Thursday, February 27, 2014

Meeting Paul---What a high

Here is another story from the glory days of meeting Paul McCartney outside of Air Studios in the 1980's.    This one was written by Linda Lampo.   It was taken from the October 1982 issue of "With a little help from my friends."

Photos by Tommy Lampo



Here is the same story that she wrote for Beatlefan.   



What a high
By Linda Lampo
On September 23rd, I went over to Air Studio.  I told my husband I wanted to ask the guard if Paul was expected today.  After mentioning to him that this was my first trip over here, he told me that Paul was upstairs already and he’d been there all week, coming and going.  He told me to come back around 6 in the evening.

So back I came about 5:00.  I met some very nice English girls, one named Cathy, and a few American girls were there.  One of the girls told me Paul had signed a couple autographs around 10 in the morning and was very happy.  She also saw him and Linda the day before at Abbey Road studios.  As we were waiting, people coming out of the building kept saying, “Are you waiting for Mr. McCartney?”

Cathy told me Linda was excepted back anytime from dinner, so we waiting in the front of the building.  I’d heard Paul sometimes comes around the back.
About 5:30, in the rain, someone yells, “Here comes Linda!”  She was nice, believe it or not, signed a couple of things and went in.  I couldn’t get near her, but took a photo from the side.  She had on a red outfit. 

After 6:30 p.m. someone says to me, “Here he comes!”  I looked inside toward the elevators and Paul was walking toward me arm in arm with Linda, fixing his tie, looking right at me.  The other girls were on the other side of the door, really giving me a chance to see him.  One thing I noticed was Paul being so thin and having such big eyes.  He was wearing a green suit and the same tie he wore to Mike’s wedding.  I went up to him and asked if he could sign my picture and if my husband could take his photo, but as I said that, my husband already had taken it.  Paul said, “He’s already taking the picture!” and laughed!  Then as he was about to sign, John Hammel said they were in a hurry, and to “come back tomorrow, we’ll be here!”  Paul looked at me and also said something like “I’ll be here tomorrow.”  As they went to their car around the corner, I took a photo of Paul and Linda in the crowd.  Everyone had gifts for them but it made no difference as John hurriedly rushed them off.

The next day, the 24th, started off nice weather-wise and then the rain came.  But it didn’t seem to matter as I saw Paul again.  This time he came alone, around 2:00, and on Linda’s birthday too.  He had on his famous Army jacket, and when I saw him coming around the corner, I quickly ran up to him.  He signed a few photos for others, and then I gave him one to sign.  As he signed, I gave him a gift I’d made, a guitar out of ceramic clay.  I said to him that I’d made it and he said, “Oh, I like that.”  Just then my husband took a photo of him, and he said to me, “Is he with you?”  And I said, “That’s my husband, the photographer.”  Paul said, “Oh, your hubby!”  The Paul shook my husband’s hand, which was a nice gesture, and said to me, “You’re got the autograph, he took the snap, and I got the guitar!”  We all laughed at that.

We said thanks and he went along to sign one more photo for another fan, and we took a photo of that.  He told us he had to get to work.  We waited for some time for him to come back out, but eventually learned he’d gone around the back. 

The last time we saw him was on the 28th, when we got to the corner about 1 or 1:30.  I waited on the other side of the street in order to see Paul’s silver Volvo coming (MPL 100 is his license number).  All of a sudden, I saw girls moving around, and spotted Paul’s car.  I ran across the street telling the girls, “Here he comes!”  There  were only 3 girls waiting this time, what  a break.

One girl had her baby with her.  Paul stopped and said to her, “Is that your baby?”   He started saying “goo-goo, ga-ga” and we all started laughing.  One of the other girls wanted something signed, but he said, “Maybe later” and started walking away.  Suddenly he turned around, his eyebrows raised, and he said hello to me!  He’s so charming, and I’ll never forget when I met him.  We were lucky because the 3 days we saw him were the only days he came to the studio, we discovered later.  He had on his famous Army jacket the last day again, and also he came alone.  I noticed his hair being so gray now, but he’s still very handsome.  Another thing was, it stopped raining each time we saw him.  Very strange!


Another red jacket


What happened here?


Why does it look like Ringo has passed out on the floor or something? 

The red jacket

photo scanned from "The Recording of Sgt. Pepper's" book from Tracks

Help from my friends



As I am sure you all know by now, this photo was posted on Miss Tammy's Beatles photo blog.   Kevin from WGYTTN sent me this information about the photo:

"This photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was taken outside the Sherman Grinberg Film and Tape Library in NY the Friday before John was Murdered. Pic was taken by the building maintenance guy in the hallway outside of Sherman Grinberg Film and Tape Library at 630 9th Ave,NYC Dec 4th 1980" James Smith

The question still remains:  who is the girl posing with John and Yoko and who is the man trying to photobomb this photo?

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

How to save money when you are in London

Here is a story from an obvious Paul lover from Austria who met Paul outside of MPL and Air studios in 1982.    Let me say that if I was waiting for Paul to leave a studio, and Ringo came out, I sure would have talked to Ringo and I would not have been worried about missing on seeing Paul.  Anyhow...the time of the early 1980's when Paul was going in and out of Air studios is one of my favorite Paul eras.   

This story was from the October 1982 (issue #40) of With a Little Help From my Friends.









How to Save money when you are in London
By Karin Gattermayr

This is the story of my first meeting with Mr. Paul McCartney.  It happened in the last days of August  1982.  We (Linda, a friend of mine, Mike from the Paul McC club in Germany, Thomas—another friend, Rainer, Jorge, Eva-Maria and Mrs. Brunner, from Beatles Information Center in Germany and I) went to Liverpool for the Beatles convention at the Adelphi Hotel.  We had a table there to sell things of our club during the two days of the convention and a two-day magical history tour with the one and only Bob Wooler.  On our way home to Germany, Linda and I left the party to stay for a few days in London.  Not without any reason – Linda had gotten the message from Doylene (of the McC Observer) that Paul was supposed to be at Air Studios from 1st September on, and I got the same message for Pat.  Here is the story that happened to us in London on Tuesday, 31 August, Wednesday, 1st September, Thursday, 2nd September, and Friday 3rd September.  About the title – I saved a lot of money because I spent most of my time standing around at Oxford Street #214!

The first time I saw Paul was on Tuesday, August 31 when we decided not to go to Henley-on-Thames.  Linda and I had decided on the day before to go to Henley on Tuesday, to be at Air on Wednesday, to go to Rye on Thursday, and to hang around MPL on Friday, as we had been planning.  I was going to my aunt’s house in Orrington, near London, and Linda went shopping in London. My aunt wasn’t home, so I got onto the train again and went back to London Town.  I thought I would go shopping but I wanted to visit MPL first, so I left the underground at Tottenham Court Road and slowly walked down Oxford Street to Soho Square.  When I arrived, there were a lot (7-8) of young boys and girls, wearing Paul buttons.  I slowly walked down the street and then I heard a voice, “Karin, have you got my message? HE is here!  I got his autograph!” (Linda had left a message for me at the hotel).  I was so shocked that I had to sit down near her on a little stone wall in the park.  Linda tried to write down the order of the photos in her album because she wanted to give it to Paul.  In the meantime she showed his autograph to me.  It looked great, but I just couldn’t believe it at that time Paul was there.   I tried to cover my fears (would he just rush by in a hurry or stop and speak to us; what would it be like to talk to the man you’ve waited for fall your life; would I be able to say one simple word?) by being very student (If he doesn’t come out soon, I’ll leave because I’ll catch a cold”).   Suddenly there was a movement in the office and we crossed the street, not wanting to miss anything.  In the meantime a big limo had parked in front of MPL.  A few minutes later, three men entered the reception and talked there.   One of the secretaries was with them.  It took me some time to realize that one of them was George Martin and the other was the one I’ve waited for a few years of my life—Paul McCartney!

When Paul realized we were standing in front of MPL, he waved at us and really gave us the eye.  I think I turned into a statue.  I really don’t know if I waved back or what I was doing during those seconds.  Then Paul walked upstairs to the first floor and George M. came out.  He really was more than just nice.  He signed records, postcards, and the stuff we brought with us.  He told us that he and Paul would be at Air again as of the 1st of September for mixing the new Macca LP which should be out at Christmastime!  Then he went to his car, posed for photos inside the car, and then was gone.
We carried on waiting for Paul.  He looked so different from what I expected him to look like.  You know all those photos in the past few months, but he looked even better than in those.  He was so young!   I couldn’t believe my eyes!  I never would’ve recognized him if I would have seen him somewhere else.  All I can remember is that he was wearing a brown leather jacket and that his hair was very short.  When he left MPL, he seemed to be waiting for us.  He laughed and started to sign autographs.  I don’t know why but I was standing very near to him, and whenever he signed something, I could feel him move.  When he signed one for the boys, the boy said, “Another one, please,” and Paul said, “What’s wrong, isn’t that one good enough?”  That was the moment that it really hit me -- Paul was right beside me, talking, laughing, breathing – just there!

When it was my turn to give him my messy-looking “Take it Away” single to sign that I’d been carrying around for some time, I was very surprised to hear my voice, saying, “Excuse me, but did you ever get the photo album I sent for your birthday?”  He looked at me for a moment, touched my hand (he touched my hand!  I’ll never wash it again!  I can remember his soft warm touch….), and said, ‘I think so dear, but I can’t remember properly when, because there’s so much mail coming in!”  I nearly dropped the autographed record when he spoke to me and touched me.  This was the happiest moment I my whole life!  My brain wasn’t working properly from that time on and therefore my memory of the net few minutes is very dim.  Only when Linda got him with her lot of presents, I remember him saying, “You shouldn’t waste your money, spend it on yourself,” and the photo album he wanted to use for his stamps –stupid man!

The next thing I remember was when he jumped into his car with a few byes and see-you’s.  Then I seemed to wake up from my dream again.  He was gone, but the memory was kept in my heart.  I spent the evening with my aunt and her family, listening to “Tug of War” again and again, and in the night, I stood up again and again to look if his autograph on the record was still there.

On Wednesday we (Linda, Carol, a U.S. girl and some English girls) met at Air at 12:00.  Paul kept us waiting the whole afternoon – that means he didn’t appear, and neither did George Martin.  We went home a bit disappointed, but we had seen him the day before, and that was enough…for a while.
I joined my friends at Air on Thursday at about 4:00.  Carol and some other girls had seen him going in, and he was “not in a very good mood” they told me, but we kept on waiting.  During the afternoon a lot of people went in and out, and suddenly, I thought that the man coming out was familiar to me.  He stopped outside the door, looking right and left, when I said to Carol, “that’s Ringo!”  Then he passed by, leaving us staring at him with open mouths.  Ringo was joined by Barbara and two men.  Two of the girls followed him to the other side of the street and talked to him, but I was afraid I’d miss Paul if I’d left and followed Ringo.  But I can say that I was really shocked.  I’ve been to England 15 times without seeing anyone,  then suddenly I’d seen Paul, Ringo, Barbara Bach and George Martin!

Paul came out much later.  Carol and I saw him first again.  This time I was standing in front of him and just stared, with my photo album to be autographed.  When he signed it, he looked at me and grinned.  I was wearing my “Ebony and Ivory” outfit – he must’ve realized that I was waiting for him again!  He signed my book with my pen (I haven’t used it since then!)  When he first noticed the photo in the book, the same as on the back of the “Secret Friend” single, he said, “Yeah, that’s me!”  And silly fool that I was, my answer was “yes!”  After chatting more, he said that he had to go now, but we begged him for another photo.  So he posed for it, but as he’s a very quick moving person, he jumped around after the photo and nearly jumped into a man holding an ice cream cone!  It looked so funny, the man trying to save his ice cream and Paul trying not to crash into it.  Paul said “sorry” and he was off again.  But I had seen him another time –a great feeling.

Friday was our last day in London.  I was with my aunt in the morning, doing a cone for James to be filled with sweets (an Austrian tradition, to give kids a “sweet start” in school).  I reached Air (and Linda and Carol) at 12:15.  We expected Paul to come at 1:00.  At 1:15 the car (number MPL 900) appeared and Paul got out.  Linda wanted to give him a bootleg she’d bought in Liverpool to sign.  He nearly did it, then realizing what kind of record it was, he turned to her and said, “What’s THAT?”  She said, “A bootleg of yours.  Would you sign it please?”  “No, not this one!”  She later asked him if he wanted to have the record, but he said no.  We were told that he was collecting his own bootlegs.  He talked to us some more, posed for photos again, til the moment a lot of young girls recognized him and blocked his way.  He didn’t seem to appreciate the crowd around him, so he headed for the studio.  George martin had gone in 20 minutes before him, with his bike.  Even if he wasn’t in a good mood and he’d hurried into the building, I love him a lot.  The way he looks, his willingness most other times to pose for photos, his way of walking, and just the way he smiles and looks at you ca take your breath away.  Anyway, he left us waiting there til half past 7 when we found out that he used the exit at the back of the building to leave.  Most of the people waiting for him were angry but I couldn’t be.  He’d been so nice before, why should we bother him if he didn’t want us to?  I was happy enough to have seen him 3 times in those 4 days and I appreciate it more than anything else in my life. 

So, whenever you’re in London and you’re trying to save some money, then stay in front of Oxford Street #214, and if you’re as lucky as I was, you’ll catch him and maybe have the same great experiences as I had.

Macca on tape



Thumbs aloft


Almost show time


George at the Happiest place on Earth



I just love this photo of George and Eric Idle along with apparently with some fans  Derek Taylor's wife and kids and Richard Diello at Disneyland in 1977!    I guess Derek Taylor took the photo since it is from a book I want but will never own, Fifty Years Adrift.  From what I understand, George, Peter Sellers, Ravi Shankar and Eric all went to Disneyland.  What a sight that must have been!  They are in Fantasyland near the carousel. 

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

tie guy

found on the fab4info site

John Lennon should Rock n Roll


This is so funny!

Kisses


One happy interview!


Found on the Good Time Music blog on tumblr.

Just an ordinary man

This photo of John Lennon on the streets of New York City was taken in 1979 by Norman Richards.   I found the photo in issue # 28 (Fall 1986) of Instant Karma fanzine.   Here is what Norman had to say:

I, like so many, cried the day and days following John's death.  My mourning still continues even after six years  John was my favorite Beatle.  I always loved his rock n roll, his sense of humor, but most of all, how he made me think about life through his lyrics.  His work with Yoko and his solo stuff made me respect him even more.   The picture I took of him in 1979 on the streets of New York sums it all up for me.  He went form being a mega pop star to an ordinary man on the street buying a newspaper with the time to wave or nod a "hello" to a fan with his camera.  He looked relaxed and happy.  I will never forget that day.  When I saw Yoko in concert this spring, it was a very emotional event for me.  John lives on inside of her.  I know that, but I wish I could explain the warmth and love that was coming from that stage that night.  I would like to bottle it and keep it on a shelf.  john was there that night, rockin' out with the rest of us.  How proud he must have been.

Monday, February 24, 2014

George's 21st birthday

George Harrison had the privilege of being the first Beatle to have a birthday after Beatlemania hit America.   Actually, George's 21st birthday occurred just days after the Beatles landed back in the United Kingdom.

Letters and gifts came pouring into not just the Beatles fan club in London but also into George's home in Liverpool from all around the world.  Girls sent cards, stuffed animals, cakes,  drawings and plenty of keys (and one person even sent a door).   Keys?   Why keys?   Well...in parts of the world (including England, Scotland and New Zealand) there is a tradition of giving someone the "keys to the house" on their 21st birthday as a symbol of them being an adult and the head of the household.  I am not sure if this was a custom in the United States at the time, but I know that typically they give people alcohol on their 21st birthday around here and no one gets a key.

And as silly as it sounds, today we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of George's 21st birthday.  But most importantly, we celebrate the life of George Harrison, a man I know we all love and miss dearly. 







Meanwhile back home in Liverpool....




Record shopping in the early 1980s

My guess would be that this photo was taken after John's death and is in early 1981, when there was a splurge of new Beatles fans and a need for selling more Beatles albums.   From how I see it, this is when I think Beatles fandom when up in numbers:

1964:  When the Beatles came to America
1974:  10th year of the Beatles and rumors of Beatles reunion
1981:  John's death
1995:  Beatles Anthology
2000:  Beatles 1 release
2009:  Beatles Rock Band
2014:  Beatles 50th Anniversary of Beatles in America (hope so!)

So this is just my opinion.   There might be other smaller spikes in fandom (maybe in 1987 when the Cds were first released)  And I am not sure if the Beatles Rock Band really showed a big spike in fandom  or not.  It would be interesting to see record sales for these time periods.    Did you become a fan around the time of these events? 

Short fan


Ringo is quoted as saying at this moment, "the fans are getting smaller!"   Look at that smile on Richy's face!   How sweet!

Bearded McCartney


The Henley Standard



All photos taken by Miho and Miyuki


Here is a great little story of a couple of fans who were persistent and patient and got to meet George, with a little help from the local newspaper!   Story from issue #42 (April 1983) issue of "With a little help from my friends."




The Henley Standard
By Miho Yoshida
Miyuki, my good friend, and I went to England on 12th July last year (1982).  It was our first trip to England since we began to love the Beatles eight years ago.

We stayed in London.  The 20th of July was my most unforgettable and important day of my life:  I saw Paul, who has been my idol and hero for seven years.  He was so kind, friendly and lovely!  I’m a Paul fan, so I was very happy.  But Miyuki is a George fan, and we decided both of us should be happy, both our dream should some true!

So a couple days later, 22 July, we went to Friar Park for the first time.  At that time we didn’t think George was there, because people at Friar Park said they thought he was abroad.

We went back there on 31st July and realized he was in.  Our friend Angela had advised that if we wanted to see George for sure, we should go to Friar Park on August 1st, Dhani’s birthday, and wait for his appearance by the gate every day.  We decided to go to Henley from London every morning and keep waiting for him all day long. 

People in Henley were all so kind to us.  They always asked us, “Did you see George?” and sometimes advised, for example, “You should call him.”  As we sat by the gate, drivers would wave their hands and say hi.  And a family ever offered their room to us – people who were complete strangers to us.  George’s wife Olivia was kind and friendly too whenever we’d see her.
Sometimes I went back to London to wait for Paul.  Miyuki stayed in Henley.

One day, a reporter of the local paper came to us sitting by the gate in order to do a story on us.
On 9th August at about half past two, we were waiting for George as usual. A black Porsche was approaching the gate slowly.  We couldn’t believe it was his car…but that car was different from the many cars usually going in and out of Friar Park.

The car stopped in front of the gate.  George leaned out and smiled sweetly to us, saying, “Hello! Nice to meet you!”  before we said a thing.  We went into shock an can hardly remember his words.  We just saw his face and heard our heartbeats.  He said, “I read the newspaper story about you!  You shouldn’t waste your holiday standing around here.”  Perhaps he came out to let us meet him and gently admonish us.  He was so kind and a wonderful person.

About seven years ago, George invited a Japanese fan who had kept sending letters to him from Japan once a month for twelve years to tea at Friar Park.  And this time, he came out of his private life to allow two girls who were waiting for his appearance patiently, giving up their European trip or going to famous places in England, to fulfill a dream and meeting him.  George is such a warm-hearted person!