Teens Interview Mary Hopkin

Here is a nice fan story about meeting Apple artist, Mary Hopkin.  It was from the November 1969 issue of Datebook magazine as part of their "Teens Interview" column.   

Photos were taken by Marianne Nicoletti

Teen Interview with Mary Hopkin
by Ingrid Annoust Lancelot (Brox, NY)

Mary Hopkin exits from backstage of the Ed Sullivan Theatre in all ebullience.  Her eyes are liquid sapphires; her teeth are of sparkling ivory; her lips, red, soft and shiny bedazzle her perpetual smile.  Her hair, longish and poetic, gloriously contours her pearly face with the radiance of flaxen gold.  She is petite, almost delicate and hauntingly reminiscent of a porcelain figurine.

Like bees around the fairest orange blossom, the crowd swarms around the legend form Pontardawe for a glance, a touch, and perhaps an autograph.  She is graciously obliging, blushing now and then at compliments.  This fact has not been overrated.  Blushing just happens naturally with Mary Hopkin.  Cameras flash here and there as Mary gracefully evades the embrace of an old man.   she is courteous to all, taking great pain to sign each and every piece of paper.  She is not enerved or impatient.  One gets the impression that she understands how much this means to a far:  she's been through it herself.  All around her are delightfully amazed, "How beautiful she is!" exclaims a middle-aged woman.  "She's cool!" acquiesces a long hair fellow.  Someone tells her how great she was on the show.  "Oh, really?  Thank you!" replies Mary as she signs another autograph.  She is doing well considering the fact that her arms are laden with her guitar and valise.

Meanwhile, her manager, Stanley Sharrington, tries to call her attention to the fact that almost half an hour as gone by and she has a busy schedule to keep.  So Mary Hopkin attempts to slip by unnoticed; but then, a group of hippies spot her and have something terribly important to tell her.  She is delayed once more.  Finally, her manager invites them to the hotel.  There is no big limousine waiting, no security.  Mary Hopkin carries her instrument herself and walks up Broadway and Seventh Avenue in the most natural manner.  There is no sophistication about her.  She is not a put on.  Mary Hopkin is for real.

A few days pass by and Mary Hopkin begins her engagement at the Royal Box of the Americans.  She finds the atmosphere of the club a bit frightening.  "They're right on top of you... I'd rather just be sitting in the audience and have someone say, 'Oh, come on, Mary, sing something!'"

Mary Hopkin insists that she still is the same ordinary girl she was before it all happened.  It all began when a mysterious telegram arrived from London asking Mary Hopkin to call a Peter  Brown, collect.  He turned out to have been Paul McCartney, after all, asking her to come to London to record.  The rest, of course, is history.  The fact that she is everybody's darling is somewhat of a surprise to her.  "I don't deserve it...I'm just an ordinary girl who likes singing."

The only thing ordinary about Mary Hopkin is perhaps her childhood.  At fourteen, she received her first guitar from her grandmother, took an interest in folk music and made a fifty-mile journey every Saturday to take singing lessons in Swansea.  She later became the vocalist of a trio of neighborhood boys.  ("I wanted to save enough money for a trip to Scandinavia.") When the trio broke up, they urged her to go on her own, and she did continuing to play in the Working Men's clubs in Cardiff, a Welsh town, risking expulsion from high school.   She left in her last year, anyway, because with an Apple contract in hand, the dull facts and figures of music and English classes we no longer relevant to her future.  "I never go the beauty of them," she explains.

So time runs short and the rest of the interview cannot possibly be scheduled.  The Hopkin family arrives to New York on Friday, June 13, and of course, Mary's time is taken up showing them the town.  In the faint hope of continuing the interview in spite of all, you present yourself on the floor of the Hopkin suite at 11:30 pm on Tuesday evening.  They are all out.  Just when you are about to give up hope, the elevator door opens to reveal Stanley Sharrington and Carol Hopkin, apparently coming from a festivity of some sort.  He recognizes you and greets you, apologizing you and greets you, apologizing for any inconvience you might have had.


Carol Hopkin looks on with an air of bewilderment.  After introductions, she excuses herself, "I have some packing to do..."  you ask her if she would like to pose for a picture.  She politely refuses.  "I'd rather not.  Mary's the one with all the talent.  I don't even sing!"

One cannot notice the quite composure about her, too.  She exits.  Mr. Sharrington explains that Mary went to a show, but that she should be up any minute -- and then excuses himself too; he has some packing to do.  Finally, Miss Hopkin appears.  She smiles.  you know that she is tired and to force an interview on her now would be a crime.  She appreciates the fact that you don't and invites you to interview her on the way to the airport.  To disturb her so early the next morning is out of the question.  So she promises the interview in September when she returns to New York after having toured South America and Japan.  you thank her and say goodnight.  you wish her the best.  But then, what else could you wish Mary Hopkin?

I met the Walrus

Many of you have heard about the short film and book written by Jerry Levitan called "I met the Walrus" about how he met John and Yoko in 1969 and interviewed John. That interview turned into a short film that is pretty well known because its interesting animation. I found the full story about his meeting with John and I wanted to post it. The top photo I had posted before but I didn't realize who was in the photo, plus this one is larger and clearer. The bottom photo is Jerry today sitting by his John Lennon wall. I believe if you look closely, you will see other photos of John taken on that day. He also has some video footage that was shot. Wow!

So, it’s a Sunday night, I’m 14 and I’m taking a shower and listening to CHUM fm, which was sort of the only game in town. It was the type of station where for a half an hour a DJ would play the side of an album and have a very chill voice. After one of the songs, the DJ said, "Somebody just claimed he spotted John Lennon at the airport, we'll check it out and get back to you in a bit."

That was all I needed to hear, I was on a mission.

I got out of the shower and started calling all the hotels in Toronto. I called the Royal York hotel and said "Hello, is John Lennon there?" They checked and said, "No, he’s not." The thing is, when I called them, the people weren’t presuming it was John Lennon of the Beatles. So, when I called the King Edward hotel and they hung up on me in response, I knew that was it.
The next morning I didn’t go to school. I dressed in a way I thought a reporter would look (but clearly I was not a reporter.) I grabbed my brother's Super 8 video camera, but didn’t know how to operate it and didn’t know if there was film in it. I also took my sister's camera - I had all these things hanging from my neck.

I took my copy of the infamous Two Virgins album, as well. I was probably the first in Canada to get it because I used to hang out at Sam the Record Man and call Capitol Records to ask when the Beatles record was being delivered. I would know when the truck would be showing up in the alley behind the store and they knew me. With the delivery of the Two Virgins, they opened the box, I took my copy of the album and then the police came in and confiscated all the records because it was deemed obscene. But I had it.

I went to the King Edward at 7 o’clock in the morning and started knocking on every door on the top floor. I woke up a lot of people and, at one point, the cleaning lady said, “Are you looking for the Beatle?' If memory serves me well, she was Irish or Scottish, she had a heavy accent.

I went down to floors, turned a corner and there was a little Asian girl on her stomach colouring – I recognised her as Yoko Ono's daughter from her first marriage; so, I knew I had found them. I went up and talked to her for a bit, but she didn’t really give me the time of day. So, I just stood there trying to figure out what to do.

A cameraman and a reporter came by, they knocked on the door, it opened up a little bit, they said, "CBC," it opened up more, they went in and the door closed. I stood there for 10-15 minutes, my heart starting to beat fast – it was like Al Pacino in ‘The Godfather’ when he's about to kill the cop. I knocked on the door, it opened up, I said, "Canadian News," it opened up more and I shuffled in, looking down. I sat on the floor near a tripod, looked up and there in front of me were John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

The two of them were in the middle of an interview, but John looked at me and chuckled a bit and kept talking. I thought I better get my cameras out and start looking like a reporter. In my video, you could see me zooming in on his feet - he was barefoot - and everywhere around the room.

After the interview, I went up and asked him if he could sign my album. He said: “How did you get that? I thought the Mounties came in on horses and took them all." At that moment, Derek Taylor, who was at the time the Beatles' PR guy, came in. He said: "John, we have to go to Customs to clear some stuff."

They started clearing the room, but I took a long time to get out, taking the long way out of the suite. I walked by [Lennon’s] bedroom and he was by himself trying to push this big English sea chest onto his bed. He says, "Hey, lad, come here, give me a hand." So, I’m pushing the case and we're like nose to nose, and he’s not very strong and I’m not very strong. At that point, I thought, "I’ve got to do more." I said, "John, can I come back later and bring a tape recorder and do an interview on peace so I can let kids listen to it?"

He says, "Yeah, great! Yoko, Derek, this kid has a good idea, he's going to do an interview and take it to his school. That’s why we're doing this! It's great, great, great! Set it up!"

Derek told me to come back at 6pm. I floated out of the hotel room and onto King Street.
The first place I went was my mother's work. She worked at a kosher chicken store at Eglinton and Bathurst. She freaked out because she thought something was wrong. "Why aren’t you at school," she said. I told her. But it was still a rumour that [Lennon] was in town and it was in the days before instant communication – I didn’t have a Polaroid camera, I didn’t have a tape recorder with me – there was no way to prove what I was saying.

I was in junior high and when I got to school it was recess. This was in the Bathurst/Shephard area – the suburbs. Everyone was outside and I was ranting and raving - there was a crowd all around me and all the girls believed me, and all the guys didn't. Then the vice principal came out who, in retrospect, handled it really well. He assessed the situation and took me aside and put his arm around me and said: "Jerry, take the day off. Go home."

I went home and crashed.

I woke up around three o'clock in a panicky sweat because I realised I didn't have a tape recorder. I called up CHUM and, by now, the word was out. I called the news desk and said: "Hi, I’ve got an exclusive with John Lennon at six. If you bring the tape recorder I'll let you use it for the news." The guy said, "Yeah, right." So, I said, "Call up Derek Taylor at the King Edward hotel and he'll confirm it, here's my number."

Five minutes later, the guy calls me back and he's my best friend.

I took the bus from Bathurst and Shephard. In those days, newspapers came out three times a day: the morning paper, the afternoon paper and the evening paper. At every bus stop, you could see [Lennon in Toronto] was front page news. The closer I got to downtown, the more I thought: "Holy s*, this is really happening. Are they going to let me in again or was it just a ruse to get rid of me?"

It was pandemonium in front of the King Edward – cops on horses, kids roped off, vendors. I go into the bar and there’s a guy drinking with a big reel to reel tape recorder next to him. I said: "Are you from CHUM?"

We take the elevator together, the doors open, I bounce out, and a big cop pushes me pretty aggressively sending me crashing into the back [of the lift]. The CHUM guy took his card out and said, "No, he’s with me. We're press, we've got an interview.” We go into the hall and, roped off with cops, there were about 300 kids there – a couple of them kids I knew from school.
Down the corridor leading to [Lennon’s] suite, there were chairs in single file with reporters from everywhere [seated in them]. A reporter grabs me and says: "Where are you going?"
"I have an appointment at six," I say.

He says: "Yeah, like the rest of us."

At that moment the door opened up and Derek Taylor said: "Where is the lad?"

He took me in, sat me down on the couch and said: "John and Yoko are just getting dressed, they'll be out shortly." It's at that moment that I realised I hadn't prepared one question.

As I'm panicking, John sits in front of me with Yoko. I still had my camera and he said: "You want a photo with me?" The CHUM guy took the photo and then [Lennon] said, "Ask away." So I started asking.

I asked what young people of Toronto should do for peace. He said: "Well, you can go to school for peace, or not go to school for peace. You can piss for peace – whatever you do, do it for peace." That started the dialogue and it went on for about 40 minutes.

I talked about how much I loved Beatles music, how much it meant to me in my life. I asked about the other Beatles. I told him how kids were saying bad things about the Beatles and how it upset me. I told him about the butcher. (My parents knew I had [the Two Virgins] album but they were freaked because I walked around with it all the time. My mother's boss, the butcher, Mr. Rosen, saw it and said: "Put that away, it's pornography." Then I said, "What do you call that?" He had a girly calendar up on the wall. He said: "That's art.")

Derek Taylor popped in at that moment and said: "What’s this about?" John was laughing and said: "Some butcher called the Two Virgins pornography."

I talked about Trudeau, I was a huge fan at the time. I always felt that I had a role in John Lennon wanting to, and ultimately meeting, Trudeau. You hear him on the tape saying: "We've heard about him swinging in London with a leather coat, and if kids like you think he's cool, well, maybe we should see him."

He didn't stop the interview, I stopped it. I realised at one point that I couldn't talk to him forever. That’s how kind he was and sensitive to the fact that I clearly was a kid who loved him and needed to talk to him. He accommodated me completely and generously and sweetly. And they didn’t throw me out after that.

After the interview, Derek Taylor came back in. There was an Apple Records recording artist named Mary Hopkin who had a smash hit at the time called “Those Were the Days.” She was a Paul McCartney protégé (from what we know now, at that time Paul and John were at each other’s throats.) She was opening up for Engelbert Humperdink, who was also really big. Derek Taylor says: “John, Mary Hopkin just flew in, she’s opening for Engelbert Humperdink and sends her love.”

“Send it back,” says John.

Derek: "She wants you to come to the show tonight."

John: “I don’t want to go to that f*ing thing. Hey, you want to go in me stead?”

Me: “Sure, I’ll go.”

John: “Have the kid go in me stead, give him the VIP treatment.”

I walked from the King Edward to the O’Keefe Centre and sat front row and centre. Afterwards there was a party and everyone was around Engelbert Humperdink. Mary Hopkin was around 17 at the time, she was sitting by herself at a table so we talked. She said, “What are you doing tomorrow? They’re giving me a tour of Toronto in a limo, would you come with? You probably know more about Toronto anyway.” So I said: “Sure.”

I came home and I told everybody, my mouth did not close. I told my brother that [Hopkin was] picking me up in front of what was then the Electric Circus, which was just east of Church St. on Queen. My brother and my cousin went down with me and totally didn’t believe me.

When we were about to leave, a limo pulled up and Mary pops out and, with a Welsh accent, says: “Hi, Jerry, come in.” I’ll never forget the look on my brother’s and cousin’s faces.

We went to the Electric Circus, I danced with her, and my recollection is that we kissed at one point. And that was it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmR0V6s3NKk

Top 10 Blog posts of the past 5 years.

In celebrating the 5 anniversary of this blog, I thought it would be fun to look at my blogger stats and see what the top 10 blog posts of the past 5 years have been.   I honestly am  not sure how totally accurate the statistics on blogger truly are, but I figure that they are pretty close.   So here we go!


10.
The Run Away
Posted February 18, 2014
443 hits
http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2014/02/the-run-away.html

This is a recent post (less than a month old) and it is about the 13 year old girl who ran away from America to see the Beatles in concert.   It is a scary tale with a happy ending that most teenagers only dreamed about.  It isn't surprising to me that this one has gained in hits since I posted it.


9.  "No You're Not" said Little Nicola
Posted December 1, 2010
470 hits

http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2010/12/no-youre-not-said-little-nicola.html

This story came from the fanzine "Strawberry Fields Forever."   Little Nicola steals the scene with George and John on the Magical Mystery Tour bus with her cuteness.    I am glad that many of you wanted to know what happened to her.


8.  Wishing you All a Happy New Year!
Posted December 30, 2011
566 hits

http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2011/12/wishing-you-all-happy-new-year.html

I have no clue why this is on this list.   I typically wish all of you blog readers a happy new year, so I have no idea what was so special about the 2011 greeting.     The Beatles photo I posted with it is nice, but nothing super rare.   Who knows?


7.  The Beatles in Spain 1965
Posted June 5, 2012
642 hits
http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2012/06/beatles-in-spain-1965.html

This was just a typical photos only post of the guys during the 1965 tour to Spain.   It is nice, but not sure why it is the top 10.

6.  John Goes to John's (repost)
Posted January 4, 2012
747 hits
http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2012/01/john-goes-to-johns-repost.html

This has been one of my favorite John stories.  As a matter of fact, I liked it so much that when I got better photographs that went with the story, I did something I almost never do and that is repost a story (instead of just linking to it).  I know that it  has been directly linked to a music page of the guy who plays the piano in the photo.    Wonderful photos and amazing story.

5.  Paul McCartney where?
Posted January 13, 2011
815 hits

http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2011/01/paul-mccartney-where.html

This is a story about Paul McCartney's trip to L.A. in 1968 (also known as the Dirty Weekend) from Teen Set magazine.   There was a time when this post was making the rounds on facebook and other social media.  Great photos in this post and Paul's L.A. trip isn't something we get to hear much about, so it is interesting.

4.  The Beatles are our Bosses!
Posted:  January 30, 2014
831 hits

http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2014/01/the-beatles-are-our-bosses.html

I am very happy to see this is listed as number 4 because I put a lot of work into this one plus I thought it was extremely interesting to see the Apple girls and what they thought about the Beatles as their bosses.   This post is currently making the rounds on social media, so I wouldn't be shocked to see it move up on this list a bit more.

3.  The Beatles Slept Here
Posted:  May 23, 2010
1682 hits
http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2010/05/beatles-slept-here.html

This is a great story I found in the St. Louis Beatles Fan club newsletter about when the Beatles stayed at Reed Pigman's Ranch in Missouri in September 1964.   Great story with great photos from Curt Gunther's collection. 

2.  Paul with Mary Hopkins September 1968
Posted August 16, 2009
1714 hits

http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2009/08/paul-with-mary-hopkins-sept-1968.html

This is the oldest post on the list and honestly I think the only reason it is at #2 is because I mistakenly called Mary Hopkin "Mary Hopkins"  (with an s at the end of her last name).   I think this post pops up on google when other people mistakenly put an s on the end of her name.  Mary looks beautiful in these photographs and Paul looks great too.

1.  Paul Goresh
Posted:  May 23, 2010
4707 hits

http://www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com/2010/05/paul-goresh.html

So this is the #1 post of this blog and it has been for many years.   I think people come to this post because of a morbid curiosity about the man who took the photo of John with his killer.   It makes me happy that you will not find that photo on this blog and this post isn't about that, but about Paul's fan-friendship with John. 

Mary Mary

I hope no one minds if I post a few more photos of the lovely Mary Hopkin.

Those were the days my friend

By now I am sure that all of the visitors of this blog are familiar with the fact that our friend, Lizzie and her pal, Gayleen sang the background vocals on the song "Across the Universe." They were in the recording studio with the guys and made the record. And while that has to be the top coolest thing any fan has done, I think these young girls come in at a close second place.

In July 1968, Paul McCartney produced Mary Hopkin's single "those were the days" at Trident studios in London. A girl's choir was needed to sing on the song, and so some girls from a nearby school were chosen to sing the background vocals. Can you even imagine how exciting it must have been for those girls to not just be in a recording studio, but to have Paul McCartney there! I love the publicity photo that was taken with the girls along with Mary and Paul. You see that Paul has taken one of the girl's hat and she is just looking at him in amazement. Several others girls seem to care less that they are being photographed and are just gazing at Paul McCartney.

Mary Apple

I just think this an adorable photo of Mary Hopkin in front of a large Apple decoration to show the world what label she is on.    I would guess that if that big Apple was still around today, it would fetch a lot of money at an auction.

Sweet Apple Trax

These photos of Mary Hopkin during the Apple era are interesting.   The "Paul" (that IS supposed to be Paul, right?) poster hanging over her head in the 2nd photo is strange. Is that supposed to be a Ringo poster on the top?   I like the bottom one has her walking through an apple shaped doorway.   They really tried to market Mary as the sweetheart of the Apple label.   

Looking Back

I am digging through these "Beatles Rule" fan club newsletter and finding some great stories.   The print on these newsletters is often smeared and hard to read, so I feel like by putting them on MTBFR, I am breathing new life into these stories.

This story was written by Mary Ann L. and is from the November/December 1969 issue.  

Not sure if these photos go directly with the story, but they are from the same time-period

On the night of March 27th (1969) we got to meet Paul as he was returning from his in-laws.  There were only a few of us there as he and Linda came back to her apartment.    Paul was wearing his long midi coat and Linda, her perpetual trench coat.  Paul was a bit tipsy and red-eyed.  My girlfriend, Carol, handed Paul some pictures of Mary Hopkin.  He looked at them and handed them back to her, but Carol wanted him to keep them.  Paul said, "what do you want from me...a sacrilege?"  Carol said "yes" and Paul started laughing and going "o.k., o.k., I'll give you a sacrilege."  With that, he stuck the pixs in his pocket.  Linda started complaining about the flashes, although there weren't that many, but Linda got annoyed.  She started saying, "No more, no more,"  and told Paul to make us stop.   Paul took her arm and placed it around his stomach and Linda had her head buried in his shoulder.   We started patting her and telling her not to worry -- everything was o.k.   Standing there and seeing a thing like that really made your heart break.  while Paul was talking with someone Carold said to Linda (low so that Paul wouldn't hear), "Thank you so much for making him happy."  But Paul heard it and turned and let out a bit, "ahh!"  After they got into the elevator, Paul turned and waved to us all.


On March 28 (Friday) there were only a few of us there again.  Linda came out about 10 o'clock by herself.  She had on her trench coat, a lavender blouse, a blue sweater, a red skirt and camel knee-socks.  while we were talking to her, we asked her what it was like being married to Paul.   She said that now that's she's married she has to do the dirty-work like going to the store and calling the dentist (Laster she went across the street to a phone booth, where she probably called him).  She showed us her ring.  It's a plain gold band -- and a couple sizes too big.  Carol said she better watch it, or she will lose it.  Linda said if she lost it she could get another one.   She was looking at some of our pictures of Paul, and when she came to the ones of Paul and John in New York in May 1968, she remarked that she was there then and she did the same when she saw the ones of Paul in L.A. in June of 1968.  She told us the fans in London were absolutely impossible.  Carol and I asked her about a crystal vase we had brought as a wedding gift for them and had left with Linda's mother.  She said they had gotten it and it was upstairs and they liked it and thanks.   Then she left. 



Awhile afterward the doorman came out to tell us that Paul and Heather were upstairs watching T.V.  Paul had Heather on his lap and had his shoes off and feet up.   Awhile later as we looked up we saw Paul and Heather hanging out the window.  About half hour after Linda came back all three of them came out.  Paul looked beautiful wearing a dark suit and a brownish shirt.   We have him a bottle of wine, an Easter basket for Heather.  Paul went back to ask the doorman to watch them.  Linda was holding a turtle tank with two of Heather's turtles in it.  Heather told us (in her new London accent) that she had to give them away because she was moving to London.  Paul stood beside her the whole time.  Alfie (who loves George) kept asking Paul how he was (after being busted), and Paul kept saying he would be all right, but he didn't know anything else because he hadn't been in London for a while.  then he said that all he did know was about Eisenhower dying (He had died a little while before).  With that, they went up the block to get a cab.  Paul held Heather's hand and skipped to the corner with her.

March 31st (Monday) Paul, Linda and Heather came out about nine to leave for the airport.  Linda seemed to be in a good mood.  She was probably glad to be leaving.  We had our own marathon race chasing their limo to the airport but lost it after a while.  We went straight to BOAC when we got there -- but no Paul.  After looking around for a while I went to the TWA building by myself.  The first thing I saw when I walked in the door was that man in his long coat.  I died.   I was petrified by myself and wanted to turn back and get the others, but I'd probably miss him by that time.  No one in the building realized who it was and no one bothered him.  Paul was in a great mood, whistling and humming all the time.  A small TWA bus came up to them to drive them to the plane.  As they were getting in it I asked Paul if he would mind if I took a pic.  SHe said, "Sure!  Take a picture of us on the TWA bus."  So I did and I thanked him, then I got up all my courage and asked Paul if I could kiss him goodbye.   he said, "Yes, please."  Die.   I really started to shake and Paul told me to stop shaking!  Paul, Linda, and Heather all waved as they left.

50 years since the wildest Christmas Party ever

I am sure that many of you went to various Christmas Parties this weekend.  And while some of them might have been a little crazy, I sure hope none of you experienced the craziness of the Christmas Party held at 3 Savile Row 50 years ago today. 

Apple decided to have a Christmas Party on December 23, 1968.   The party was to have two parts.  At 2:30pm there was to be a children's party.   I am not sure what children exactly were invited, but I do know that Zak and Jason Starkey were there as well as Apple employee's kids and relatives.     Somehow John Lennon was talked into playing the part of Father Christmas and Yoko joined in as Mother Christmas.    The children's party went alright, I suppose.    The kids were bouncing off the walls, as would be expected for young kids, especially given the fact that they were fed cookies and candy.    They were entertained by some typical child party entertainers (I recall a ventriloquist).   Then John and Yoko (along with Mary Hopkin) came out and delivered the wrapped gifts to the kids.  John was heard saying a very deadpan, "Ho Ho Ho" and Yoko was heard saying a bizarre "He He He."  Mary was there to help hand out the gifts.

Don't you think John could have worn better shoes when he was Father Christmas?

By 6:00 the adult party was to get started (although some of the kids were still there).   There was a cast of pretty wild characters at the party.   We had the homeless family that was there as well as the Hell's Angles that came by George Harrison's invite.    George wasn't at the party and neither was Paul.    For the second part of the party, John and Yoko changed back to their regular clothing.  Derek Taylor got a turkey that was over 40 pounds and was supposedly the biggest Christmas turkey in England that year.    The turkey was taking a long, long time to cook and the Hell's Angels guys were really hungry and impatient and started a fight.  Someone got punched and John almost got hit as well and then Peter Brown stepped in and tried to get the situation calmed down.    Eventually, the turkey was ready and the main Angel guy, Pete grabbed the turkey leg and ripped it off the bird and gnawed on it while the rest of the crew tore the bird to pieces. 


Crazy but true times at Apple!

Random stories

More stories from the November/December 1969 issue of "Beatles Rule" fan club newsletter.   These are short, so I am going to put them all in one post. 


I met Paul!
By Rita

Photo from March 1969

I met Paul 10 times!!  I can hardly believe it myself.  He was here in March with Linda and Heather.  We found out and went down to Linda's apartment on March 18 (1969).  After waiting for eight hours we MET him!!  I was able to kiss him.  After that, we went home.  The next morning he left for the Bahamas for a brief honeymoon.  They returned the following week.  And once again we went down to the apartment on Lexington Avenue.  But this time, we decided we weren't leaving -- not until he did!  So we stayed for three days!  It was well worth it.  I got his autograph on my favorite picture of him.  You'll never guess which one.  The Fool on the Hill picture I got from Beatles Rule!  I have it framed.  It's so beautiful.   On Sunday, March 30, he came home at midnight -- drunk!   Linda had to hold him up!  It was a riot!  He was singing "Hey Jude" all off-key and staggering all over.  all the time he was friendly to us.  And when he left on Monday the 31st, it was so sad.  He said he loves us all.  We cried so much. 



More Memories
By Jamie

Seven weeks in England makes one realize a number of things:  It's too easy to get in the habit of seeing The Beatles every day and too hard to face reality when the dream ends.

I can't linger on the thought for long because it blows my mind.  Remember all the hours of waiting, waiting...just to spend the minute or two in his presence.  Paul.  But each few minutes strengthens the realisation that all the waiting is worth the freezing hands, numb feet, silent tears, cop dodging, and other miserable circumstance.  worth so much more dear friends.

I can't give all the details of my trip, but I will try to choose a couple of incidents that will be of interest to you.

One day precious Paul, wife Linda and dog Martha came out for a walk.  Paul was in a good mood, smiled and said hello.  then a girl named Pat and I followed them (we were on the opposite side of the street) for about three blocks.  At a busy intersection Martha was determined that she was gonna run out into the traffic, so Paul put his legs on either side of her, held onto the collar, and nearly sat on her!  It was ever so sweet.

Another day Paul and Linda got home after being out in their green mini.  Someone had thrown a girl's purse into Paul's yard and she told him about it as he got out to open the gate.  After getting the facts straight (who threw it?  "Where did he throw it?") He went in and we could hear him kicking around in the leaves.  "No--can't find anything here..." he finally shouted from the other side of the wall.

I saw all four, by the way.  Also Yoko, Maureen, Zak, Jason, Pattie, Heather, Mr & Mrs. Graves (Ringo's mom and stepdad), Neil and Mal, Freda Kelly, Krishna Temple, Mary Hopkin, Jackie Lomax, and many others.

Well--with that I'll leave you.  sorry that I'm so Paul biased.  Take that back--I'm not sorry at all!  He's a beautiful man.

Postcards Party

Donovan (with Mal Evans behind him) performs at the release party for Mary Hopkin's album, Postcards

Mary Hopkin's release party

 February 13, 1969

Postcards of Love

Paul and Linda's first Valentine's Day in London was spent at the Postcards release party for Mary Hopkin.

More about Ringo pic

Remember that great photo of Cathy Sarver with Ringo that I posted a few days ago? (If not just scoll down...it is still there so no need to post it again)

Fellow Beatle photo collector and fan, Bruno, sent me the photo of Ringo and the guys and he believes the picture was taken on the same day as this session with Mary Hopkin. I think it is a very strong possiblity. Ringo is wearing the same 1966 tour jacket with a red shirt underneath and has sort of messy hair.

I also have this bottom left photo of Ringo that I believe it could have been from the same day. Only it looks like Ringo is wearing a red button downed shirt and not the ruffled one. . Anyone out there have this photo of Ringo larger to share???

Thanks!! Sara s.

Those were the days my friend

Paul and Mary Hopkin at the party for the Buddy Holly story on September 6, 1978.  

Apple Christmas Party 1968

Since it is Christmas Eve, I thought I would post the story of the Apple Christmas Party as published in Beatle fan turned employee, Richard DiLello's book 'The Longest Cocktail Party'. The photos came from that book as well.

Not only was there going to be a conjurer, a Yuletide tree, acres of food and oceans of drink, but John and Yoko agreed to dress up as Father and Mother Christmas and hand out presents to all the children. The crowing glory of the elaborate, stand-up buffet dinner was a 43 pound turkey billed by the supplying butchers as the Largest Turkey in Great Britain.

December 23. Preparations had begun at nine that morning. The children's party was scheduled for 2:30 in Peter Brown's office. At six o'clock the adults' version of the children's party would being in Neil's office. By 11 o'clock the Press Office was filled to overload the Christmas-season glut of good time Charlies on their record company to record company marathon sprint for alcohol, inside talk and free LP's. Of all the record companies in London, Apple was number one on the list for abandoned cordiality and excessive generosity.

By 11:30 the Black Room was swollen to standing room only proportions with hashish smokers puffing their brains out while the front office catered to the scotch and Coke brigade. By noon all pretense had been dropped and the hash heads were indistinguishable from the juicers. The telephones that refused to quit were barely audible above the record player turned to three-quarter volume.

By three o'clock Peter Brown's office was a scene of unparalleled frenzy as more than a hundred children screamed and smashed their way through a mountain of ice cream, cake and sausage rolls, impatiently clamoring to be entertained by the ventriloquist and conjuror they had been promised.

At last Ernest Castro and April, entertainers to the Queen and Duke of Cornwall and the late Sir Winston Churchill, made their entrance. The roar of recognition form a hundred pint-sized Frankensteins just have been honeyed music to their ears. In the greatest tradition of English garden party entertainers, they lanced into their live wire routine of silvered voice projections, sleight of hand wonders and barnyard beast imitations. The eardrum-shattering squeals of delights from the youngsters did not decrease one decibel the entire length of their performance. They closed the show with a sizzling rendition of Lettuce Leaf Hop.

John and Yoko in full Christmas drag were waiting for them in the Press Office when the show let out. Mary Hopkin had joined them to lend an additional two paws to the distribution of gifts. Unrattled by the greedy stampede for toys, John Lennon stood calmly in the middle of the room, deadpan, muttering through the false beard on top of his own beard, "Ho, ho, ho."

From the reception lounge to the Press Office the party goers lined the walls and the landings, filling the building with roof-lifting talk, blue smoke and the rumble of several hundred churning, empty stomachs. The Largest Turkey in Great Britain was locked safely behind the kitchen door away from an increasingly restless crowd. The kitchen counter and sideboard were barely holding up under the weight of a thousand assorted hor oeuvres, platters of cold meat and jellied fish, salads, cakes, bowls of fruit and boiled sweets, biscuits and cheese lined the floor.

John and Yoko, freed from the burden of their costumes, sat on the Press Office floor surrounded by Emily's family (the family of homeless hippies that had taken residency at Apple). The Press Officer hovered nearby, glass in hand, cigarette in mouth, hoping that his employer would not be Beatled unmercifully on this day of all days. The noise level in the room was more suitable for lip reading than conversational audibility.

It took only three seconds for this atmosphere of intense gaiety to turn radically and almost irrevocably sour. Frisco Pete (one of the Hell's Angels George had "invited"), elbows pumping him energetically through the crowd, covered the length of the room in for enormous strides. HE poised menacingly over the slight figures of John and Yoko.

"What the f$%* is goin' on in this place?!?!" he screamed at them. The room dropped into a clammy, itchy silence. No one moved.

"WE wanna eat! What's all this sh$# about havin' to wait until seven?!?"

Mavis' husband, Alan, gallantly interrupted Frisco Pete with a request for a little consideration for the situation. His efforts were rewarded with a single closed-fish punch, carefully measured by a man who knew full well the power of his own strength. The room darkened. Frisco Pete returned his attention to John Lennon.

"You got more f$--in' food in that kitchen than there are people and it's all locked up and those two f$%!in broads upstairs tell me I've gotta wait until 7:00 just like everybody else! There's a forty-three pound turkey in that kitchen and I want some of it now!!!"

John Lennon, at this moment in his life a squeamish vegetarian, looked up at the frightening figure of Frisco Pete in total bewilderment. He knew nothing of the release schedule on the Largest Turkey in Great Britain. The Press Officer turned to the House Hippie and told him to fetch Peter Brown without any further delay. With relief he found him outside in the hall talking to Ron Kass. "Peter, you'd better come inside right away" and the House Hippie pulled him by the arm, fearing the loss of precious seconds.

"I don't know where those f#%!in' heads of yours are but where I come from when we got food we feed people, not starve them!" Peter Brown glimpsed in two blinks what was happening. The House Hippie gulped and closed his eyes as Peter walked calmly up to the San Francisco chapter of the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. Tapping him lightly on the shoulder, Peter Brown moved between John Lennon and Frisco Pete just as a fresh flow of verbal punches was about to begin. An audible intake of breaths circled the room.

"Now listen, Pete, we have every intention of feeding you and I apologize for the delay but I was hoping you could appreciate that the kitchen staff have been working since 9:00 and they've been under considerable pressure. We're waiting for the caterers to finish laying the tables and it shouldn't take more than another ten minutes and then we can all go downstairs and gorge ourselves to death but please, I beg you, be patient."

That did it! An up-front answer to an up-front question. Frisco Pete shook his head once, turned and left the room. In the course of 60 seconds Peter Brown had become the hero of the Battle for the Largest Turkey in Great Britain.

When the door to Neil's office was thrown open ten minutes later everyone could see it was going to be a sumptuous feast. The massive catering tables buckling to support food and drink ran the length of three walls Frisco Pete was the firs tot reach the main table where the Largest Turkey in Great Britain sat. Before the waiter had a chance to work up his best carving voice to say, "And would you like white or dark meat, sir?" Pete grabbed a firm hold on the poor dead bird's body and without any further ceremony ripped the turkey's left leg from its torso. IT easily weighed four pounds and more closely resembled a caveman's hunting club than a turkey leg. The hordes were right behind him in full force. By midnight there was nothing left but the washing up. It was a very fine party, just as the Press Officer said it would be.

In the Studio

With all the current hype about the Abbey Road album going on right now,  I thought it would be fun to see how it was reported in Beatle Book Monthly / Datebook at the time. 

In the Studio
By Frederick James

Beatle people could not be blamed for being more than a bit confused about the current year's recording policy of Messrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr.  Over Easter the four made a sudden holiday-weekend decision to rush out "Get Back" as a single.  Very soon afterward, while that worldwide chart-topper was still being collected by fans everywhere, out came "The Ballad of John and Yoko" to be followed not too much later by the Plastic Ono Band's "Give Peace a Chance" which was issued just a couple of months ago.

But still no 1969 LP release, still no fresh album program to follow up on last autumn's pair of LP discs which carried tracks that are now between 10 and 18 months old.  True there have been Beatle-associated LP records -- Paul's production of Postcard for Mary Hopkin, George's much anticipated Billy Preston LP bundle and the rather less commercial works of John, Yoko and George on their pair of Zapple LP discs.  We thought they'd be a full scale "Get Back" LP by the Beatles -- but it's been postponed.  We thought there'd be a special rock n' roll LP - but there's no scheduled issue date for the wealth of rock material like Shake, Rattle and Roll, Blue Suede Shoes and the re-vamped Love Me Do which the lads started putting on tape as long ago as January 26, 1969.

Now at last Apple HQ have told us that the boys' first 1969 album, "Abbey Road" will be released in September.  John, Paul, George, and Ringo have been recording material for the new LP since the beginning of July when "Get BAck" release plans were shelved.

On the other hand latest rumours, whispers and press statements from the Apple HQ suggest that any moment now there WILL be another new Beatles' album in the record stores, one for which John, Paul, George, and Ringo have been recording material since the beginning of July when "Get Back" release plans were shelved.

So here's what's been happening during all these recent recording sessions.  Quite a few entirely new compositions have been written and recorded.  In other cases it has been a matter of digging out tapes of unissued titles made earlier in the year, changing some of the arrangements, starting from scratch again or just adding extra sounds to existing stuff "in the can."

By the end of July, six new numbers had been completed.  Paul contributed You Never Give Me Your Money, Golden Slumbers and a quickie item called Her Majesty.  George contributed Here Comes the Sun (The Sun King) which has finished up a group effort from the vocal viewpoint and john weighed in with Come Together and Mean Mister Mustard.

In addition, six other numbers where had been worked on earlier were brought back into play during the July sessions.  These were Paul's Maxwell's Silver Hammer (written last year and the very first title the lads worked on in 1969 during a January 13 session at the Apple studio), Paul's Bathroom Window (which also dates back to January 13 and the same Apple studio session), Paul's Oh Darling, John's Polythene Pam (which goes back to autumn '68 and was a track which almost went on the double LP at that time), George's Something (first worked on in the Apple studio during January and February) and Ringo's Octopus Garden (which was started on April 26 and which I believe we've mentioned once or twice in earlier issues of Beatles Monthly under the title "Octopussy's Garden).

As I write this piece, the idea is to fill most of, or even the whole of, one LP side with one marathon series of songs all woven together into a fairly spectacular performance.  the marathon set -- Paul's idea-- looks as though it will include about half-a-dozen different numbers.

Let's look at the marathon material in recording date order.  The first song involved is "You Never Give Me Your Money" upon which the group started work on Tuesday, July 15.  The one is about a boy talking to a girl -- "you never give me your money, only your funny papers."  Like most of the marathon set numbers, it's a bit like "Hey Jude" in general mood and it has Paul singing slowly and in sweet voice.  In addition, Paul is featured on piano here and on the other marathon track items.

John's "Mean Mister Mustard" was started nine days later.  This is John in his best jiving suit telling the tale of a mean old man.

Also on Thursday, July 24, they went to work on "Here Comes the Sun (The Sun King)", although the track had been started initially nearly three weeks earlier with George singing lead vocals and playing acoustic guitar, Paul on bass and Ringo on drums - in John's absence.  Later John and the other three other added some intricate vocal harmony to the original recording.

Paul's "Bathroom Window" was started on Friday, July 25.  The lyrics of this one tell a strange little story about a rich girl ("she came in through the bathroom window Protected by a silver spoon, but now she sucks her thumb and wonders By the banks of her own lagoon") who claimed to have been a club dancer and who has a boyfriend who quit the police department to get himself a steady job!

John's "Polythene Pam" went into production on Monday, July 28, with John playing maracas as well as handling the lead vocal.  Paul and George providing background singing, Paul playing a cowbell and George banging upon a tambourine.  This is a medium-tempo number all about the curious Pam who is "so good looking she looks like a man."!

Perhaps Paul's best ballad contribution to the set of six marathon numbers is "Golden Slumbers," obviously about someone sleeping and given a suitable dreamy McCartney treatment.  This one was started on the last day of July.

In John's absence at the beginning of July, Paul started work on his own "Her Majesty" number.  This is a very brief item so far, the type of mini-track of just about eight lines which could be used as a link between two full-length numbers anywhere on the other side of the new LP.  On July 2 Paul recorded his vocal and accompanied himself on acoustic guitar.  In gist, the words tell of a boy who would like to get his girl to know he loves her, but her moods change all the time and he never gets around to it unless he's got a few drinks inside him.  To the first solo tape Paul made, he, George and Ringo added vocal accompaniment the next day with Geoge playing his red Gibson and Paul on Epiphone.

Paul started a new version of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" on July, accompanying his vocal on guitar and joined by George's 4-string guitar and Ringo playing anvil.  Actually, when the Beatles made their first earlier version of this title many months back, Mal was on anvil, but by this time he and Neil were away on holiday so Ringo deputized!!!

Two days later vocal backing by Paul, George, and Ringo was added.  George used his acoustic guitar and George Martin played the organ.  The story of Maxwell Edison, a student majoring in medicine, is a rather bizarre one, to say the least of it.  His girlfriend, Joan (who studied science --"late night all alone with a test tube) finishes up being killed by a blow to her head from Maxwell's silver hammer.  Despite the theme of muder, this is a jolly up-tempo presentation.

George's "Something" is a track which has been tried, changed and tried again a few times during the year.  As early as May 2 it was re-vamped and recorded, although it was not until July 12 that George dubbed on his final vocal.  Several days later Paul and Ringo added handclapping and background singing.  This has turned out to be a very fine track, a great, slow, easy George number which just flowers along,   It has George describing the nice things about a girl.

On Thursday, July 17, the group returned to Ringo's specialty piece, the novelty number he'd brought into the studio back towards the end of April.  The story of his self-penned solo vocal item, Octopus Garden is not unlike that of Yellow Submarine, the number John and Paul gave Ringo to sing several years ago.  It's all about a garden at the bottom of the sea where people can play happily and know they're safe.  In addition to singing, Ringo plays drums on this track with Paul on piano, John and George on guitars and Paul adding his usual bass guitar contribution.  Halfway through Paul and George do some high-pitched vocal acrobatics, letting their voices gurgle through special amplifiers until they come out sounding like mermen in not mermaids!  Meanwhile, Ringo blew bubbles into a glass for additional atmosphere effect!


Paul's "Oh Darling" completed on Friday, July 18, is an exceptionally strong McCartney presentation, a real tear-jerker of a ballad to bring back memories.

And finally, we come to John's "Come Together" which was started on Monday, July 21.  Very, very freaky lyrics to this one and I won't even attempt to explain the theme of them -- but it's a song that has to be heard in its finished form to be fully appreciated.  Bluesy but up-tempo, it's typically John all the way through.

And that's as much as I can tell you about all the new recordings.  Most of them -- plus, perhaps, some last-minute material put on tape within the last fortnight of the current session series will appear on the Beatles' much delayed but eagerly awaited First LP album of 1969.  Curiously, since a lot of earlier recording work, this year was done at Apple's own studio beneath the Savile Row Apple HQ offices in London's West End, all the July, and August stuff has gone on tape at EMI Studios up in Abbey Road, St. John's Wood.   That's because the fellows have been waiting for new Apple Studio equipment to be put in working order and it was unthinkable that their summer LP session should be delayed still further just because a mixer and a few other pieces of electronic mechanism were still in the installation stage.

On the other hand, the Beatles' return to Abbey Road was greatly welcomed by more than a few Beatle People vacationing in London during July and August.   It was quite like old times outside the EMI studios with day-long bunches of fans waiting outside the doors (or out on the pavement beyond the sets of iron gates if they didn't manage to sneak in behind an arriving or departing car) to get a glimpse of a favorite Beatle.   Most days at least half the assembled fan crowd was made up of touring Americans who will have taken home to the USA treasured memories of brief chats with Paul or much fingered Polaroid snpas of themselves with Ringo, George or John!