Party with the Dark Horse

I am still searching high and low for any stories, information and photos about George's 1974 concert in St. Louis.   I know there has to be people out there that have things.    But in the meantime I found this great story about when the tour came to Chicago (so close!).     It was from the April/May 1976 issue of The Write Thing.  

By Char Bass

Chicago November 30, 1974

We arrived at our hotel in Chicago around noon, Chicago time.  We didn’t have time to go to look at our suite, but they gave me the key.  Just as I got back out to the car, 3 black limos pulled up.  My girlfriend, Nellie, and I took it quite calmly.  We had planned to stay in the same hotel as George, but we had only guessed, not actually knowing where he was to stay.   We went on to the concert and the show was fantastic, even from behind the stage where our seats were.  After the show I didn’t feel let down, I was still quite up in the anticipation of something!

Photo by Tony Morelli and published by Flickr Creative Commons license

 

We went back to the hotel slowly through all the traffic, and we finally got to see our suite, and it was quite nice.  When I heard a noise outside our door in the hall, I ran to the door and looked out the peep-hole.   All I Saw was the back of the head of a man with long grey hair closing the door to his suite across the hall.  Soon we saw the limos pull up in front of the hotel again and we knew it was time for George to leave for the evening performance.  We went down to the lobby with our cameras.  No one seemed to object.  We wondered if anyone would mind us taking pictures, so I asked a man standing just a few feet away.  He replied that He didn’t care, but that they weren’t really part of the tour.  We wondered what they meant, they had on Dark Horse badges like everyone else in the lobby.  So I looked at the older man's badge to read the signature.  I just glanced so it wouldn’t be noticeable, it said Harry Harrison!   Then it hit me that was George’s Dad!   I looked up at his face to make sure, and even though his hair was much longer than I've ever seen in a picture,  sure enough I recognized his face.   Then I suddenly remembered the man I had seen in the all through the peep-hole and realized that George's Dad was staying right across the hall from us!

Emil Richards, George with Harold and Pete earlier in the tour

Now the problem was to get Nellie to realize this without saying anything, but while I Was trying to signal her I realized that she was trying to tell me something too.  She got me to look at the man we had questioned earlier, and then I recognized him as George’s brother, Pete!  So then with us both knowing about both men, I started a conversation with Mr. Harrison.  I asked how long the tour was and about his grandchildren, Leslie and Gordon (George’s sister Louise’s children) when I had ;met ten years before.  I told him about Leslie being too little to write at the time, but still wanted to sign autographs like her mother;, and so had drawn a picture of her Uncle George for us.  Mr. Harrison made some reference to Pete, mentioning that he was George’s brother, and was a bit surprised to see that we had recognized both of them.  I made some kind of remark to him about being in Suite 7B and he looked at me rather suspiciously, but I explained that we were in 7A and that I had seen him leave his room.  I asked them if it would be all right if I took their picture and they said, “sure,” so Nellie stood with them and I got a photo of them.  They decided to go to their car then, but Mr. Harrison said that he would see us later as they left.

Photo by George Tebbins

Soon someone asked us to leave the lobby, to go outside.   We didn’t have our coats.  it was cold, windy and spitting snow outside, but out we went so we could get pics of George.  They moved us behind the limo and I couldn’t see over the car well enough, so I stood on a little cement thingy.   I took one picture of George as he came out the door and then as he came closer to the car I began to feel the effects of his presence.  He looked at me strangely. I figured it was the camera and all the noise it made.   But as I got it focused and he was looking straight at me, and when i didn’t take it, he stood there for a few seconds and stared at me, and turned his head a little to the side in wonderment, but I just could not move.  As soon as he got into the car, I came back to my senses.

Later at dinner, I remarked to Nellie, half kidding, that I wished they would hurry up and invite us to the party, cause I Was getting tired.  Well as we were in the hall after trying to unlock our door, Mr. Harrison poked his head out of the door and said, “Would you girls like to go upstairs and see what’s going on?”  Now what do you say to that but Yes!  He added that Pete would take us up, and Pete appeared out of 7C.  it was unbelievable. 

So off we went and when we ended up in 22B, I remembered a girl in the lobby with the name tag Chris O’Dell (Ah, ha Miss O’Dell, I thought) who had been given room 22B.  Anyway George was not there, so Pete told us to sit down and he went to look for him.  He came back and got us a drink and said that George would be there in a little while.  So we sat there trying to calm down.  As I listened to what Pete was telling us, I became slowly aware, as if waking up, of a familiar voice in the room, and then I realized that voice, and gorgeous accent, could only belong to George.  Nellie said that I really jumped, and searched the room with my eyes quickly for him.  Fortunately, he had his back to us, so he didn’t see my reaction, but he was only about 7 feet away.  He had on green corduroy pants, slightly flared, and a green sweater with a V neck and no shirt on under it.  it had long sleeves which he kept pushing up a bit.  I got to see his earrings for the first time, very small and gold, and since he had no shoes or socks on, Nellie noticed that he is flat-footed.  

I really have very little idea what order things happened in while he was in the room. I’ll just try to tell about my observations of him as best I can.  Although I didn’t know then who she was, Olivia was there.  He kissed her just after they came into the room, and before he sat down.  When he decided to sit down, he looked around the room and found one of the chairs around the table empty and he sorta dove at it as if it were going to get away.  Bear brought him a plate of food from the kitchen and some wine and yogurt.  He  picked at the food more than he ate, but he really seemed to like the yogurt.

Well, then George stood and talked to someone at another table.  I could only hear parts of what he was saying, but I can’t repeat any of it, cause I heard his voice and accent, but not really the words even when it was audible.   He couldn’t stand still though, first he’d lean on the table, then on the chair and for a while he even stood down on his knees and talked.  Then he talked to another person and where he stood blocked the entrance/exit to the room.  That wouldn’t have bothered us normally, but we had had a lot to drink (water and tea as well as the alcoholic drink Pete gave us) and we really wanted to get to the bathroom.  The problem was that to get the bathroom, we would have to have moved George.  So we just sat there.

Soon enough George went back to his chair, and when he did, this weird girl came parading in.  She had on a black ballet body leotard, instead of a body shirt, and for a skirt she had on 2 hot pink chamois sewn together at the sides.   The back one was long and the front one was short and the sides were split all the way up.  She also had on a gold chain, belt, black hose and big platform shoes.  She came in and walked right up to George and said, “I met you five or six weeks ago, and I just came up to say hello.”  George looked up to her face and just said, “Oh...hullo,” as if he hoped that would satisfy her and she would go away.   So she goes on to ask him about the meaning of the OM and while they talk he carefully keeping looking at her face until he just had to look at her outfit.  He glanced down quickly and then even faster he looked back up and then very carefully looked somewhere else altogether then her face even, until she decided to go.  By the way, he explained that the 3 part of the OM stands for creation, restoration and destruction and the (: part is the sun and the moon.  During this time I had looked over at George to find him looking at me a couple times.

George sat there telling something to a person in a chair to the far left of us, but as I listened and looked at him, he talked to this person and never missed a word, but he stared straight into my eyes the whole time.  I was completely frozen.  He told about his guitar strap breaking on stage and how when he realized it was letting go, he stuck his foot out to catch the guitar on his shin.   All I could think of is that he is the only one I know that would deliberately get hit on the shin.  He must have realized what was happening to me, cause he stared into my eyes once more after that, and sure enough, the results were the same.    Olivia came over once and asked us if we wanted anything to eat and then right before he left he stood about 3 feet away from us and leaned over the coffee table in front of us to get some matches from Pete and I remember he said, “I thought he was crackers.”  but I don't’ know who he was talking about.  Then I heard him say that he was going to bed, and I looked up to see him with his arm lightly around Olivia’s waist and they said goodnight to everyone .  I felt a desperate urge to do something drastic to keep him there, but I suppressed it and just smiled.  We talked to everyone there for awhile and then we went down to Pete’s room and played cards for a little while before going back to our room.  The next morning we wrote a note to his Dad, thanking him and Pete for asking us up, and we put my beloved OM pendant in it, asking him to give it to George.  Dumb me, I didn’t have it with me while George was in the same room.

To describe George, I can say that i was really shocked at how thin he is.  His face looked just about like I expected, but thinner.  His hair was so fluffy and nice, but his eyes were what I really noticed.  They were so deep brown!   Most people when you look at their eyes you see the white around the color, but when you stare into George's eyes you just see deep brown and a lot of emotion.  It’s really a shame his eyes don’t photograph the way they really look.  If they did, I don't’ think anyone would have ever noticed Paul’s eyes even as gorgeous as they are.

I feel bad sometimes that I didn’t talk to him, but then I think about the girl in the pink chamois skirt and what fool she made of herself, and then to the fact that I wasn’t prepared for the meeting and really couldn't think of anything meaningful to say and I just remember George’s own words, “Silence often says much more, than trying to say what’ s been said before. “  And I know he is right.  

John on the Road with Sgt. Pepper

Just a few small articles about some lucky fans that saw John Lennon on the opening night of the Sgt. Pepper on the Road Broadway Play.  I never knew about John throwing the albums into the crowd on opening night.     I located these stories in the Nov/Dec 1974 issue of The Write Thing.   

'©ImageCollect.com/Photo by Robert Fitzgerald/Globe Photos,inc.

 

I’d like to tell you about my brief but exciting encounter with John Lennon.  You know the new play that just opened up in NYC, “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band?”  Well, opening nigh was Sunday, November 17 (1974) so we went up to NYC because we heard that John and Paul were supposed to attend, and we wanted to catch a glimpse of them.  When we got to the Beacon Theatre, there were hundreds of people lined up along the street and around the theatre.  And then the limousines started arriving, and the celebrities started piling in.  Paul never showed, but John did, just as he said he would.   His limousine pulled up, and right away, you could feel the excitement in the air, but the commotion didn’t start until he got out of the car, accompanied by May Pang.  Flash-cubes went off, reporters crowded in, people started screaming and running after him.   In his hand were three albums:  Walls and Bridges, Band on the Run and Ringo. He could barely make it to the door with all the people surrounding him, so that when he was a couple of feet away from the door, he must have just gotten so disgusted with the whole scene, that he took the albums,  and flung them out to the people.   But John had a few surprises up his sleeve.  Inside the albums were free tickets to the opening night of the play.  One man got one of the albums, and inside were 5 tickets.  He was so happy that tears streamed down his face.  If you didn’t know better, you’d swear that it was 1964 again, with all the hysteria going on.  When John finally reached the door, and was safely inside, the cops started shoving everyone past the barricades, and even hit someone over the head with their billy club.  When everything had finally calmed down, guess who arrived?   None other than Yoko Ono!   She looked very nice in her white silk gown and talked to the MC before going in.  Wonder what she was thinking, everyone was yelling, “We want Lennon!”  But alas, to no avail.

--Kathy D.  New Jersey

Let me start off by saying my two friends and I have been trying to meet and get to rap to any one of the “great ones” since they broke up.  Since Beatlefest, we have set goals to seek out all four, either by meeting them somewhere or see them in concert.   Well, we did get lucky.   It was the premiere of the play “Sgt. Pepper.”  Waiting outside, a limousine pulled up and out stepped John Lennon with May Pang.  From that moment on the crowd went crazy just like 1964.  We followed John inside with the rest of the crowd right to his seat.  From then on my friends and I were talking to him, asking for autographs and shaking hands with him.   By the way, the play is excellent, the way the different Beatle songs are blended in with the plot of the play.  If it comes around you, it is worthwhile seeing.  Feeling quite good after that event we really felt he would play with someone in concert soon.   Our request was answered when we heard that for the Thanksgiving Elton John concert John Lennon was to make an appearance and play a couple of songs.  As we waited, about halfway through the concert, Elton John proudly introduced John Lennon.  John started out by playing “Whatever gets you Through the Night” with Elton backing up.  Then John did one song for his “former finance”, meaning Paul McCartney, it was “I saw her standing there,” with Elton backing again on vocals.  Then Elton John came out with his new single, the Lennon-McCartney song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” with John playing backing guitar and vocals.  Finally on one of the encores, John, feeling really good, came back on to sing and play tambourine on “The Bitch is Back.”  It was quite a night!

--Peter P.  New Jersey

Paul in New Orleans

A new book is coming out next month by John Taylor that will tell about Paul McCartney and Wings in New Orleans in early 1975.   It will have unseen photos and it appears to be very interesting.   You can see it on amazon.  

So with this upcoming book I went back to the March/April 1975 issue of The White Thing to find this article that was written when the Paul news was brand new.   

'©ImageCollect.com/Globe-Photos

'©ImageCollect.com/Globe-Photos

'©ImageCollect.com\Globe-Photos

Please note that these photographs from from Imagecollect and have been purchased by me to be published on Meet the Beatles for Real.    They are NOT to be taken for you to put on tumblr, facebook, twitter, flickr or any social media or blog.   Thank you.

Paul in New Orleans

The Write Thing

March/April 1975

McCartney always manages to choose such dull places to record his albums, like Lagos, Nigeria during a cholera epidemic and a monsoon (he also managed to get mugged while there), and Dustin Hoffman will never be the same after watching Paul pass out while singing  “Drink to me” for the twentieth time.  But for the ultimate in ho-hum what could exceed New Orleans during the Mardi Gras?  What boring thing can he possibly do next year?

Paul and his entourage arrived in mid-January with a working visa good until March 1 and studio time reserved at Sea-Saint Recording Studio for the rest of January and all of February.    His visa was good for studio work only and not for live performing.   A local man, hired to work with the  band as a technician, said Paul had been considering at least eight other studios, including one in Brazil.  But McCartney chose Sea-Saint because Paul Simon had recommended it to him.  Allen Toussaint, the co-owner, arranged the horn parts on Simon’s last album.   Toussaint was an early rhythm and blues artist in New Orleans, and now works with such stars as Maria Muldaur, The Band, and Ringo Starr, for whom he may write songs, arrange or play during the sessions.   Besides the attraction of Sea-Saint, Paul is here to absorb the unique “New Orleans sounds”, which refers to the style of rhythm and blues that originated in this city.

Paul auditioned several local drummers and keyboard players to add one of each to the band temporarily in order to incorporate elements of a “funky New Orleans sound” in the songs for the new album.  Denny Laine and Jimmy McCullough are still with the band, but Geoff Britton, the drummer, left Wings when he was offered a chance to appear in a karate film and write the soundtrack.  “The breakup had been entirely amicable and Britton is back in England now.”  The new, but temporary drummer during their stay was Joe English, 24, an American from New York.

They recorded every week day, coming in about midafternoon to the studio on Clematis street which was always surrounded by about a hundred fans, photographers, and other assorted gawkers.   Every day he would sign autographs, pose for pictures, as the paper down there put it, “He has been extremely friendly to the throngs of people that have been waiting for him each afternoon at Sea-Saint.  Paul’s warmth and every-present smile have endeared him to the residents of Clematis Street and the crowds of onlookers that greet him.”

Knowing exactly where Paul McCartney was every day and what time, and that the was playing “Mr. Charming-Public-Relations Man” drove me slightly crazy with jealousy and a mad desire to take the next plane to N.O. and if it wouldn’t’ have been for the two hundred dollars in air fare I would have gone too.

The newspapers there also printed where the McCartney’s were staying according to the States Item they were secretly living at Le Richelieu motel on Chartres.  They also drove around town inconspicuously in a Volkswagen or a beat-up Valiant.  One weekend night they went out to hear Professor Longhair (who they said was “fantastic”), a guru of rock n roll piano playing, a Jed’s University Inn on Oak Street.   They went incognito according to the paper, but if they were so “secret” and “incognito” and “Inconspicuous” then how come everyone knows about it?

On February 13 Paul held his first and only press conference (if you could call it that).  The happening took place aboard the excursion boat “Voyageur” with some 100 photographers, reporters, and other “of questionable credentials” jamming the small boat so that whatever side Paul was on the boat tilted 15 degrees into the water!

“The black top-hatted Paul replaced his head cover with a Tuxedo Brass Band hat, then pout a multi-colored beret over that and back to his top hat as he clutched a black cane and danced to the Tuxedo’s “Saints Go Marching In,” upon his hour-and-a-half late arrival at the dock on Canal Street.  On board, Pau smiled the familiar grin, tried to drink his champagne and amiably answered inane questions as his American wife shouted in a British accent, “Throw me something mister!”

“Dressed in a rumpled blue coat, black pants and heavy brown shoes, Paul kept a distracted smile on his face through the whole thing.”

“The McCartneys and their band Wings, were in the studio until about 2 a.m. the night before, working on the album, and then jamming until 5 a.m. with Allen Toussaint and Atlanta recording star Mylon LeFevre.  Linda shows callouses on her hands from playing the organ from the band.”

“Scotching reports that the album had a strong New Orleans flavor to it, McCartney said it sounded more like his music – polished, energetic rock—except for a song called “My Carnival” written the morning of Ash Wednesday.

The reason they decided to spend six weeks in New Orleans was “because we thought it would be warm and because it’s a great musical city and it’s easier to record in a place that’s a little crazy.”  “I doubt that is’ possible the Beatles will ever sing again together.   Everyone’s happy with what he’s doing now.” Said Paul, who said he “occasionally” sees the others.  But he does plan on taking Wings on tour around the U.S.

Marshall Sehorn, the part-owner of Sea-Saint talks about disguising the McCartneys as clowns and their three daughters as fairies on Mardi Gras.   The other Wings were Napoleon (Jimmy), Gen. Beauregard and the wolfman (Denny).  “Can you imagine two limousines and an Oldsmobile convertible going through these crowds on LaSalle hunting for Indians?” Sehorn asks, adding that they found the Wild Tchoupitoulas and the Wild Magnolias (recording stars in their own right).  Then the group watched the parades from the third floor balcony which they rented from Kolb’s restaurant.

“It was lovely,” says McCartney.  They caught lots of “double cones,” he says, “as opposed to single oons,” A reporter writers this down.  “What’s the matter?” McCartney asks, “Is the humor a little too much for you?  Over your head?  Under your head?”

“We spend about 10 hours a day in the studio with no lunch breaks and stuff,” said Paul.  It’s my job.  It’s not as glamorous as it’s painted.  We’re not combing work with being tourists.  Watch your finger,” he advised a photographer whose camera was covered by another.  Paul also said he hadn’t been too bothered by crowds on the street in New Orleans.  “People don’t’ go crackers in a crowd.   Nice people have treated us nice,” he said.  Why doesn’t he have more press conferences?  “I don’t like them,” said Paul.  “It’s not the grooviest thing to do on a Tuesday morning, you know?”  No one told him it was Thursday. 

Denny Laine sat in the background and played a tape of the song Paul wrote with the New Orleans flavor, “My Carnival.”  There’s sort of a Fat Domino piano through McCartney’s characteristic polished, energetic music, lots of Mardi Gras noise and brass band sound and a chorus of “All you good people get ready to play…I want to hear you say, ‘Come on down. This is my carnival.’”

“I’ve always switched styles, “said Paul, “but I think I sounded country when I was in Nashville because we used Nashville players.  It’s not a whole new direction for me.  We are a little influenced by wherever we are, but we’re doing our own sound.”  The new yet untitled record which will be released in mid-April will consist of rock, ballads, rhythm, and “good old McCartney and Wings music,” added a helpful Linda McC.  Asked to explain what the music sounds like to him, Paul with his flip humor still showing, replies, “It’s just like my stuff, but it’s better.”

Buster Holmes drove up to the dock in a gold Chevrolet station wagon loaded with  $300 worth of his superb soul food for 100 people on a second cruise – red beans, sausage, ham hocks, potato bread, mustard greens.

After the press was unloaded, that second cruise must have been something The McCartneys would be free of the spotlight pressures, they could relax  and listen to two good New Orleans soul bands , the Meters and Chocolate Milk. 

But the real treat would be a small all-star show of New Orleans rock and roll of the early 1960’s – with the likes of Ernic K-doe (Mother-in-law), Lee Dorsey (Working in a Coal Mine), Earl King (Trick Bag) and Robert Parker (Barefootin’) aboard to sing, drink and mix with the newer celebrities.

The McCartneys stayed in New Orleans only one week after this, leaving a week earlier than had been expected.  During their last week they were dubbing vocals and brass over the nearly completed recordings.   They flew next to Los Angeles to mix the tapes out there and to complete the album.

I’m sure everyone has already heard something on Linda’s subsequent arrest on March 3, for suspicion of possessing marijuana.  Paul was driving their rented ’74 silver Lincoln Continental along Santa Monica Blvd. with Linda and the three kids all in the car, when he went through a red light shortly after midnight.  The officer smelled the marijuana as he was writing out a traffic citation and ordered them out of the car.  He found 16 grams in linda’s purse.  She was released on $500 bail and ordered to appear in municipal court on March 10. 

On March 9 one fan was driving down Sunset Blvd, and saw a sign on the side of one building that said, ‘Welcome to L.A. Paul and Linda McCartney and Family!”  I’m sure Paul and Linda saw the irony in that!

Paul has so far not scheduled any L.A. press conferences, so all that is coming out right now are unconfirmed rumors.

A night out at the theater

I just love these types of stories of fans talking to John Lennon unexpectedly.  What a memory to have!    The play with the amazingly long title of "For Colored Girls who Considered Suicide when the Rainbow is Enuf" opened on Broadway at the  Booth Theater on September 15, 1976.   It played until July of that year.    We know that John was in Boston on September 17, 1976  and the person writing the story did not say that they went on opening night.   So I would assume that John and Yoko were there sometimes during the last week of September 1976 (although it is feasible that they went on the 15th or 16th).  

They play they saw was written by Ntozake Shange and was nominated for a Tony award for best play.   It isn't a traditional play in that it is actually 20 poems that include dancing that have topics that relate to women's issues and race.   I had to read it as part of my theater minor  requirements in college and I liked some of it, but found part of it to be a bit "out there."    Although I have to say that  read the play and I have never seen it performed live with the dance, which might have made more sense.  In all actuality, this seems very much like a play that Yoko would enjoy.

Please note that the photos of John and Yoko were from when they went to the Coppa Cabana in October 1976 and not from this exactly date.    Edit:  Further reading of the same issue of The Write Thing (in the news section) says that the pair saw this play and went to the Coppa Cabana room afterwards.   So the photos I posted ARE from the exact date, which is still unknown.

Story by Nancy Englehardt

The Write Thing

October 1976

Let me begin by saying that I am a Beatle fan who has, up until now, been content to worship my heroes from afar.  I’ve always admired people who have had the courage to just ring doorbells, do a bit of idle chattering and whip out their Brownie Instamatics for a few pictures.  But for numerous reasons I have shied away from that sort of thing.  Primarily because I also have a deep respect for their privacy.  Sure at times they’re hams who would love nothing more than to see a crowd waiting just for them but there must also be times when they would just love to shove your autograph book down your throat and I for one wouldn’t want to be there.  But ultimately it has to do with the fact that I’ve always wanted to keep them on their respective pedestals, afraid of meeting them as mere mortals.  I thought that if I met one of them that somehow he wouldn’t seem so important anymore.  Luckily that hasn’t happened.   For I had an actual face to face encounter with none other than J.L. himself.   So with no further ado, here’s what took place on that day that I’ll have a hard time forgetting. 

My husband and I went to see a play, “For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide when the rainbow is Enuf.”  We had particularly lousy seats, all the way in the back which made me extremely angry since they were the most expensive seats in the house.  Well, my anger soon subsided when the lights dimmed and who else but John and Yoko Lennon sat themselves down right next to us.  Actually two seats did separate us but that’s close enough.  Needless to say (but I will anyway) all of my time was spent trying to look at John without him seeing me do so.  He has such a marvelous profile.  You know, one of the great, long, arrogant noses and he looked particularly sweet this day.

The entire time was also spent deciding whether to speak to him after the play.  I was whispering to my husband who suggested that I go into the lobby before the show ended and wait there.  Good idea!  You see, since they came in late to avoid a scene, he figured they would leave early for the same reason.  I pretended to be using the phone so if they did happen to come out, it wouldn’t look as if I was ready and waiting to descend upon them even though those exactly were my intentions.  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  They did come out early.  I started to rap up my imaginary phone call and hung up.  I was walking towards them, both smiling at me.  Was I going to blow probably my last chance to talk to one of them?  Io, I actually spoke.  Something coherent nonetheless.  “Were you two in the audience?”  I asked with a note of surprise in my voice.   Why I couldn’t admit to seeing him I’ll never know.  “I think we were sitting in the same row,” said John.  “You’re kidding,” said I (don’t I ever give up?)   Yoko remained silent but kept smiling while John asked, “So what’d ya think of the play?”  with the most adorable grin on his face.  What could I say?  You were distracting me and I wasn’t paying attention.  “Well, I’m not Clive Barnes (N.Y. Times Theatre critic) but I liked it.”  If I only could have known in advance that I was going to get John Lennon a theatre review I could have come up wit something better than that.  But I’m lucky that even came out straight.  John, said, “Well, we all can’t be Clive Barnes, now can we?”  I gave him a confused look since I was confused.  Yoko laughed and then he said, “Well, we gotta go now. “  “Nice meeting you” popped out (understatement of the year).  I was feeling so up that I had to go into the ladies room to let go with a yell.  Unfortunately someone was in there and thought I was an escaped loony.  But as long as John Lennon didn’t think so, I didn’t care.