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Thursday, February 26, 2026
The Married Life of the Beatles (1966)
By Maris Ross
UPI
February 27, 1966
"Money Can't Buy Me Love" sang The Beatles --- and it didn't. With fame and fortune of their own, they could have married fame and fortune, but their wives are just ordinary girls-- an ex-art student, an ex-hairdresser, and a little more glamorous, an ex-hairdresser who became a model. That leaves Paul McCartney, 23, as the only bachelor Beatle.
What's it like being a Beatle wife? "Just great," said Cynthia Lennon, husband of John [sic]. "I've no regrets about it."
But it's not all fun, and means keeping a bit in the background. Beatle manager, Brian Epstein once said, "The Beatles present a better image without girls in the foreground."
You also have to put up with the 1000s of other women who adore their husbands. "I don't let it bother me," said Cynthia. "I know it's not for real. It's the music, I'm sure that makes them feel that way, but one of the things I have realized now, in the high price one has to pay for fame is loss of personal freedom."
When the Beatles gained their first yelling fans, they were all taken to be bachelors. Nobody realized that John and Cynthia, now both 25, were married in the summer of 1962, just before the Beatles cut their first disc. "Love Me Do." They had met over a pot of paint when they both did a course at the Liverpool School of Art.
"I never kept my marriage a secret," said John. "It's just that when we first came on the scene, nobody asked us. I kept my wife out of it, and I do now, because I've always disliked reading about people's families."
Drummer Ringo Starr, 25, was the next to go, and he admits he was worried at first about what the fans would think, but in the end, "I thought I would get married, whatever happened," said Ringo. "I don't think many teenage girls broke into tears when they heard the news."
He was married on February 11 of last year to ex hairdresser Mary Cox, known as Maureen, to her friends. Ringo and Maureen, 19, had to pay the price of publicity when the press discovered their seaside hideaway within 24 hours of their wedding and camped outside the gate. The couple ended up giving a news conference on the first day of their honeymoon.
George Harrison, 23, put Ringo's experience to good use when he became the third Beatle to wed on January 21 of this year. His bride was an ex-hairdresser turned model, Patricia Ann Boyd, 21, otherwise known as Pattie. They announced outright that they weren't going on a honeymoon, because "we would just be hounded and wouldn't get any peace."
They went instead to Georgia's $56,000 five bedroom bungalow in suburban Esher south of London, and got some peace behind the 14-foot-high wall that surrounds the property.
The Beatles' wives have long hair in common, in addition to the fact that they all do quite a bit of staying home. On October 26, 1965, The Beatles went to Buckingham Palace to receive the single honor of membership of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) from Queen Elizabeth. John and Ringo could have taken their wives along, but they stayed home looking after their respective sons, John Jr. now two, and Zak, born September 13. Epstein went to the palace instead. Pattie, unmarried then was on a modeling job, and Jane was rehearsing a new play.
When their husbands go on tour, the wives stay home. Cynthia went along on the first US tour early in 1964, but this led to adverse publicity when one national British newspaper told how it tried unsuccessfully to talk to her at London Airport on the group's return. "Not a word, Cyn," one of the Beatles' publicity men was quoted as saying to her.
In 1964, Maureen went off on a month-long holiday in the West Indies with Ringo when she was only 17. A story appeared in the press that her father, ship steward Joe Cox, had learned she was 5,000 miles away only because he read it in the papers, but he would have given his permission for her to go anyway. Paul and Jane were also on this trip.
When Maureen came back, she said she was not going back to her hairdressing job in Liverpool. Ringo said, "Maureen is to be my personal secretary. She can give my mum and dad a hand with the mail."
Both Maureen and Cynthia, like their husbands, grew up in the rough seaport of Liverpool. Maureen lived with her parents in a block of slum clearance flats on Liverpool's Boundary Street. "I met Maureen three days exactly after I joined the Beatles, and from then on, it's been a knockout all the way," said Ringo. "We met in the Cavern. Doesn't everyone?"
The Cavern, the now-famous cellar club in Liverpool, was the place where Epstein first met the Beatles. At their first recording session in 1962, he decided they needed a more distinctive drummer, so they chose Ringo in place of their old one.
Cynthia, the longest married, is poised, sincere, and rather shy. She has artistically furnished their home. She cooks plain food well and doesn't like it if John keeps jumping up and down from the table to change records. A dinner guest recalls, "She once said, 'For goodness sake, sit down. You're giving me indigestion.'"
John has always wanted to keep her out of the mob scene. At London Airport on the return from that same US trip in 1964, John was heard to shout while surrounded by battling fans, "Get Cyn out of this!"
One thing they don't have to worry about is transport. The Lennons have a Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari, a Volkswagen, a minicar, and a chauffeur.
Pattie, the newest Beatle bride, is a blue-eyed baby-faced blonde who likes the fashion for skirts way above the knee. She comes from a family of six in Somerset, southwestern England. She was educated at a convent and spent most of her childhood in Kenya, where her father had a farm. She started working as a hairdresser, didn't like it, and turned to modeling. Her "dolly girl" looks made her a favorite with fashion photographers and led her to part in A Hard Day's Night. After it, she said, "I'm no actress. I'm terrible." She decided to stick to modeling.
George kept denying rumors of marriage right up to the morning of their wedding. "Now, the rumors can start about me, I suppose," said Paul. In fact, they started long ago about him and Jane, the daughter of a surgeon and an up-and-coming actress. So the question mark over the Beatles is, when will the last one get married?
"Meditation is Great," Says Beatle Paul (1968)
"Meditation is Great," Says Beatle Paul
No writer listed
Go Magazine
April 5, 1968
Paul McCartney returned to London last week from Rishikesh, India, where he was studying with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. John Lennon and George Harrison, the two Beatles left in Rishikesh, will probably return home later in the month.
Upon his arrival in London, McCartney told reporters, "Meditation is great. You sit down, relax, and count to yourself. It sounds daft, but it's just a system of relaxation, and there's nothing more to it."
Describing the activities and the retreat, McCartney said, "We meditated about five hours a day, and the rest of the time, slept, ate, sunbathed, and had fun. I don't know how much it cost, but it was very cheap."
Although there are reports that the Maharishi charges his students a week's salary. McCartney shrugged off reporters' questions about the guru making a fortune. McCartney pointed out that all religions take money to keep themselves going. He explained, "The Maharishi himself has nothing, only a room, a pair of sandals, a chair, and he eats nuts. He doesn't use money and hasn't a flashy car or anything like that."
McCartney's departure from the Guru's retreat was not as unexpected as Ringo Starr's. Ringo and his wife, Maureen, left after only 10 days with the Maharishi because they were unhappy with the food and also missed their children. At the time. Ringo compared the retreat to Butlins holiday camps, which are British vacation camps with tightly organized schedules.
McCartney actually stayed in India longer than he had originally anticipated. Jane Asher flew back with McCartney from the retreat.
In June, the Beatles have scheduled time in the recording studio to work on their next album. John Lennon's psychedelic-painted Rolls-Royce has been on exhibit as the feature attraction at the International Auto Show, which began at the Coliseum in New York last Saturday. The car, which has been used by Nat Wiese of Nemperor artists in New York, has been in this country, in case any of the Beatles come over here and need to use it.
The Real Thing (1996)
The Real Thing
By Carlos
The Birmingham Evening Mail
February 28, 1996
Top legend Paul McCartney reckons that the new Beatles single is much more of a Fab Four effort than the disappointing "Free as a Bird" flop. After being tipped for the top, the first moptop reunion failed to make the grade, beaten by more contemporary Brit pop at the final hurdle. But "Real Love", says Macca is business, and he reckons that it will appeal not only to Beatle buffs, but also to fans of bands like Oasis.
"It was good fun recording this one," says Paul. "Unlike 'Free as a Bird', it had all the words and the music intact; nothing had to be added. That meant that George, Ringo, and I could be more like sidemen to John, joining in with the tape vocals that he left behind when he died.
"It was a very joyful occasion, and I think that we did a good job."
The sentiment is backed up by former Meriden Maestro Jeff Lynne, the one-time ELO leader, who produced both the new Beatle cuts. He says, "It's sort of a love song, and it's a lot bouncier than the first single. It's a beautiful tune as well, and they all do great harmonies with John."
To make the cut as authentic as possible, Macca used a stand-up double bass, while George played six string acoustic guitar, and Ringo used his original Ludwig drum kit.
It's released on March 4, doubtless allowing time for Oasis and Take That to wind down their big battle in the charts.
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Thinking of our favorite gardener on his special day
Lennon's Locks Tumble for Role in New Movie (1966)
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Lennon's Locks Tumble for role in New Movie
By Gerry Phillips
Go Magazine
September 23, 1966
Beatle fans all over the world were stunned when they learned that John Lennon was to have his hair cut for a movie role. The trimming was in Germany a few days ago, and Gerry Phillips, Go's London bureau chief, flew there for this eyewitness report.
I flew from London to Luneberg Heath, West Germany, to witness a sight as important to today's teenagers as the signing of the surrender of the German army was to their parents in 1945. The location was the same, and it was another surrender.
John Lennon surrendered his famous hair to start a solo acting career in movies. I must admit, I felt a surge of nostalgia as I watched movie director Dick Lester playfully snip away at the famous Lennon locks, for although I predicted the Lennon move several weeks ago, it just didn't seem right for a Beatle to have his hair cut.
A young film company secretary standing beside me winced with each snip of the scissors. I thought I detected a tear. John smiled as photographers joked about his baldness. "That's show business," he said. "I'm much more interested in my role in How I Won the War than having long hair."
Outside the film lot, ardent German fans kept a silent vigil, hoping to get a glimpse of the new John Lennon. Blonde, blue-eyed Heidi Hinrick, who had been waiting patiently since 6am that morning, asked me, "How does he look? Is he still as handsome?"
I didn't have the heart to tell her that John's role doesn't call for the handsome hero type, and that the last time I had seen him, he was wearing glasses and had his hair parted in the middle. The other girls noticed my hesitation and squealed, "There's something wrong! They've hurt John!"
I quickly backed through the gates to safety. By the time I arrived back in London, the agency photographs had been printed in the newspapers, and Beatles fans were hopping mad.
James Sanderson of Richmond Park, Surrey, said, "This has ruined the Beatles' image. Everyone thinks of the Beatles as a group and not as individuals, and the hairstyle was part of the magic. Now John has broken the spell."
Pretty Sandy Styles of Lewisom told me, "I cried when I saw John with his new hairstyle. It broke my heart to see him looking like that. "
Not everyone condemned John, however, Mary Todd of Clapham Commons said, "I think John was perfectly right to break with Beatle tradition for the sake of a film career. His future is much more important than a haircut. I will always love John, no matter how he looks. "
And Tom Jerome of Harrow, Middlesex, agreed, "I like John because he doesn't care what people think of him. He does what he wants and not what the public dictates. That's why the Beatles have always been so popular."
What do you feel about John's new hairstyle? Do you love him or hate him for having his Beatle mop shorn? Write your feelings on a postcard and send them to "Haircut", care of Go Magazine.
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