The Beatles
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“slightly drunk woman”: Braun, Love Me Do, p. 122.
But as the raffle presentation wound down: Daily Express, 2/13/64.
“What the hell do you think”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 120.
“This lot here”: Daily Express, 2/13/64.
John started for the door: Louise Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 86.
“They were very sad”: Harry Benson in ibid.
“some giant three-ring”: George Martin in Anthology, p. 155.
“The only place we ever got any peace”: George Harrison in ibid.
“simply another theater”: Brian Sommerville, 7/3/84, AGA.
By February 3, a deal had been struck: “I have spoken to Sid Bernstein… and Brian Epstein… have both agreed…” Letter, Brown Meggs to Carnegie Hall, 2/3/64.
American Federation of Musicians: NME, 2/14/64.
“Yells and shouts”: “The Night Carnegie Hall Went Berserk,” Melody Maker, 2/22/64.
“looked the audience sternly”: New York Times, 2/13/64.
“thumping, twanging rhythms”: “2,900 Voice Chorus Joins the Beatles,” New York Times, 2/13/64.
“They are worth listening to”: “Hiram’s Report,” New Yorker, 2/22/64, p. 23.
“I hear they write”: “Plaque and Luncheon Celebrate a 50th Birthday for ASCAP,” New York Times, 2/14/64.
“Miami was like paradise”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 120.
“bathing beauties”: The Beatles in America.
“Beatle Central”: Rayl, Beatles ’64, p. 51.
“cozzies”: “Get your cozzies on!” Paul McCartney in ibid., p. 123.
“It was a big time”: “Miami was incredible.” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 162.
“rock ’n roll gods”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 123.
Mau Mau Lounge: “The boys went to the Mau Mau Lounge… and were knocked out by the Coasters.” Melody Maker, 2/22/64, p. 11.
“the most brilliant place”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 120.
But the relaxed, unfettered lifestyle: “Even when we go swimming… the fans toss autograph books at us.” The Beatles in America.
stashed in the back: Norman, Shout!, p. 230.
borrowed from one of the local… affiliates: “We told Brian we wanted a pool, and the guy from the record company had one.” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 123.
On the rare days: NME, 2/21/64.
By February 15: Billboard, 2/15/64.
Columnist Nat Hentoff: “Gold Drain,” NME, 2/21/64.
Paul felt compelled: “I think Clay is going to win.” Rayl, Beatles ’64, p. 53.
“It was a big publicity thing”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 123.
“who could talk at the rate of”: Mailer, The Fight, p. 13.
“Get a load of them Beatles”: “The Beatles and Clay Spar a Fast Roundelay,” New York Times, 2/19/64.
“Where the fuck’s Clay?”: Remnick, King of the World, p. 158.
“Hello there, Beatles!”: New York Times, 2/19/64.
“didn’t know who they were”: Hauser, Muhammed Ali: His Life and Times, p. 63.
“insisted on having fun”: Mailer, The Fight, p. 11.
“Get down… worms”: Harry Benson in Badman, Off the Record, p. 87.
“with his gloved hand”: Rayl, Beatles ’64, p. 53.
here Poem: “Clay recited a topical epic.” New York Times, 2/19/64.
“with great reluctance”: Mailer, The Fight, p. 75.
“Clay mesmerized them”: Harry Benson in Badman, Off the Record, p. 87.
“Vied you do that?”: Hoffman, With the Beatles, p. 118.
CHAPTER 25: TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS
More than one reporter: Press conference, Heathrow Airport, 2/22/64, Beatles interview. Project.
“healthy and British”: New York Times, 2/23/64.
“flattered”: Ibid.
“Earning all these dollars”: George Harrison in Grandstand interview, BBC-TV, 2/22/64.
the $253,000 check: Rayl, Beatles ’64, p. 54.
Barclays Bank Review: New York Times, 3/2/64.
The U.S. market was flooded with singles: Dusty Springfield at number 15, Dave Clark Five at number 33, Searchers at number 80. Cashbox, 2/24/64.
“With this transition”: History of British Rock Vol. 3 sleeve notes, Sire Records, 1975.
Big Night Out: “In addition to sketches, they will sing five songs.” NME, 2/28/64.
Ringo… flying home: Lewisohn, 25 Years in the Life, p. 40.
Most of the numbers were slated: “Some—for the soundtrack—were required before the film went into production.” Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 39.
“we knew they were good”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 163.
A version of “Can’t Buy Me Love”: Ibid., p. 162.
“It was the first ballad”: Ibid., p. 122.
“I think it was John”: Dick James in Badman, Off the Record, p. 90.
488–89 “the middle eight is mine”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 123.
“tired and depressed”: “But on Tuesday evening, George was tired and depressed.” NME, 2/28/64.
Grudgingly, he’d devoted an hour: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 110.
Daily Express… front-page news: Daily Express, 2/26/64, p. 1.
Dick James… cuff links: Lewisoh, Sessions, p. 40 (illustration).
a gorgeous Rolex: “I am still wearing the watch that I was given by Mr. Epstein.” George Harrison in Anthology, p. 134.
“a black New York girl-group song”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, pp. 204–5.
It was John’s first attempt: MacDonald, Revolution in the Head, p. 86.
The symmetry of their voices: “recorded—at their request—together on one microphone.” Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 40.
“dripping with chords”: NME, 2/1/64.
“a bit of a formula song”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 163.
“The Beatles didn’t get totally immersed”: George Martin in Anthology, p. 124.
“We don’t stop until we’re confident”: “People Behind the Beatles,” NME, 3/6/64.
With time to spare: “By the time we did A Hard Day’s Night we would certainly put the basic track down and do the vocals afterward.” George Martin in Anthology, p. 124.
George had begun to experiment: “For the first time ever on record, I play a twelve-string guitar.” NME, 2/13/64.
an instrument so new: “Harrison’s was only the second of these instruments to be made.” MacDonald, Revolution in the Head, p. 85n.
The plan was to keep everything simple: Alun Owen in Badman, Off the Record, p. 92.
“The director knew we couldn’t act”: John Lennon, 1964 interview, in Anthology, p. 129.
“the Beatles fell right into it”: Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.
“high-speed pseudodocumentary”: Ward, Rock of Ages, p. 278.
“disarming and refreshing”: Yule, Man Who Framed the Beatles, p. 7.
“little jokes, the sarcasm”: “Alun picked up a lot of little things about us.” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 128.
“We were like that”: John Lennon, 1970 interview, in Anthology, p. 128.
an ungodly hour: “Getting up early… wasn’t our best talent.” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 128.
“the lads never touched the script”: Beatlefan, February-March 1985, p. 12.
“frantically”: “We read [the script] frantically in the car.” “A Frank Talk by the Boys,” NME, 3/27/64.
“You never knew”: Victor Spinetti in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 165.
“We’d make things up”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 129.
“Dick just went on shooting”: Victor Spinetti in Beatlefan, February-March 1985, pp. 12–13.
most of which Paul had written: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 111.
“too soft”: Author interview with Billy J. Kramer, 12/16/97.
492–93 “I could talk to him”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 113.
“Their bedrooms were next door”: Author interview with John Dunbar, 1/13/98.
“the laboratories”: Pearce Marchbank in Green, Days in the Life, pp. 32–33.
“Somehow it wasn’t to do”: Paul McCartney in ibid., p. 46.
1.7 million copies: NME, 3/13/64.
“Well, here it is!”: “Single Reviews,” NME, 3/13/64.
scores of singles: “Yes! You Can Hold My Hand” by the Beatlettes, “Beatle Fever” by Brett and Terry, “The Beatle Dance” by Ernie Maresca, “The Boy with the Beatle Haircut” by the Swans, “A Beatle I Want to Be” by Sonny Curtis, “The Beatles” by the Buddies, “We Love You Beatles” by the Carefrees.
A start-up label, Top Six: NME, 1/31/64.
Even Decca, at the behest: “Decca Signs Ex-Beatle,” ibid.
The original demo tape: “I told Jay Lasker ‘I need those tapes back,’ and Vee-Jay could never find them. ‘You know how it is…. ’ ” Author interview with Roland Rennie, 8/7/97.
Brian pleaded with EMI: “Cap Throws Block vs. Veejay’s [sic] Beatles,” Variety, 2/12/64.
“Tell Me If You Can”: “We’ve recorded a composition that Paul McCartney and I wrote.” NME, 3/20/64.
“Brian didn’t get very good deals”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 98.
“wasn’t astute enough” Paul McCartney in ibid.
“long-term slave contracts”: Ibid.
“We had fifty times as many offers”: Rayl, Beatles ’64, p. 55.
a minimum guarantee of $20,000: Author interview with Sid Bernstein, 1977.
“no fewer than one hundred”: Standardized GAC contract for the Beatles, 5/64.
sold forty thousand copies: New York Times, 4/6/64.
“scrappy”: “The drawings were very scrappy because I’m heavy-handed.” John Lennon, 1964 interview, in Anthology, p. 134.
“There’s nothing deep in it”: Ibid.
descendent of the Daily Howl: “It started back in my school days. When I was about fourteen.” NME, 3/27/64.
“gobbledegook”: “I used to hide my real emotions in gobbledegook.” John Lennon, 1964 interview, in Anthology, p. 134.
“cultural earthquake”: Green, Days in the Life, viii.
“a laugh a minute”: Public Ear, BBC, 3/22/64.
“worth the attention”: Times Literary Supplement, 3/25/64.
Carl-Alan award: NME (ceremony photo), 3/27/64.
Record sales were astronomical: Billboard’s “Hot 100,” 4/11/64.
Everyone at NEMS was posted there: “He came into the office at Argyll Street.” Brian Sommerville, 7/4/83, AGA.
“I stuck out my hand”: From a recollection reprinted ad infinitum over the years, but probably originally from an account in the magazine Tit Bits, 1965.
“You can’t turn your back”: Brian Sommerville, AGA.
“He turned up after I was famous”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in Anthology, p. 180.
“It was casting a sprat”: Author interview with Don Short, 8/11/97.
“Whenever fashions changed”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 117.
Much later, Twiggy: “Twiggy told me much later she copied Pattie.” Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/12/97.
“When we started filming”: Pattie Boyd in Davies, Beatles, p. 201.
“semi-engaged”: “Pattie… declined [George’s] offer.” Giuliano, Dark Horse, p. 62.
“confident about [his] relationship”: Eric Swayne in Badman, Off the Record, p. 96.
“Cyn and I had to dress”: Pattie Boyd in Davies, Beatles, p. 202.
“It was all so romantic”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 128.
UA, which never even saw: Walter Shenson, 4/84, AGA.
“There was something Ringo said”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 164.
“abusing the English language”: Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.
“Ringo would always say”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 130.
“I was just talking”: Ringo Starr in Grandstand interview, BBC-TV, 2/22/64.
John promptly wrote it down: “John always used to write them down.” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 130.
“Ringoism”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 148.
“We’ve just got our title!”: Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.
“I’m afraid we’re going to need a song”: Ibid.
They had already shot: “We filmed the scene where all the fans run into the train station.” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 129.
The “strident” chord: “The ‘strident’ chord was the perfect launch.” George Martin in Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 43.
“because I couldn’t reach the notes”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 148.
“in the world of commerce”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 20.
“There are only a few journalists”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“painted a new rainbow”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 86.
“He’s one of those people”: John Lennon, 1964 interview, in Anthology, p. 140.
“fact-gathering expedition”: “We were allowing ourselves five days… for a fact-gathering expedition.” D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 116.
“I am homosexual”: Ibid., p. 117.
“my personal assistant”: Ibid.
“The entire office took to him”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/8/97.
“a potboiler”: Derek Taylor in Anthology, p. 115.
Queer Jew: Coleman, Lennon, p. 203.
“My early days at NEMS”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 144.
“The heat was immediately on”: Ibid., p. 142.
CHAPTER 26: IN THE EYE OF A HURRICANE
His throat was especially sore: “My throat was so sore…. I was a smoker in those days, too.” Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 139.
“didn’t like it one bit”: “I got quite a fright when I saw Ringo sink to his knees.” Neil Aspinall in Badman, Off the Record, p. 101.
“Imagine, the Beatles”: George Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 101.
postponed immediately: “I don’t want to do the tour without Ringo.” George Harrison in D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 146.
“Brian argued with us”: Paul McCartney in Badman, Off the Record, p. 101.
“bullied by Brian Epstein”: George Harrison in D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 146.
“It might have looked”: NME, 6/12/64.
“Humpity-Dumpity”: NME, 5/15/64 (advertisement).
There are various versions: “Brian called me and I went down to his office.” Beatlefan, Oct.-Nov. 1984, p. 22. “It was EMI asking if I could come down to the studio.” Baker, Beatles Down Under, p. 19. “The phone rang. It was George Martin.” Badman, Off the Record, p. 102.
“I nearly shit”: Beatlefan, Sept.-Oct. 1994, p. 12.
“mischief and carrying on”: Ibid.
“Wherever we went”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, pp. 84–86.
“his head was a balloon”: Beatlefan, Sept.-Oct. 1994, p. 13.
“the most relaxing and happy”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 127.
“happy families time”: Ibid., p. 128.
“in the eye of a hurricane”: Solt & Egan, Imagine, p. 63.
“He played well”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 139.
“the Four Fabs”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 146.
“at least 100,000 cheering”: NME, 5/12/64.
“Fuck off, yer bald old crip!”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 149.
CHILD DYING: Ibid., p. 147.
“We’d been sitting”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 139.
Fierce crosswinds: Baker, Down Under, p. 24.
“back of a flat-bed”: Neil Aspinall in Anthology, p. 140.
“the J. F. Kennedy position”: George Harrison in D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 159.
“you might get shot”: John Lennon, Adelaide press conference, 6/12/64.
“It was like a heroes’ welcome”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 140.
“a bitterly cold day”: Var
iety, 6/24/64.
“nearly twice as many”: New York Times, 6/13/64.
“horrendous”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 140.
“madness we had not seen”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 161.
the girls fainting: “Hundreds of youngsters fainted and… sustained minor injuries.” New York Times, 6/13/64.
“screamed so hard”: Ibid.
“frightening, chaotic”: Baker, Down Under, p. 57.
Description of premiere: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 132.
“behaved like delighted”: Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.
“off-beat”: “Off-Beat Film on Beatles,” The Times (London), 7/8/64.
“exercise in anarchy”: Sunday Times, 7/12/64.
“delightfully loony”: Daily Express, 7/8/64.
“a whale of a comedy”: “The Four Beatles in ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ ” New York Times, 8/12/64.
“I dug A Hard Day’s Night”: John Lennon, 1970 interview, in Anthology, p. 128.
“We knew it was better”: Ibid., p. 129.
“not as good as James Bond”: John Lennon, Liverpool interview, 7/10/64.
the movie opened to critical success: NME, 7/10/64.
“with a record 160 prints”: “On the British Movie Scene,” New York Times, 8/2/64.
“would gross at least a million”: NME, 7/10/64.
“That’s the stuff!”: “Beatles Still Love to Play Jokes,” NME, 7/17/64.
“It was extraordinary”: “They were absolutely terrified.” Sunday Times (special Beatles issue), 1983.
“[Friends] kept coming down”: Press reception transcript, Liverpool, 7/10/64.
“one or two little rumors”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 144.
Paul had settled a paternity claim: Goldman, Lives of John Lennon, p. 150.
“with astonishing nonchalance”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 179.
“Being local heroes”: John Lennon, 1967 interview, in Anthology, p. 144.
their “own people”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 144.
“Miles away from Speke”: Sunday Times (special Beatles issue), 1983.
“Did you ever imagine”: Press conference with Gerald Harrison, 7/10/64.
“You want to get some teeth”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 181.
a 1:30 A.M. flight: Lewisohn, Chronicle, p. 165.
“really weird characters”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 114.
“People were ringing”: Author interview with Nigel Walley, 3/11/98.