Monday, November 11, 2013

Gary Stevens interviews John Lennon

This photo and interview came from a Teen magazine and sadly the cover of the magazine is missing, so I cannot tell you the name of it.   I had never read it before, and  so I thought it would be worth sharing.





New York's Gary Stevens is one of the youngest DJ's in the empire city, entertaining one of the nation's largest teen audiences from 7 through 11 p.m. every night on WMCA, the home of the "Good Guys."  Gary shares the spotlight with his friendly enemy, the Wooley-burger, which he calls "the world's most ferocious animal."  According to Gary, "Listeners can tell by its growl that this is no beast to fool around with" but they can count on this lively character to serve as the foil for Gary's lively pranks.

Before joining WMCA, Gary DJ'd in Miami, St. Louis and Detroit, where he also hosted a TV bandstand show.

He's a Beatlemaniac from way back, even having vacationed with them in London.

Following are exerts from Gary Steven's exclusive interview with John Lennon.

Gary:  Do you feel that your audience has changed any?
John:  Over all, it's probably grown a bit.
Gary:  Is your audience growing up?
John:  No, I think getting younger.  The average age is about 13.
Gary:  Is it easier to play for a lot of people than for a small group?
John:  Yes.  Nobody is going to know what we're doing.
Gary:  How is life for  a Beatle in London?  Are you always surrounded by fans?
John:  We can go almost anywhere in the world as long as we go alone.  If I leave my house, say, at 10 a.m. and go out to buy a pair of shoes- a few people will see me, but no crowds will gather, and no press.
Gary:  you have the reputation of being the "intellectual" of the group.  how do you react to fans' worship of the Beatles?
John:  It looks like worship from the outside, but we really don't meet any fanatics.  You know that the fans like you, but you never know how they really feel. 
Gary: It has been said that you fellows don't take yourselves seriously.   Is this true?
John:  No, we couldn't.  If we did, we'd be thinking we were gods or something.
Gary:  Do you get nervous when fans chase you?
John:  Not too.  As you know, our security is pretty amazing.
Gary:  If you could say one little thing to your fans, what would you say?
John:  What I'm saying now.  I don't think of them as a mass.  If I were talking to one of them, I'd just find out what she wanted to know.  I would just say, "Hi, thanks for buying my records.  Maybe she likes us and doesn't buy our records."
Gary:  Does acting come naturally to you?  Do you have a dramatic coach?
John:  No, we don't.  They just give us lines and they try to make it look like we're acting.  half the time we don't look at the script.  We do it on the spot and it requires many takes.  I didn't even know what our two films were about until I saw them.
Gary:  do you like to listen to your own singing?
John:  I like to listen to our new records.
Gary:  Are you a perfectionist?
John:  No!




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