Sunday, August 9, 2015

The Richmond Jazz Festival








I think Alf Bicknell talks about the events of August 8, 1965 better than I do:

Quiet for a Sunday, just a secretive trip out with John, Cyn, George and Pattie to the Richmond Jazz Festival.  They wanted particularly to see The Animals perform.   Their singer, Eric Burdon, I think, had asked them to come.  It think he would have liked them to get up and play along with all the other singers and players.   Now that would have been something.   Anyway, we really didn't have a chance to stay too long, because as soon as the fans recognised the two boys, we had to get away.  Beatlemania never gives up, does it?

14 comments:

  1. Wow! The Who did a legendary set at that show, I never knew that Lennon & Harrison were there, watching!

    Here's them doing "Shout and Shimmy", a great performance by Keith Moon!!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKTMxDci1yE

    (maybe they didn't get to check out The Who's set because they had to leave...)

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  2. It was a different night. The festival ran three days August 6th-8th. The Who played the night of the 6th; John and George were there to see The Animals (playing with a big band) on August 8th.

    And BTW, if Alf was there, why isn't he driving John and co home? Wouldn't mind a go on what John is passing around in third pic!

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    1. I wondered the same thing about Alf. Maybe he drove Pattie and George? You would think he is telling the truth about being there, because why make it up when it wasn't a big deal in the lives of the Beatles? Alf also claims that he was driving the night the same group first took LSD, which I am not sure if that is true either.

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    2. Hmmm, that is interesting, because according to John AND George, they all were in George's car.

      As far as the Animals gig, that seems a little too weird to make up something about since it's barely something anyone knows about in the first place. And Alf obviously were around them often enough that they remember to mention him in the Anthology, and let him make his low-budget videos!!! He has to have SOME stories!

      As far as Alf not driving home.....John is in the car, smoking what looks to be a joint (as he's passing it to the other guy). So I'm not so sure that that pic is him being driven home! That could be them ducking into a car for some party favors! Would John be passing a joint (or a cigarette) to the guy driving him around? Would John be sitting in the front seat while being chauffeured around? It's a small car to be chauffeured around in!


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    3. Lennon and Eric 'Eggman' Burdon were quite close friends, so it's no surprise that he was at that gig.

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  3. Hi Sara, yes I'm dubious about that claim of Alf's too. The only theory I have is that Alf tailed behind in another car to make sure George got everyone home in one piece in his Mini - but I remain unconvinced. I only ever read Alf's book the once when it first came out in 1990 and the overriding impression I got was that he and his ghost writer read various Beatle "reference" books, specifically Mark Lewisohn's, and then "created" diary entries according to what Alf could (or couldn't!) remember from that time. Someone else pointed out in a previous blog entry concerning Alf but it seems odd that he would suddenly finish with the Beatles when their touring days ended - considering they were loyal to their closest aides and gave them varying positions of responsibility beyond 1966.

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  4. The second to last photo was taken at the Cannes Film Festival. Cynthia was known to wear the same outfit (In His Own Write Lucheon- traveling to Tahiti; same gown of A Hard Day's Night and The Knack premieres for example)

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    1. Yes, I noticed it, too. She usually wore the same outfits. She wrote in her book that John always took interest in her appearance and things. So,I really wonder why. If John didn't allow her to spend money on clothes, it's rather sad. I mean, that's the only reason I can think of.

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  5. good to see Cynthia again

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    1. I just liked the fact that John actually 'allowed' his wife Cynthia a night out for a change and she is smiling...a sad reality of most of the photos of her with him...As much as I admired John as a musician which is huge, I held a lot of disdain for him as a husband and a father when it came to his first wife and his first born son

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  6. As Oscar Wilde is supposed to have said, the
    only thing worse than being talked about is not to be talked about.

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  7. What website do u have to go to

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  8. Lennon and Eric 'Eggman' Burdon were quite close friends so it's no surprise he was there for the Animals.

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