The early hours of the morning

Photos by Lizzie Bravo 

 

Sleepless Nights by Lizzie Bravo (3rd installment)

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo

 Friday, June 2, 1967 - Cynthia sent my father's letter with the check inside it to me -- thank God! (If you can believe it, I wrote my father and put John's address instead of mine in the letter -- I was certain everybody on the planet had to know his address by heart.  My dad thought I'd moved again and sent a letter and check there and a telegram to my "old" address to let me know.  Do I need to say how I felt when I got the telegram?  I phoned Cyn and asked her to please send it to me. I told her I'd moved and my dad didn't know my address but knew I'd be around John somewhere (a dirty lie))  

Paula came here to listen to the new album -- she loved it, of course!  Spent the afternoon at Cavendish, as usual -- it was pouring down with rain.  John arrived in the Rolls that is now all painted yellow with lots of flowers, and it's really beautiful!  George was with him.  Paul opened the front door to greet them.  Some girls rushed inside the gates, which infuriated Paul, who said, "Get out, come on!" with his right finger pointed at them.  He was really upset and called the cops.  John was wearing a red coat and pink corduroy trousers.  Paula went to EMI, and the doorman told her as a secret that they would be recording there on the 7th, 8th, and 9th.

Saturday June 3, 1967 -  Paula met me at Cavendish in the afternoon.  "Stick" told us to leave twice.  Millie (the housekeeper) told us Paul was home and had a bit of a cold.  A couple we had never seen got in the house.  A taxi stopped in front of the house, the gates opened, and Paul came out in the Aston.  It was about 9:30pm.  Jane had her hair tied back and a navy-blue dress, and she didn't sit beside Paul.  There were other people in the car.  Paul turned the car lights on and kept looking back.  We left, and I came back home and worked on my scrapbook on John. 

Sleepless Nights - Lizzie Bravo's diary (part 2)

 Sleepless Nights 

Lizzie Bravo

"With a Little Help From My Friends"

January 1985

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo (3 months before this story takes place)

Thursday, June 1, 1967

Paula and I went back to Cavendish and spent the whole time running from the cops -- it was awful.  One of the girls told us Paul and Jane had taken Martha to Regent's Park.  We went there, but his car wasn't in the usual place.  We went back to Cavendish and spent hours walking around the block since the cops wouldn't leave us alone.  After a while, right through the gates, which Mr. Kelly had already opened.  We didn't see much, as the gates were immediately closed.  Paul got John's phone number from one of the girls, and she called from her hotel.  Cyn answered, and Paula asked her very politely if they were recording tonight.  Cyn was very nice and told her they would be, so Paula got a taxi and went straight to EMI.  They were not there, the recording was to be at another studio, and we couldn't find out which one it was.  Paula met me at Cavendish, where I had seen John arriving in the Mini.  We were there with two other girls who left shortly afterwards.

The phone rang inside Paul's, and we saw a shadow passing by his bedroom -- must have been him.  Somebody closed the windows.  A few minutes after that, we heard footsteps and a car door slamming.  John came to open the gate.  He had on a flowered jacket and a straw sombrero with a colourful ribbon on it, and dark trousers.  Paul was standing there and said something to John while Terry got the car out.  Then Paul closed the gates with his left foot.  John held the car door open for him, and he got in the back.  I tried taking a photo, but Paul said, "No, no, no....no, no, no...."  Paula wanted to talk to him, but I had warned her he doesn't always talk or sign autographs when we're outside his house -- it depends on his mood.  It's better to try at EMI.

Paula and I were talking in Portuguese, and John got curious and said, "What??" and I explained to him that I was talking to Paula.  They left. I think they went to the other place they had been recording at, that is not EMI.  I heard something about Olympic studios, but I am not sure. 

Sleepless Nights by Lizzie Bravo

 Beatle friends, I have a treat for you!  I know that most of you have been waiting for Lizzie Bravo's book to be published in English.   No word on when/if that is going to happen.  But I found a few of Lizzie's diary entries that she translated for "With A Little Help From My Friends" newsletter in 1985.  At that time, her book was titled "Sleepless Nights."   I will be adding one entry a day over the next week or so

. 

Enjoy!

Photo by Lizzie Bravo (I included it because it was the photograph from the article)

Wednesday, May 31, 1967 -  I went with my friend Paula to Cavendish.  She was very excited as she had never seen Paul or any of the others before.  We learned from the girls that Paul, Jane, John and Ringo left in John's black Mini just before we arrived.  "Stick" (Mr. Kelly, Paul's housekeeper) went out to walk Martha.  Anthony (John's chauffeur) arrived driving Cyn's caramel Porsche.  There was another man inside the car.  The police are chasing us all the time -- it's terrible.  Our feet hurt from walking around the block over and over again.  John and Paul arrived together in one car.  Ringo and Jane were not there.  The gates were closed very quickly and we had to rush to the other side of the road to try to see them going in the front door. Paul was wearing black trousers and his "joker" jacket (green and blue).  John had on red trousers and a short flowered jacket.  We went to EMI to see if they were recording tonight, and the answer is no.

When we went back to Cavendish the girls told us Jane and her mother had just arrived.  After a few minutes the gates were opened and we rushed to see who was coming out, but it was only Mrs. Asher.  We went to the corner of the street to see if all was "clear" (of cops, of course), and as we were returning we noticed the gates were open.  We rushed there.  The front door was open.  Paul came jumping down the steps and got into the car beside Terry Doran, who was driving.  John was already inside, in the back.  Terry had to get out of the car to close the gates, since Mr. Kelly was out.  The car windows are dark, and you can only see faint shadows through them.  We were trying to see them through the windows.  Paula rushed to Paul's side and was lucky enough that he had left the little side window open.  He had the end of a cigarette in his left hand resting on his thigh.  Paula was in shock -- it's the first time she's seen him so close.  One of the girls had the cheek to open Paul's door -- he grabbed the door and without looking at her said, "Come on..."  John did something really cute:  he knocked on the window so I knew where he was, and as I got closer to see him, he smiled through the dark glass.  He really melts my heart with these sweet little things he does.  The car finally left and I had to "assist" Paula, who was in the middle of the road, suffering from "total paralysis and amnesia"--a common thing for first-timers.  I know how she feels, for I can well remember the first time I saw John, only a few months ago.  We saw Jane upstairs in their bedroom, apparently making the bed.  Paula left for her hotel and I went home and slept really late.  

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 June 26, 1967 at EMI 

John visits his friend

Photo by Lizzie Bravo 

 

Lizzie gets close to John

Photo by Lizzie Bravo 

 

Zebra striped jacket

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 May 11, 1967

Another great photo taken by Lizzie.   (the full photo can be found in her book if you have it).

Outside of EMI

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 

Sgt Pepper John in a car

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 

John visits Paul

All of these amazing photos were taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 April 20, 1967

Driving with the top down

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 

April 19, 1967 

Outside of the Saville Theater

Photos taken by Lizzie Bravo 

April 16, 1967  

Close up with John and a fan

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 

Paul in his 1966 tour jacket again

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 March 24, 1967

Who is in the backseat with Paul?

Photo by Lizzie Bravo 

 

Inside EMI

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 

My Valentine

Photo taken by Lizzie Bravo (on the first day she met him) 

 

Paul leaves Apple

Photo by Lizzie Bravo 

 

John Lennon photographed by Lizzie

All photos taken by Lizzie Bravo 

 

Lizzie would tell you that she didn't take a lot of photos of Ringo and looked back she wished that she had taken more.   Film was expensive and so she saved her film to take photographs of her favorite guy, John Lennon.   The results were amazing!