Mal Evans came in and said, "They"re coming," and then almost immediately in they came, and it was them them. When I say it was them them, in these days it"s hard to remember how famous they were. It wasn"t only that they were talented, but somehow they"d caught the temper of the times, and also they somehow inhabited their fame in a way that other people weren"t able to do.
The Beatles sat down to eat, leaving their guest standing. Finally, Paul acknowledged Lindsay-Hogg, who continues the story: "Paul was like the host. That is something he is very good at. Paul is famously charming when he wants to be [and] in my experience, my relationship with them, he was more the driver of certain projects." Over time the film-maker would come to realise something else about Paul: "Charm for him is like a weapon." Beneath the charm, "he is very, very tough".
When Lindsay-Hogg shot the films for "Paperback Writer" and "Rain", at Chiswick House in London, Paul paid close attention, looking through the cameras himself before the shots were taken. The Beatles were under contract to make a third feature film for United Artists, and Paul was thinking about what they might do, and how they might have more creative control. In short, he wanted to become a film-maker himself, an ambition which threads through the ensuing years, usually with disappointing results. In thinking about what sort of picture they might make, Paul also consulted widely, taking advantage of his fame to meet diverse and interesting people.
Around this time Paul and Jane were granted a meeting with the philosopher Bertrand Russell to gain the n.o.bel Laureate"s views on Vietnam and the Cold War, which Paul and Jane were both concerned about, half-expecting Armageddon to come by way of a nuclear strike from the East. "I think that made us more determined to enjoy ourselves and live for the moment," Jane has said. When Paul told the philosopher that the Beatles had a mind to make their next picture an anti-war film, Russell suggested Paul speak to his friend, the author Len Deighton, who was developing the First World War musical Oh What a Lovely War Oh What a Lovely War as a picture. as a picture.
Deighton invited Paul to dinner to discuss the movie, an invitation to dine with Deighton being a great treat as the author was, among his other talents, a gourmet chef. Deighton served an elaborate Indian meal. Paul expressed an interest in the Beatles starring in Oh What a Lovely War Oh What a Lovely War, the project falling down when it came to how they would use music in the picture, as Deighton recalls: I couldn"t use Beatle music as the whole point of Oh What a Lovely War Oh What a Lovely War was that all the dialogue, words and music, were taken from those actually sung or spoken at the time of the war 1914-18. Paul explained that they wanted to be in a film with a more direct reference to modern war. was that all the dialogue, words and music, were taken from those actually sung or spoken at the time of the war 1914-18. Paul explained that they wanted to be in a film with a more direct reference to modern war.
Paul thanked the author, and continued his search for a suitable movie vehicle.
First the Beatles were contracted to play a series of concerts, their last as it turned out. What became their farewell tour began on 24 June 1966, when the band played three shows in Germany. Before they did so, Brian Epstein - intent on avoiding what his a.s.sistant Peter Brown describes as "general embarra.s.sment" - dealt with Hamburg barmaid Erika Wohlers" claim to have given birth to Paul"s illegitimate daughter. Erika had recently married, becoming Erika Hubers, but her daughter Bettina, now three, was nevertheless still living in care. Erika claims that the German Youth Welfare Office had issued an arrest warrant for Paul that would have made his life difficult had he come back to Germany before reaching a settlement with her. "He would have been arrested if he stepped foot on German soil again." As a result, Erika says that in January 1966 a lawyer came to her home, explained that he represented McCartney, and made her a cash offer.
On the instructions of the office in England, he should offer us a so-called "hush-money" [payment] amounting to 21,000 Deutschmarks, 21 21 so that neither I nor my husband would "go public". The lawyer explained that the Beatles were coming to Germany in July 1966 and that my daughter Bettina would receive more money, money which would be held in trust until her eighteenth birthday. so that neither I nor my husband would "go public". The lawyer explained that the Beatles were coming to Germany in July 1966 and that my daughter Bettina would receive more money, money which would be held in trust until her eighteenth birthday.
Erika agreed to the deal, receiving 10,000 DM on signature, the balance payable when the Beatles left Germany. A further 30,000 DM was placed in trust for Bettina. No word of this story appeared in the press during the Beatles" valedictory tour of Germany.
Though the Hamburg barmaid had been mollified for now, the Beatles" progress around the world that summer was dogged with trouble. From Germany, the boys flew to j.a.pan where they had been controversially booked to play the Nippon Budokan Hall, a Tokyo auditorium with special, spiritual status because of its a.s.sociation with the martial arts. Many j.a.panese considered it a desecration to stage a pop concert there. NEMS had received death threats in advance of the tour, and when the Beatles arrived in Tokyo there were street protests, members of the public holding up signs that read BEATLES GO HOME. The authorities sequestered the band inside the Tokyo Hilton prior to the show for fear they might be a.s.sa.s.sinated, stopping the boys when they tried to sneak outside. At least the Beatles had some dope to smoke. Peter Brown claims they were carrying a supply on tour, which was reckless. The j.a.panese took a hard line on drug use. Luckily, they weren"t caught.
This difficult world tour became seriously unpleasant when the Beatles flew from Tokyo to the Philippines to play two stadium concerts in Manila. Led by President Ferdinand Marcos, a former army officer with a murky past, the Philippines was a corrupt police state bolstered by the US as a strategic Cold War ally in South East Asia. With US patronage, Marcos was shaping up to be a fully-fledged dictator, while his young wife, Imelda, lived like a queen. Imelda Marcos was 27 in 1966, her husband a relatively young despot of 48, "so we were still attuned, we were close enough in age to be aware and sensitive and admirers of the Beadles", says the former First Lady, misp.r.o.nouncing the band"s name. Indeed, Mrs Marcos and her husband owned all the Beadles" records and very much wanted to meet the group when they came to their country, as did most of the government, which is to say Ferdinand"s political and military cronies. An invitation had already been extended to visit the First Family at their palace. Brian received the invitation in j.a.pan, and declined. The boys had grown to loathe civic receptions of this type. Unfortunately, n.o.body in the Philippines was brave enough to tell Imelda that the Beatles had turned her down.
A large number of Filipinos gathered to greet the band at Manila Airport on Sunday 3 July 1966, but the Beatles weren"t permitted to meet their fans. Instead the boys were taken off the plane by police and driven to Manila Harbour, where they were put on a boat. "We"ve no idea why they took us to the boat," George Harrison said in an interview for the Beatles" Anthology Anthology. "I still don"t know to this day." In her first interview about the Beatles" visit to her country, Mrs Marcos says the boat was for their protection.
Remember, "66 was at the height of the Cold War, when China, Russia and America were fighting in Vietnam. And the Philippines was in the centre of all of this, the Left was fighting the Right and the communists were very strong nearby, which was China. They had their cultural revolution [and here in the Philippines] the rich and the poor ... So it was not a secure place. [So when the security services] saw the mob and the hysteria that met the group they placed them in the boat to make them secure.
When Brian threw a tantrum, and demanded they be taken ash.o.r.e, the Beatles were transferred to the Manila Hotel. Officials came to their suite the next day to remind them they were expected at the Malacanan Palace as honoured luncheon guests of the First Family. Mrs Marcos had promised her friends the Beadles were coming and members of the Cabinet, Congress and Senate had a.s.sembled in readiness, with their wives and children, many dressed in Beatles costumes. Furthermore, the Filipino people had been informed by television that the party was to be broadcast. "And they were sure of course that [we] would ask them to perform a bit," says Mrs Marcos, revealing her real purpose: she expected the Beatles to give her a private show at the Malacanan Palace. Without consulting the boys, Brian Epstein waved the men from the palace away, saying he"d already declined this invitation.
The Beatles played their two Manila shows on schedule on Monday 4 July, a matinee and evening performance. That night they started to see news reports on television about how they had insulted the nation by standing up the First Family. When the boys called downstairs for breakfast the next morning, inedible and apparently tainted food was sent to their suite. The newspapers screamed news of the snub. "I was a little embarra.s.sed," Mrs Marcos now says of the Beatles" failure to come to the palace, insisting however that she and her husband didn"t orchestrate the censure in the press or the way the band was mistreated as they tried to leave the country. She had no idea, for example, that Brian Epstein was having trouble collecting money due for their concerts, or that officials were demanding a tax on the withheld takings. "We had nothing to do with [that]," she says, claiming that the misfortunes that befell the Beatles after the shows were entirely a result of the hurt pride of the Filipino people.
When the Beatles party reached Manila Airport that afternoon airport staff refused to help with their luggage and switched off an escalator to inconvenience them further. The Beatles and their entourage were jostled, kicked and punched as they made their way to the departure gate for their KLM flight to London (via New Delhi, where George was planning to take his first Indian holiday). They feared they would never make it. When they finally boarded the plane, Mal Evans and Tony Barrow were called back by officials, who questioned them about irregularities in the Beatles" paperwork. Brian was obliged to hand over $17,000 cash (11,111) at the last minute, after which the jet was cleared for take-off. Mrs Marcos claims she was on her way to the airport to intervene on the Beatles" behalf. "I was rushing to the airport, only to be told halfway that the Beatles had been to the plane already and gone." As the KLM jet climbed into the safety of international air s.p.a.ce, the Beatles felt relieved to have got out of the country in one piece. Then they blamed Brian. When they stopped in New Delhi, the band informed Brian they wouldn"t tour again once they"d fulfilled the rest of their summer engagements. Epstein took the news badly.
"What will I do if they stop touring?" he asked Peter Brown. "What will be left for me?"
For her part, Imelda Marcos looks back on the Beatles" now-notorious visit to Manila with regret. "I feel sorry that it had to happen in the Philippines during our time," she says. "I"m sure the Beatles were not there to humiliate the President and the First Family and the government. " She and Ferdinand continued to like Beadles" music, and she has followed Paul"s career with interest. "It was a sad miscommunication. But you can be sure that the Filipinos are very sensitive to music and any great music is always appreciated by Filipinos. Even to this day they love the Beadles and I do, too."22 THE LAST TOUR.
Home again, Paul enjoyed a summer break in advance of the release of Revolver. Revolver. The sleeve of the new LP featured artwork by Klaus Voormann: a collage of photos and Beardlseyesque drawings of the boys, John watching Paul through slit eyes. As the alb.u.m was played and admired, widely considered an advance even on The sleeve of the new LP featured artwork by Klaus Voormann: a collage of photos and Beardlseyesque drawings of the boys, John watching Paul through slit eyes. As the alb.u.m was played and admired, widely considered an advance even on Rubber Soul Rubber Soul, the Beatles steeled themselves for what would be their final live shows: a short, late summer tour of the United States, starting in Chicago on 12 August 1966. The cloud of ill-fortune that had followed them from Germany to j.a.pan to Manila now turned black.
Earlier in the year, John and Paul had given in-depth interviews to one of their pet reporters, Maureen Cleave of the London Evening Standard Evening Standard , in which they let their guard down to an unusual degree. In his profile, Paul came across as a pretentious young man bent on self-improvement. "I don"t want to sound like Jonathan Miller," he told Maureen, referring to the polymath intellectual, , in which they let their guard down to an unusual degree. In his profile, Paul came across as a pretentious young man bent on self-improvement. "I don"t want to sound like Jonathan Miller," he told Maureen, referring to the polymath intellectual, but I"m trying to cram everything in, all the things that I"ve missed. People are saying things and painting things and writing things and composing things that are great, and I must know know what people are doing ... I vaguely mind people knowing what I don"t know. what people are doing ... I vaguely mind people knowing what I don"t know.
Paul criticised the US for the plight of its black citizens, contrasting their struggle for Civil Rights with life in dear old England, "O sceptred isle!" he said, misquoting Shakespeare,23 as he often did. It was a habit that could make him appear pompous when reported in print, but may only have been meant playfully in conversation. "He was a relentless tease," recalls Cleave. as he often did. It was a habit that could make him appear pompous when reported in print, but may only have been meant playfully in conversation. "He was a relentless tease," recalls Cleave.
The journalist"s subsequent interview with John Lennon at Kenwood resulted in one of the best-observed profiles of the musician ever published. Cleave found John in many ways unchanged since she had first met the band at the start of Beatlemania, still peering down his nose at her, "arrogant as an eagle". Kenwood was more a giant playpen than home: a suit of armour named Sidney in one corner, a gorilla suit in another; one room set out with model racing cars; another with blinking light boxes John had bought as Christmas gifts but forgotten to give away. Although he shared this house with a wife, son, staff, and a cat named Mimi, John lived like a millionaire teenager, staying up half the night playing with his toys, watching TV and reading Just William Just William books; not knowing what day it was when he got up. "He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England," Maureen observed, which was not something one could say of Paul. books; not knowing what day it was when he got up. "He can sleep almost indefinitely, is probably the laziest person in England," Maureen observed, which was not something one could say of Paul.
Like his partner, John enjoying pontificating, and religion held his interest at the moment. "Christianity will go," he predicted portentously. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn"t argue about that; I"m right and I will be proved right." Paul had expressed similar irreligious sentiments to Maureen, saying he leaned towards atheism, but Paul would never have been so injudicious as to say: "We"re more popular than Jesus now," as John did in his interview. "I don"t know which will go first - rock "n" roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary."
Whereas British readers took John"s comments as no more than an opinionated young man sounding off, when Maureen"s interviews were reprinted in the American teen magazine Datebook Datebook American readers were hugely offended, the USA being a far more religious country than Britain. Alarming reports reached an already overwrought Brian Epstein that US radio stations were banning Beatles records because of what John had said, while their erstwhile fans were staging ceremonial burnings of the alb.u.ms. The Ku Klux Klan was promising ominous "surprises" for the Beatles when they came over for their tour. It was therefore in a state of high anxiety that the Beatles flew into Chicago in August. American readers were hugely offended, the USA being a far more religious country than Britain. Alarming reports reached an already overwrought Brian Epstein that US radio stations were banning Beatles records because of what John had said, while their erstwhile fans were staging ceremonial burnings of the alb.u.ms. The Ku Klux Klan was promising ominous "surprises" for the Beatles when they came over for their tour. It was therefore in a state of high anxiety that the Beatles flew into Chicago in August.
Though they had enjoyed the United States in the past, the Beatles didn"t feel entirely comfortable in America now. George was scared of flying and disliked the long continental flights they had to take in order to tour the US, while the excessive reactions of American fans were disconcerting. The prevalence of guns in everyday life also struck the Beatles as strange and unnerving, as it did all British visitors, with Americans seeming to be a more volatile, violent people, especially in light of recent race riots and a.s.sa.s.sinations. Paul was fascinated with the a.s.sa.s.sination of President Kennedy in particular, reading everything he could about the Dallas shooting, and frightening himself into thinking he might be a target for a marksman. "Paul was always terrified of being shot," says Peter Brown. "So he was very nervous on stage." As to what John had said to Maureen Cleave about Jesus, that had made everything more tense and difficult. Paul didn"t blame John. None of the band members did. They took the view that John"s comments had been taken out of context in America. But they all had to deal with the fallout.
John attempted to diffuse the situation as soon as they arrived in the United States by facing the media at the band"s Chicago hotel. He apologised if his comments had been misconstrued, indicating that he was a Christian (which was more than Paul was prepared to say), and didn"t have any "un-Christian thoughts". The Beatles gave their first concert the next day at Chicago"s International Amphitheatre, Paul scanning the bleachers at this and every subsequent show for a sniper. Though no shots rang out, there were other more ba.n.a.l indications that America"s love affair with the band might be waning. Most obviously there were unsold seats in Detroit the next day, also in New York where the band played a return engagement at Shea Stadium on 23 August. Sid Bernstein, who was once again the promoter, looked up from the baseball diamond to see a whole block of empty seats during the show.24 Interestingly, standing in the press box shooting pictures was Paul"s future wife Linda Eastman, who had just embarked on a career as a rock "n" roll photographer. Interestingly, standing in the press box shooting pictures was Paul"s future wife Linda Eastman, who had just embarked on a career as a rock "n" roll photographer.
The tour concluded in California, where the Beatles played firstly to a vast crowd at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on 28 August, an event that descended into a near-riot as fans swarmed over their limousine, threatening to crush it as they tried to leave the gig. The limo driver took shelter under a grandstand behind a high fence, which fans attacked, beaten back by cops with billy clubs. In return, the rioting concert-goers started hurling missiles at the police. "Meanwhile the Beatles, virtually imprisoned beneath the grandstand by fans stampeding from one spot to another in the vast outdoor stadium, made good their escape by armoured car at the opposite end of the field," wrote a news reporter of the warlike scene. The next day, the Beatles flew north to San Francisco for their final show.
The fact that Brian Epstein didn"t accompany his boys to San Francisco, electing to stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel with his American business partner Nat Weiss, showed he wasn"t his old self. Since Manila, Brian had been trying to adjust to the idea that the Beatles wouldn"t tour again, wondering where this left him. A large part of his life these past four years had been occupied arranging publicity opportunities and concert bookings for the boys. He"d never been much involved in the other side of their career, making records. That was something they did with George Martin.
As he pondered an empty future, Brian was joined at the Beverly Hills Hotel by a young hustler from Ohio, whom Brian had met the previous year. Their relationship had turned sour on that first occasion when the boy attempted to blackmail him. "I think Brian gave him $3,000 [1,960] to get rid of him," says Weiss, dismayed to see the lad back at Brian"s side at the swimming pool and hardly surprised to find that, when they returned to their respective rooms, their briefcases were missing, apparently stolen by the young man, who was nowhere to be found. Brian"s case contained contracts, cash and amphetamine tablets, which he was using so heavily he was becoming addicted. Peter Brown says Epstein also had compromising personal letters and pictures in his case, and the hustler tried to blackmail Brian again with these doc.u.ments. Weiss disagrees, saying there was nothing incriminating in Brian"s attache case, and doesn"t recall any blackmail this time around, but concedes that Brian was very upset by the theft. "Whenever someone steals from you, you feel diminished and ripped off, and it certainly hurts your ego, [especially] if it"s someone you trusted and liked. That"s what really bothered him," says Weiss, who engaged a private detective to recover their property, which he did successfully. At the end of the day Brian wanted the affair hushed up. "He didn"t want any notoriety because of the Beatles being on tour."
Meanwhile, the Beatles had reached San Francisco to play Candlestick Park, a baseball stadium outside the city. Although it was late summer, Monday 29 August turned out to be one of those unseasonal Bay Area days when cold air and fog rolls in from the ocean, making it feel like winter. Paul apologised for the weather from the stage, which was set up on the diamond as it had been at Shea, with the additional protection of being ringed with a wire fence, so they were effectively playing in a cage again.
Knowing it was the last show, Paul asked Tony Barrow to tape the concert. Tony did the best he could, but it was a futile exercise with the PA equipment as it was and the fans howling. The boys could just about make themselves heard when they performed boot stompers like "Long Tall Sally", but when they attempted more subtle new songs, including "Paperback Writer", with its harmonised intro, the nuances blew away on the wind. "All you heard was screaming and these flash light bulbs [were] going off everywhere," recalls Bay Area musician Marty Balin, who"d recently formed what would become an influential new band, Jefferson Airplane. "It was bright as day, and you could not hear a note they played." So it was, in a squall of white noise and white light, that Paul retired from his life as a touring Beatle.
9.
LINDA.
TIME FOR A NUMBER OF THINGS.
After their last gruelling concert tour, the Beatles took time off to pursue independent projects. John went to Spain to act in Richard Lester"s film How I Won the War How I Won the War; Ringo kept him company. George travelled to India to study the sitar with his new friend, Ravi Shankar. Says the Indian musician, who was already an established star with an international reputation: When I met all the four Beatles for the first time, I found young handsome Paul very charming; Ringo very funny and warm; and John reserved and restrained. However, George and I clicked immediately. I was impressed by his genuine attraction for my music, as well as our ancient Vedic philosophy. Before meeting me, George had already heard my LP recordings and live concert and had used the sitar on "Norwegian Wood". Being a cla.s.sical musician, it did not appeal much to me at that time, but later on I felt more comfortable with it.
With his band mates away, Paul decided to take a continental holiday, disguised as a n.o.body. Fooling around in the props department at Twickenham Film Studios, where the Beatles had filmed interiors for their first two movies, Paul had found that, by wearing a stick-on moustache, false gla.s.ses and an old coat, he could walk past even his fellow Beatles without being recognised. Jane was busy with her stage work - about to appear in The Winter"s Tale The Winter"s Tale, followed by playing Juliet in Bristol-so Paul took off on his own, driving his Aston Martin to Lydd Airport on the Kent coast, an area which would come to play an important part in his life, putting the Aston on a cargo plane, and hopping over to France where, looking not unlike the moustachioed Alfred Jarry, he motored off into the countryside, shooting an extended home movie as he went.
After a few days Paul reached Bordeaux, where he visited a discotheque in disguise only to be refused admission, something he had never previously experienced. "So I thought, Sod this, I might as well go back to the hotel and come as him!" Paul later told Barry Miles. "So I came back as a normal Beatle, and was welcomed with open arms." The experience reminded Paul of the advantages of fame. Bob Dylan once remarked astutely that most musicians become pop stars because they want fame and money, but soon realise it"s the money they really want. McCartney was unusual in that he enjoyed his wealth and and his fame. Having posed briefly as a n.o.body, he never wanted to be a n.o.body again. "It made me remember why we all wanted to get famous." Paul met up with Mal Evans and drove down to Spain, intending to meet John and Ringo, but they had already gone home, so Paul flew on to Nairobi, where he enjoyed a brief safari holiday with Jane. his fame. Having posed briefly as a n.o.body, he never wanted to be a n.o.body again. "It made me remember why we all wanted to get famous." Paul met up with Mal Evans and drove down to Spain, intending to meet John and Ringo, but they had already gone home, so Paul flew on to Nairobi, where he enjoyed a brief safari holiday with Jane.
On the flight home to England Paul put his mind to what the Beatles might do next. Tired of touring, he thought it would be interesting to invent a persona for the band to inhabit, and make a special record in that persona that could almost serve as a subst.i.tute for live shows. In the first flush of flower power, bands with elaborate names had become commonplace: Big Brother and the Holding Company in the USA, for example, the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band in England. Fiddling with airline sachets of salt and pepper on the plane home from Africa, Paul came up with Sergeant Pepper"s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Before plunging into the phantasmagoria of the Sgt. Pepper Sgt. Pepper alb.u.m, Paul worked with George Martin on a score for the movie alb.u.m, Paul worked with George Martin on a score for the movie The Family Way The Family Way. In Paul"s mind there was no conflict between breaking new ground musically and making music, like this, to order. "If you are blessed with the ability to write music, you can turn your hand to various forms. I"ve always admired people for whom it"s a craft - the great songwriting partners of the past, such as Rodgers and Hammerstein," Paul has said of his reason for scoring The Family Way The Family Way. The film was a Boulting Brothers production about a cinema projectionist (played by Hywell Bennett) who cannot consummate his marriage to his virgin bride (Hayley Mills) because he feels inhibited living at home with his parents. Audiences may have imagined they were in for a challenging kitchen-sink drama when they bought tickets in 1966 for a film about s.e.x set in the urban north, but The Family Way The Family Way was a stilted, old-fashioned picture depicting an England seemingly aeons behind swinging London. was a stilted, old-fashioned picture depicting an England seemingly aeons behind swinging London.
Thinking of his dad, and grandfather, and their love of traditional bra.s.s band music, Paul decided to create a bra.s.s band theme for the movie. As would subsequently be the case whenever Paul departed from straight pop music to "write" for musicians who work from a score, he had to collaborate with an amanuensis, in this case George Martin, because Paul himself was unable to read or write music notation. The essential tune would always be Paul"s, but what he gave his amanuensis was often very brief, a simple phrase he would hum or play on the guitar or piano. It was for the other person to develop this idea into a score, with Paul making comments as the work progressed. George Martin had to pester Paul for the briefest sc.r.a.p of a tune to start The Family Way The Family Way. "I said, "If you don"t give me one, I"m going to write one of my own." That did the trick. He gave me a sweet little fragment of a waltz tune ... and with that I was able to complete the score." As a result Paul won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Instrumental Theme. It was his eleventh Ivor Novello, amazingly, and he was not yet 25.
SHE"S LEAVING HOME Since setting up home together in Cavendish Avenue, a house they now inhabited as common-law husband and wife, Paul and Jane had become increasingly aware of their differences. Paul lived for his music and, after spending the afternoon writing upstairs in his music room, or round the corner at EMI on Abbey Road, he liked to go clubbing, often bringing a gang of musicians and other bohemians back to Cavendish late at night. Jane didn"t like clubs. She"d only ever had a polite interest in pop, and was not into drugs. She had her own circle of theatrical friends who didn"t mesh with Paul"s crowd. There were awkward evenings at Cavendish when Paul and Jane tried to mix their friends. The couple were most simpatico on those rare quiet evenings when neither had an engagement, Jane would cook and they"d sit together watching telly, as they did on 16 November 1966 when the BBC broadcast the drama Cathy Come Home Cathy Come Home, in which unemployment leads to a young mother losing her home and ultimately her child. Soft-hearted Jane asked Paul if they couldn"t do something to help people like Cathy, living as they did in their big house. They could give a girl a room. Paul said that if they took one in, they"d soon have others ringing up.
On the inauspicious date of Friday 13 January 1967, Jane flew to the United States with the Bristol Old Vic for a four-and-a-half-month theatrical tour. Paul was not at Heathrow to see her off. "The trouble is I don"t think Jane really wanted to leave me," the star complained to a reporter from the Daily Sketch Daily Sketch who called at Cavendish to ask what was going on. "She signed for the trip about mid-year when it seemed a good idea, but when it came to the crunch it didn"t seem such a good idea. Anyway she"s gone and I"m sitting by myself." Even if Paul had been a man who liked his own company, which he wasn"t, there was no way he was going to spend four and a half months alone. He was going to have his mates round, pick girls up, drink, take drugs, leave his clothes where he dropped them and the dishes unwashed. He was going to enjoy the bachelor life. "The thing is with Paul he was never a bachelor," says Tony Bramwell, with a touch of exaggeration, for there had been Hamburg, but even then Paul was engaged to Dot. "From when he became a Beatle he was with Jane, [so] he"d never had that existence of being free." who called at Cavendish to ask what was going on. "She signed for the trip about mid-year when it seemed a good idea, but when it came to the crunch it didn"t seem such a good idea. Anyway she"s gone and I"m sitting by myself." Even if Paul had been a man who liked his own company, which he wasn"t, there was no way he was going to spend four and a half months alone. He was going to have his mates round, pick girls up, drink, take drugs, leave his clothes where he dropped them and the dishes unwashed. He was going to enjoy the bachelor life. "The thing is with Paul he was never a bachelor," says Tony Bramwell, with a touch of exaggeration, for there had been Hamburg, but even then Paul was engaged to Dot. "From when he became a Beatle he was with Jane, [so] he"d never had that existence of being free."
With Jane away, Paul also threw himself into work with the Beatles at Abbey Road, where many elements came together to enable the band to take another leap forward in their musical journey. Without concert commitments, the Beatles had limitless time to devote to their work now; their musical and intellectual ideas had expanded greatly; and, importantly, George Martin was increasingly involved as their arranger and enabler. At a time when other artists in Britain and the US were creating increasingly sophisticated music, not least the Beach Boys with their Pet Sounds Pet Sounds alb.u.m, the Beatles also felt p.r.i.c.ked to show they were still number one. It was time to trans.m.u.te from a grub-like pop act into a b.u.t.terfly by recording the seminal rock alb.u.m, alb.u.m, the Beatles also felt p.r.i.c.ked to show they were still number one. It was time to trans.m.u.te from a grub-like pop act into a b.u.t.terfly by recording the seminal rock alb.u.m, Sgt. Pepper"s Lonely Hearts Club Band Sgt. Pepper"s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The band had started work before Jane"s departure, in late November 1966, cutting John"s "Strawberry Fields Forever". The John who returned from his film-making sabbatical in Spain looked radically different to the fat-faced Beatle of Help! Help! Having had his hair cut short for Having had his hair cut short for How I Won the War How I Won the War, lost weight, and taken to wearing National Health Service "granny" gla.s.ses, John had transformed himself into a professorial figure, one who was increasingly strung out on acid, his new song being a psychedelic look back on his Liverpool childhood, the tune named after the children"s home Strawberry Field (sic) which stood in walled grounds near Aunt Mimi"s Woolton house, a "secret garden" he"d roamed around as a boy. Although Paul played the haunting keyboard introduction, on a mellotron programmed with flutes, "Strawberry Fields Forever" was unmistakably John"s song, maybe his greatest composition, his vocal sending a shiver down the spine as he sang the wise and penetrating lyric, "Living is easy with eyes closed/Misunderstanding all you see". Like Dylan, Lennon had the knack of writing couplets, like this, that seem to contain an essential truth. Paul was rarely such a philosopher. He glides along the surface of life in his songs, as he did to some extent on the next number the Beatles recorded, "When I"m Sixty-Four". Although this is one of Paul"s best songs, and one that deals with a profound subject, old age, Paul sidestepped the darker issues involved - ill-health, loneliness, regret and fear of death - to create a jaunty number featuring old-age pensioners whom one could imagine throwing their sticks away and dancing to that cottage on the Isle of Wight. Like so much of Paul McCartney"s work, "When I"m Sixty-Four" is therefore an attractive song with a facile lyric. The song may ask a challenging question - "Will you stand by me when I"m old?" - but the listener has no doubt the answer will be a cheery, "Yes, of course I will, silly."
"Strawberry Fields Forever" and "When I"m Sixty-Four" both came out of the composers" Liverpool childhood, Paul creating the latter as a boy at Forthlin Road, only now putting lyrics to the tune. He looked homeward again with "Penny Lane", a song he"d had kicking around for a year or so before the Beatles set to work on it in December 1966. Although the previous comments apply regarding lyrics, with "Penny Lane" having a typically sunny sentiment, this time the words are better. Recalling the view from the top deck of the No. 86 bus, as he used to travel from Mather Avenue to the Liverpool Inst.i.tute, past the circular bus and tram stop at the corner of Smithdown Road and Penny Lane, Paul was writing about a place he knew intimately, and already viewed nostalgically. Here was the landscape of his Liverpool childhood laid out as in a pleasant dream; the buildings, streets, shops and everyday characters he had grown up with: Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs Of every head he"s had the pleasure to know.
And all the people that come and go Stop and say h.e.l.lo.
John used to get his hair cut in Bioletti"s, which still exists, under new ownership, opposite Lloyd"s Bank on the corner. Paul observed it all beautifully, a cheerfully ordinary English high street arrayed under "blue suburban skies", a lovely, poetic phrase. As has often been observed, there is a hint of psychedelia in the banker in the rain without his mac, the fireman with a portrait of the Queen in his pocket, but these images could just as easily be explained away as everyday English eccentricity. s.e.x was here, too, as it is throughout the Beatles" work. The phrase "finger pies" is a reference to heavy petting.
As with "Strawberry Fields Forever", George Martin"s arrangement of "Penny Lane" was immaculate, the producer working long hours with the boys to create the equivalent of cla.s.sical tone-poems. "Penny Lane" was brightened with a piccolo trumpet, which Paul requested after watching a performance of Bach"s second Brandenburg Concerto Brandenburg Concerto on television. George Martin hired the very trumpet player Paul had heard, David Mason, to play on "Penny Lane". "Paul sat at the piano and played what he wanted on the track, on television. George Martin hired the very trumpet player Paul had heard, David Mason, to play on "Penny Lane". "Paul sat at the piano and played what he wanted on the track, Can I play this? Can I do that? Can I play this? Can I do that? And then George wrote it down," says Mason. And then George wrote it down," says Mason.
We went on like that for about three hours until they got what they wanted, because Paul was quite limited in his chord sequences and things. I mean he wasn"t the greatest of pianists. He could play what he wanted to on the piano, and when he got what he thought it was going to sound like I played it a bit and then [he asked] Can he play it a bit higher? Can he play it a bit higher? or or Can you play so and so? Can you play so and so?
Many rock musicians attempted to combine their music with cla.s.sical instrumentation in the years ahead, often sounding pretentious. With George Martin"s help, the Beatles melded pop and cla.s.sical forms successfully to create music that is natural, honest and enduringly pleasing, and whatever shortcomings we might identify in McCartney"s oeuvre oeuvre there is no lovelier song in the Beatles" canon than his "Penny Lane". there is no lovelier song in the Beatles" canon than his "Penny Lane".
Like so many of his songs, Paul composed "Penny Lane" on his little garret piano, which had been moved from Wimpole Street to the music room at Cavendish Avenue, and which, towards the end of 1966, was to be transformed by the trendy art group BEV. Comprising three young artists from the North of England - Douglas Binder, Dudley Edwards and David Vaughan - BEV was named from the first letters of their surnames. While sharing a London flat the men started painting their furniture in bright colours, inspired by the work of fairground artist FG Fowl. The furniture proved very popular. Macy"s became a US stockist and socialite Tara Browne commissioned the group to customise his Cobra sports car. "Tara, said: "You should meet my friend Paul. He"d probably like your work,"" recalls Dudley Edwards. A meeting was arranged and, at Paul"s request, the group painted his piano with lightning bolts of red, yellow, blue and purple-creating one of the iconic musical instruments of the psychedelic era - returning the piano in time for Paul to complete Sgt. Pepper Sgt. Pepper. McCartney paid them generously - their agreed fee plus a substantial tip - gainsaying what became an unwarranted reputation for meanness. As the story of McCartney"s life continues, we shall read numerous examples of the star being very generous with his money.
When BEV broke up, Paul invited Dudley Edwards to come and stay with him at Cavendish. It was companionable having a young northern chap of his age around the house with Jane away. Also, like medieval princelings, each Beatle tended to maintain a court who served, flattered and amused them. Often these courtiers were given a small task to perform while they shared their Beatle"s privileged existence. In theory Dudley was at Cavendish to help decorate the house in the emerging hippie style, which was characterised by a combination of old, new and hand-made. Paul invested in many mod cons including a state-of-the-art kitchen, hi-fi, and expensive new colour television (which lured Aunt Ginny down from Merseyside to watch Wimbledon). The curtains were drawn by an electric motor, while the master bedroom had the luxury of an en suite en suite bathroom with sunken tub. Paul was also buying antiques, including a huge clock, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, which hung in the dining room; a Victorian street lamp was erected in the front yard, contrasting with the geodesic contemplation dome in the back. bathroom with sunken tub. Paul was also buying antiques, including a huge clock, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, which hung in the dining room; a Victorian street lamp was erected in the front yard, contrasting with the geodesic contemplation dome in the back.
Paul set Dudley Edwards to work painting tiny creatures into the pattern of the William Morris wallpaper that covered his dining room walls, creating a vast mural. "I started painting the mural in his dining room, but Paul didn"t seem that bothered about the mural being done," recalls Edwards.
Paul would say, "Put your brush down, we"re going out shopping." That would be one minute and the next minute he"d say, "Put your brush down, we"re going to a night club." And the next thing, "Are you coming to the recording studio?" I just accompanied him, went with him everywhere, basically enjoy[ing] ourselves.
With Jane away, Paul and Dudley entertained a parade of women at the house, including the American singer Nico, who visited Cavendish when her mentor Andy Warhol was pa.s.sing through town and stayed. This was Paul"s domestic scene, in early 1967, while he was recording Sgt. Pepper Sgt. Pepper.
In mid-January, the Beatles started work on their monumental track "A Day in the Life", the inspiration for which is often attributed to the untimely death of Tara Browne. Paul was sufficiently close to the playboy heir to have invited him to Rembrandt in recent months. One night he and Tara decided to ride over to see Uncle Mike on a couple of mopeds. Paul came off his bike, split his lip and broke one of his front teeth. He would wear a cap afterwards to cover the broken tooth, and grew a moustache while the scar healed, helping start a trend. All four Beatles soon wore little moustaches. Not long after this incident, on 18 December 1966, Tara was killed when his Lotus. .h.i.t a van in London. It was reading news reports of the death - GUINNESS HEIR DIES IN CAR CRASH; A BOY WHO HAD TOO MUCH-that is often said to have prompted Lennon to begin work on "A Day in the Life", though Paul doesn"t recall a particular connection. The lyric was created in the cut-up style of William Burroughs, jumbling together sc.r.a.ps of newspaper articles, a compositional method John and Paul were a little sheepish about at first, according to BEV artist Douglas Binder who stumbled upon them doing a cut-up at Cavendish.
I think it was John who said, "If our fans knew how we composed our lyrics and music they"d have a real shock." He was embarra.s.sed about it at this time because it was done in a surrealistic manner of actually tearing bits of paper from the newspapers, or headlines from the newspapers, connecting them to make some lyrics ...
Although "A Day in the Life" is primarily John"s song, Paul"s part was again significant. He played the evocative, dead-sounding piano and contributed the bridge: Woke up, fell out of bed, Dragged a comb across my head.
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup And looking up, I noticed I was late.
While being a relatively slight thing in itself, the bridge provides a nice, breezy contrast to John"s sombre verses (old boys from the Inny interpreting the line about going upstairs and having a smoke as Paul having a ciggie on the No. 86 bus to school).
Still more interesting are the twin pa.s.sages of ad libertum ad libertum orchestral music, coming before Paul"s bridge, then again after the last verse, building to the climax. These bold musical pa.s.sages were Paul"s idea, working in the same uncompromising spirit of composition as Germany"s Karlheinz Stockhausen. McCartney and Lennon were both now familiar with the leading "serious" composers of their age-the likes of Berio, Cage and Stockhausen - some of whom they had met or had contact with in other ways (Paul struck up a correspondence with Stockhausen). These composers had stretched the boundaries of "cla.s.sical" music in the twentieth century, creating works seemingly as far removed from Beethoven, say, as rock "n" roll would seem to differ from their own music, though of course "music is music" as another avant-garde composer, Alban Berg, has remarked. Rock "n" roll songs are shorter and simpler than symphonies, but they are made up of the same notes and not necessarily less affecting. In the spirit of these innovators, Paul put a radical suggestion to George Martin as to how they might fill 24 bars in the middle and end of "A Day in the Life", though his initial instructions were impractical. "He said, "I want a symphony orchestra to freak out,"" recalls Martin, who said the musicians wouldn"t know what he was talking about. Instead, he wrote a musical shriek for 41 musicians, playing their instruments from the lowest to highest note. orchestral music, coming before Paul"s bridge, then again after the last verse, building to the climax. These bold musical pa.s.sages were Paul"s idea, working in the same uncompromising spirit of composition as Germany"s Karlheinz Stockhausen. McCartney and Lennon were both now familiar with the leading "serious" composers of their age-the likes of Berio, Cage and Stockhausen - some of whom they had met or had contact with in other ways (Paul struck up a correspondence with Stockhausen). These composers had stretched the boundaries of "cla.s.sical" music in the twentieth century, creating works seemingly as far removed from Beethoven, say, as rock "n" roll would seem to differ from their own music, though of course "music is music" as another avant-garde composer, Alban Berg, has remarked. Rock "n" roll songs are shorter and simpler than symphonies, but they are made up of the same notes and not necessarily less affecting. In the spirit of these innovators, Paul put a radical suggestion to George Martin as to how they might fill 24 bars in the middle and end of "A Day in the Life", though his initial instructions were impractical. "He said, "I want a symphony orchestra to freak out,"" recalls Martin, who said the musicians wouldn"t know what he was talking about. Instead, he wrote a musical shriek for 41 musicians, playing their instruments from the lowest to highest note.
The recording of this remarkable pa.s.sage of music was organised as a happening, and filmed for posterity. The Beatles came to the session in what was becoming identifiable as flower power costume (whimsical, colourful and foppish), while George Martin and his orchestra were requested to wear evening dress. The studio was lit with coloured light-bulbs, the Beatles pa.s.sing out masks and other items of fancy dress, which many of the session players obligingly wore. One elderly violinist performed wearing a gorilla paw; another wore what looked like a p.e.n.i.s nose. The Beatles invited their friends, partners and fellow celebrities to take part, including the singer Donovan, a particular mate of Paul"s, and members of the Rolling Stones and the Monkees, the American band recently created in emulation of the Beatles for a TV show. It showed how confident and essentially good-natured the Beatles were that they were friendly towards the absurd Monkees, then making their first visit to the U K. Monkee Mike Nesmith recalls being invited to the "A Day in the Life" session as if they were equals: "It was festive and crowded with people well known in the music scene and business of the time. Because it was a working session there was a certain understanding that there had to be work done, and that we were all part of it." After Paul had conducted his apocalyptic ascending chord, the celebrities were asked to emit a final, punctuating hummm hummm, later replaced by a crashing E chord, played by Paul and others simultaneously on keyboards, the sound allowed to reverberate on the record until the needle lifted. Thus Paul became a composer of serious orchestral music, at the cutting edge of what was happening in the twentieth century, decades before his more self-conscious and conservative forays into "cla.s.sical" composition with his Liverpool Oratorio Liverpool Oratorio and other works. and other works.
By the standards of the day, Sgt. Pepper Sgt. Pepper took a long time to record: five months including mixing. Considering the exceptional quality of the work it now seems to have been achieved quickly, and Paul still found time to do other things. In January, Dudley Edwards asked if the Beatles would contribute music for a rave he was helping stage at the Roundhouse, a disused train shed in North London, an event the hippies were calling took a long time to record: five months including mixing. Considering the exceptional quality of the work it now seems to have been achieved quickly, and Paul still found time to do other things. In January, Dudley Edwards asked if the Beatles would contribute music for a rave he was helping stage at the Roundhouse, a disused train shed in North London, an event the hippies were calling The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave The Million Volt Light and Sound Rave. Working with his fellow Beatles, Paul created a 13-minute sound collage the band called Carnival of Light Carnival of Light, made up of tape loops and extemporaneous screams and shouts. Paul handed the experimental tape to Dudley. The star was displeased when organisers at the rave allowed the tape to run on past the section he"d intended to be heard, with the result that the crowd was treated, in addition to Carnival of Light Carnival of Light, to a demo of "Fixing a Hole," one of the new songs on Pepper Pepper, that also happened to be on the spool. "He was quite angry about that," recalls Dudley. "It wasn"t intentional. I was busy trying to do the light show, so was Doug[las Binder]. I don"t know who was left with the responsibility of playing the tape, but anyway it got an airing - I think Paul forgave us in the end."
Paul also continued to give thought to the Beatles" next film, one they were contracted to make. Having considered making an anti-war picture, as discussed with Bertrand Russell and Len Deighton, but which John had effectively now done as a solo project, and having turned down producer Walter Shenson"s suggestion that the Beatles remake The Three Musketeers The Three Musketeers, the band commissioned an original script from the fashionable playwright Joe Orton, whose hit farce Loot Loot Paul had enjoyed. Orton was riding high on the success of his second play, Paul had enjoyed. Orton was riding high on the success of his second play, Entertaining Mr Sloane Entertaining Mr Sloane, in January 1967 when he was summoned to Brian Epstein"s newly acquired townhouse in Chapel Street, Belgravia, a ritzy address near Buckingham Palace. The playwright found Paul in the drawing room listening to an advance pressing of "Penny Lane". Orton thought Paul"s new moustache gave him the look of a turn-of-the-century anarchist. Over supper, McCartney said that while he generally only got "a sore a.r.s.e" from going to the theatre (a dig at Jane), Loot Loot held his attention. This and the fact that Orton confessed to a fondness for smoking gra.s.s served to break the ice. "Well, I"d like you to do the film," Paul told the playwright. "There"s only one thing we"ve got to fix up." held his attention. This and the fact that Orton confessed to a fondness for smoking gra.s.s served to break the ice. "Well, I"d like you to do the film," Paul told the playwright. "There"s only one thing we"ve got to fix up."
"You mean the bread? " asked Orton. He requested and received thrice his usual fee and shortly thereafter turned in a typically outrageous script, Up Against It Up Against It, in which the Beatles would commit adultery and murder and be caught in drag in flagrante in flagrante. It was rejected.
Although it seems obvious now that the double A-side "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" was a masterpiece, the best single the Beatles ever released, it was their first single since "Please Please Me" to fail to reach number one in Britain, kept off the top spot by Engelbert Humperdinck, an old Larry Parnes act, crooning "Release Me".25 Perhaps the new Beatles were too arty for their fans. The band was clearly drifting away from the eager-to-please light entertainers of yore. The accompanying promotional film for the new double A-side showed the boys as hirsute hippies, John dramatically changed from mop-top to whiskery intellectual. At least Paul smiled from under his anarchist moustache; John increasingly wore the remote expression of the heavy drug user. Perhaps the new Beatles were too arty for their fans. The band was clearly drifting away from the eager-to-please light entertainers of yore. The accompanying promotional film for the new double A-side showed the boys as hirsute hippies, John dramatically changed from mop-top to whiskery intellectual. At least Paul smiled from under his anarchist moustache; John increasingly wore the remote expression of the heavy drug user.
"Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" did not feature on Sgt. Pepper Sgt. Pepper in the UK or the USA, where Capitol Records used the same track listings for the first time. If they had included those two songs on the alb.u.m, in the UK or the USA, where Capitol Records used the same track listings for the first time. If they had included those two songs on the alb.u.m, Pepper Pepper would have been even more impressive, and George Martin considers the failure to do so "the biggest mistake of my professional career". What would they have left off, though, to make room? Perhaps George"s India-inspired "Within You Without You", which was interesting, but didn"t quite fit. Apart from "She"s Leaving Home" and "Fixing a Hole", Paul"s other contributions to the alb.u.m were "Getting Better" and "Lovely Rita", the latter a slight work inspired by the experience of being given a parking ticket outside EMI Studios by a traffic warden named Meta Davis. That might have been dropped in favour of "Penny Lane". A reformatted would have been even more impressive, and George Martin considers the failure to do so "the biggest mistake of my professional career". What would they have left off, though, to make room? Perhaps George"s India-inspired "Within You Without You", which was interesting, but didn"t quite fit. Apart from "She"s Leaving Home" and "Fixing a Hole", Paul"s other contributions to the alb.u.m were "Getting Better" and "Lovely Rita", the latter a slight work inspired by the experience of being given a parking ticket outside EMI Studios by a traffic warden named Meta Davis. That might have been dropped in favour of "Penny Lane". A reformatted Sgt. Pepper Sgt. Pepper along these lines is very attractive. along these lines is very attractive.
Although a concept alb.u.m of sorts, only the second track, "With a Little Help from My Friends", sung by Ringo as Billy Shears, developed the narrative set up in the opening song, "Sgt. Pepper"s Lonely Hearts Club Band". It was when Neil Aspinall suggested that the boys should reprise this tune on Side Two that the alb.u.m became a song cycle of sorts, though never a full-blown one like the Who"s Tommy Tommy (1969). It was really the way (1969). It was really the way Sgt. Pepper Sgt. Pepper was packaged and presented that gave the impression of a cohesive work of art. was packaged and presented that gave the impression of a cohesive work of art.
Paul claims credit for coming up with the concept of the alb.u.m sleeve, in which the Beatles stand with cut-outs of their heroes in an ornamental garden, the work realised by their artist friends Peter Blake and his wife Jann Haworth. Originally the cover was to be a design by the hippy art group the Fool, of whom more later. "Robert [Fraser] pulled out this cover that the Fool had done - looked like a psychedelic Disney," recalls Jann Haworth. "He just showed it to us and said, "I don"t like this, and I think Paul really isn"t happy about it, I think really you should do it."" Husband and wife proceeded to build a three-dimensional stage set - something Jann"s set designer father did for his living - Jann overseeing the planting of an ornamental garden in the foreground, red flowers spelling out BEATLES, while Peter concentrated on creating the crowd of heroes, using blown-up, tinted photographs of famous people, only some of whom the band suggested. "Basically they chose about a third of the heads," recalls Jann. "It wasn"t a big enough crowd." So the artists came up with the rest. Paul"s choices included Fred Astaire and William Burroughs. John"s wish list included Jesus and Hitler, both ruled out by EMI.
The pictures were a.s.sembled in Michael Cooper"s photographic studio in Chelsea, the Beatles themselves dressing up in pseudo-military uniform, made from shiny fabrics in Day-Glo colours. Paul wore his MBE. To the band"s right were arranged Madame Tussaud"s waxworks of themselves at the time of Beatlemania, while in front of the band was a ba.s.s drum upon which the alb.u.m t.i.tle had been painted in fairground lettering. Paul later hung the drum skin on his drawing room wall. Finally, the a.s.semblage was photographed by Michael Cooper. Produced in a full-colour gatefold sleeve with, for the first time in pop, the alb.u.m lyrics printed on the reverse, and a cardboard insert of souvenirs designed by Peter and Jann, Sgt. Pepper"s Lonely Hearts Club Band Sgt. Pepper"s Lonely Hearts Club Band was a complete artwork, ambitious and stylishly realised. If one has a criticism of the music, was a complete artwork, ambitious and stylishly realised. If one has a criticism of the music, Pepper Pepper can seem over-rich, like an over-egged cake. Individually the elements are brilliant, but other Beatles alb.u.ms are, to these ears at least, more enjoyable. can seem over-rich, like an over-egged cake. Individually the elements are brilliant, but other Beatles alb.u.ms are, to these ears at least, more enjoyable.
Four days later Paul flew to the USA to visit Jane Asher, taking with him a tape of rough mixes of the new songs. Accompanied by Mal Evans, he stopped off in San Francisco first, where he decided to check out the local music scene. Jefferson Airplane were working on songs for their new LP Surrealistic Pillow Surrealistic Pillow at the Fillmore theatre when Mal announced that Paul wanted to say h.e.l.lo. "We were sitting there playing at the old Fillmore, in comes this guy Mal, suit and tie, and we"re all hippied out," recalls Marty Balin, who"d last seen the Beatles as a member of the audience at Candlestick Park, subsequently becoming one of the leading lights of the San Francisco music scene. ""Master Paul McCartney would like to meet with you." Just like that. "Oh well, send him in!" We didn"t know if this guy was real or a joke. So he went out and in comes Paul." Part of Paul"s reason for visiting San Francisco was to check out the psychedelic scene, which had started here, spreading across the States to England. It was in the Bay Area that bands such as Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead first used LSD, and other mind-altering substances, the drugs cooked up by their friends and dispensed freely at concerts. Wild new music, fashions and art resulted. To Balin"s eyes, the visiting Paul McCartney looked very square. The musicians showed Paul around the trippy Haight-Ashbury district - he took pictures - then invited him back to their house. "Well, what"s new with the Beatles?" Balin asked. In reply, Paul took a tape from his pocket and played "A Day in the Life". Not so square. "Holy Christ! This is amazing. I totally, literally did not know what to say, except "f.u.c.kin" great!" I just couldn"t believe it ..." Having reduced his American friend to a jibbering wreck, Paul replaced the tape nonchalantly in his pocket and sauntered on his way. at the Fillmore theatre when Mal announced that Paul wanted to say h.e.l.lo. "We were sitting there playing at the old Fillmore, in comes this guy Mal, suit and tie, and we"re all hippied out," recalls Marty Balin, who"d last seen the Beatles as a member of the audience at Candlestick Park, subsequently becoming one of the leading lights of the San Francisco music scene. ""Master Paul McCartney would like to meet with you." Just like that. "Oh well, send him in!" We didn"t know if this guy was real or a joke. So he went out and in comes Paul." Part of Paul"s reason for visiting San Francisco was to check out the psychedelic scene, which had started here, spreading across the States to England. It was in the Bay Area that bands such as Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead first used LSD, and other mind-altering substances, the drugs cooked up by their friends and dispensed freely at concerts. Wild new music, fashions and art resulted. To Balin"s eyes, the visiting Paul McCartney looked very square. The musicians showed Paul around the trippy Haight-Ashbury district - he took pictures - then invited him back to their house. "Well, what"s new with the Beatles?" Balin asked. In reply, Paul took a tape from his pocket and played "A Day in the Life". Not so square. "Holy Christ! This is amazing. I totally, literally did not know what to say, except "f.u.c.kin" great!" I just couldn"t believe it ..." Having reduced his American friend to a jibbering wreck, Paul replaced the tape nonchalantly in his pocket and sauntered on his way.
Paul and Jane were reunited in Denver, where the Bristol Old Vic company was currently on tour, Paul arriving in time to help Jane celebrate her 21st birthday. They spent the next few days together in the Rockies, walking in countryside thick with snow. Paul then left, allowing Jane to complete her tour, travelling with Mal in Frank Sinatra"s private jet to LA where he met Brian Wilson, who was so overwhelmed by the Sgt. Pepper Sgt. Pepper tape that he abandoned the new Beach Boys alb.u.m tape that he abandoned the new Beach Boys alb.u.m Smile Smile. Paul then flew home, coming up with a new movie idea as he travelled back across the Atlantic. Having looked for a suitable film for the band for months, Paul had the idea of getting the boys into a charabanc-of the type that traditionally took working-cla.s.s Liverpudlians on day-trip holidays to the seaside, little jaunts described in advance as "mystery tours", but which almost invariably turned out to be a run up to Blackpool - and make a film of the Beatles" own Magical Mystery Tour, "a crazy roly-poly Sixties" film" as Paul would describe it. He jotted the concept down in the form of a pie chart on the plane.
LINDA EASTMAN.
Paul returned to England at a time when the forces of law and order were starting to crack down on the drug culture, with one officer in particular, Detective Sergeant Norman Pilcher of Scotland Yard, targeting pop stars and their a.s.sociates. In February 1967,