The Beatles (167 page)

Read The Beatles Online

Authors: Bob Spitz

Tags: #Biography & Autobiography / General, #Music / Genres & Styles - Pop Vocal

A grant had come through
: “[He] got a tremendous grant… from the German government on Paolozzi’s recommendation.” Millie Sutcliffe in Pritchard & Lysaght,
The Beatles,
p. 92.


but not both
”: Ibid.

but writing stories and poems
: Astrid Kirchherr in Pritchard & Lysaght,
The Beatles,
p. 91.


good sense to keep away from
”: Bill Harry interview with Pauline Sutcliffe (audio), undated.


to smarten them up
”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

Leather and jeans were fine for the Cavern
: “He claimed that no one in the world of entertainment outside our present environment would tolerate our slovenly look.” Best & Doncaster,
Beatle!,
p. 133.

Brian expected everyone to show up on time
: Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 157.


Brian believed that would be very good for us
”: Miles,
Paul McCartney,
p. 96.


Paul was Mr. Show Business
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/9/97.


a nice old ballroom
”: Author interview with Sam Leach, 10/6/97.


Where are we going, boys?
”:
Anthology,
vol. 1.

CHAPTER 16: THE ROAD TO LONDON

A graduate of the Merchant Taylors’ School
: Leigh,
Drummed Out!,
p. 31.

Barrow not only spoke the language
:
Liverpool Echo,
1959–61.


a schoolboy
”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.

Each week, before placing the NEMS record order
: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/9/97.


I have this fabulous group
”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.


instantly impressive
”: Ibid.


bright lights
”: Author interview with Richard Rowe Jr., 8/19/97.

Brian was “very taken” with Smith
: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

After a rousing lunchtime session
: Best & Harry,
Best Years,
p. 137.


Right,” Smith said without any ado
: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.


ill humor
”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.


very late” the next morning
: Pete Best in Leigh,
Drummed Out!,
p. 31.


He was frothing at the mouth
”: Best & Harry,
Best Years,
p. 137.

He’d been out late at a party
: Lewisohn,
Chronicle,
p. 52.

studios were “freezing cold
”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.


ill at ease
”: Lewisohn,
Chronicle,
p. 52.


[He] believed that the way to impress Mike Smith
”: Norman,
Shout!,
p. 143.


all these weird novelty things
”: Letter, John Lennon to Tony Barrow, 12/63; also:
Beatles Book Monthly,
1/83, p. 7.


We thought hard about the material
”: Pete Best in Leigh,
Drummed Out!,
p. 90.


fairly silly repertoire
”: Miles,
Paul McCartney,
p. 89.

their performance was flat
: Decca audition tape, 1/1/62.

too many “pretty” numbers
: “Decca didn’t want all that pretty-pretty kind of number.” Letter, John Lennon to Tony Barrow, 12/63; also:
Beatles Book Monthly,
1/83, p. 7.

work had been “productive
”: Best & Harry,
Best Years,
p. 139.


Can’t see any problems
”: Ibid.

Brian surprised them by ordering
: Norman,
Shout!,
p. 144.


What a great way to start 1962
”: Best & Harry,
Best Years,
p. 139.


best group in Liverpool
”:
Mersey Beat,
1/4/62.


He was always on the phone to Polydor
”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.


It became hard, right off the bat
”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.


Whatever you do… don’t tell Daddy
”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.


Nine times out of ten
”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/3/97.


Shut yer fucking yap!
”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.


rude photos
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.


We always stayed out of their way
”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 1/19/98.

Brian repeated his foremost goal
: Letter from R. N. White to Brian Epstein, 12/7/61.


Whilst we appreciate the talents
”: Ibid., 12/14/61.


amazing record collection
”: “He sent to America for some of it but acquired the best stuff on the black market.” Author interview with Richard Rowe Jr., 8/19/97.


No, Mike, it’s impossible
”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght,
The Beatles,
p. 88.


Liverpool could have been in Greenland
”: Ibid.


He had very substantial accounts
”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.


thought it was awful
”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.

Philips also passed
: Letter from E. J. Harvey to Brian Epstein, 2/11/62.


It appears that we are cursed
”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/8/97.


The people at Decca didn’t like the boys’ sound
”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght,
The Beatles,
p. 90.


You couldn’t get in
”:
Ibid., p. 89.


You have a good record business
”: Ibid., p. 90.


completely shattered
”:
Beatles Book Monthly,
11/82, p. 32.


Now, who hasn’t [already] got a group
”: Related by Kim Bennett, assistant to Sid Coleman,
Beatles Book Monthly,
5/69, p. 8.

HMV and Columbia got the heavy hitters
: Martin,
All You Need,
p. 83.


It was the bastard child
”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/2/97.


a lot of traditional Scottish bands
”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.

Martin would have “to do something” bold
: Martin,
All You Need,
p. 84.


between the cracks
”: Ibid.


We had gone from being known as a sad little company
”: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.

297–98 “
so soft the engineers had… difficulty
”: Ibid.


not to be so clever
”: Letter, John Lennon to Tony Barrow,
Beatles Book Monthly,
1/83, p. 7.


Right. Try Embassy
”: Epstein,
Cellarful,
p. 58.


Brian Epstein decided that everyone
”: Leigh,
Let’s Go Down the Cavern,
p. 59.

He was “embarrassed
”: Pete Best in Leigh,
Drummed Out!,
p. 26.


Almost since he joined
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/1/97.


If one of the others got more applause
”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.

A poster for
The Outlaw
: Leigh,
Drummed Out!,
p. 26.


He was the only Beatle I mentioned
”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.


That had always been Paul’s role
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.


brilliant”/“they were going to conquer the world
”: George Martin,
Arena
archives.


had seen it all before
”: Ibid.


He… expressed surprise
”: Martin,
All You Need,
p. 122.


unswerving devotion
”: George Martin,
Arena
archives.


a big hype
”: Martin,
All You Need,
p. 122.


very mediocre
”: Ibid.


You know, I really can’t judge
”: George Martin,
Arena
archives.


Brian’s investment in the band
”: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.


Brian was too captivated
”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.

By February, he was taking amphetamines
: Author interview with Alistair Taylor, 1/17/98.


Brian didn’t want to go to gigs
”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.


with his hair combed forward
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.


We’d heard Brian was queer
”: Miles,
Paul McCartney,
p. 88.


They always knew he was a queen
”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/3/97.


I see that new Dirk Bogarde film
”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.


Within forty-eight hours
”: Ian Sharp, 8/84, AGA.

CHAPTER 17: DO THE RIGHT THING


The Beatles were home in Hamburg
”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.

An omen presented itself
: “I had German measles so I went a day later than the other guys…. ” George Harrison in
Anthology,
p. 69.


Where’s Stu?
”: Best & Doncaster,
Beatle!,
p. 150.


Oh, what’s the matter?
”: Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 162.


a bomb going off in his head
”: “Millie told me it was like a bomb…. ” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/7/97.


he was going blind
”: “Millie told me that she’d got a letter from Stuart, who said he was afraid he was going blind.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.

Other times, she struggled to hold him down
: Norman,
Shout!,
p. 149.

According to one account, he’d blacked out
: Ibid.

On April 10
:
Lewisohn,
Chronicle,
p. 56.


He has to go to the hospital
”: Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 162.

No one that close in age had died
: “Not many of our contemporaries had died.” Paul McCartney in
Anthology,
p. 69.


a real shock
”: Ibid.


looked up to Stu
”: “I depended on him to tell me the truth.” John Lennon, 1967 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 69.

Even Astrid insisted that they go on
: “[S]he did, indeed, go to the Star Club when the Beatles opened there on 13 April.” Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 163.

The rest of the bill featured
:
Beatles Book Monthly,
1/83, p. 19.


without [his] approval you did not work
”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.


spoke English with a typical German… accent
”: Ted “Kingsize” Taylor, 9/2/85, AGA.


ruthless” pit bull
: Ibid.


an immense, cavernous rock ’n roll cathedral
”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.


twistin’ base
”: “News from Germany,”
Mersey Beat,
5/3/62.

The Beatles took one look
: “The Star-Club was great.” Paul McCartney in
Anthology,
p. 69; “a big place and fantastic.” George Harrison in ibid.


the first real theatrical setting
”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.


There was a fucking curtain
”: Ibid.


The beatings he gave to people
”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.

the missing three fingers
: “When you shook hands with him, he only had a finger and thumb on his right hand. The rest had been cut off.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.

He doted on them
: “He always spoke English very grammatically.” Ibid.


Horst made sure we were protected
”: Author interview with Tony Crane, 10/7/97.


gave [them] immunity
”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.


Manfred’s Home for Itinerant Scousers
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.


roughly 850 to 1,000 people
”: Don Arden in Pritchard & Lysaght,
The Beatles,
p. 93.


a step up
”: Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 163.

Only one of his songs, “You Better Move On
”: Whitburn,
Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits.


We wanted to [sound] like Arthur Alexander
”: Liner notes,
The Ultimate Arthur Alexander,
Razor & Tie RE 2014.


He opened the barn door
”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 2/29/00.

John Lennon managed to fuel his rage
: “During that trip in Hamburg, John was certainly often wild.” Gerry Marsden in Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 164.

He’d begun blowing off steam
: Horst Fascher in Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 163.


foamed at the mouth
”: Author interview with Ray Ennis, 10/1/97.


all people [were] basically shit
”: Author interview with Adrian Barber, 10/4/97.


And all of us just stood there
”: Gerry Marsden in Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 169.

“a trend [for musicians] to bounce around
”: Ibid.


Hey, remember the war?
”: Ibid.


a little bit mad
”: Ibid., p. 164.


out of my fucking mind
”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 78.


let loose like maniacs
”: Author interview with Colin Manley, 10/2/97.

a “shabby little… bedsit
”:
Hello!,
5/7/94.

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