Authors: Bob Spitz
Tags: #Biography & Autobiography / General, #Music / Genres & Styles - Pop Vocal
“
people can identify… with it
”: Paul McCartney in
NME,
5/10/63.
“
From Me to You” was finished
: “Before that journey was over, we’d completed the lyric, everything.” John Lennon in
NME,
4/19/63.
Why not sing the intro?
: Author interview with Ron Richards, 12/29/97.
Brian shared their dream
: “Brian Epstein was putting pressure on George [Martin], who, in turn, was giving me a hard time.” Author interview with Roland Rennie, 8/7/97.
The stumbling block… Capitol
: “When EMI bought Capitol, or bought the major position in Capitol, we had an agreement between us—that [with] any of EMI’s English artists… we had the right of first refusal, and the same in reverse.” Alan Livingston,
Arena
archives.
“
The idea was that [Capitol]
”: Author interview with Roland Rennie, 8/7/97.
“
didn’t even hear the first Beatles record
”: Alan Livingston,
Arena
archives.
the Beatles were “nothing
”: “He said, ‘Alan, they’re a bunch of long-haired kids, they’re nothing, forget it.’ ” Ibid.
“
a jazz man
”: “Of course, the A&R guy… was a jazz man… who couldn’t see pop records anyway.” Paul White in ibid., p. 141.
“
I wasn’t going to call [Dave] Dexter
”: Author interview with Paul Marshall, 8/28/97.
“
fell right to the bottom
”: “I released the record about a month and a half after the English did and it fell right to the bottom.” Paul White in Pritchard & Lysaght,
The Beatles,
p. 137.
NME
broke the story
: “The Beatles, yet to have a major British hit… have been snapped up for America by Vee Jay.”
NME,
1/25/63.
Then, in the February 8 issue
:
NME,
2/8/63.
a small follow-up in
Melody
: “American star Roy Orbison is set for a three-week British tour.”
Melody Maker,
3/23/63.
clocked somewhere around E
: “He had refined his voice into a crystal instrument with which he can hit his E above high C.” Dalton & Kaye,
Rock 100,
p. 30.
always speed to fall back on
: “Roy, who toured with Johnny Cash… was also devoted to speed and sleeping pills.” Amburn,
Dark Star,
p. 67.
A stone staircase swept up
: Description of building—author interview with Shelagh Johnson, 10/29/97.
“
Eppy’s Epitorium
”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“
there are three groups in Liverpool
”:
John Lennon in
Hit Parade,
4/63.
music “scene that could only find its counterpart
”: “The Beat Boys!”
Melody Maker,
3/23/63.
“
idolized him
”: “She only had the one son, and she idolized him.” Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“
Elsie felt they were taking him
”: Author interview with Marie Crawford, 11/1/97.
the Harrisons and Jim McCartney “were thrilled
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
Friends close to Louise Harrison
: “Mrs. Harrison enjoyed it all.” Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“
She followed the Beatles as avidly
”: Author interview with Arthur Kelly, 1/10/98.
“
Jim was probably the Beatles’ biggest fan
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/5/97.
“
showing blood
”: “She was showing blood, and the doctor told her she had to go to bed.” Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“
drank whiskey after whiskey
”: “He insisted we drink whiskey after…” Paddy Delaney in Badman,
Off the Record,
p. 54.
a tall, “spunky” seventeen-year-old
: Author interview with Virginia Harry, 8/10/97.
they’d been hanging out together
: “We didn’t know that Cyn was pregnant at the time.” Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/10/97.
Even
with the Beatles
: Goldman,
Lives of John Lennon,
p. 135.
“
He had no shame
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/10/97.
Had it been a girl
: “We’d already decided that if the baby was a girl she would be called Julia.”
Hello!,
5/14/94.
“
triumphant at the news
”: Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 171.
“
over-sensitive”/“moody
”:
Hello!,
5/14/94.
carping about Cynthia’s “willfulness
”: Author interview with Dot Rhone Becker, 11/19/98.
“
a perverse pleasure
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/7/97.
“
didn’t even emerge from upstairs
”: Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 180.
John turned up two days
: Lewisohn,
Chronicle,
pp. 106–7.
Julian and Cynthia were still in the hospital
: Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 171.
“
Who’s going to be a famous little rocker
”: C. Lennon,
A Twist,
p. 87.
“
bloody marvelous
”: Ibid.
“
a miracle
”:
Hello!,
5/14/94.
Brian had insisted that John keep the marriage a secret
: “It was wholly down to paranoia on Brian’s part about the private lives of his artists.” Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
Cynthia may have suppressed
: “I saw the whole thing in a flash and I realized there and then that I’d have to close my mind to the situation or my relationship with John would be impossible.”
Hello!,
5/21/94.
John “was beginning to feel trapped
”: C. Lennon,
A Twist,
p. 87.
“
But he never talked about Julian
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/10/97.
“
Once the Beatles hit the pop charts
”: Author interview with Johnny Byrne, 11/3/97.
“
plenty of sparkle
”: “Beatles Sparkle Again,”
NME,
4/12/63.
“
so-so melody
”:
Melody Maker,
4/13/63.
“
came crashing
”:
NME,
4/19/63.
sales hit 200,000 copies
: “Beatles Back with a Bang!”
Melody Maker,
4/20/63.
“
By now, the Beatle legend
”: Melly,
Revolt Into Style,
p. 63.
“
The Beatles could take it to the Americans
”: “Beatles—One Out for Week,”
Melody Maker,
3/16/63.
“
Latest visitors from America
”: “Screams Acclaim Beatles, Montez, Roe,”
NME,
3/15/63.
“
A couple of records in the charts
”: Melly,
Revolt Into Style,
p. 68.
“
They acted that way
”:
Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“
It was my chore
”: Melly,
Revolt Into Style,
p. 69.
evicted Gerry Marsden from his perch
: “Top Thirty,”
NME,
4/24/63.
“
highlight of the pop music year
”: “Now 4 Extra Acts at NME Poll Concert,”
NME,
4/19/63.
“
more like that of a father
”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/8/97.
“
Clive took one look
”: “George once told me a very revealing story.” Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“
He was in love with me
”: Sheff,
Playboy Interviews,
p. 76.
“
wanted to know if [she] objected
”: C. Lennon,
A Twist,
pp. 87–88.
She was “hurt
”: “I concealed my hurt and envy and gave him my blessing.” Ibid., p. 88.
“
what a bastard
”: John Lennon, 1970 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 98.
“
stayed in the sun too long
”: George Harrison in
Anthology,
p. 98.
“
nothing would stand in his way
”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“
a smart cookie
”: Paul McCartney in
Anthology,
p. 98.
“
Paris of Spain
”: Hans Christian Andersen, 1862.
“
Where else may I have a gin
”: Brian Epstein, private journal, 10/5/60.
“
My God, how he ranted
”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“
I watched Brian picking up boys
”: John Lennon, 1970 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 98.
“
It was almost a love affair
”: Ibid.
“
[John] and Brian had sex
”: Goldman,
Lives of John Lennon,
p. 140.
“
I let [Brian] toss me off
”: Shotton,
John Lennon in My Life,
p. 73.
“
John lay there, tentative
”: “Brian and John undressed in silence.” Brown & Gaines,
Love You Make,
p. 94.
“
something to build on
”: Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/8/97.
“
the homosexual thing
”: Paul McCartney in
Anthology,
p. 98.
“
really had my backside kicked
”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght,
The Beatles,
p. 122.
“
almost as good as our Roadrunners
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/8/97.
He took the next train back
: “Well, I left him right on the spot, went down to London… and drove to Richmond”: Dick Rowe in Pritchard & Lysaght,
The Beatles,
pp. 122–23.
Gomelsky invited the boys
: Wyman,
Stone Alone,
p. 127.
“
full-bodied R&B” band
: Hotchner,
Blown Away,
p. 91.
“
Keith and Brian—wow!
”: “I knew then that the Stones were great.” Ringo Starr in
Anthology,
p. 101.
both boys did nothing all day
: Ian Stewart in Hotchner,
Blown Away,
p. 78.
“
a little bit more radical
”: John Lennon, 1974 interview in
Anthology,
p. 101.
“
a cozy little setup
”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“
the ins and outs of a dog’s dinner
”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
“
utter nonsense
”: Mimi Smith, AGA (undated).
“
Ritchie came in [the office]
”: Author interview with Frieda Kelly Norris, 10/5/97.
Barrow also invented a national secretary
: Norman,
Shout!,
p. 182.
“
the world’s worst chain-smoker
”: Tony Barrow, “The Girls They Like,”
Beatles Book Monthly,
6/83, p. 8.
“
undercover existence
”: C. Lennon,
A Twist,
p. 94.
“
For up to eighteen months
”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
“
We still can’t mention your marriage
”: Ibid.
One journalist… “browsed through the pile
”:
Beatles Book Monthly,
6/83, pp. 8–9.
“
a flop
”:
Paul McCartney in
Anthology,
p. 115.
Cash Box
pounced on it
:
Cash Box,
6/28/63.
“
it was patently unfair
”: George Martin,
Arena
archives.
“
I was considered a traitor
”: Ibid.
Parlophone exercised its option
: EMI memorandum from L. G. Wood, 5/28/63.
Finally, on June 18
: Brian Epstein’s journal.
John was descending into a black funk
: Author interview with Pete Shotton, 1/19/98.
“
out of my mind with drink
”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 98.
“
sinking a fair bit of booze
”: Tony Barrow, “What a Party,”
Beatles Book Monthly,
7/83, p. 6.
“
Bob has a sarcastic note
”: Author interview with Bill Harry, 8/2/97.
“Come on, John, tell me”
: McCabe & Schonfeld,
John Lennon: For the Record,
p. 94.
“
tightly closed fists
”:
Beatles Book Monthly,
7/83, p. 6.
“
Bob was holding his hands
”: Author interview with Billy J. Kramer, 12/16/97.
“
I was beating the shit out of him
”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 98.
Cynthia, who “was freaking out
”: Author interview with Billy J. Kramer, 12/16/97.
“
He arrived with a black eye
”: Author interview with Rex Makin, 11/1/97.
“
For my trouble
”: Author interview with Bob Wooler, 10/30/97.
“
I first called John in Liverpool
”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.
BEATLE IN BRAWL
:
Daily Mirror,
6/21/63.
“
racing up and down the country
”: “Backstage (and Elsewhere) with the Beatles, Dakotas,”
NME,
7/26/63.
“
girls were plucked
”: “Fans Invade Homes but Boys Love ’Em!”
NME,
6/21/63.
“
nearly five thousand fans
”:
Melody Maker,
7/27/63.
The boys had to climb a scaffolding
: “Beatles Paris Date, as EP Makes History,”
NME,
7/26/63.
Publicly, the Beatles laughed it off
: Melly,
Revolt Into Style,
p. 70.
“
like persistent termites
”:
NME,
7/26/63.
“
Wave the Union Jack!
”:
NME,
7/5/63.
“
It’s terrible,” John complained
: “I wouldn’t buy it.” “Beatles Blast Own Hit Disc!”
NME,
6/22/63.
sold an astonishing 150,000 copies
: “We had orders for 40,000 within a half-hour.” “Beatles Blast Off!”
Melody Maker,
7/20/63.
first EP ever to enter the Top Ten
: “Survey by Derek Johnson,”
NME,
8/2/63.