George Harrison Remembers Marcos
Associated Press
April 12, 1986
Former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos is an "old twit" who incited Manila residents to attack the Beatles after the British pop group played a concert in the Philippines in the '60s, George Harrison recalls.
Harrison, in an interview to be broadcast Wednesday on NBC TV Today Show, said Marcos was angered by a mix up in which the Beatles did not appear at the Manila presidential palace to meet the Marcoses after a concert during the height of Beatlemania.
"We didn't have any engagements anywhere, but some smart guy had said, 'Sure, I'll get the Beatles to the palace,'" Harrison said. "We turned the television on, and there it was, this big palace with lines of people, and the guy saying, 'Well, they're still not here yet.' And we watched ourselves not arrive at the palace, but we were never supposed to be there."
Harrison said the story was played up in Manila as "Beatles snub first family."
"Which I'm glad we did. See, even in those days we had taste."
Marcos, however, was angered by the incident. Harrison said, "He set the mob on us and tried to beat us up, which they did. They beat up a lot of people in with us and wouldn't let the airplane leave Manila until Epstein, our manager, had to get off the plane and give back the money we earned at the concert. So that's what I think of Marcos, old twit he was."
No comments:
Post a Comment