Three Beatles together

Photo taken by Linda McCartney 

Photo by either Linda or May 

Photo by May Pang

 April 1, 1974 - This is an important day in Beatles history because it is the last time John Lennon and Paul McCartney were photographed together (at least that we know of -- who knows, there could be private photos out there of the 2 of them photographed together at a later date in the 70s). It is often overlooked that Ringo was there as well, as you can see in the photos.  Sadly, I have never seen any photos of the 3 Beatles together that day, which seems odd.   With so many there who have taken photos (May, Linda, Mal, Keith Moon's friend, etc.) on that day, you would have thought that at least one person would have taken a photograph of John, Paul, and Ringo together. 

What's New Pussycats?

Photos taken by May Pang 

 

March 28, 1974 

These photos may or may not have been taken on this date in 1974, but John and Harry were working on the Pussycats album on that day. 

The Cagney Party

 March 13, 1974

The day after the Troubador incident, John and Harry were back out among the people.   

The most infamous day of the Lost Weekend

 

March 12, 1974 - 50 years ago!

Without You-The Tragic Story of Badfinger: A Book Review Ba

Badfinger performs at the original Cavern Club 

Badfinger with George Harrison 

Harry Nilsson with Pete Ham and Tom Evans (writers of Without Out)

Mal Evans with Kathie Molland 

 

Many books are called "The Tragic Story," but I think the story of Badfinger truly deserves those words.   In reading the book Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger,  I really realized just how tragic it was for these Apple music recording artists.   It was a long book, and while I knew how the story ended, I kept waiting for things to get better.  It never did -- things just get worse and worse. 

Badfinger (originally called The Iveys) started out as a band during the height of The Beatles but never tried to be like them.   However, because they caught the attention of Mal Evans and got signed onto Apple Records, plus Paul McCartney wrote their first hit song, they were constantly compared to The Beatles.  They HATED it.  As much as they loved the Beatles and appreciated everything they did for them, they quickly were tired of answering questions about the Beatles and being treated as 2nd-rate Beatles. 

That didn't stop them from associating with the Fab 4.  George Harrison especially appreciated Badfinger and asked them to perform at Bangladesh and on All Things Must Pass.   It Don't Come Easy was first offered to Badfinger before it was given to Ringo (can you imagine anyone but Ringo singing that song?)

But even with hit songs for themselves, concert tours all over the world, and a #1 song for Harry Nilsson that they wrote -- Badfinger could never make it big.   They were always broke.  They were mismanaged and lost money.  Joey Molland's wife, Kathie, was the cause of a lot of issues for the group. The drummer, Mike, left the group for a while, and they had another drummer until they got Mike to come back.   Promises were made to them that never happened.  Egos seems to get in the way.  Badfinger should have been a lot bigger than they were.   And it all lead up to the sad death of Pete Ham and later Tom Evans.  

The book was very interesting, and I read a lot about the group that I never knew.  I didn't think it painted Joey Molland in a very good light, but then again, it didn't paint much of anyone in a good light.  The Badfinger story is messy, and the author did a good job of telling the story in spite of the difficult subject.   I thought the book was longer than it needed to be, but that might be because the chapters were long. I don't like to stop reading in the middle of a chapter, and that might be why it felt like such a long book.   This book was written in the early 2000s, and it is now outdated in some parts, but overall, it was an interesting book. 

https://amzn.to/3TfAKYl

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Remembering Harry

 

This was said to be Harry's favorite photo of him and Ringo. 

Today, 30 years ago, the world lost the fantastic singer and songwriter Harry Nilsson.   Harry was a fascinating man, and if you have never seen the documentary about him, it is well worth watching.  Harry was one of the few people who could honestly call himself a friend of each of the individual Beatles, even after the break up of the group.    He was especially close to John, and I think Ringo would have considered Harry to be his best friend (currently, I think Ringo's best friend is Joe Walsh, but I know Ringo still feels really highly of Harry because he won't talk about him since he gets super emotional).   

For the longest time, I have been looking for the story I heard about what happened at Harry's funeral.  I finally located it and wanted to share it.   George said the funniest thing during the funeral.  If you haven't heard the story, here it is:

“The funeral was beautiful,” journalist Dawn Eden wrote of the occasion. “Mark Hudson and Jimmy Webb were among the speakers. Others in attendance, besides Harry’s wife of over 20 years (Una) and his seven children (the youngest of which, Oscar, is only two), were George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, the songwriter Paul Williams, Henry Gibson, Micky Dolenz, Van Dyke Parks, and Jim Keltner. I was impressed to see such famous people acting completely human. They were obviously there because they really loved Harry Nilsson.”

During the ceremony, former Beatle George Harrison caused a momentary stir after blurting out, “Fuck you,” which was crucially followed by worthy reasoning and a comedic, sentimental sing-along.

Record producer Mark Hudson recalled Harrison’s initially startling exclamation. “There was the time at Harry Nilsson’s funeral,” Hudson said. “Every songwriter was there – Jimmy Webb, Paul Williams, Van Dyke Parks, George, the list of people was scary, and it was the day [of] the last big L.A. earthquake. So, we are all sad and sullen and standing around the grave and George goes, ‘Fuck You.’ And we are all shocked, and we thought he was having some kind of angst. And then he says, ‘That was always my favourite song: You’re Breaking My Heart, Tearing it Apart, Well Fuck you,’ so then we all joined in and sang it.”

A crazy night at the Rainbow Club

 November 21, 1973

Friends we still miss

From the Mal Evans archives 

 

Two people that I wish were still here during this exciting time for The Beatles.  Mal and Harry were true friends to The Beatles.   

The last time John, Paul and Ringo hung out together

Photo taken by Mal Evans (Mal Evans archives)

 

The best costume Ringo ever wore

 Happy Halloween everyone!

There have been a lot of different costumes Ringo has worn over the years for a variety of reasons.  But if I had to choose my favorite, it has to be Wizard Ringo from 1973's Son of Dracula.   The movie might have been terrible, but Ringo made a great looking Wizard in it! 

Let's Have a Party

 Many of you enjoyed the photos I posted the other night of Ringo, Paul, and Harry at a party.  These photos were taken on September 18, 1975, at a Wings party that was held in London.  I thought I'd share another photo from that night.  This time with a fan that looks REALLY familiar to me.  Does anyone know who he is?  

Forever Friends

 

The long lasting friendship between Paul and Ringo is something to admire.   You will see photos of them today and they still are laughing and enjoying each others company.