Meet the Beatles for Real: 1971

Showing posts with label 1971. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Oh Calcutta

George in Calcutta in the Spring of 1971

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Day in the Life -- meeting Ringo

I found this story in the 5 Bites of the Apple newsletters. ( I have had these somewhat blurry photos of some girls with Ringo that I THINK are the photos that are from this story. What do you all think? They seem to match up pretty well.

Day in the Life

By Mirella Mariani (Rome, Italy)

5 Bites of the Apple Fan club newsletter

September/October 1971

It was Sunday of the 13^th of June and we found out Ringo had to come back here in Rome by plane at 4:05pm. He was here at the end of May for a few days but we couldn’t find where he was staying, anyway, we were lucky because we met his Italian driver and he was really helpful. He was the one who told us Ringo would come on that day. We went to Leonardo De Vinci Airport and waited until five, but no trace of Ringo! We were gonna despair when we thought it would have been much better to go to the hotel where he had to go. We arrived at Residence Palace hotel at 6:30PM and waited until 8. I wanted to see him but I was really losing hope when a blue Mercedes turned the corner. Ringo!!! We felt like jumping for joy but we did our best to be cool cos we were afraid to bother him (and Ringo can be very rude when he wants). He came out of the car and smiled at us saying “Hi girls!” The last time I saw him in London, he looked different, now he’s quite slim, black hair (dyed for the film), and always wearing black sunglasses. He went into the hotel with Mal but after a while, he came toward us smiling. He shook our hands saying, “Hi! Are you foreigners?” We said “No” and then he asked “Where are you from? Rome?” My friend Pattie, and I said yes, but the other girl who was with us, Angela, she said “No, I’m from Florence.” Ringo said, “Florence? Is that far?” “Quite far!” I said because Angela doesn’t speak English. “I see, and you live here?” he said looking at Pattie and me. “Yes, but far from the hotel,” we said. “Must go, bye girls!”

And he went in with Mal. Luckily Mal knows me so he told me Ringo had to go to the riding ground the next morning. We already knew where that was and so the next day, we go there at 10AM. We were really surprised seeing Ringo had already arrived. Anyway, he wasn’t riding yet cos he didn’t feel well and leant against the fence feeling sick. Stomach, I think. Afterward, he rode at first a white horse but then he changed with a fawn-colored one. I’ve got to admit, he’s no good at riding but he was gorgeous with wind ruffling his hair, and every time he came near us (we were sitting on a form) he smiled. Then he stopped and came to sit with us. “The stirrups are too long for me,” he said. As he was in a good mood, we gave him a little gift we bought before. It was a colored belt and luckily, he liked it! He then tanks us for it and soon wore it!

His instructor asked him if we could have pictures with him, he said, “OK, sit here near me, and now smile…Cheese!” His driver was taking pictures with my camera, and Ringo’s instructed tried to take other pics with Angela’s but it didn’t work. He read the brand of the camera and was Rapid. Ringo laughed and said, “very rapid.” For another picture, Angela had her arm on Ringo’s leg so he said, “Just like friends.” Then we talked together about Florence, other singers, and when someone asked Angela how old she was and she said “18” then Ringo said, “Grow up.” He smoked a lot and then gave me one of his LARK. He had to go back riding cos he needs to learn very soon for his next film, “Blindman.” When he came back to us, he pretended to shoot at us. It was nice talking to him but he went away at 12pm to a villa where he has lots of friends, and he wanted to get tanned.

They came back to the hotel at 6PM, when we thought we saw Ringo with a red band around his head and short pants (hot pants?) we were gonna laugh but all of a sudden, we changed our minds when we saw with him a Swedish girl. I saw the red! He was sorry we saw him with her, I think, cos he came up to us and said “You are crazy hanging around here all the time. Haven’t you got anything else to do?” “No,” we all said together. “Aren’t you tired?” he asked us. “Yes, but we don’t mind,” I said and finally he smiled in such a sweet way. For a while, I had thought he was cross, but he wasn’t. Since then, we saw him almost every day and he’d smile and say hello and things like that.

When Angela had to go back to Florence, Mal told Ringo and, in the afternoon, when he was coming back from the set, he put his hand on Angela’s shoulder and said, “So, you’re going home.” “Yes, tonight, and I hope I’ll see you again,” she said. “I’m leaving on Wednesday, so if you’ll be here before, you’ll see me. Anyway, I hope you had a nice time. Bye!” Ringo said, and then he went into the hotel while Angela was standing there too happy for words and yet sad at the same time. There’s one last funny thing to tell. Once when Ringo was in the villa, he got very cross with his driver. The reason is he asked Tonino (the driver) to buy him a pair of underpants but Tonino didn’t understand so he came back with a pair of trousers! You can imagine Ringo’s reaction!

On Wednesday morning, my friend Pattie and I went to the hotel at 9AM cos we knew Ringo had to leave in the afternoon but when we arrived, he had gone! “He left at 7AM,” a guy in the hotel told us. I really felt miserable. It was tremendous. We felt we lost him forever, but believe me, it was terrible cos we were so sure to see him again. We had the pics to show him and lots of things to tell. He made us happy for those 10 days but he left us sad, very sad. We miss him but luckily, he’ll be back in August!

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Dealing with the luggage at the airport

October 12, 1971 - Heathrow Airport

Thursday, April 7, 2022

Summer 1971 in London

Tonight I have a nice fan story written by Pamela Elijah. It was originally published in the 1971 newsletter for members of the Beatles Fan Club in Indiana.

England – Summer 1971

By Pamela Elijah

Those of you who write to me regularly know that I went to England this summer, and I have received several letters asking for details of my trip. I thought it would be easiest to put it in this newsletter rather than trying to write all the details to everyone. I was accompanied by Tempy Snow (Area Secretary for Vermont and Mass.). We left Boston on June 7^th and arrived in London on the 8^th. We both stayed with friends in Streatham, which is a section of Southern London. Though we didn’t stay together, we were lucky enough to be within walking distance of each other.

On our first day there we learned that George was working at EMI studios on Abbey Road, producing a single for Badfinger. So on June 9^th, we decided to go down and try to see him. We arrived there at 5:15, only to learn that he had gone in at 5:00. We decided to wait until he came out, and during the time we waited, we saw him come out into the hall a few times to talk on the telephone. As it turned out we didn’t wait for him. We left at 10:00 because it was so cold that our bodies were beginning to go numb. (I later found out, when watching the weather on TV, that it had been the coldest June in England in 20 years!)

We went back the next day, the weather was warmer but it was raining, so we decided that if we could see him go in we’d leave then. (We had both developed colds from the night before). There were a few people there. Tempy and I were with Carolyn Mitchell (from Utah) and Val Furbish (She was formerly the Area Secretary for Delaware, now lives in England). There were a couple of girls from New York and one of the Apple Scruffs. We were all waiting patiently when suddenly the rain stopped, and just as it stopped George’s car pulled in. One of the New York girls went up and talked to him for a few minutes. He walked past my friends and I went up the steps. When he got to the top, Carolyn called out to him. He leaned down and asked what she wanted. She was going to ask him for the lyrics to “Ain’t That Cute,” which is a song he had written for Apple artist Doris Troy. Being very nervous, she ollked {sic] at him and said “Could you get me the lyrics to ‘Ain’t She Sweet?’” He looked rather confused. Val jumped up and said, “Cute!” George then asked if they mean “Ain’t That Cute” and said he would get her the lyrics. (He never did.) I can’t remember what else was said, only the way he looked standing at the top of the steps. He was wearing blue jeans, a denim jacket and cap, and a yellow shirt with Sanskrit writing on it. He had cut his hair shorter the week before. As soon as he went in, the rain started again. This was all I saw of George as he left that Saturday for the States.

June 13^th I went with Val to see Ringo’s house. It is in Hampstead, which is very lovely section of London. It’s a big brick house on a quiet little street. We played with Mr. Villoughby (Ringo’s Siamese cat) and then Martin Lickert (Ringo’s chauffeur) came out so we talked to him for a while. We saw Zak and Jason playing in the garden. Zak seemed very quiet, while Jason was just the opposite. When he saw us he started to yell and scream, which caused the dogs – a poodle named Tiger and a collie named Sophie to start barking. Jason started spitting at us, as Val said he is a “pretty normal little boy.” Maureen must have heard all the commotion because it wasn’t long before she came out (dressed in a Superman t-shirt). She looked very annoyed to see us, so we turned and quietly left. IT was at this point I decided it was best not to bother them at their homes.

Paul receiving flowers from Vicky (June 15, 1971)

On June 15^th Tempy called to tell me she found out Paul was going to be at EMI the following day and we made plans to go down. However, later that evening I began to feel sick and found out my cold had led to tonsillitis. So while everyone else went to see Paul, I ended up in bed. I heard he was very nice, and Vicky Bell (from Cleveland) gave him flowers for his birthday. He thanked her saying it was “wonderful.”

June 19^th Val, Carolyn, and I went to an all-night Beatle festival on Portobello Road. They showed A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Yellow Submarine, and Let it Be. They began at 11:30 pm and ended at 6:00am. The theater was packed and it was almost impossible to find seats. By the time the movie started every seat was taken and there were people packed in sitting in the aisles. No one can say the Beatles aren’t popular anymore.

Since George was out of the country, we decided on June 20 to go to Henley-on-Thames to see his house and take some pictures. It’s a beautiful place. He has two small houses plus the huge one which you have probably seen pictures of. He is now living in one of the smaller ones while the large one is being fixed up. His land seems to stretch on forever with all sorts of beautiful trees and flowers. While we were there we saw Terry Doran (George’s assistant) and Greg French (George’s cousin from Florida who is living with him).

Maureen (photo taken by Pamela Elijah) on July 1, 1971

July 1^st Tempy and I went to Apple to meet Pattie O’Neill and Mar Young. When we got there they said Maureen was there, so we waited until she came out. She seemed very shy. Mar gave her a scarf and seemed very pleased with it.

July 16, John and Yoko made an appearance at the Claude Gill Bookshop to sign copies of Yoko’s book “Grapefruit” which was just released in England. When Vicky, Tempy, and I arrived, it stretched back for blocks. We got in line with Patti and Mar. When John and Yoko arrived, the whole crowd surged forward. There was no more line, just a huge mass of wall-to-wall people. I’ve never felt so closed in all my life, as I couldn’t move a muscle for at least 15 minutes. I nearly fainted a few times and completely lost all my friends. Luckily, John and Yoko were safe behind a table, signing books. After about 25 minutes I somehow grabbed a book and got out. I later found out Tempy had been pushed right up against the table and she got to stand there and talk to John. As people got their books they began to clear out, so by the time they left there were only a few people around. Vicky found out from a boy who worked there that they would leave by the back entrance. We went out and waited for them there. Besides us, there were a few girls from Denmark. John looked wonderful, wearing black trousers and shirt and a black jacket with little flowers on it. Yoko was wearing a red and white hot pants suit. They signed autographs for a while and then left in John’s white limousine.

July 18^th – Sarah Nolte called to tell me that she had been able to get me a ticket to George’s August 1^st concert at Madison Square Garden. So I made plans to come back early in order to get to the concert. As it turned out I missed the concert, but I was lucky enough to see George, John and Yoko, Maureen and the children in England. There’s so much more I could go into …the days we went to Apple…seeing Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans, and so much more. But if I mentioned all the little things, I’d go on forever.