“As there were no glasses backstage they drank their beers from teacups. We had a good chat, talking mostly about music and their favourite artists. They went out of their way to be jovial, obliging and friendly. I asked if I could take a photo of them. ‘Of course,’ they replied. ‘Just a minute,’ said Paul, ‘I must clean my teeth first.’ After a while Paul was ready and John positioned the group for their photo.
‘Right,’ John said. ‘When I say three, we’ll all smile and you take the picture.’ John began counting ‘one, two, THREE’-literally yelling ‘THREE’ and making the other Beatles and myself nearly jump out of skins. I wasn’t able to take the picture, but Paul was the worst casualty. He had still been holding the open tube of toothpaste and when John had shouted, he squeezed the tube and a long length of toothpaste shot down his trouser leg. After much laughter I finally got my photo with Paul keeping his hand over the embarrassing stain on his trousers.” Norman Scott, DJ
I went to the National Portrait Gallery the other day to visit Paul McCartney’s exhibition. (1964: Eyes of the Storm)
Here are some of my personal highlights:
1. This incredible photo because it just looks so cool and really exemplifies the situation the boys were in at the time, but in a really unique and visually interesting way, without even picturing the Beatles themselves.
2. This lady vigorously applying Ringo’s makeup (plus a sneaky photo of George in the bottom left hand corner)
3. These brilliant pictures of George
4. This gorgeous photo of Ringo which I might need to paint
5. Ringo being photogenic (literally all the photos of him where like this)
6. This adorable photo of Brian Epstein
7. This near-flawless roll of film where nearly every single one was a useable and interesting photograph
I really recommend this exhibition if you have the means to visit it! Plus entry for anybody under 30 is only five quid!! It’s really well put together and actually pretty large. Makes for a really nice visit.
1. "It Won't Be Long" 9/10
2. "All I've Got to Do" 9/10
3. "All My Loving" 8.5/10
4. "Don't Bother Me" 8/10
5. "Little Child" 8/10
6. "Till There Was You" 7/10
7. "Please Mister Postman" 8/10
8. "Roll Over Beethoven" 6.5/10
9. "Hold Me Tight" 7/10
10. "You Really Got a Hold on Me" 8.25/10
11. "I Wanna Be Your Man" 7/10
12. "Devil in Her Heart" 5.75/10
13. "Not a Second Time" 9/10
14. "Money (That's What I Want)" 7/10
“The group and their entourage arrived and sat in the lounge area. They came through, picked up some bits and pieces from the buffet, and took them back to the bar area, where they were all having a few beers. They were very matey, very ordinary, lots of jokes and banter. They stayed up really late, quite a large crowd of them, drinking and smoking. I was so tired after working such a long shift, but they were such friendly lads, I didn’t mind.
“The next morning, they played a joke on one of the chambermaids. She had gone in to clean the room, and they were all in one bed! She was quite shocked! That morning there was a group of fans outside, and we were told by the management to keep our mouths shut, and not to reveal any details of the group’s stay. The Beatles were a breath of fresh air, somebody with a different accent, very polite.” Charles Finch, restaurateur
Thursday 23 May
John, Paul and George stopped off for lunch at the Willow Cafe in Stamford, Rutland (Paul ordered a knickerbocker glory with a fried egg on top), while Ringo ate with Terry Young Six bassist John Rostill at the nearby Olde Barn Restaurant.
At the end of the evening, several fans made their way to the back entrance of the cinema in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Beatles. They were not to be disappointed-the group appeared through a door at the top of the fire escape and waved. John balanced a pile of autograph books and LPs on the railing, throwing them down to the fans. Many of the LPs and books were ruined. One fan remembered, ‘The fab four thought it was very funny and went back inside laughing, leaving scenes of mayhem below. I’ve been a bit ambivalent about them since.’