Beatles encounters

George at the Roxy in 1975.

Ringo and Keith Moon (with 2 other guys that I don't know) at a party in 1975

Paul and Linda at the academy awards on April 2, 1974

Yoko and John at the Copa Cabanna Club in October 1976

John and Yoko seeing a play or a show in September 1975.

John and May at the Cagney celebration in March 1974.

This article originally was published in the Feb/May 1982 issue of Beatlefan magazine. It was written by John Roberts and was featured in the "Meeting the Beatles" part of the magazine. The photos I included here did not come with the article and I do not claim them to be fan photos in any way. However, they are photos that go along with the story John Roberts tells and so I dug them out of my files to post to add to the story.

All over the world, there are millions of Beatlefans who have never
experienced the trill of seeing any member of group in the flesh. Some
have seen a solo performance, a lucky few sat far away to see a Beatle
concert
and fewer still have encountered John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison or
Ringo Starr face-to-face. I have been fortunate in having
personally
crossed paths with three Beatles.

There exists
certain advantages for a Beatlefan living in Los
Angeles. The city is
a definite tour stop and the Forum was the scene of
Starr joining McCartney
and Wings onstage. Starr and his wife Barbara Bach
maintain a home
here and George stayed in Beverly Hills for a time.
Because of the
huge entertainment industry, the ex-Beatles are occasionally
drawn to Los
Angeles.

However, living in L.A. does not guarantee seeing a
Beatle. "Ins" are
required and I know a few professional Hollywood
photographers who have given me
information. Plus, I must confess to
using tactics similar to those in the
movie, " I wanna hold your
hand."

When I was 12 years old in 1970, I had a chance to see
Starr. "The
Magic Christian" was his first real attempt as a film
actor and he was scheduled
to attend the movie's Hollywood premiere.
To my chagrin, my parents would
not allow me to go on the grounds that it
was a school night. Naturally,
Ringo was there.

In March
of 1974, Lennon was the first Beatle I ever saw in person and it
was an
unexpected surprise. He and Yoko Ono arrived at the Century Plaza
Hotel to attend a benefit dinner to raise funds to pay the medical expenses
of
actor James Stacy, who lost an arm and leg in a motorcycle
accident. I was
there to see other celebrities. Why the Lennons
were there remains a
mystery. (Sara's note: John
Roberts must be mistaken
here. John and Yoko were separated in
March of 1974 and he most
likely saw John with May Pang instead of Yoko as
they were living in L.A. during
that time.)

The Lennons drove up in a limousine just as most of the fans and
photographers were chasing another celebrity. A few of us rushed up to
Lennon
asking for autographs and he complied but remained silent and
aloof
wearing dark
glasses and a suit. It was obvious he felt
uncomfortable
in the crowd and
probably would not have stopped to sign
autographs had the
full crowd recognized
him. The autograph is
sloppy but
readable.

I saw him two more times before he
died. During the
1975 New York
Film Festival at Lincoln Center, I
went to see a documentary
called "Grey
Gardens" and the Lennons were in
the audience. A friend
said they were
frequently seen about New
York. Ono signed autographs
and the signature is
a
scribble.

A year later on vacation in
New York, some friends
and I decided to see who
would attend a party artist
Andy Warhol was
throwing at the Copacabana.
The Lennons were among the
guests. Oddly enough, I never knew the Lennons
lived at the Dakota
Apartments when I walked by the building.

Remember when
McCartney's
"Live and Let Die" from the James Bond movie was
a best song
nominee at the
1974 Academy Awards? He was the first and only
Beatle to attend the
Oscar awards ceremony. Knowing which Beverly
Hills
hotel the nominees
stay at, it was easy to see McCartney. On
Oscar day, a
couple of us
waited at the hotel entrance to catch him and
Linda leaving for the
big
event. They were a lovely and gracious
couple.

The McCartneys
were friendly about signing autographs
and exchanged a few
pleasantries with
us. I got their autographs
on the same card and they are
fairly easy
to read. Later that
night, the McCartney;s were surrounded by
a mob at
the Oscar party held
at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. During their
Los
Angeles visit, they
left the hotel and spent a few days house guesting at
Harrison's. I
have never seen McCartney close-up since.

I
finally caught up
with Starr in 1975 at a private party a photographer
tipped me onto.
The hour was late at the semi-private Bel Air Hotel
and
only three of us
were waiting when Starr arrived with Harry Nilsson and
Keith
Moon.
Starr was much the same as Lennon -- he never said and
word and
hurriedly scrawled his name while walking. He is infrequently
seen
around
town, having been spotted at a nightclub opening a screening of
"Close
Encounters of the Third Kind" at the Cinerama Dome and a benefit
showing of his
"Caveman."

The elusive Harrison is rarely
seen
in public and carried a reputation of
not signing autographs or
posing for
pictures. However, fans caught up
with him a few years
ago at the Roxy
nightclub and he did sign autographs.
Had I known,
I really do not
know if I would have waited until 4 in the morning
to
see him. Since
Harrison has been living a low-key life and the
consequences of Lennon's
death, I doubt if I will ever see him in
person.

The tragedy of
Lennon's murder has effects beyond the
loss of a great
artist. A
madman pretending to be a fan pulled the
trigger and now the
surviving
Beatles will be forever wary of the
personal contact with their
fans.
And who can blame them for
avoiding fans for fear of coming close to
another
lunatic?

Indeed, I must be extremely grateful to be able to
gaze at
my autographs
and think of the few moments I stood next to John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr
and
Paul and Linda McCartney.