Spreading Peace & Love

  I am posting this at noon Central Time to say PEACE & LOVE!   Happy birthday Ringo!!!!   

Enjoying the Jamaican sun

 

Safe in India

 July 6, 1966

Warming up with John

 

That Was All I Heard (1979)

George at the press conference, right before the fan telling this story, met George

 That was All I Heard

By Stefania Catone

The Harison Alliance

March 1979

    On March 7, 1979, three days after my 25th birthday, I came back from school hot and tired, and decided to watch the telly. After 10 minutes, a CBS local news break came on, saying, "We are working on these stories for the 4:30, 5:00, and 6:00 news, and Pat O'Brien will have an interview with former Beatle George Harrison."

     That was all I heard. I thought, 'I must call the clan'. I called Laurie; she wasn't home. Sandi, she was at work. Oh God, Selita. "Ah, Selita, get right over here! I have a color TV. George is going to be on TV, and bring your camera, please."

     Now, to get a tape recorder to record the interview.  I found three, and of course, none were working. I was a wreck!

     I called Laurie again. She said to call the station and find out if the interview was live or had already been taped. I found myself talking to the CBS Newsroom, asking them where they were located, and asking at what time the George Harrison interview would air. They transferred me to the office of Pat O'Brien. After several rings, his secretary answered. She told me that Pat had been working on the interview with George for a couple of days now at Warner Bros.

     I finally asked if he was still being interviewed. She said that he had just finished and that the interview would be on the last two minutes of the 6 o'clock news. After hanging up, I called Warner Brothers to speak to DHR, but there was no one there, so they transferred me to the desk. The woman said there was no one at DHR because a press conference George had called had just started. I asked her where it was being held and how long ago it started. To my surprise, she told me! Bless her! She said it was in the building, and it had begun about 20 minutes ago. 

    Well, needless to say, at this point I was emotionally gone. Saletta kept me together and told me to grab a camera. We spoke to Laurie, drove over, and then flew to Burbank. I just had time to grab the first photo I found of him. We left at five, and Laurie, I think, broke a land speed record. 

    We arrived in Burbank around 5:20. My heart was pounding as soon as I saw the building, not quite sure whether it was from fear of having missed him or of finally meeting him. As we reached the studio after parking the car, I began to notice a lot of people exiting from the front doors carrying George's new LP and some new releases. "My God, we're too late," was my first thought. I asked someone walking out if the press conference was over, and if George was still in the building. He turned and said very sourly, "George left a long time ago." My heart sank, but I wasn't going to give up, not now, not being so close.

     A few seconds later, Laurie's friend came out and said that George was still in because he went to talk to Mo Osten. All there was left to do was wait and pray that he was indeed still in, and there was no other way out. So, wait we did. At 6 o'clock, people were starting to leave, as that's the time Warner Brothers closes. Every time that door opened, my stomach knotted. I had no idea how I was going to react, and that frightened me. 

    I was looking for a car in the lot that could be his, and the first one my eye went to was a brand new Bentley. It was bronze and gorgeous. Sure enough, the security guard, (who was an absolute doll), told us that was George's, and that George would have to come out of that door. He said that George went in, carrying a cane and limping. I almost died. What could have happened? Now I had yet another worry to add to my list. We thanked him and began to talk amongst ourselves. When we heard from the guard, "Here he comes." I turned around, and it really was him coming down with someone else. I cannot convey the feeling going through my body. The man I had loved since I was nine years old was walking towards me, and all I could think of was how beautiful he was.

    I took my first real look, and he was limping a lot. He was really supporting his leg with a cane. My God, he is so beautiful. He was wearing beige cords with blue flaps. His left foot was in an ace bandage. We started to walk up to him and stopped. He smiled. The first thing I asked was, "What happened to your leg?" "Oh, I just hurt my foot."

     Laurie asked if he would sign a couple of photos for us, and he, with that sweet, soft accent, said, "Oh, sure", and smiled one of those melting smiles. I just wanted to hug him. I had a million things to say, but was so taken that all I could do was look and ask him if I could take a few pictures. Again he smiled and said, "Sure, if you can be quick." "Thank you", I said, and started to take pictures. I heard him say, "Where did you find this one?" Really checking out the picture that I had brought for him to sign. "Oh, I got it from a Japanese calendar. It's great." He seemed really pleased, and asked, What was my name? Laurie said "Stefania". He looked puzzled as how to spell it, so I said "Stephanie", and Laurie said "It's Italian", and he smiled. 

    He was in a marvelous mood. I don't remember much of what happened after, except that he would look right into my eyes every so often so I could take a photo, but every time he did, I couldn't get a clear focus. His good looks just blew me away. He has short hair and the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. I've never seen him look younger, not to exaggerate, but he looked about 25 years old. He didn't have but one laugh line. He's thin, but not too thin. Pictures just do not do him justice. 

    The next thing I remember is George getting into the car, the Bentley, on the passenger side. I asked how Dhani was, and that brought the biggest smile yet. "Oh, he's just fine." And Olivia? "She's fine too."

     Laurie asked if he would be touring. "No, not touring, not this time." We told him we loved the album, and his face slid up again. "You really like it?" "Of course." "Do you have the album yet?" "Yes. And 'Blow Away' is marvelous."

     Laurie said, "'Blown Away' is playing on AM -- knock those Bee Gees off the charts!" George just about cracked up. He just looked and said, "Oh well" and I made a gesture like "we'll try." He and his driver were ready to go, so we said, "Thank you and goodbye."

     He could not have been any nicer or more gentle. I couldn't understand why I was feeling so peaceful, calm, and totally contented. Until Selita pointed out that it was like meeting a friend, she was right. He had no airs about him, didn't make us feel like fans at all. He was up, inquisitive, and sweet. I swear, he has an aura about him, something that calmed me. After George ----Nirvana! 

     It was everything I had always hoped it would be. I hope everyone will have a chance to meet George the way I did. It could only help you to understand his depth, beauty, and gentleness. Waiting so long paid off, making this birthday so special. To top off a wonderful day, we reached home just in time to catch him on the news. He was lovely, even when they asked him about the Beatles again. He said it was very happy just going home and being with his family. We were then treated to part of the 'Blow Away' promo video, a part in which he spoofs Elvis with baggy pants, knock knees, and a guitar hanging low. It was such a wonderful, perfect day.

The Rejection is Mutual (1971)

 

The Rejection is Mutual (Edited)

By Nick Kazan

The San Francisco Chronicle

July 11, 1971

This is part of a larger article about independent filmmakers in San Francisco in the early 1970s.  The part  about the letter filmmaker Bruce Conner received from John Lennon is of interest to this site, so that is the part I am reproducing.  

 

    Bruce Connor, who has a gentle face, stringy hair, and beard, describes himself as 73 years old and is hoping to move on from his home movies. "I want to make movies in Hollywood. I want to make technicolor epics in stereophonic sound."  He realizes he will lose some freedom, but seems to welcome the challenge. "You don't try to play canasta in a hard poker game."

     An example of how meticulous Connor is, and of the artistic freedom he will lose if he goes big, is a film called Looking for Mushrooms, which Connor shot in 1961 in Mexico. He cut the film from 15 to three minutes. Three years later, he added sound. In 1967, he heard The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows", and re-edited his movie to fit that song. The film, which now lasts a little over two minutes, was six years in production.

     On its completion, Connor mailed copies to all the Beatles and asked John Lennon for a fan letter. Lennon replied, in part:

 Dear Bruce Conner, you don't know me, but I know you, and you are my fave rave, and I'd like a Fab Gear photo of you, and your family, and all your hogs, and cats. You must keep being such a world famous, and I'm not just saying that becaz you are so, as I said, known, and don't just think of me as some little, well, you know, CONNER MANIAC.  I'm a truly introverted admimmeror, and it's my sister what likes the monkees, even though you are old and hairy. I love you, even though you are married tell your wife not to worry, it's not a deep down mother-- greasy knicker kind of love, it's a warmhighkneeholdDaveClarkkindoftruebluesort of thing, John Lennon.

     "It was so weird", Connor said, "writing him and getting the letter, you know, trying to relate to these people who are in your life all the time.

     "After I got the letter, I suffered from an acute attack of Beatlemania; I got very drunk and sent John a gushy letter, and never heard from him again."

Night out in Monte Carlo

 July 5, 2001 

Beatles are Jeered in Scuffle (1966)

 July 5, 1966 -- Beatles leave Manila.  George and Paul look very concerned as they wait to leave.  

Beatles are Jeered in Scuffle

No author Listed

Birmingham Evening Mail

July 5, 1966

    (From Manila) The Beatles were booed and jeered in an airport scene here today as they received the coldest sendoff of their careers. At one point, an airport worker pushed a member of the group's seven-man entourage.

    

     About 50 passengers, reporters, airport workers, and others crowded in, shouting questions and insults as the Beatles filled in exit forms as they walked to their plane. About 500 people lined the airport observation platform, shouting, "Go to hell, Beatles! Go home, Beatles!" The Beatles were even subjected to the indignity of walking up to the second floor with their own baggage. The airport manager, Mr. Gilliromo Jurado, had turned off the power for the escalator. 

    The Beatles and their party were finally allowed to leave after their tour promoters settled a tax case that had threatened to disrupt their travel plans. But unlike the roaring welcome they received on their arrival on Sunday from 1000s of fans, which included massive security, the Beatles were a sad sight on their departure today. 

    They had to go through all the ordinary procedures instead of being given the VIP treatment through customs, and one of their party, Alf Bicknell, fell after being kicked in the leg. The Beatles' manager, Mr. Brian Epstein, was pushed to the ground during a brief scuffle, and one witness said he was kicked. Another witness said that someone tried to punch Ringo Starr.

     Even after they were on board the plane, their troubles were not over. Mr. Epstein had to disembark and sign a letter concerning the Beatles' tax payments in the Philippines. The Internal Revenue claimed that the Beatles owed the equivalent of £ 6,600. 

    The crowd's reaction was apparently in reply to an alleged snub by the Beatles when they failed yesterday to show up for the luncheon at the Presidential Palace. A group of young girls crying at the airport kept shouting to the crowd, "It was not the Beatles' fault!"

     The British Embassy issued the following statement. "The Embassy were not consulted at any stage whatever about the Beatles' visit to Manila. The Embassy deeply regrets any offense which might unfortunately have been caused. The Embassy have been assured by the Beatles that no discourtesy of any kind was intended."

     President and Mrs. Marcos issued a statement late this afternoon, saying they regret the incident at the airport. The statement said there was no intention on the part of the Beatles to slight the First Lady or the government of the Republic of the Philippines. President Marcos called the incident a "breach of hospitality."

Paul at MPL (guest blogger post)

Paul outside MPL in 2022.  Photo taken by Louise Guthrie

I have a special treat for you all tonight!  A rare treat at that!  I rarely have guest writers on this site simply because no one ever asks.  But I received a lovely email from Louise Guthrie offering to share her story of seeing Paul outside MPL on this site, and how could I turn down a great Paul sighting story?  That is what this site is all about!   So please enjoy Louise's story and take some time to read the longer version on his site: Just click here.  --  Sara S. 

 You have to be incredibly lucky to see Paul McCartney step out of his MPL Communications offices on Soho Square right on cue.

I witnessed the almost cruel irony of this unwritten rule firsthand last summer. A friend and I had arranged to meet at the Radha Krishna Temple, which happens to be just around the corner from MPL. Thanks to a quiet insider tip from a local Beatles tour guide, we knew that Sir Paul himself was in residence that afternoon. So we waited outside for a while, quietly chanting on our Hare Krishna beads and chatting. While we stood there, a vibrant, Spanish-speaking tour group arrived with their dedicated Beatles guide. Jubilant and filled with infectious energy, they waved, postured, and posed delightedly for each other's cameras. These Latinos were determined to stay. It was a once-in-a-lifetime scenario for them.

We knew what they didn’t know—that Paul was not only in there, but about to leave—because my friend and I had recognised his chauffeur-driven car (the Macca-mobile!) as it pulled up to the kerb. But "The Big Man" (as they reportedly call him inside) wasn’t going to come out while a large crowd was actively gathered at the doorstep; he was probably in a rush to get to Liverpool, where he would join Bruce Springsteen on stage the very next day. Eventually, the Spanish-speaking group walked away (although the last one practically had to be dragged!). Seconds later, the doors opened, and out stepped Mr McCartney himself, larger than life. The irony was heartbreaking. Those tourists had likely travelled halfway round the world, perhaps from South America, and gone on a Beatles tour, only to miss him by a matter of seconds. We were the lucky ones that day.

Another crossroads moment: Back in 2022, I noticed lying on the pavement directly in front of Sir Paul's office a brand-new copy of the Bhagavad-gita that must have come from the Hare Krishna Temple—an odd place for someone to have left it! As I picked it up, I struck up a conversation with a gentleman in a Beatles T-shirt standing nearby. He had actually moved to England from Austria purely because of his love for the Beatles, and he had been regularly waiting outside MPL for five long years without catching so much as a glimpse of Sir Paul. I remarked that he looked quite a bit like Sean Lennon. The man smiled and confirmed that his mother was Japanese. I told him he was likely going to be in luck today, as the strategically-placed Gita had to be a good sign.

Meanwhile, with great cosmic timing, Jayadev John Richardson, a senior Hare Krishna devotee, had arrived at the Soho Street Temple ready to command a very rousing street kirtan. The air filled with the rhythmic pulse of drums and the soaring, hypnotic cadence of the Hare Krishna mantra as the devotees all sang and danced with Jayadev. As if on cue, the heavy doors of MPL swung open. Stepping out into the London daylight was Paul McCartney. He gave us the famous "Macca thumbs-up" before going on his way.

Fast-forwarding to May 2026, we romped into Soho Square with Jayadev on Harinam, our procession filling the air with the sound of the drums and the cymbals. Right on cue, the doors of MPL swung open, and Paul stepped out. He quickly entered his waiting car. But he didn't rush his departure. Intrigued by the sound, Paul wound down his car window to listen to the music. Seizing the incredible moment, one of the devotees stepped forward toward the open window, offered him a mantra flyer, and shook his hand. Paul accepted it with that easy-going warmth, giving a gracious nod before the car slowly coasted away.

One of the devotees, completely overwhelmed by the sheer proximity of the moment, turned to me with wide eyes and remarked, "I have seen Paul McCartney, I can die now."

Call it absolute coincidence (or madness), but for me, these on-point encounters have arguably shown that it is the power of the Maha Mantra itself that brings Sir Paul out. It witnesses the beautiful, enduring overlap between the history of Western pop royalty and the timeless lineage of Eastern spirituality. Decades after the Beatles first sat in meditation in Rishikesh, that same spiritual current is still flowing. In fact, these synchronous events run parallel to the extraordinary journey of Jayadev John Richardson himself. As the founder and former drummer of the 70s glam-rock band The Rubettes, Jayadev walked away from selling 30 million records to embrace Eastern mysticism and pioneer his global 'Mantra Choir' movement—bringing the very spiritual music Paul smiled upon in Soho into mainstream Western spaces today.

Meeting Paul McCartney wasn't just a stroke of immense luck. It was a real-life reminder that the music, the mantra, and the magic of that era are still very much alive, echoing through the streets of London and continuing to come full circle.

Beatles in Palace Lunch Muddle (1966)

John and Paul look tired and concerned, but the gentleman looking at the camera sure is happy.

 

Beatles in Palace Lunch Muddle

New Agency

The London Evening Standard

July 4, 1966

    The Beatles failed to keep an appointment with the wife of President Marcos of the Philippines at the Presidential Palace in Manila today because of a misunderstanding. Messages from the Palace and the British Embassy failed to produce the pop group. 

    Mrs. Marcos waited with her three children and 200 other youngsters for more than an hour before she told reporters, "We have no more time to receive them. We are also busy people." She added just before leaving the Palace music room that her children "Really like the Rolling Stones better than the Beatles."

     Paul McCartney today apologized in a radio interview on behalf of the Beatles for not turning up. "If she's listening now, you know, we're very sorry it happened," he said, "but it wasn't our fault."

     The Beatles press spokesman, Tony Barrow, said later that the group "Knew nothing about the appointment with Mrs. Marcos." He said that just after noon (local time), a call came from the Palace saying they were supposed to be there for lunch. "This was just impossible, because three of the Beatles were in bed at the time," said Barrow. President Marcos was to have lunched with the Beatles at the Palace.

     About 40,000 screaming and cheering fans watched the first of two performances by the Beatles in Manila today. Fire engines and ambulances stood by, but there were no incidents.