The Beatles (173 page)

“
Where the fuck’s Clay?
”:
Remnick,
King of the World,
p. 158.

“
Hello there, Beatles!
”:
New York Times,
2/19/64.

“
didn’t know who they were
”: Hauser,
Muhammed Ali: His Life and Times,
p. 63.

“
insisted on having fun
”: Mailer,
The Fight,
p. 11.

“
Get down… worms
”: Harry Benson in Badman,
Off the Record,
p. 87.

“
with his gloved hand
”: Rayl,
Beatles ’64,
p. 53.

here
Poem: “Clay recited a topical epic.”
New York Times,
2/19/64.

“
with great reluctance
”: Mailer,
The Fight,
p. 75.

“
Clay mesmerized them
”: Harry Benson in Badman,
Off the Record,
p. 87.

“
Vied you do that?
”: Hoffman,
With the Beatles,
p. 118.

More than one reporter
: Press conference, Heathrow Airport, 2/22/64, Beatles interview. Project.

“
healthy and British
”:
New York Times,
2/23/64.

“
flattered
”: Ibid.

“
Earning all these dollars
”: George Harrison in
Grandstand
interview, BBC-TV, 2/22/64.

the $253,000 check
: Rayl,
Beatles ’64,
p. 54.

Barclays Bank Review
:
New York Times,
3/2/64.

The U.S. market was flooded with singles
: Dusty Springfield at number 15, Dave Clark Five at number 33, Searchers at number 80.
Cashbox,
2/24/64.

“
With this transition
”:
History of British Rock Vol. 3
sleeve notes, Sire Records, 1975.

Big Night Out
: “In addition to sketches, they will sing five songs.”
NME,
2/28/64.

Ringo… flying home
: Lewisohn,
25 Years in the Life,
p. 40.

Most of the numbers were slated
: “Some—for the soundtrack—were required before the film went into production.” Lewisohn,
Sessions,
p. 39.

“
we knew they were good
”: Miles,
Paul McCartney,
p. 163.

A version of “Can’t Buy Me Love
”: Ibid., p. 162.

“
It was the first ballad
”: Ibid., p. 122.

“
I think it was John
”: Dick James in Badman,
Off the Record,
p. 90.

488–89 “
the middle eight is mine
”: Miles,
Paul McCartney,
p. 123.

“
tired and depressed
”: “But on Tuesday evening, George was tired and depressed.”
NME,
2/28/64.

Grudgingly, he’d devoted an hour
: D. Taylor,
Fifty Years,
p. 110.

Daily Express
… front-page news
:
Daily Express,
2/26/64, p. 1.

Dick James… cuff links
: Lewisoh,
Sessions,
p. 40 (illustration).

a gorgeous Rolex
: “I am still wearing the watch that I was given by Mr. Epstein.” George Harrison in
Anthology,
p. 134.

“
a black New York girl-group song
”: Sheff,
Playboy Interviews,
pp. 204–5.

It was John’s first attempt
: MacDonald,
Revolution in the Head,
p. 86.

The symmetry of their voices
: “recorded—at their request—together on one microphone.” Lewisohn,
Sessions,
p. 40.

“
dripping with chords
”:
NME,
2/1/64.

“
a bit of a formula song
”: Miles,
Paul McCartney,
p. 163.

“
The Beatles didn’t get totally immersed
”: George Martin in
Anthology,
p. 124.

“
We don’t stop until we’re confident
”: “People Behind the Beatles,”
NME,
3/6/64.

With time to spare
: “By the time we did
A Hard Day’s Night
we would certainly put the basic track down and do the vocals afterward.” George Martin in
Anthology,
p. 124.

George had begun to experiment
: “For the first time ever on record, I play a twelve-string guitar.”
NME,
2/13/64.

an instrument so new
: “Harrison’s was only the second of these instruments to be made.” MacDonald,
Revolution in the Head,
p. 85n.

The plan was to keep everything simple
:
Alun Owen in Badman,
Off the Record,
p. 92.

“
The director knew we couldn’t act
”: John Lennon, 1964 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 129.

“
the Beatles fell right into it
”: Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.

“
high-speed pseudodocumentary
”: Ward,
Rock of Ages,
p. 278.

“
disarming and refreshing
”: Yule,
Man Who Framed the Beatles,
p. 7.

“
little jokes, the sarcasm
”: “Alun picked up a lot of little things about us.” Paul McCartney in
Anthology,
p. 128.

“
We
were
like that
”: John Lennon, 1970 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 128.

an ungodly hour
: “Getting up early… wasn’t our best talent.” Ringo Starr in
Anthology,
p. 128.

“
the lads never touched the script
”:
Beatlefan,
February-March 1985, p. 12.

“
frantically
”: “We read [the script] frantically in the car.” “A Frank Talk by the Boys,”
NME,
3/27/64.

“
You never knew
”: Victor Spinetti in Pritchard & Lysaght,
The Beatles,
p. 165.

“
We’d make things up
”: Ringo Starr in
Anthology,
p. 129.

“
Dick just went on shooting
”: Victor Spinetti in
Beatlefan,
February-March 1985, pp. 12–13.

most of which Paul had written
: Miles,
Paul McCartney,
p. 111.

“
too soft
”: Author interview with Billy J. Kramer, 12/16/97.

492–93 “
I could talk to him
”: Miles,
Paul McCartney,
p. 113.

“
Their bedrooms were next door
”: Author interview with John Dunbar, 1/13/98.

“
the laboratories
”: Pearce Marchbank in Green,
Days in the Life,
pp. 32–33.

“
Somehow it wasn’t to do
”: Paul McCartney in ibid., p. 46.

1.7 million copies
:
NME,
3/13/64.

“
Well, here it is!
”: “Single Reviews,”
NME,
3/13/64.

scores of singles
: “Yes! You Can Hold My Hand” by the Beatlettes, “Beatle Fever” by Brett and Terry, “The Beatle Dance” by Ernie Maresca, “The Boy with the Beatle Haircut” by the Swans, “A Beatle I Want to Be” by Sonny Curtis, “The Beatles” by the Buddies, “We Love You Beatles” by the Carefrees.

A start-up label, Top Six
:
NME,
1/31/64.

Even Decca, at the behest
: “Decca Signs Ex-Beatle,” ibid.

The original demo tape
: “I told Jay Lasker ‘I need those tapes back,’ and Vee-Jay could never find them. ‘You know how it is…. ’ ” Author interview with Roland Rennie, 8/7/97.

Brian pleaded with EMI
: “Cap Throws Block vs. Veejay’s [sic] Beatles,”
Variety,
2/12/64.

“
Tell Me If You Can
”: “We’ve recorded a composition that Paul McCartney and I wrote.”
NME,
3/20/64.

“
Brian didn’t get very good deals
”: George Harrison in
Anthology,
p. 98.

“
wasn’t astute enough
” Paul McCartney in ibid.

“
long-term slave contracts
”: Ibid.

“
We had fifty times as many offers
”: Rayl,
Beatles ’64,
p. 55.

a minimum guarantee of $20,000
: Author interview with Sid Bernstein, 1977.

“
no fewer than one hundred
”: Standardized GAC contract for the Beatles, 5/64.

sold forty thousand copies
:
New York Times,
4/6/64.

“
scrappy
”: “The drawings were very scrappy because I’m heavy-handed.” John Lennon, 1964 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 134.

“
There’s nothing deep in it
”: Ibid.

descendent of the
Daily Howl
: “It started back in my school days. When I was about fourteen.”
NME,
3/27/64.

“
gobbledegook
”: “I used to hide my real emotions in gobbledegook.” John Lennon, 1964 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 134.

“
cultural earthquake
”:
Green,
Days in the Life,
viii.

“
a laugh a minute
”:
Public Ear,
BBC, 3/22/64.

“
worth the attention
”:
Times Literary Supplement,
3/25/64.

Carl-Alan award
:
NME
(ceremony photo), 3/27/64.

Record sales were astronomical
:
Billboard
’s “Hot 100,” 4/11/64.

Everyone at NEMS was posted there
: “He came into the office at Argyll Street.” Brian Sommerville, 7/4/83, AGA.

“
I stuck out my hand
”: From a recollection reprinted ad infinitum over the years, but probably originally from an account in the magazine
Tit Bits,
1965.

“
You can’t turn your back
”: Brian Sommerville, AGA.

“
He turned up after I was famous
”: John Lennon, 1972 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 180.

“
It was casting a sprat
”: Author interview with Don Short, 8/11/97.

“
Whenever fashions changed
”: C. Lennon,
A Twist,
p. 117.

Much later, Twiggy
: “Twiggy told me much later she copied Pattie.” Author interview with Peter Brown, 12/12/97.

“
When we started filming
”: Pattie Boyd in Davies,
Beatles,
p. 201.

“
semi-engaged
”: “Pattie… declined [George’s] offer.” Giuliano,
Dark Horse,
p. 62.

“
confident about [his] relationship
”: Eric Swayne in Badman,
Off the Record,
p. 96.

“
Cyn and I had to dress
”: Pattie Boyd in Davies,
Beatles,
p. 202.

“
It was all so romantic
”: Ringo Starr in
Anthology,
p. 128.

UA, which never even saw
: Walter Shenson, 4/84, AGA.

“
There was something Ringo said
”: Miles,
Paul McCartney,
p. 164.

“
abusing the English language
”: Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.

“
Ringo would always say
”: George Harrison in
Anthology,
p. 130.

“
I was just talking
”: Ringo Starr in
Grandstand
interview, BBC-TV, 2/22/64.

John promptly wrote it down
: “John always used to write them down.” Ringo Starr in
Anthology,
p. 130.

“
Ringoism
”: Sheff,
Playboy Interviews,
p. 148.

“
We’ve just got our title!
”: Author interview with Walter Shenson, 4/22/99.

“
I’m afraid we’re going to need a song
”: Ibid.

They had already shot
: “We filmed the scene where all the fans run into the train station.” Paul McCartney in
Anthology,
p. 129.

The “strident” chord
: “The ‘strident’ chord was the perfect launch.” George Martin in Lewisohn,
Sessions,
p. 43.

“
because I couldn’t reach the notes
”: Sheff,
Playboy Interviews,
p. 148.

“
in the world of commerce
”: D. Taylor,
Fifty Years,
p. 20.

“
There are only a few journalists
”: Author interview with Tony Barrow, 10/31/97.

“
painted a new rainbow
”: D. Taylor,
Fifty Years,
p. 86.

“
He’s one of those people
”: John Lennon, 1964 interview, in
Anthology,
p. 140.

“
fact-gathering expedition
”: “We were allowing ourselves five days… for a fact-gathering expedition.” D. Taylor,
Fifty Years,
p. 116.

“
I
am
homosexual
”: Ibid., p. 117.

“
my personal assistant
”: Ibid.

“
The entire office took to him
”: Author interview with Tony Bramwell, 8/8/97.

“
a potboiler
”: Derek Taylor in
Anthology,
p. 115.

Queer Jew
: Coleman,
Lennon,
p. 203.

“
My early days at NEMS
”: D. Taylor,
Fifty Years,
p. 144.

“
The heat was immediately on
”: Ibid., p. 142.

His throat was especially sore
: “My throat was so sore…. I was a smoker in those days, too.” Ringo Starr in
Anthology,
p. 139.

“
didn’t like it one bit
”:
“I got quite a fright when I saw Ringo sink to his knees.” Neil Aspinall in Badman,
Off the Record,
p. 101.

“
Imagine, the Beatles
”: George Harrison in Badman,
Off the Record,
p. 101.

postponed immediately
: “I don’t want to do the tour without Ringo.” George Harrison in D. Taylor,
Fifty Years,
p. 146.

“
Brian argued with us
”: Paul McCartney in Badman,
Off the Record,
p. 101.

“
bullied by Brian Epstein
”: George Harrison in D. Taylor,
Fifty Years,
p. 146.

“
It might have looked
”:
NME,
6/12/64.