“impropriety”: “I said there had been no impropriety in this association. To my very deep regret I have to admit that this was not true.” Letter from John Profumo to Harold Macmillan, 6/4/63.
“considerable sexual license”: “Even during the Victorian high noon, the upper and upper-middle classes had always allowed themselves considerable sexual license.” Melly, Revolt Into Style, p. 37.
“All over Britain… incredible scenes”: “This Week’s Beatlemania,” Melody Maker, 11/2/63.
“hundreds slept in the streets”: Ibid.
“midnight panic”: “It’s really here… BEATLEMANIA,” Sunday People, 11/27/63, p. 1.
girls “fainted—and got hurt”: “And 50 policemen were struggling to control the singing, screaming crowd.” Ibid.
“Thousands of girls battled”: “60 Teenagers Hurt in Cinema Stampede,” Sunday People, 11/3/63.
“thousands[,] of screaming fans”: Davies, Beatles, p. 182.
By coincidence, “the commotion”: “We couldn’t believe all the commotion at Heathrow Airport when we arrived.” Ed Sullivan in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 140.
430–31 Sullivan had some idea: “Instead of paying the $5,000 that had been asked originally, [Sullivan] was forced to ante up $50,000.” Goldman, Elvis, p. 203.
Cliff Richard… had “died”: Davies, Beatles, p. 192.
“He was fourteenth on the bill”: John Lennon, 1967 interview, in Anthology, p. 116.
“We prefer to wait”: Melody Maker, 6/15/63.
“a fuckin’ shitty pop movie”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 79.
during his first meeting with the Beatles: “We piled into a cab and went to EMI Studios, where we gathered in an empty office.” Walter Shenson, 4/84, AGA.
“Oh, I don’t know”: “I met with them; John was the spokesman.” Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.
“I really found myself”: Ibid.
“I’ll do it for nothing!”: Ibid.
“We laid out the terms”: Ibid.
“He was talking percentages of record albums”: Walter Shenson, 4/84, AGA.
“He wanted to see a script”: “I was dreading the day that someone finally said, ‘What are you going to make?’ ” Ibid.
“the most banal nonsense”: Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.
“And Brian came up with”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 79.
Shenson was appalled: “I said, ‘Why Alun Owen?’ ” Walter Shenson, 4/84, AGA.
“I think it should be an exaggerated”: Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.
“They were nervous”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
BEATLES ROCK THE ROYALS: Daily Express, 10/5/63, p. 1.
434–35 “it was impossible to go home”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 109.
“Overflowing ashtrays”: Braun, Love Me Do, p. 52.
“It was such a buzz”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 109.
“There was no homeliness”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 103.
“obligatory period of post-war austerity”: Wheen, The Sixties, p. 14.
“So many factors commingled”: Green, Days in the Life, p. viii.
“It seemed great to me”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 115.
Although by no means an intellectual: Author interview with Lionel Bart, 1/16/98.
“an intuitive brightness”: “Now I’m bright enough but mine is an intuitive brightness.” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 106.
“Coming in from the provinces”: Green, Days in the Life, p. 48.
“Every man who ever met Jane”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
a pale, creamy complexion: “Her mass of Titian-coloured hair cascaded around her face and shoulders, her pale complexion.” C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 121.
“We thought she was blonde”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 110.
“She was smart and sexy”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/8/97.
“something about seeing them together”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“Both of them came with plenty”: Author interview with John Dunbar, 1/13/98.
every night “out and about”: “They were always together.” Ibid.
“It was really like culture shock”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 106.
“For a young guy”: Ibid.
“I invited the whole industry”: Walter Hofer, 3/83, AGA.
“a good TV attraction”: Ed Sullivan in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 140.
“plus five round-trip”: Ibid.
“to get over this hurdle”: Author interview with Roland Rennie, 8/7/97.
“But L.G. wasn’t asking anymore”: Author interview with Paul Marshall, 8/28/97.
According to a 1997 interview: “For whatever reason, I said, ‘Okay.’ ” Alan Livingston, Arena archives.
700,000 copies: “Advance orders for the disc…” NME, 11/3/63.
Even at Capitol: “For an artist that had a following, you might press twenty-five, fifty thousand.” Alan Livingston, Arena archives.
“After a while,” Bernstein recalled: Spitz, The Making of Superstars, p. 190.
“Girls are fainting”: “Beatsville,” Melody Maker, 11/9/63.
“rampaging fans”: Lewisohn, 25 Years in the Life, p. 29.
“Getting them inside”: “Beatsville,” Melody Maker, 11/9/63.
In Sunderland: “The Beatles manage their escape from the Sunderland Theater,” Braun, Love Me Do, p. 43.
George Martin arrived backstage: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“a great album”: “Here They Come Again—Stand By for New Records,” Melody Maker, 11/23/63.
“a knockout”: “Beatles Tell the Secrets Behind Their Golden Tracks,” NME, 11/15/63.
“The second album was slightly better”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 107.
It was influenced, John recalled: “He described [it] as ‘me trying to do a Smokey Robinson.’ ” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 148.
“We were all very interested in American music”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 107.
“one of the all-time great poets”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 168.
Paul “sounded like a woman”: George Harrison in Braun, Love Me Do, p. 49.
“a failed attempt at a single”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 83.
something “artistic”: “With the Beatles is the first [album cover] where we thought, ‘Hey, let’s get artistic.’ ” George Harrison in Anthology, p. 107.
Freeman posed the Beatles: Freeman, Yesterday: The Beatles, p. 8.
“shockingly humorless”: “Certainly EMI were strongly opposed to its use.” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 157.
“it would damage their image”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“I’d never seen anything like it”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/8/97.
On that first day alone: NME, 11/29/63.
The Cavern sponsored the chartered excursion: “We had about 30 Cavernites on that plane.” Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
By the last week in November: Record Retailer, 11/28/63.
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p; The next week “She Loves You”: Disc, 11/30/63.
NME’s album chart: “Best Selling LPs in Britain,” NME, 12/4/63.
“the switchboard just went totally wild”: “Carroll James Remembers,” Beatlefan, April-May 1984, pp. 8–9.
“There came a time”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“the craziest Xmas greeting”: NME, 12/6/63.
“Thank you, Ringo”: The Beatles Christmas Record, Official Beatles Fan Club, 12/63.
“Somebody asked us”: Ibid.
“I started getting jelly babies”: Disc, April 1964.
“it felt dangerous”: “It was like being in a zoo on stage!” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 106.
“gone right off jelly babies!”: The Beatles Christmas Record, 1963.
“on the cusp of showbiz”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 135.
“genuine”: In Michael Braun’s Love Me Do, Paul observes: “Quite a few people mention the word genuine” to describe the Beatles. “Which we’re not,” John responds (p. 32).
“a resident show”: Author interview with Peter Yolland, 1/12/98.
Delfont suggested he accept: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 101.
“drive him crackers”: Ibid., p. 102.
“a shambles, just chaos”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“quite revolutionary”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“When I left Liverpool”: John Lennon, 1971 interview, in Anthology, p. 109.
“brand-new Jaguar XK-E”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“My idea was to make the Beatles”: Author interview with Peter Yolland, 1/14/98.
“I used to wake up”: Author interview with Nigel Walley, 3/7/98.
“They’re not listening”: Author interview with Pete Shotton, 1/19/98.
CHAPTER 24: ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA
Pan Am Flight 101: Pan American Airways flight logs.
“been over the moon”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 103.
a crowd of four thousand: “Four thousand girls… had arrived at London Airport.” Braun, Love Me Do, p. 90.
“boom[ed] out over the public address system”: New York Times, 2/6/64.
new pleated mohair suits: “Beatles New Suits for USA,” NME, 2/7/64.
“nothing like it”: Paul McCartney in Badman, Off the Record, 2/6/64, p. 78.
“In Liverpool, when you stood”: Fawcett, John Lennon: One Day at a Time, p. 115.
“with a mess of ideas”: Mimi Smith, AGA (undated).
“he thought we were winners”: George Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 78.
Since just after takeoff: “Every half hour the stewardesses on the plane would carry a product to Epstein, who would then write a polite, ‘No’ to the manufacturer.” Nora Ephron, “Enter the Beatles,” New York Post, 2/9/64.
“Going to the States was a big step”: Davies, Beatles, p. 195.
Paul was also overheard: Braun, Love Me Do, p. 91.
“The pilot had rang ahead”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 116.
Shouts—whoops and cheers: “Just listen to that, fellers!” C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 105.
All day they had been urging listeners: Melody Maker, 2/15/64.
“Not even for kings”: “3,000 Fans Greet British Beatles,” New York Times, 2/8/64, p. 25.
“some punches were exchanged”: “Beatles In, Town Knows It,” Daily News, 2/8/64, p. 14.
“As far as I can tell”: Giuliano, Dark Horse, p. 47.
“We had heard that our records were selling”: George Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 79.
“All right then”: Braun, Love Me Do, p. 94.
“Will you sing something”: Beatles Press Conference, transcript, 2/7/64.
“contagious… Beatle wit”: New York Times, 2/8/64, p. 49.
“Hey, I dig your hat”: George Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 79, and in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 149.
“The Beatles are coming”: Murray Kaufman in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 146.
“Who are you?”: Badman, Off the Record, p. 80.
“the Beatles were lifted”: Ephron, “Enter the Beatles,” New York Post, 2/9/64, p. 27.
“I remember… getting into the limo”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 116.
It came as quite a shock: “The Plaza management was petrified.” Braun, Love Me Do, p. 96.
Exhausted from their flight: The Beatles: Their First American Visit (video), 1991.
“We wanted to hear the music”: John Lennon, 1964 interview, in Anthology, p. 119.
“We phoned every radio [station]”: “Epstein had to stop us.” Ibid.
“This is the Beatles’ station!”: WINS-AM archives, 2/7–8/64.
“[He] was as mad as a hatter”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 119.
George’s temperature: “Beatles Prepare for Their Debut,” New York Times, 2/9/64.
Wendy Hanson: “Capitol called me from Los Angeles and said, ‘Can you please get us an English secretary. We need someone for Epstein. We want to impress him.’ ” Wendy Hanson, 11/27/83, AGA.
“a rather nouveau-riche family”: Ibid.
“trolled with a bunch”: Nicky Byrne, 2/84, AGA.
A sculptor in London: NME, 4/3/64.
“Brian’s made a terrible mess”: Nicky Byrne, 2/84, AGA.
By the time Brian arrived: “When it dawned on Brian what had happened, it started to make him physically ill.” Braun, Love Me Do, p. 129.
“smoking night and day”: “Bootleggers Trying to Capture a Share of Success,” New York Times, 2/17/64, p. 20.
“Seltaeb was… in a business”: Walter Hofer, 3/83, AGA.
“all sorts of gear”: Nicky Byrne, 2/84, AGA.
“cruise past the Apollo”: Author interview with Paul McCartney, 5/27/97.
the label’s pressing plants: Dave Dexter in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 155.
Otherwise, Meggs put himself: New York Times, 2/17/64, p. 20.
“vintage Coca-Cola”: Braun, Love Me Do, p. 103.
“asking dumb questions”: R. Spector, Be My Baby, p. 77.
John and George quickly developed serious crushes: Ibid., p. 72.
There was no chance of that: “Thank you for your recent request for tickets… and [we] are very sorry to tell you that so many ticket requests already have been received that we are unable to send you any at this time.” Letter, CBS TV Network, Ticket Bureau, CBS archives.
“It’s from Elvis!”: “America Gets the Beatle Bug from John, Paul, Ringo & George,” NME, 2/14/64.
“these youngsters from Liverpool”: The Ed Sullivan Show, 2/23/64, CBS archives.
“We weren’t happy”: Paul McCartney in Badman, Off the Record, p. 82.
“Finally,” George recalled: George Harrison in ibid.
“just stopped by to get a look”: WWDC radio interview, Carroll James, 2/11/64.
“having a row”: Wendy Hanson, 11/27/83, AGA.
“he sung rounds”: Ibid.
“Now, yesterday and today”: The Ed Sullivan Show, 2/9/64, CBS archives.
“crazy girls, who were going bananas”: Goldman, Lives of John Lennon, p. 159.
“a record, according to the A. C. Nielsen Company”: “Sullivan Show Scores,” New York Times, 2/11/64.
“a fad”: “The Beatles and Their Audience,” New York Times, 2/10/64.
“false modal frames”: Ibid.
“seemed downright conservative”: Washington Post, 2/10/64.
“Visually they are a nightmare”: Newsweek, 2/11/64.
BEATLES BOMB ON TV: New York Herald Tribune, 2/10/64.
“fucking soft”: Braun, Love Me Do, p. 109.
“If everybody really liked us”: John Lennon, 1964 interview, in Anthology, p. 120.
“vicious attack”: “He considered the reviews a vicious attack.” Brian Sommerville, 7/3/84, AGA.
“Before Epstein came here”: Braun, Love Me Do, p. 114.
/> Ostensibly, the conference was called: “Next morning we had another press conference when the news was released that we’d signed to make 3 films.” The Beatles in America (pamphlet; no copyright page or numbering).
“false modal frames”: Beatles press conference transcript, 2/10/64.
Three opening acts: “We had Tommy Roe and that groovy group the Chiffons.” The Beatles in America.
Murray the K showed up: “I broadcast my entire show from the Beatles’ dressing room.” Murray Kaufman in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 152.
In most theaters-in-the-round: “Because it was an ice rink, there was no way to come up from under the stage.” Carroll James, “Fab Four on the Radio,” Beatlefan, April-May 1984, p. 9.
So Harry Lynn: “Harry Lynn said to me, ‘Your job is to keep everybody diverted.’ ” Ibid.
“The reaction was so overwhelming”: Paul McCartney, radio interview, 2/11/64, also cited in Goldman, Lives of John Lennon, p. 160.
“an obstacle course”: Goldman, Lives of John Lennon, p. 160.
“went berserk”: “The crowd went berserk with delight.” “America Gets the Beatle Bug,” NME, 2/14/64.
“All the Beatlemania ingredients”: Ibid.
“That night, we were… pelted”: George Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 85.
“the ring-side seem like Omaha Beach”: Braun, Love Me Do, p. 119.
“Ringo, in particular”: Goldman, Lives of John Lennon, p. 160.
“the acoustics were terrible”: George Harrison in Grandstand interview, BBC-TV, 2/22/64.
“They could have ripped me apart”: “We’ve Got ’Em Luv, and It’s All Gear,” LIFE, 2/17/64, p. 34.
“What an audience!”: Braun, Love Me Do, p. 130.
“champagne party and masked”: British embassy invitation.
This was precisely the kind of function: “We always try to get out of those crap things.” George Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 85.
as the boys made their entrance: “The whole ballroom of dancers sort of swirled around us when we came in.” The Beatles in America.
“So, what do you do?”: NME, 2/14/64.
“full quota of chinless wonders”: Martin, All You Need, p. 162.
“like something in a zoo”: Ringo Starr in Badman, Off the Record, p. 85.
“exchange pleasantries”: Brian Sommerville, 7/3/84, AGA.