The Long and Winding Road (1995)

 

Geoff Wonfor with George 

Geoff working on the Beatles Anthology 

The Long and Winding Road

By Ian Wylie

Manchester Evening News

November 23, 1995

    Beatlemania is back with a vengeance with the release of a new Beatles album and a single likely to challenge for the Christmas number one spot on the charts. This Sunday, the six-part Beatles Anthology starts its run on ITV. The man who was chosen by the Beatles themselves to direct the program, Geoff Wonfor, talks about how he came to be involved. 

    Geordie Geoff Wonfor is in fine fettle. He even wore his Newcastle United away strip for a night out in Soho's exclusive Groucho Club. "Strolling along singing a song, walking in a Keegan wonderland." Kevin Keegan's Toon Army are top of the league, and Geoff is about to paint the world black and white.

     Granada paid £5 million for the right to screen the Beatles Anthology on ITV. A lady asked TV director Geoff. "Why all the fuss?"  "The hype," he replied in straight Tyne-side, "is because they're the greatest man that's ever been seen." So there pet.

     There are places he remembers all his life, though some have changed. Newcastle, City Hall, 1964, is a good place to start. sipping a Becks at Bafta. Geoff recalls, "I queued for 56 hours to get a ticket to go and see the Beatles. I still got the stub."  Just over a quarter of a century later, the phone rang at his dad's house. Paul McCartney was on the other end of the line. "He said they'd been looking for somebody for 20 years to direct the Beatles, and I was the man for the job. My eyes filled up. He said, 'Look, compose yourself and ring me back in 15 minutes.' I couldn't believe it."

     You probably never heard of 46-year-old Geoff.  At most, he's just a credit-flashing by as millions reach for the remote control. Our man worked on The Tube, left when Tyne Tees tried to make cuts, and won a Golden Rose of Montreux for a film of Nigel Kennedy's Four Seasons.

     Fans who saw McCartney's first comeback World Tour have Geoff and his cameras to thank for the emotional Abbey Road medley finale. "McCartney was unsure about including it. He tells a story about this man filming at rehearsal. As they went through it, McCartney looked up and saw this guy crying and said, 'It's got to stay in the act.' It was me crying." 

     A pal of Linda McCartney from one of her photo exhibitions, he teamed up again with Paul for his Liverpool Oratorio, and then got the gig for the big one. Geoff has now spent four years and two months working on what ITV described as "the television event of the decade." They're not far wrong. From the opening shots of Liverpool to black and white "In My Life" flashbacks, it's hair on back of neck time for Beatles fans in over 100 countries. 

    "I remember McCartney once saying that he wasn't interested in the date they played Shea Stadium because any journalist could tell him that. What he wanted to know was what happened in the limo, going there and coming back."

     Granada were perhaps the obvious winners in the bidding to buy up the six-part Apple production, which lets the Liverpool lads tell their own story. The company's association with the Fab Four dates back to the early days. The back of their London office looks straight down Carnaby Street. And Geoff's wife Andrea just happens to be Granada's joint managing director. It turned into a happy coincidence for the couple who live in Northumberland village and commute to London and Manchester. 

    Andrea, who developed The Tube and moved to Granada from Channel Four in 1993, was determined to get the Beatles documentaries. But Geoff claims having a well-connected wife won't make him rich. "She's my biggest critic. If I was to survive on her commissions, I'd have been bankrupt 10 years ago. This job has been all-consuming, and my missus has been amazing. I've only missed four weekends in Newcastle. As soon as I can pop my backside on the inner city, I'm happy," he adds. 

    Andrea's dad always said he wanted two things of her. He wanted her to be the first woman prime minister, and he wanted her to marry Paul McCartney. Her father, George, died in June. They played "Yesterday" at the start of the funeral in Kent and "The Long and Winding Road" at the end. "He was an absolute Beatles freak, and could play every chord on an acoustic guitar. He'd take the kids to Canterbury Cathedral and do Beatles medleys."

     Beatlemania 1995 was officially launched this week with ITV's British Premier of "Free As A Bird." Unless you've been rolling stones in Azerbaijan, you know, it's the first new Beatles single for 25 years, and features the voice of John Lennon. 

    Tonight, the three surviving Beatles can be seen together again in ITVS's premiere of the "Real Love" video; their other new single release. Volume One of the three Beatles Anthology CDs, is now on sale. Albums and singles are set to top the Christmas charts. Global supplies of shrink wrap are all but exhausted. They don't paint the fourth rail bridge anymore. They just make Beatles anthologies out of stacks of unseen home movies and long-forgotten film. 

    Mr. Wonfor is part of a mini Geordie mafia who were given the job of putting together the TV story of The Beatles from birth to final split in 1970. 50-somethings Paul, George, and Ringo were interviewed up to eight times a piece for the six hours which British TV viewers will see up to Christmas. Murdered Lennon is heard through his many radio and TV interviews. 

    Geoff confesses that the euphoria of getting the call from McCartney soon turned into sleepless nights over the scale of the terrifying task ahead. "I can't tell you how many miles of footage we had to go through, but if you think that the outtakes of Let It Be is 2000 cans alone..."

     Youngest daughter Sam, 20, helped preserve his sanity, especially before robust twist-and-shout phone calls with McCartney. "She'd say: 'Dad, obviously don't shout at him, but if he shouts at you, try and get what you want.'" People think he might be a soft touch, but if a little arse needs kicking, he's your boy. "Yes, we've had some heavy phone calls. But the good thing is, he is a very strong man. Even the barneys we've had. He's been very constructive. He lets you at least have a shout, and then you get on and go and have a drink."

     The nation will judge the final results on Sunday night. Some may even shed a few tears as The Beatles get back to where they once belong. Geoff admits, "I'd love to see it, but I don't think they'll ever get back together. I don't think necessarily that would be a good idea. If you watch the Anthology, you actually realize that no one person was responsible for them breaking up. They couldn't stand the pressure. It had to self-destruct. There's no way four people could have withstood it any longer. I thought that going back in time, reliving it, was going to be disappointing, but when you listen to the tracks, there's still fantastic melodies and lyrics, beautiful to hear which can stand anywhere."

     If anybody's expecting to see World in Action, forget it. This is a celebration of the biggest band in the world. So roll up. Roll up for the Beatles magical history tour. Step right this way, because in our lives, we've loved them all.