I wonder why John and Yoko and Sean all went to Boston in September of 1976? Very little seems to be known about that trip. And it seems that a lot of photographs were taken, but not a whole lot have surfaced over the years.
I am the (Boston) Walrus
By Tempy Snow
With a Little Help from my friends (Issue #17—January 1977)
Most of us don’t live in New York, L.A., or London and
consequently we don’t get up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed every morning to go
Beatle chasing. Rather, we wait for
tours and recording sessions – provided we have the appropriate bank balance
for planes and trains.
Living in Boston was no exception until 1976. Pepperland graced us with Paul in concert,
George in party clothes and John….
September 16, 1976 (Thursday). Alarm went off at 9:30 a.m. I dragged out of bed, ate nothing and brushed
teeth well because I had to be at the dentist’s at 11. Against my will I made the dentist’s chair on
time, heard the bad news about cavities and departed starving. On my way home I stopped off at a sandwich
shop and bought lunch. As I walked back,
bag in hand, I passed the Copley Plaza, one of Boston’s posh old hotels. However, ripples of extra sensory perception
did not go through my head – rather it was more like the refrains of “Just
Another Day.”
Ate lunch at 12:30pm.
At 1:00 the phone rang. It was
Denny, another local Beatle freak, so cried, “I heard on the radio John Lennon
came into town last night. He’s staying
at the Copley Plaza. I’m there right now. Come down and take pictures!”
“You’re kidding,” I said.
“My camera is broken, but if you don’t mind, I’ll come over anyway.”
He didn’t mind and I hung up thinking, good grief, what do
radio stations know? And what would the
walrus be doing in Boston anyway? We’re
not the chosen hunting grounds like L.A.
But it’s in the blood, the love of excitement, adventure, hope – in
other words an incurable Beatle freak.
I dropped everything and rushed over, making the 14 minute walk in
7. Denny was standing nervously
outside. He’d heard from different
sources inside the Copley that John was there and he wasn’t. Still skeptical but all business, I suggested
we stand at one corner of the hotel so we could watch the two main exit doors
at once. About 15 minutes passed. IW as still busy peering around the corner
when Denny suddenly said, ‘There he is.”
The utter calmness of his voice made me slow to turn. I thought he meant some friend of his. But lo and behold! Parked out in front of the hotel was the impossible
– a green station wagon, driven by a young Japanese man. And getting out of the station wagon were
John, Yoko and their nanny with Sean.
Yoko had on a long dress and John:
he looked like he had just stepped off the set of Magical Mystery Tour. His hair was short and he was wearing those
famous wire-rimmed glasses. The only
difference was that he was growing a beard and was wearing blue jeans and a
denim jacket. He also looked extremely
slim, almost bordering on skinny.
George beware! The nanny and Sean
I barely glimpsed – she whisked Sean inside the hotel faster than the speed of
light.
Luckily for us, John had to take time to get Sean’s pram out
of the back of the car or else I know I at least would have stood there rooted
to the ground in what I can only call Beatle-shock. Denny, who’d never met John before, was the
one who threw his instamatic to me, muttered, “take pictures” and walked up to
John. Denny managed to stop John by
showing him a picture in one of his photo albums of John during his Plastic Ono
Band days. But John pointed to the
pictures on the opposite page of George in concert and asked Denny if he had
taken it. We George fans can be lucky
that John has good taste! Then Denny
asked if John would pose for picture with him and John readily agreed. Robot like I took it of the two of them. Then Denny asks for another one for insurance
and john stops again. I noticed Yoko was
just standing there so I asked her to step in with them – Linda would have been
proud of me.
Feeling no longer like a gaping dingbat I confidently raised
the camera again. It didn’t click. John, Yoko and Denny remained standing there
staring at me. I must have then looked
like a dingbat about to commit suicide because John said to me, “Don’t panic,
just take your time.” The famous Lennon
sarcasm cleared my brain and I remembered instamatics have to be wound twice
for the next frame whereas 35mm cameras don’t.
I took the second picture. I
think I shook his hand after that but barely remember it. Then I wished him a good day and in they
went.
Then the freaking out started. Denny and I must have repeated the phrase, “I
don’t believe it” about 100 times between us.
I was the most stunned that for me it had happened within the span of a
half an hour and in my back yard. Seven
minutes traveling time to meet a Beatle?
Unheard of. Little did I know
that exactly two months from that day, on November 16th, I would
meet George in the same hotel, with Denny and his photo album would be looked
at again.
I made it to work very late and very spaced. I called my fellow George freak, Blue, and
spaced her out. About 6 of us (including
Denny and Blue) waited outside the hotel until 1 a.m. that night but the walrus
was hibernating and we all finally went home to try to believe it.
September 17, 1976 (Friday) was black Friday for Blue and
I. blue had to work a day shift and I
got called in early, so we both missed seeing John come out of the hotel early
that afternoon and stand around talking for 10 minutes. At least Denny was there again. After work, I went back to the hotel and
heard stories about people pounding on John’s door at 2 in the morning, so I
decided not to stick around that night.
Besides, word was out that John would be leaving the next morning, so
there would be one more chance to see him.
I went home and still tried to believe it.
September 18, 1976 (Satuday)—The news that there was more
than beans and ancient history in Boston reached as far as Connecticut. The Harrison Alliance drove up as well as Zig
and Jim Montgomery from Springfield, Mass.
All told, over 20 people showed up Saturday morning, quite amazing that
after 12 years so much power and magic remained. Laurianne Lavallee (another George freak) and
I arrived at 8am only to find other people already there waiting. We sat around trying to look like tourists
while another group waited by the elevators.
This nanny brought Sean down the elevator, took one look at the crowd
and went right back up again. I nudged
Laurianne and said, “I bet she’s going to come down the back elevators,” and
sure enough, they came out those and zoomed outdoors. We decided to follow them just to see Sean
but not to take pictures because I’d heard too many stories about both John and
the nanny being very uptight about cameras and crowds around Sean. Well, the nanny saw us right off and
Laurianne promised “no pictures” and the nanny said, “I no trust,” and turned
and fled. Sean was beautiful though,
bright-eyed and intelligent looking. I
felt like I could have held a ration conversation with him. But we didn’t follow and we didn’t tell
anyone else Sean was on the streets. I
felt devious about it but there was a limit.
Pounding at doors at 2 am and hounding a baby were beyond my capacity as
a Beatle fan.
By mid-morning the lobby was full of Beatle fans and other
celebrity seekers. The Plaza never
looked so successful with us all hanging out, but that was amazing in
itself. No one hassled us for all being
there; in fact, we were ignored more than anything else. Then we got word that a couple of people had
gone up to sit outside John’s room. We
were gnashing our teeth at how that placed us all in jeopardy when they came down
again. Our relief didn’t last long. A short while later someone got the bright
idea to call the room, and Yoko answered.
From what I heard that Yoko said, I gather she was pleasant but
disgusted – something about “John can’t get any sleep and you’re bothering us,
but bless you anyway.” Ten points for
Yoko! Needless to say, right after that
we all got kicked out of the lobby.
There we were suddenly out in the cold and wind, getting ulcers trying
to watch the Copley’s three exit doors at once.
The head Blue Meanie couldn’t have done any better to spread misery in
Pepperland, but we gritted our teeth and played the fan game the best we
could—thanks to the few who still wanted to play it the 1964 way.
When a few people went back inside to go to the bathroom and
didn’t get bothered, I decided after a while I better make the trip too. I went in the back door just not to be so
obvious. As I came out of the bathroom
who should I see but the nanny and Sean coming in once more. I melted into the telephone booths pretending
I didn’t see them and watched them go up the elevator. Then I went out and passed John’s driver
going in! Parked outside the back door
was the green station wagon. And on the
corner up the street were 20 or more people staring at the car and me! It was kind of a freak out to bop out a door
and see a crowd in a sense waiting for you.
After that, A Hard Day’s Night played at the Copley
Plaza. Richard Lester couldn’t have
directed it any better. John’s driver
went in and out several times on errands.
Each time he’d drive away we’d circle the hotel again and again trying
to spot him when he returned and each time he did, two dozen people would run
like bats out of hell for that doorway.
I was just about to buy a pair of track shoes and audition for the
Olympics when the driver came out the back door for the final time and drove to
the front. The sidewalks burned as we
all screeched after him. Then while we
caught our breath, bellboys started loading John’s luggage into the car, covered
with a white furry rug. A hundred
pictures got taken of a bunch of suitcases and a rug.
Then the driver takes off around the corner to the other
side door and knowing that this was the end of the long morning, we panted
after him. Cameras were raised, shaking
cigarettes were lit and everyone’s eyes were glued to the door. Well, almost everyone’s. Someone saw John and family thought he
windows coming out of a hotel restaurant.
I got up to the window in time and got a good glimpse of John standing
around with Sean in his arms, still wearing blue jeans and a denim jacket. Then suddenly the nanny, Yoko and John came
walking out, John still holding Sean in his arms. Shades of Paul with Mary during “Ram”
recording days in New York! The mob
closed in on them but luckily people only took pictures. I never saw Yoko except for the back of her
head as she got into the car but I caught a good view of the famous Lennon
profile as he threaded his way to the car.
Once John was in the car, it was surrounded. The driver managed to take off only to be
caught by a red light 30 feet away. Everyone
madly ran out into the street and surrounded them again. I’m sure the people driving in the back of
John’s car are still wondering to this day just what the chase scene was with
the green station wagon in front of them!
Of course, being incurable, I was right in the middle of it
and managed to get up to the window opposite John. I’ll never forget seeing Sean sitting beside
him, still so bright-eyed and intelligent looking. People were pounding on the windows and even
screaming but the only reaction I saw John give was to Blue, only I didn’t know
it was her at the time. She was up
against the window almost beside me, in Beatle-shock, and her attempt to wave
became limp-wristed. John gave her a
limp-wristed wave back! We nearly died
laughing about it later.
The light finally decided to change and off they went, back
to New York, probably wondering where stately old Boston coughed up so many
Beatlemaniacs. Blue, Laurianne and I
went off down the street arm in arm crying over and over, “He was so beautiful!” Blue and Laurianne were especially freaked as
neither of them had ever seen John before.
And to this day, I still don’t know why he was here. The most circulated story was that he was
visiting friends in a suburb. But
whatever the reason, it could happen again.
London, L.A. and New York eat your hearts out!
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