Who is that beardless guy?

Photos of Ringo without a beard always throw me off.  

Fruit Beatles

I don't think the lady behind them cares that they are the Beatles.  I think she just wants them to hurry up so she can get her shopping done.   Sweden 1963.

Following Paul in 1968

Amazed fans

Out the window

Here comes Ringo

photo copyright:  Massimo

Massimo sent yet another great photo that he took of Ringo in 1969 to be shared.   We are so fortunate that so many fans such as Massimo have been willing to share their previously unseen Beatles photos. 

Smile Away

I bought this photo in Liverpool this summer for just one pound and I stuck it inside of a book and totally forgot about it.   It is a slightly different frame from one that I have posted before.

George in Benton: An untold story

When I was in Benton, Illinois this past weekend I went into a the antique shops that are located around the square before the unveiling of the historical marker.    In one of the shops I went into a man near the counter saw me wearing a Beatles t-shirt and asked if I was in Benton for the George Harrison thing.   When I told him that I was, he continued to tell me how he had met George when he was in Benton in 1963 and whenever people come through town to interview people for the news or books about George's Benton connection, they are never interested in his little story and therefore it has never been told.    So I told him that I had a Beatles blog about people that met one of the Beatles and I would be happy to share his story on there.   So he said to let everyone know that a lot of fake stories are out about what happened, but his story is the truth and his name is "Honest Don."

In 1963, Don was 17 years old and worked at the local A&W Root Beer restaurant in Benton, Illinois.  One night in September, he was told to deliver some dishes out to a house that was off the square and across from the high school.  So he and a female co-worker who was also 17 drove out to 113 McCann Street to deliver the food.   When they got there, they see a young man with "very long hair" standing on the front porch.   Don says that he and all of his friends at the time wore their hair in a very short crew cut.  That was the style at that time for guys.   He had never seen hair that went down in the front like George had on a guy.   Don said that his long hair really stuck out in her mind.  Then when the long haired man started to talk,  Don was surprised to hear a British accent!     He was definitely not like most of the young men that order from the A&W in town.   George continues to ask Don's co-worker if she would like to go out on a date with him.   The young lady kindly turned George down and the two get back into the car.    Once they were back inside the car, the girl turned to Don and said, "Can you believe that long haired guy asked me out?  Eww!  I wouldn't want to be seen with him!"   

So there you have it....a unheard  story about a girl who refused to go out on a date with George Harrison!   Just remember that you heard it here first.

The photo I posted are screen caps that I made from a video of a travel program that was on television in the mid 1990's.   It showed a few short segment of home videos that belonged to Louise of George's trip to visit her. 

The Waiter

Pink car behind you

George at EMI in '68

George's car pulls up

Fans go toward him.  See the girl behind the car with the camera?

This is the photo she was taking at that moment...

George runs to the front door and we see that he is wearing stipped pants!

I thought you said no more autographs, Ringo

Flirting with Lill Babs

Ringo's homes

Ringo's home, Sunny Heights in 1968

Ringo's home, Round Hill in 1970

Mister Bass Man

The Nurk Twins

I love this "new" photo of John and Paul that is now making the rounds from 1961.   Many of the ones I have been seeing online today are just from the shoulders up, so I was glad to locate one that is the full photo.   So nice to see them from when they first really starting being friends.

Pink tie

Beatles or Bust!

A radio station van ready to head out to see a Beatles concert in 1964!

The fan who named a Beatles album

Dave Thompson/PA Wire URN:17515033 (Press Association via AP Images)

 Margaret is the girl on the left in his photo.


This makes for an interesting trivia question.   What Beatles album was named by a fan?   The answer is "Beatles for Sale."   Can you even image being the person who named that album and walking through a record shop with your friend.   Oh yeah...see that album, "Beatles for Sale," you know the one with Eight Days a Week on it?   Yeah....I gave the Beatles the name for that album. 

How did a fan come to be the person that named an album?  Well in the autumn of 1963,  a then 15 year old British girl named Margaret Svenson (now Gordon) saw an advertisement in her local paper for a contest to named the Beatles next album and also give a list of six Beatles songs that would appeal to an American audience.    The winner was promised that the Beatles would name their next album the the winner name plus meet the fan backstage at a concert during the 1963 Autumn tour of the U.K.

Margaret said in a recent interview: "When I was thinking about the name, Beatles for Sale just came to me out-of-the-blue," she said. "I thought it was catchy and would catch people's attention.

"But, when I told people, it wasn't well received. A lot of people thought it was a stupid idea for a title and wouldn't achieve anything.

"As I couldn't think of anything better, I just sent that idea in with the six recordings, although I can't remember which ones they were.


A few weeks later Margaret along with four other fans from around Northern England received a letter in the mail stating that they had won.

She said: "I remember being very excited when I received the letter congratulating me and telling me I'd won.

She and her sister went to Carlisle  to attend the concert there and meet the band. 

"I remember the date my sister and I went over to Carlisle to meet them, it was November 21, 1963. I remember the date because John F Kennedy was killed the following day.

"They were all lovely. They signed autographs and chatted and we had our photographs taken. We met them in their dressing room at a theatre in Carlisle and they were all very friendly.

"I remember Ringo was very shy, John was very confident and Paul was the diplomat. George was not as shy as Ringo, but talked quietly.

"It was extremely exciting and memorable and something I will always remember."

The With the Beatles album Margaret had signed for her friend, Christine that recently sold at auction.

Margaret had brought along a few of her friend's albums to be signed, which the Beatles graciously did for her.   One of those albums, the one for a friend named Christine was recently sold at an auction.  Margaret's story became public after the record went up for auction as the backs story of the autographs.       Of the four winning album names, only "Beatles For Sale" was used and it was released a little over a year after Margaret won the contest.   And if you look at it, "Beatles for Sale" was the next album released by the Beatles that wasn't a movie soundtrack, so it was the next album after the contest that would have needed a name (since the movie soundtrack had to have been the name of the movie). Very cool story!

That's what it's all about

This photo was taken less than 24 hours ago (I have to admit modern technology still amazes me.  Remember waiting months to see a new Paul photo?) during the Jimmy Kimmel concert in Los Angles last night.   What I like about this photo is that it really shows that excites me about see Paul in concert.  That one on one connection and getting a point or a smile from him and even though there are seriously hundreds of thousands of other people there, you feel like it is just you and him.  

Who is next?

Rock Show with Nancy

Stop! What your doin'

I know it is just the way this photo looks, but it appears that this police officer is trying to stop John from getting near Paul.

One more out the window

Out on the ocean.....sailing away....

This photo was just out to the masses today and I can't get enough of it!   John in 1980 sailing!!!  He is wearing a shirt that says Japan and that really cool hat that he wore a lot during this time.   Could this "new" photo be any  better????  

George Harrison in Benton celebration

Many people have heard about the George Harrison historical marker dedication in Benton, Illinois that took place yesterday.  I was able to attend the event and thought that the Beatle fans around the world would like to know what took place.

In case you don't recall, 50 years ago this month the Beatles actually had some time off from their very busy year of 1963.   John and Cynthia went off to Paris for a very belated honeymoon, Paul and Jane along with Ringo and Maureen went off for a holiday in Greece, and George along with his brother Peter, came to the United States to visit their sister, Louise.    Louise had moved a few month before to the small town in southern Illinois that is about 2 hours south of St. Louis, Missouri, Benton, Illinois.

Louise had been working on getting her little brother's band known in the United States.  She was in constant contact with Brian Epstein in England letting him know how things were coming along.  She went around to radio station and pushed The Beatles singles to be played on the air.  She truly worked on getting The Beatles name and music known in the United States.   George spent three weeks in Benton with his sister.   While he was there he made a friend, Gabe McCathy who had a band called the 4 Vests.   George played with the 4 Vests on several occasions.   George also went to the drive in movies, bought a guitar in a music shop, bought American records, ate at the a diner that had car hops on roller skates, and spent a lot of time playing his guitar and hanging around with local people.  

This is a small thing, but yet historically in the story of the Beatles, it is an important first step to the Beatles becoming popular in America.   And so the state of Illinois decided to place a marker in Benton, Illinois to commemorate the time George spent in their town in 1963.

It was a beautiful day to have this outside event.    About 100 people showed up for the ceremony.  Several people spoke including Bob Bartel, who saved Louise Harrison's former home from being demolished and Jim Kirkpatrick who wrote the book, Before he was Fab.    Marcia Schafer told how she was the first person to play a Beatles song on the radio in the United States and George's very own sister, Louise Harrison spoke about her brother's visit and how she ended up living in Benton.   There were some local musicians who played some George Harrison music and also some representatives from Springfield who read the declarations and certificates aloud.    Then they took the cover off the historical marker and revealed it.

photo of the event

with Louise Harrison

Afterwards the 4 Vests sang and a few other musicians performed while Louise Harrison signed autographs and posed for photos.    Overall it was a very nice day and a good time honoring George.

The house where George stayed while he was in Benton is no longer a Bed and Breakfast.  However it is not just sitting vacant.   As far as I could tell from the trash cans sitting outside and the mail  boxes mounted in the front, it is now an apartment complex.    I found it strange, however that the people who were there who were so proud of how they saved the house from being torn down didn't seem to care much that it is no longer the Hard Day's Night Bed and Breakfast.    As a matter of fact, there was no mention that it was once THE house.   I wouldn't have thought much of it, except for the fact that this group of people kept saying how in 1995 they wanted to save the house because of its historical importance in the history of the Beatles.   If they felt like it was such a big deal, why haven't they done anything to have some type of marker near the house?

Louise Harrison's former home where George stayed for 3 weeks in 1963

Before I left Benton to go back home, my mom and I spotted a sign on an antique shop window that said to come inside and see where George bought records.   Since you all know what Beatle geeks we are, and that we are quite the suckers for stuff like this, we HAD to check it out. So here we are at the very counter that George bought the record of "I got my  mind set on you."  Funny enough my mom found a "Meet the Beatles" record in this shop. 

If you ever find yourself traveling through southern Illinois, it is worth your time to check out Benton and see the new marker and just see the little town where George got his first taste of America.   It isn't worth making a special trip just to see, but if you are already in the area it is well worth a short visit. 

Ringo and the topless girls

This has always been one of those things that has baffled me.   In March of 1976, Ringo went to Amsterdam and announced that he had signed onto Atlantic Records. (Polydor outside of the United States)   There was a big press announcement, which is not unusual at all.   But for some reason, they decided to have Ringo pose for photos with a bunch of topless showgirls.   I do not have a clue what this had to do with Ringo changing record labels.  

Australia welcomes you boys

John knows the answer

Doin' their Thing

Percussionist Ringo Starr pictured on the left here while visiting Mayfair (London) offices of NEMS Enterprises, Ltd.  He is posed with the firm's newly appointed managing director Vic Lewis.

Trick or Treat

This is the photo that was printed with this story, although I do not think it goes with the story.

Another story where Paul didn't want girls hanging around, but he was much kinder to these girls and this story turned out nice.    I usually keep the stories the exact way they were written and not change anything, but I had to change some of the grammar on this one.    Written by someone who used the alias of "Susie" for the Fall 1978 McCartney Observer.

Trick or Treat

By Susie

I am happy to say that after our latest escapade we did indeed see Paul!  After waiting so long to see him sometimes a girl tends to build things up in her mind.  You keep telling yourself not to, but somehow things end up that way anyhow. 

We’d heard from a reliable source that Paul would be recording at EMI sometime in October and November (1978).  Great!   We decided to go the twenty-eighth and stay for one week.  Our minds raced!  

“Don’t build it up.” Was Doylenes’ advice.

“No, I won’t.” I assured.  We had a certificate for him and some photos that had just about grown to our hands we’d been carrying them around so long.  We couldn’t wait to see his reaction to the certificate.

Monday:

After two and a half hours we were ready to leave for EMI.  We were on foot since our hotel was walking distance to St. John’s Wood, and we couldn’t have gotten there faster if we’d had skates!  It was 1:30 and we waited.  Several people asked us who we were waiting for.  We thought for a minute, the same thing racing through our heads; if we say we’re waiting for the bus they’ll laugh us into the ground, they’ll know the truth.  If we say Paul, they’ll laugh us into the ground; they’ll know it’s true.

“We’re waiting for Paul,” I said.

“You should be seeing him soon, he usually comes around this time.”

This always made us nervous.  We get nervous when people in a position to know give us positive news.  We aren’t used to be treated like human beings.  There we were, nervous, but happy and smiling in spite of ourselves.

By six pm and three cute little old ladies and two roadies later, we weren’t quite as happy and as I’m sure you can imagine.

By seven we were grinding our teeth. 

“Should I ask someone?”

“Well….”

“I’ll ask these two.”   “Excuse me, but can you tell me if Paul McCartney will be recording tonight or anytime this week?” 

He laughed before replying, which is always good for making people feel like dirt.  “You missed him.  He left Friday on a three week holiday.  He is finished.”  They then walked into EMI.

After grabbing the butcher knife from Doylene we all sussed out the situation with myself; “Oh no!  He can’t have gone!  I can’t believe it!”  I cried.

“I wanna go to a church!” cried Doylene.

And the most prophetic came from Gloria, “My feet hurt!”  He wept.

With one girl in excruciating foot pain and the other despairing all over the place, I calmly took hold and voiced my opinion.  “Look,” I yelled as I pulled my hair, “He can’t have gone.  We went by his house earlier and the door and windows were open and the milk tray was out.  Those are good signs.  We’re just going to have to go to his house tomorrow.  I know he doesn’t like people coming to his house, but what else can we do?”   I’ll explain to him that we missed him at EMI.  He will understand. Okay?

Doylene signed, “I don’t know.”

“Well look, there’s nothing else we can do.  I’ll do all the talking.  I’ll explain.  The next day to Paul’s!”

You always know if it’s a fan walking down Paul’s street for two very obvious reasons.  One is they shake uncontrollably with fear, and two, before they walk down the street they always peek their heads around the corner first to check things out.

We came to the corner and peeked around the wall, then started the last steps to Paul’s green gates.  About three steps from the first we noticed a van outside the house with luggage in the back.  Ugly luggage.  

“Paul’s home!!” I said excitedly.  “He’s still home!  God, it is a good thing we came!”

We walked, as slowly as possible, to just a few steps from the gates.  An older man was loading the last of the luggage, the UGLY luggage into the van.  He slammed the van doors and went into Paul’s, closing the gates behind him.

“I just hope he hasn’t left already,” Doylene said.

“He’s there!” I enthused.  “He’s home.  We’re going to see him!”

“He’s going to be mad.”

“So what?!”  Nothing could bring me down.  “Who cares if he’s nasty.  At least we get to see him!  That is what matters.”

No one said anything.

“Don’t worry.  I will do all the talking.  I’ll explain.”

I was so happy.  What  a sap.

For half an hour we shifted nervously.  Nothing much happened between the time the TV repairman came and were told to return at 11 and the trash collectors emptied Paul’s two bins.

The sun was shining.  Good sign.

Suddenly we heard the wee sound of foot-steps, stepping their way to the gates from inside.  Two clicks and a swinging gate later our eyes rested on our bit of heaven, it was Paul!  In a handsome dark plus suit and white shirt, looking not a day over twenty-five.

I was shaking a couple steps in front of Doylene and so it was I he saw first.  “Please don’t hang around here (pointing to the ground).  This is the house and it’s private.  People are always hanging around here.”  

Our reactions were rather comical.  I all but hopped into the nick in his wall as I stepped back a couple steps and pulled the certificate closer to me.  He scared me!  He never raised his voice or yelled, but believe me, his message was well read.  I didn’t think there was any way more could be said.  I could say no more.  My mouth froze halfway open and the rest of me went numb.  I saw nothing but Paul.  Three things raced through my mind, foremost being, “God, he’s beautiful in those tight pants!” and “That not his line.  This isn’t the way I built it up in my mind.” And three, “Where is Doylene?  Give me someone to hide behind!

Gloria thought his entrance important enough to stop dusting cobwebs off her coat (she had been leaning against his wall).  She too said absolutely nothing.  Two things raced in her mind, “God, he’s beautiful!” and “I wonder if he saw me dusting cobwebs off my coat.”  Gloria kept her dignity, her mouth stayed shut.

Then we have the most amazing of us all, Doylene.  She talked!  “We’re sorry, Paul.  Please don’t be mad.  We didn’t want to come here but we tried really hard to see you at EMI and couldn’t and we just wanted to give you this.”   He looked to the certificate in my hand that Doylene pointed to.

“Oh, okay, but hurry cos we’re in a bit of a rush.”  (He made a cute face as he said this, pointing back to the house.)  He walked a bit closer to us and seeing I wasn’t able to, Doylene took the certificate from my hands and handed it to Paul.

He was expecting to see a photograph of himself that wanted signed and he was pleasantly surprised to find it was a gift for him.

When he came to the part that said his name, his eyebrows went up and down and his face lit up. He smiled and pointed to himself; “Oh, it’s for me!”

I saw his two front teeth!  It was adorable.  He didn’t read it all as he was in a hurry (we could hear the family coming out of the house now).  He looked up at us and his grin turned into a sweet smile

. 

“Okay—thank you.”

He waved to us and, still smiling went back inside.

We didn’t wait around to see him come out gain and leave with the family.  We just turned and left.  I cried, the realization of it all came to Doylene and she too was a bit numb, and we were all terribly happy!

A few drinks later,

 in the Portland Arms Pub in St. Johns Wood we reminisced.

 

A trip to Kenwood in 1968

Here are some fan taken photos of a trip out to John and Cynthia's home, Kenwood circa 1968.  Most likely John wasn't home at the time.   However, this fan did take a photo of the house, the pool (well they tried to get the pool) and Julian playing with a friend.