The Beatles

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The Beatles Page 129

by Bob Spitz


  “We were really getting away”: John Lennon, 1974 interview, in Anthology, p. 281.

  “There [was] quite a heavy flow”: George Harrison in ibid.

  “It was a collision”: Farrow, What Falls Away, p. 132.

  Meditation… should last for: Melody Maker, 3/9/68.

  “Nevertheless,” she later wrote: Farrow, What Falls Away, p. 137.

  “I was meditating about eight hours”: John Lennon, 1974 interview, in Anthology, p. 283.

  “To John, nothing else mattered”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 155.

  “It was pretty exciting”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 281.

  “It was quite nice”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 413.

  “It was almost magical”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 283.

  “like a feather over”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 414.

  “Regardless of what”: John Lennon, 1971 interview, in Anthology, p. 283.

  an homage to his boyhood idol: “ ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’ was my take-off of Chuck Berry’s ‘Back in the USA.’ ” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 422.

  There, in a series of dilapidated tents: Hello!, 5/28/94.

  “Every time we met”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 419.

  “to go shoot a few poor tigers”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 168.

  “Prudence meditated and hibernated”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 284.

  “She went completely mental”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 168.

  George and John had been selected: Farrow, What Falls Away, p. 139.

  “got her out of the house”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 168.

  using a finger-picking technique: “I introduced John to a finger-picking style…. With this style he wrote ‘Julia’ and ‘Dear Prudence.’ ” Donovan in Badman, Off the Record, p. 341.

  “Umbrella”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 421.

  “We’re not fucking here”: Ibid., p. 420.

  Besides, Maureen had a phobia: “He couldn’t stand the food and his wife couldn’t stand the flies.” Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 284.

  “very much like a holiday”: Melody Maker, 3/9/68.

  “Paul and Jane were much too sophisticated”: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 286.

  “some huge spiritual lift-off”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 409.

  “John took meditation”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 341.

  “Something had gone very wrong”: Hello!, 5/28/94.

  “I’m a cloud”: Fawcett, John Lennon: One Day at a Time, p. 33.

  John “missed his company”: “Alex was summoned to Rishikesh by John.” Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 287.

  “because he didn’t approve”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 427.

  “appalled” by the accommodations: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 287.

  Maharishi might have come on to her: Farrow, What Falls Away, p. 141.

  “I think it was completely untrue”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 429.

  “to plug into the divine”: George Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 341.

  “When George started thinking”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, pp. 55–56.

  “Wait,” she recalled: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 428.

  “John told me he knew”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/10/97.

  “If you’re so cosmically conscious”: Variations of this response have been reported in Wenner, Lennon Remembers; Brown & Gaines, Love You Make; C. Lennon, A Twist; and Jenny Boyd’s account in Miles, Paul McCartney.

  “You can’t say that”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 286.

  an appearance in a documentary: “30 New Beatle Tracks,” NME, 4/20/68.

  “But you’ve got to bloody hear it”: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 291. Cynthia confirms this in Hello!, 5/28/94.

  “I never dreamed”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 163.

  “We want to help people”: The Tonight Show, 5/15/68.

  whose brainstorm produced: “He came up with the idea for the ad in my house.” Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

  “Overnight, we were swamped”: Ibid.

  “By the time I came back”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 287.

  George… “had very little to do”: Ibid.

  “I hate it”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 330.

  “Paul, for the longest time”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/10/97.

  “he’d stay there all day”: McCabe & Schonfeld, Apple to the Core, p. 102.

  “John was in a rage”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 330.

  “He was more fucked up”: Author interview with Pete Shotton, 7/10/98.

  “It seemed like everything”: Ibid., 1/19/98.

  At a London party: Author interview with a confidential source.

  “We wanted a grand launch”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 287.

  “It was a mad, bad week”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 327.

  “mild and extremely benign hallucinogen”: Ibid., p. 329.

  “He said, ‘We’re leaving’ ”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 450.

  “There was something awfully steamy”: Author interview with Nat Weiss, 1/28/98.

  761–62 “didn’t think she was particularly attractive”: McCabe & Schonfeld, John Lennon: For the Record, p. 24.

  “high-breasted”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 329.

  “He was a fairly hip person”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/12/97.

  “she looked very pretty”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 454.

  “He is an American song writer”: Memo duplicated in D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 326.

  “It all came as a shock”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/6/97.

  “tons of songs”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 160.

  “The Beatles were getting real tense”: Ibid.

  “I said, ‘What are you doing?’ ” Author interview with Pete Shotton, 1/19/98.

  “I played her all the tapes”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 176.

  “We improvised for many hours”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 344.

  “the babel inside an insane asylum”: Author interview with Terry Doran, 8/13/97.

  “enjoying the uncertainty”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 344.

  “It was dawn”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 176.

  “I had no doubt”: Coleman, Lennon, pp. 344–45.

  “shellshocked”: Author interview with Pete Shotton, 1/19/98.

  CHAPTER 35: GOOD-BYE TO THE BOYS IN THE BAND!

  “The question they all ask”: Melody Maker, 9/3/68.

  “a hectic recording scene”: “Beatles George Today,” NME, 6/1/68.

  “It seemed to many of us”: Author interview with Don Short, 8/11/97.

  “the Beatles were embarrassed”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/10/97.

  “We bought a few things”: NME, 6/1/68.

  He was “absolutely fascinated”: “He wore several of them himself.” Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/12/97.

  “I had to give it away”: John Lennon, undated interview, in Anthology, p. 290.

  John and Paul “blew millions”: George Harrison in ibid.

  “tens of thousands” of requests: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 313.

  “Suddenly Apple was a free-for-all”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 290.

  “Any numbskull could walk in”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

  “I remember going round”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 318.

  “Magic Alex said that EMI”: George Martin in ibid.

  “The Jam”/“Walkabout”: “Beatles Broaden Role in Business,” New York Times, 5/15/68.

  “Some Gorgeous Accident”: The Times (London), 4/26/68.

  There were preliminary discussions: “Beatles Maharishi Documentary Film,” NME, 3/9/68.

  a high-grade 50 percent: “The Story of Yellow Submarine,” Beatles Book Monthly, 9/93, pp. 5–11.

  “He dreaded going to them”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.

  “We only had o
ne or two”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 292.

  “Their reaction was: ‘OK’ ”: Martin, All You Need, p. 226.

  “brilliantly inventive”: Daily Telegraph, 7/19/68.

  strong “visual imagination”: “Tati and the Beatles New Films in London,” Christian Science Monitor, 8/3/68.

  “The film packs more”: “Lessons at the Movies,” Observer, 7/28/68.

  Ringo… “loved Yellow Submarine”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 292.

  “I think it’s a classic”: George Harrison in ibid.

  “The Beatles stubbornly continue”: Daily Mail, 12/29/67.

  “They have a different feel”: “Interview: John Lennon,” Rolling Stone, 11/23/68.

  “just finish off the tail”: McCabe & Schonfeld, John Lennon: For the Record, p. 119.

  “it meant that I’d hear”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 487.

  Paul regretted the loss: “Because John [was divorcing] Cynthia and had gone off with Yoko…” Ibid.

  “my love cloud”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 106.

  “never known love like this”: John Lennon, 1968 interview, in Anthology, p. 301.

  “my head would go off”: McCabe & Schonfeld, John Lennon: For the Record, p. 56.

  “She was the ultimate trip”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews.

  “eerily silent”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 345.

  “John and Yoko, wearing nothing”: Hello!, 5/28/94.

  “in complete shock”: Ibid.

  But one night in that desperate: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 293.

  “She knew it was a mistake”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/12/97.

  “For a while, everything”: C. Lennon, A Twist, p. 168.

  “a very agitated” Magic Alex: Ibid., p. 169.

  “absolutely devastated”: Hello!, 5/28/94.

  “I knew when I saw the picture”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 350.

  The groundwork for it: Lewisohn, 25 Years in the Life, p. 104.

  “They were like two nervous”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

  773–74 “loyalty to and affection for Cynthia”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 347.

  “As your friend and press officer”: Ibid., p. 340.

  “Word had circulated”: Author interview with Don Short, 8/11/97.

  “Where’s your wife?”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/12/97.

  “Who is this?”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 340.

  “What happened to your wife”: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, p. 297.

  “Paul, in his usual way”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/12/97.

  Ringo had installed a rear window: Author interview with Ken Partridge, 1/18/98.

  made “Paul [feel] uncomfortable”: “Paul felt uncomfortable around John and Yoko.” Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 486.

  “[John] was getting into harder drugs”: Ibid.

  John’s “adversity and… craziness”: Ibid., p. 487.

  “ ‘God will save us’ ”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 131.

  “I really thought that love”: Ibid., p. 132.

  “He doesn’t really get off the fence”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 484.

  “He seemed to be particularly focused”: Author interview with Alan Brown, 5/18/97.

  Yoko Ono sat “perversely”: Coleman, Lennon, p. 363.

  “It was fairly shocking”: Author interview with Alan Brown, 5/18/97.

  She “just moved in”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 308.

  “John brought her into the control room”: Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 135.

  “dared the others”: Author interview with Alan Brown, 5/18/97.

  Studio grunts watched: Author interview with Martin Benge, 5/18/97.

  “talk about fixes and monkeys”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 486.

  “[The studio] was where we were together”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 308.

  “Yoko was there”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 484.

  “I bastardized it”: Author interview with Paul McCartney, 3/21/97.

  “I could hear them”: Author interview with Alan Brown, 5/18/97.

  “She came in and she would expect”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 69.

  “fed up [with] being sideman”: Ibid., p. 49.

  “cop out”: Ibid.

  “Finally, he just told EMI”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/12/97.

  Paul celebrated: Brown & Gaines, Love You Make, pp. 304–5.

  “I’m here if you show up”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 451.

  “The moment Linda arrived”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/6/97.

  “[I’d] always found Linda”: Author interview with Paul McCartney, 3/21/97.

  Linda “seemed amused”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/6/97.

  “Her family was the most academic”: Author interview with Paul McCartney, 3/21/97.

  Paul “felt particularly sorry”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 297.

  Julian was “a fragile little”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

  “the Law of the Husband”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/10/97.

  “I thought it was a bit much”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 465.

  “try to cheer them up”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 297.

  “a hopeful message for Julian”: Ibid.

  “one of [Paul’s] masterpieces”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 157.

  John was holding out: “I wanted to put it out as a single.” Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 131.

  “No, George… You come in”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 467.

  “oblivious to anyone else’s feelings”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.

  even had the structure for… “Something”: While recording “Piggies,” George played “Something” for Chris Thomas, George Martin’s assistant. Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 265.

  “made the other Beatles self-conscious”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 492.

  “There was a definite vibe”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 308.

  “I remember having three studios”: Ibid., p. 305.

  “For the first time, I had to split myself”: George Martin in ibid.

  “looking after what both”: Martin, All You Need, p. 132.

  “dead set against putting such a mess”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.

  “[Paul] even recorded it”: Sheff, Playboy Interviews, p. 160.

  “there was such a lack of enthusiasm”: George Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 391.

  “They weren’t taking it seriously”: George Harrison in Anthology, p. 306.

  “the others would join in”: George Martin in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 263.

  “We were in George’s car”: Eric Clapton in Badman, Off the Record, p. 391.

  “I was recording not a band”: George Martin in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 263.

  “because some of them weren’t great”: George Martin in Anthology, p. 305.

  “I’m going on holiday”: George Martin in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 264.

  “really arguing amongst themselves”: Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 143.

  “Paul was re-recording the vocal”: Ibid.

  “None of us had any experience”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

  For a while the company’s destiny: “We went through a period when we weren’t allowed to do anything before someone threw the I Ching.” Alistair Taylor in Pritchard & Lysaght, The Beatles, p. 273.

  “We invited people to Apple”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/10/97.

  “John wouldn’t rest”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/6/97.

  “We really want to help people”: New York press conference transcript, 5/14/68.

  “not necessarily having a hard time”: “Beatles’ Loose Habit of Recording,” NME, 8/17/68.

  “smashed down an entire… panel”: D. Taylor, Fifty Years, p. 348.

  Beatles “were a mot
her’s dream”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

  “to make business fun”: Ibid.

  “foolish disregard”: Letter, Derek Taylor to the Beatles, 7/26/68.

  “mistaken for little Jewish businessmen”: George Harrison in Badman, Off the Record, p. 375.

  “Yoko came up with the idea”: McCabe & Schonfeld, John Lennon: For the Record, p. 106.

  such “a good happening”: Wenner, Lennon Remembers, p. 59.

  “Originally, the shops were intended”: Beatles press release, issued 7/29/68.

  “The night before, we all went in”: McCabe & Schonfeld, John Lennon: For the Record, p. 106.

  “a smashing raincoat”: Paul McCartney in Badman, Off the Record, p. 375.

  “loads of shirts and jackets”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 296.

  “It was great”: McCabe & Schonfeld, John Lennon: For the Record, p. 106.

  “Yoko revealed a greedy side”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/10/97.

  “Hundreds of people” stampeded: Daily Mail, 8/1/68.

  “the bulls at Pamplona”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

  “people… coming with wheelbarrows”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 296.

  “it brought out the worst”: D. Taylor, As Time Goes By, p. 143.

  The version Paul cut with Mary: “He originally tried to get the Moody Blues or Donovan to record it.” Badman, Off the Record, p. 351.

  “ideal material for half-time”: NME, 8/31/68.

  “I wanted a really different sound”: Paul McCartney in Anthology, p. 289.

  “It wasn’t intended”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 466.

  “It felt good recording it”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 297.

  the largest-selling Beatles record: Billboard research department files.

  “all the time in the world”: “Danger—Beatles at Work,” Saturday Review, 10/12/68, p. 64.

  Paul recorded “Mother Nature’s Son”: Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 147.

  so offended Paul that he refused: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.

  “the whole thing was going down”: Ringo Starr in Anthology, p. 312.

  “unloved and out of it”: Ibid., p. 311.

  Ringo’s “feel and soul”: Paul McCartney in ibid.

  “the most raucous”: Miles, Paul McCartney, p. 488.

  “drummed as if his life”: Lewisohn, Sessions, p. 154.

  The Beatles’ goal, according to John: “We made the double white album because it was going to be a double album forever.” John Lennon, 1970 interview, in Badman, Off the Record, pp. 391–92.

 

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