We Might Play Again --- Lennon (1971)

Klaus Voormann taken by John Lennon in 1971 

 

We Might Play Again --- Lennon

By Don Short

Daily Mirror

May 1, 1971

    Will the Beatles make a comeback as live performers without Paul?  It's a possibility, according to John Lennon --but not under the name of the Beatles.

     We were meeting during an interlude in the headline-making drama in Majorca over Yoko's seven-year-old daughter Kyoko. We were quietly chatting in their hotel about the Beatles and their music when John broached the idea.  "Now what's this about Klaus Voormann joining the Beatles?" He asked, referring to my story the other week that the German guitarist was enlisting in their ranks in place of Paul.  Said John, "There aren't any Beatles anymore. They've been disbanded. But if you'd said that George, Ringo, and John had an idea they might do a live show or two, then Klaus would be our man to play with us.

     "It's just an idea. We can't say whether or not it will happen or not. Sometimes we get the urge to have another go, and then we think, 'we've done it all before, and what do we want to suffer it again for?' So for the moment, Klaus backs us on our individual sessions."

     "Some old Apple friends," I say, "are growing more optimistic that there would be a reconciliation between him and Paul now that the legal conflicts are being resolved."

     "You never know," winked John. "If he walked through into this room now, we would still be good friends, although I doubt if I could forgive him on one or two things." Whatever the outcome, there is little likelihood that Lennon and McCartney will ever write together again. The musical gap between them continues to widen. Paul pens the romantic sonnet and John goes deeper into rock and roll. 

    "I can't get back to writing fairy tales anymore," said John bluntly. "I have got to live with the realities of life as it is today and reflect them in my music. Besides, we are all happy doing what we are. Look at good old Ringo. He's hooped one in the charts, and George is happy doing a Elvis and the Plastic Ono isn't wanting..."

     Of the Lennon legend, John said he couldn't help being the blabbermouth, the one who's done the frontal starkers bit and is sometimes known to sit it out in a plastic bag.

     "That's John Lennon being John Lennon," he explains. Not as though the Beatle was anything like that on this occasion. He was in a smart brown suit and clean-shaven and was as conventional as Mr. Suburbia. What's more, he looked remarkably youthful, like a picture of his early Beatle days. 

    John and Yoko still hope for children of their own. "Yoko keeps dropping 'em," says John, referring to his wife's two miscarriages. Says Yoko, "We're going to keep on trying, and in the next two to three years, we just hope we will be lucky." Said John, "If not, we'll adopt. We'll adopt all sorts of children, Jews and Arabs, blacks and whites and polka dot kids too. If there's any going around and going."

Terror at Worst Ever Beatles Riot

 Terror at Worst Ever Beatles Riot

By Don Short

Daily Mirror

September 2, 1965

    The fantastic siege of San Francisco is over. Tomorrow, before breakfast, The Beatles will be safely back in Britain, sighing with relief.

     For Beatlemania brought its most frightening toll here last night. They are still counting the casualties after the Beatles' second late-night show at the Cow Palace Stadium; at least 94 teenagers were injured in the crush. Another 231 have been treated for hysterical collapse. Three policemen were knocked out.

     I have seen Beatlemania from its early days, but at the 100 Beatle concerts I've seen, I cannot recall scenes quite as frightening as those last night. The chaos reached a danger point when a great wall of teenagers hurled themselves at a crush barrier to reach the stage and the Beatles.

    . Police Chief Captain David Hanson shouted as he leaped onto the stage, "I've got to stop the show. Otherwise, we'll have a major disaster on our hands. Some of these kids will get killed out there!"

    Then, for the third time, Beatle Paul McCartney pleaded with the crazed fans, "Take it easy!" He yelled down the microphone, "Some are being trampled underneath."

     Somehow, the Beatles managed to get through two more songs. They decided to cut three other numbers, and the show ended. By now, the whole of the stage area was in complete chaos. Unconscious teenagers were plucked from beneath the surging mass and dragged across the stage. Others pretended to faint, hoping they would get a chance to grab the Beatles, but the four idols, surrounded by policemen, were quickly whisked away. 

    More than 325,000 fans have watched the Beatles at their 16 concerts during this second American tour of theirs, a tour that has earned them a million dollars. Their last two concerts here in San Francisco have proved one Beatle theory to be correct, that Beatlemania has never died. It's just that police security has managed to keep it under control, but not in San Francisco last night.

     Just before 7am tomorrow, four tired Beatles will return to London. They will take a holiday before starting recording sessions and making plans for their next film.

     In New York. It was announced that The Beatles' record "Help!" had climbed to the number one position in the show business weekly variety poll.

Presley - By the Beatles

 

Presley - By the Beatles

By Don Short

Daily Mirror

August 30, 1965

    Britain's Beatles are firm friends of American pop star Elvis Presley after the party he gave for them at his home in Beverly Hills, outside Hollywood.

     During the party, which ended early yesterday, 30-year-old Presley got out his guitar and joined the British pop group for an unrehearsed singing session.

     And this is what the Beatles said when it was all over. George Harrison, 22 "Elvis was great." Ringo Starr, 25, "Elvis was just as down to earth as us."

     John Lennon, 24, "We were a bit embarrassed when we first met, but he broke the ice right away." Paul McCartney, 23, "It was a relaxing party. It wasn't staged for publicity, and that was the best thing about it."

 And Presley's view of the Beatles? "They're wonderful fellows."

 Today, ticket touts were busy cashing in on the Beatles. Two concerts are being given tonight and tomorrow at the Hollywood Bowl.  £5  seats are going for £25.

More Guards

 

More Guards Plea By the Beatles

By Don Short

Daily Mirror

August 20, 1965

    The Beatles ran into mob hysteria here today, and it led to demands for stronger police protection. They were besieged by 1,500 tough Texan teenagers as their plane landed at the city's airport.

     The youngsters broke through police barriers and rushed the plane for half an hour. Paul, John, George, and Ringo were trapped on board as screaming fans climbed all over the plane. The Beatles were eventually rescued by a forklift truck, but they still had to run the gauntlet. 

    Fans showered them with shoes, cigarette lighters, and handbags as they were carried to the waiting car.

     Safe at the hotel later, John Lennon exploded, "We've no intention of being lynched." A shaken Paul McCartney added, "We were petrified. We didn't know what the fans were going to do next."

    The group's manager, Brian Epstein, had demanded stronger police protection for the Beatles' concert later today.

John and Don