The Beatles – Cottage Capers

On this day in history….12th March 1969

On this day in history : 12th March 1969 – Paul McCartney marries US photographer Linda Eastman at Marylebone Registry Office….

Linda McCartney – Image courtesy: Kristine via Flickr

Paul and Linda had first met on the 15th of May 1967, in Soho nightclub ‘Bag O’ Nails’…. Linda was in the UK to take photographs for a book called ‘Rock and Other Four-Letter Words’…. A few days later she met him again at a photo shoot of the Beatles….but was soon afterwards to return home to the States and her own life with young daughter, Heather – from a previous marriage…. Paul, meanwhile, was to become engaged to long-term girlfriend, Jane Asher…. However, a year later, in May 1968 the pair met up again in New York – and Paul invited Linda and her daughter to London…. A romance was to blossom….

The wedding was supposed to be a secret – but these things have a habit of leaking out…. Even though the registry office had only been booked the day before reporters and photographers were waiting outside it, in the rain, from 7am…. So were the fans….hundreds of them, many visibly distraught…. Paul was the last bachelor Beatle….their teenage dreams of becoming Mrs Paul McCartney shattered forever….

The couple arrived at 10am, entering the building via a side door to avoid the crowds; the other members of the Beatles did not attend…. Paul wore a dark suit, with a floral shirt and yellow kipper tie….whilst Linda wore a fawn coloured dress with a yellow coat…. Heather carried a posy of freesias….

The ceremony was delayed for an hour…. Paul’s brother, Michael, who was best man and acting as a witness, was travelling down from Birmingham – but his train had broken down…. On arriving in London he headed to the registry office assuming he was too late – but the wedding party had waited for him…. The other witness was the Beatles’ assistant, Mal Evans….

After the ceremony the newly wed Mr and Mrs McCartney made their way down the steps to their waiting car….throwing freesias to the crowd as they went….

On this day in history….4th March 1966

On this day in history : 4th March 1966 – John Lennon gives an interview in which he states the Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ – it causes outrage in the United States….

Image : YouTube

The interview was for the Evening Standard….it was the first in a series of articles entitled “How Does a Beatle Live?” Each member of the group was individually interviewed – starting with John Lennon at his home in Weybridge….

“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first – rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me”….

His words provoked no reaction from the public in the UK…. However, in July 1966 it was quoted in a US teen magazine and was received in America in a very different manner….

The publication that had been granted rights to all four interviews was a magazine called ‘Datebook’. Being broad minded – covering topics such as the legalisation of marijuana and inter-racial relationships – it was considered the most suitable for publishing the interviews…. Datebook teased its readers with the snippet “I don’t know which will go first – rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity” printed on the front cover….

Tommy Charles a DJ for WAQY, a radio station in Birmingham, Alabama heard of the comments – and was furious…. “That does it for me. I am not going to play the Beatles any more”…. The listeners were asked for their opinions – and they were less than favourable….the people were beginning to show their contempt….

The ball started to roll….more than twenty other radio stations followed suit and banned Beatles music…. The public were keen to show their anger – in the South especially – demonstrations were held, bonfires lit, Beatles memorabilia and records burned…. Soon the protests crossed over to Mexico and on to other particularly religious countries – such as Spain and South Africa…. The Vatican issued a public denouncement of Lennon’s comments….

Unfortunately the controversy coincided with the upcoming US tour scheduled for August and the recent release of the album ‘Revolver’….

Fair use

Lennon apologised for his comments, cheekily saying “If I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it”…. The Press were somewhat sympathetic….

However, it was touch and go as to whether the tour would go ahead – but it was decided that it should…. Overshadowed by disturbances and protests – even being picketed by the Ku Klux Klan – some dates were cancelled, such as Memphis – because the Beatles were not welcome in town….

There was some support for the Beatles though…. One Kentucky radio station said it would play Beatles music in order to show its “contempt for hypocrisy personified”…. And a Jesuit magazine – ‘America’ – wrote that “Lennon was simply stating what many a Christian educator would readily admit”….

British History

On this day in history….30th January 1969

On this day in history : 30th January 1969 – The Beatles play an impromptu concert on the rooftop of Apple Records in London…. It is to be their last public performance….

It was a bitterly cold Thursday lunchtime, many were on their lunch break when they were surprised by the loud music coming from the rooftop of No.3 Savile Row – the home of Apple Records…. At first there was some confusion – but then as word spread crowds gathered in the street, five storeys below….and people climbed out on to the rooftops of neighbouring buildings….

The Beatles had been recording their album ‘Let it Be’ in the basement studio at Apple Records and had been planning a live performance since earlier in the month….but the idea of performing on the roof had only come about a couple of days before….

George, Ringo, John and Paul – accompanied by a young Billy Preston on keyboards – treated their delighted audience to a 42 minute set which included songs such as “Don’t Let Me Down”, “I’ve Got a Feeling” and “Get Back”…. It was their first ‘gig’ since they had stopped touring in 1965 – and it was to be their last, as by September 1969 the Beatles had unofficially disbanded….

Unfortunately, not everybody was happy about the unexpected entertainment…. The Metropolitan police were concerned about safety, traffic issues and noise disturbance…. Policeman Ken Wharfe later said that he had been ordered by his superiors to “turn that noise off”….

3, Savile Row, London, the location of the concert – public domain – Misterweiss via English Wikipedia

On arriving at Apple Records the police were initially refused entry into the building by staff – but when threatened with arrest they had to back down…. As the police reached the rooftop the Beatles realised their concert was about to be brought to an end – but managed to carry on for several more minutes. Paul McCartney changed the lyrics to “Get Back” to something more fitting for the situation….

“You’ve been playing on the roofs again, and you know your momma doesn’t like it, she’s gonna have you arrested”….

John Lennon finished up by saying…. “I’d like to thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we’ve passed the audition”….

British History

On this day in history….1st December 1960

On this day in history : 1st December 1960 – Paul McCartney and Pete Best are deported from Hamburg after being arrested following accusations of arson….

When the Beatles first travelled to Hamburg they were still very young…. In fact so young that George Harrison, at just 17 was not old enough to be participating in the late night sets the band were performing…. When the German authorities discovered his age he was shipped back to England….

Image credit : Michael Donovan via Flickr

The boys were staying in a room at the Kaiserkeller and when the club owner terminated their contract they had to move out…. They found lodgings in an attic room above a cinema – finished their final set at the club and moved their gear out immediately…. It was late at night and when they arrived at their new lodgings the place was in total darkness…. Once inside, to cast some light on the situation, they decided to improvise – and one of them hung a condom from a nail on the stone wall and set light to it (as you do)! They might of briefly gained some light to see what they were doing – but they also managed to scorch the wall….

The cinema owner, obviously furious, went to the police and reported McCartney and Best for trying to burn his building down…. The pair were arrested and held in the cells over night and the following day were escorted from the country….leaving behind John Lennon and Stu Sutcliffe…. Lennon made his way back to the UK ten days later but Sutcliffe remained in Hamburg until the beginning of 1961…. Once Harrison had turned 18 the band headed back to Germany again….

British History

On this day in history….26th October 1965

On this day in history : 26th October 1965 – The Beatles visit Buckingham Palace to be awarded with their MBE medals by Her Majesty the Queen….

The band had been notified four months before that they were to be the recipients of the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire award, when their names had appeared on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in the previous June….

There were those who did not agree with the decision to honour the Beatles – rock and roll music was still rather distasteful to some…. A few previously decorated individuals even returned their medals in disgust and protest….

However, honoured they were – as Britain’s greatest musical ambassadors…. They received their awards that day alongside 185 other people…. They were taken to one side before the ceremony and coached in the protocol for meeting the Queen…. The boys were so nervous, even popping to the loo for a calming smoke before the proceedings…. But all went smoothly – they even shared a joke or two with Her Majesty….

Ironically, four years later, just as there had been those who returned their medals in protest at the Beatles being honoured, John Lennon was to do the same with his…. “Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon”….

In 2009 his medal was discovered lying in a vault in St. James’ Palace….