by Bob Spitz
“was a bit of a surrealist”: Ibid.
“he, as an outsider”: “Meat in Money,” Record Collector, 10/94, p. 20.
“We were supposed to be sort of angels”: John Lennon, 1974 interview, in Anthology, p. 204.
“gross… and stupid”: George Harrison in ibid.
“It’s their comment on war”: Alan Livingston, Arena archives.
“we thought it was stunning”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 204.
“They absolutely insist”: Alan Livingston, Arena archives.
Unfortunately for Capitol: “Over a half-a-million or so known to have been pressed.” “Meat in Money,” Record Collector, 10/94, p. 25.
“the album cover is being discarded”: Letter from Ron Tepper, 6/14/66.
“I especially pushed for it”: John Lennon, 1974 interview, in Anthology, p. 205.
“We weren’t against a little shock”: Paul McCartney in ibid., p. 204.
Clive Davis, who “thought the Beatles had peaked”: “That is a fact…. We were at Columbia and someone brought in the album cover with the dolls and meat… and Clive couldn’t deal with it.” Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“awful-looking picture of us”: John Lennon, 1974 interview, in Anthology, p. 205.
“succumbed to pressure from fans”: “Beatles—Vintage ’66: The Fan’s-Eye View,” Melody Maker, 6/25/66.
“It was too much trouble”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 214.
“Musically, we’re only just starting”: Melody Maker, 6/25/66.
Brian had promised them: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“I don’t think we even thought of”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 214.
On June 16, 1966, Vic Lewis: “Vic Lewis to Tokyo,” NME, 6/10/66.
“But by 1966”: Barrow, “Manila: July 1966,” p. 2.
“And the drugs made things much worse”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.
uppers and Tuinal: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 181.
“a garden-variety hustler”: Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“I went over [to Brian’s flat]”: Author interview with Ken Partridge, 1/18/98.
“If you show up again”: Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“sweetest, most special plaything”: Author interview with Ken Partridge, 1/18/98.
“a new British sound”: Paul McCartney in Badman, Off the Record, p. 222.
“sharp, incisive jolts”: Riley, Tell Me Why, p. 183.
“studio-verité”: MacDonald, Revolution in the Head, p. 160.
“I had discovered I was paying”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 206.
“righteous indignation”: Paul McCartney in ibid., p. 207.
“threw in a few one-liners”: John Lennon, 1968 interview, in Badman, Off the Record, p. 223.
the full symphonic treatment: “This time there were eight [musicians]—a double string quartet.” Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 77.
The song is an elegant ballad: “I was in Switzerland… and ended up in a little bathroom in a Swiss chalet writing ‘For No One.’ ” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 207.
gentle wisecracks: “There were funny little grammatical jokes we used to play.” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 287.
“chains, ship’s bells, hand bells”: Geoff Emerick in Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 81.
“They had a whole crowd”: Ibid.
Abracadabra: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 269.
“Let’s just call it Rock ’n Roll Hits”: “They Love ’Em—Ja! Ja! Ja!” Melody Maker, 7/2/66.
John came up with Beatles on Safari: “Triumphant Return!” Beatles Book Monthly, 8/66, p. 7.
Paul put it up for consideration: “Paul thought of Revolver, and we hadn’t thought of anything better.” Ringo Starr in Badman, Off the Record, p. 221.
the same one that had transported Queen Elizabeth: “It was the train that was used when the royal party toured Germany.” George Harrison in Anthology, p. 215.
“We all knew each other”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“the brutality started to show”: Melody Maker, 7/2/66.
Every one of them was looking forward: “They were excited to get back to Hamburg.” Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“[they’d] got famous in the meantime”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 215.
“How about Bettina”: “Beatles Return to Hamburg,” NME, 7/2/66.
“[A] lot of old ghosts materialized”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 215.
“the best present I’ve had”: “Beatles Return to Hamburg,” NME, 7/2/66.
“What kind of questions are these?”: Beatles press conference, Hamburg, 6/26/66.
“soft questions”: “You look too old to ask soft questions like that,” John snapped at a reporter in Japan. Tokyo press conference, 6/30/66.
“Christianity will go”: London Evening Standard, 3/4/66.
The article was picked up on April 13: “Our Fearless Correspondent,” San Francisco Chronicle, 4/13/66.
“The trouble with government”: “Lennon on Elections,” Disc, 4/2/66.
Uh-oh, the reporter thought: “The press was still protecting the Beatles.” Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“As far as these hooligans were concerned”: Author interview with Vic Lewis, 1/20/98.
George Harrison had been forewarned: “I remember when George was in Germany he got a letter saying…” George Martin in Anthology, p. 216.
And a steady stream of letters flowed: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 9/8/97.
“We always had to deal with these nuts”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“was turned into an armed camp”: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 202.
“All the other bedrooms”: Author interview with Vic Lewis, 1/20/98.
“We were locked up”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 215.
“It was their first time”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
Especially with Brian and Brown: “I met a guy at the pool” and “I picked up a Japanese boy and brought him back [to the hotel].” Both ibid.
617–18 “yellow shirts and natty bottle-green suits”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 216.
“like a military maneuver”: George Harrison in ibid.
“The drive was absolutely eerie”: Author interview with Vic Lewis, 1/20/98.
“The audience was very subdued”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 216.
“There were one or two screamers”: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 203.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing”: Mojo, 1/96, p. 54.
“Those little briefcases”: Neil Aspinall in Anthology, p. 217.
“Our bags were on the runway”: George Harrison in ibid.
“You fucking idiot!”: Author interview with Vic Lewis, 1/20/98.
Tony Barrow thinks it was “unlikely”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97. Also “I doubt if he even read it thoroughly or ever noticed the crucial suggestion that the Beatles might ‘call in on [Imelda Marcos].’ ” Barrow, “Manila: July 1966,” p. 9.
Peter Brown has a distinct recollection: “It was in Japan that we got the invitation to the palace. It came from Tony, and Brian’s answer was ‘regret.’ ” Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“President Marcos, the First Lady, and the three”: Manila Sunday Times, 7/3/66.
“This is not a request”: Author interview with Vic Lewis, 1/20/98.
“in the interest of diplomacy”: “He told us… I recommend that you go.” Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“Well, we were fucking right”: Ibid.
“organized troublemakers”: “This left our stationary cars at the mercy of organized troublemakers.” Barrow, “Manila: July 1966,” p. 15.
“Drive on! Go through the people”: Author interview with Vic Lewis, 1/20/98.
“Your fee is taxed”: Ibid.
; “Oh, dear!” he thought: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 220.
“things started to get really weird”: Ringo Starr in ibid.
“The passageway was lined”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“Nobody would give us a ride”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 220.
“The atmosphere was scary”: Barrow, “Manila: July 1966,” p. 17.
“We were shitting ourselves”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“I didn’t fancy the chances”: Barrow, “Manila: July 1966,” p. 18.
“I really felt the boys could be killed”: Author interview with Vic Lewis, 1/20/98.
“We were all carrying amplifiers”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 220.
“an abusive crowd and police”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“they started spitting”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 220.
“When they started on us”: “Lennon: I Thought I Was Going to Get Hurt,” Disc & Music Echo, 7/16/66.
623–24 “You treat like ordinary passenger!”: John Lennon, 1966 interview, in Anthology, p. 220.
“was Brian’s cock-up”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in ibid. And “we didn’t feel it was our cock-up.” Paul McCartney in ibid.
“seizing with tension”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
Lewis was concerned: “Vic wanted to make sure he got the $17,000.” Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“It was just sort of a freak show”: John Lennon, 1969 interview, in Anthology, p. 229.
“Who fucking needs this?”: “It was in Delhi that the Beatles started discussing not touring anymore. It was ‘Who fucking needs this?’ ” Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.
“four waxwork dummies”: I reckon we could send out four waxwork dummies.” John Lennon, 1966 interview, in Anthology, p. 229.
“I prefer to be out of the public eye”: Melody Maker, 6/25/66.
“And they decided then and there”: Neil Aspinall in Anthology, p. 229.
“It wasn’t like the boys”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“You’d better get on top of this”: Wendy Hanson, 11/27/84, AGA.
CHAPTER 30: A STORM IN A TEACUP
blasphemous: “We Love John and God!” Melody Maker, 8/19/66.
“Beatle Burnings”: Anthology, p. 224 (illustration).
“so it’s no sweat off us”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 294.
KZEE… “damned their songs”: Time, 8/12/66, p. 38.
a Baptist minister in Cleveland: Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 218.
“joining stations… in Massachusetts”: “Beatles Manager Here to Quell Storm Over Remarks on Jesus,” New York Times, 8/6/66.
“We were being told”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97; “There were threats that John would be shot.” Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.
“didn’t really take it too seriously”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 293.
“a storm in a teacup”: “Are the Beatles Safe in America?” NME, 8/12/66.
“The moment he got in the car”: Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“were taken completely out of context”: Ibid.
“He did not mean to boast”: Press release, Maureen Cleave, 8/8/66.
Brian “request[ed] emphatically no [further] comment”: Telegram from Brian Epstein to Wendy Hanson, 8/5/66.
“were having a field day”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 225.
“I’d forgotten [all about it]”: John Lennon, 1966 interview in Anthology, p. 225.
“Tell them to get stuffed”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 313.
“It went back and forth”: Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“One thing seems certain”: “Beatles Create a New Nursery Rhyme,” NME, 7/29/66, p. 3.
“The 100 Greatest Albums”: Mojo, 1/96, p. 70.
“scaling of new musical peaks”: “1966 Band on the Run,” Q, pp. 86–87.
“We’re not trying to pass off as kids”: John Lennon, 1966 interview, in Anthology, p. 229.
NME reported… nine shipped: NME, 7/29/66; and “More Beatles LP Covers,” 8/12/66.
“And so Brian… kept asking”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 226.
“We were nervous”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 8/30/97.
“feared the Beatles might be assassinated”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 314.
“I’ll do anything”: Ibid.
“never seen John so nervous”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 226.
“If I’d have said, ‘Television’ ”: Beatles press conference, Chicago, 8/11/66.
“quite prepared to let the Lennon affair”: “Stern Reply to Lennon Knocker,” NME, 8/19/66.
In Cleveland, especially: “3000 Fans Rush Stage, Force Beatles to Retreat,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8/15/66.
“given the order”: Bess Coleman, Teen Life, 9/66.
“By the time we got to Memphis”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 8/31/97.
“Brian was very nervous”: Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“If we cancel one”: “I heard Paul tell him…” Author interview with Tony Barrow, 8/31/97.
“the flight from Boston to Memphis”: Tashian, Ticket, p. 65.
“So this is where all the Christians come from”: “I was sitting next to John and Paul. John looked out the window and said…” Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“Send John out first”: TeenSet, 9/66.
“Driving into Memphis”: Tashian, Ticket, p. 133.
“I will never forget… we pulled”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 294.
“The Beatles smiled through it all”: Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 8/20/66.
“Everyone started to relax”: “On Tour with the Beatles,” TeenSet, 9/66.
“when he heard [the blast]”: Ibid.
Two teenagers had lobbed: “Bang Joins Shrieks in Beatle Show,” Commercial Appeal (Memphis), 8/20/66.
“It was clear from the start”: Author interview with Lionel Bart, 1/16/98.
“I’ve noticed that George”: “American Eye-View,” Melody Maker, 8/27/66.
“It had been four years of legging”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 229.
“Nobody was listening”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 227.
“was fed up playing”: Ibid., p. 229.
Conditions were so pitiful: “I remember Ringo’s drums moving around, and he would get up and move them back.” Tashian, Ticket, p. 70.
“I didn’t want to tour”: John Lennon, 1980 interview, in Anthology, p. 228.
“the music was dead”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 46.
It rained before showtime: “It started pouring just before showtime.” “Double-Header with the Beatles,” Cincinnati Post and Times-Star, 8/22/66.
“They’d brought in the electricity”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 227.
“It was really scary”: “The promoter was so cheap he only put a canvas canopy over the stage.” Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“the only gig we ever missed”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 227.
“a couple bits of corrugated iron”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 294.
“There were sparks flying”: Tashian, Ticket, p. 134.
“to pull it whenever the first person”: Ibid.
“We were sliding around”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 227.
Even Paul admitted he’d had enough: “Oh, God, who needs this?” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 294.
“had become spiritually rather empty”: Ibid., p. 249.
“We didn’t make a formal announcement”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 229.
“Good news… Diz is here”: Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.
“half a dozen or so billets-doux”: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 215.
“a suicidal depression”: Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/29/98.
“It was not the sort of night”: Aut
hor interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
with 25,000 die-hard Beatles fans: “Beatles’ Closing Concert on Coast Attracts 25,000,” New York Times, 8/31/66.
“being jolted from head to toe”: Tashian, Ticket, p. 118.
“sounding like clouds bursting”: “Remembering the Night the Beatles Played Candlestick,” San Francisco Chronicle, 8/29/86, p. 23.
“totally familiar studio recorded versions”: “Beatles Strike Out at Ball Park,” San Francisco Examiner, 8/30/66.
“John and Paul say exactly”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 8/31/97.
“a puppet show”: San Francisco Chronicle, 8/29/86, p. 23.
“I was thinking, ‘This is going to be’ ”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 229.
“Right—that’s it”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 8/31/97.
“Is Beatlemania Dead?”: Time, 9/2/66.
Derek Taylor, writing: Melody Maker, 11/26/66.
“impact… and mythology”: “The Beatles Break,” Sunday Times, 11/13/66.
“hanging around”: “And as anybody knows about film work, there’s a lot of hanging around.” Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 130.
“He loathed the endless waiting”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 320.
“It was pretty damn boring”: John Lennon in Badman, Off the Record, p. 251.
“He used to sit cross-legged”: Michael Crawford in ibid., p. 250.
“conjuring up a hazy impressionistic”: Martin, Summer of Love, p. 14.
“psychoanalysis set to music”: John Lennon, 1970 interview, in Anthology, p. 231.
“an old Victorian house”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, pp. 131–32.
“It [provided] an escape”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 307.
“There was something about the place”: Goldman, Lives of John Lennon, p. 255.
“I took the name… as an image”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 131.
“travel incognito, disguised”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 295.
“to ease the pressure”: Ibid., p. 296.
“Let’s not be ourselves”: Ibid., p. 303.
“put some distance between”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 166.
“We would be Sgt. Pepper’s band”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 241.
“I had gone through so many trips”: George Harrison in ibid.
“You’ve got to be connected spiritually”: Author interview with Arthur Kelly, 1/10/98.