Category: Beatles

Please Peace Me

We have the 1918 pandemic, the unemployment rate of the Great Depression, and the race riots of 1968, all at the same time. There’s no need to wait for hindsight to have 20/20 vision about 2020, and the year isn’t even half over!

Something that’s overlooked about John Lennon’s infamous heckling of the Smothers Brothers at the Troubadour in 1974 is that he knew Tommy Smothers. Yeah, Lennon was being a jerk, and he acknowledged it ever after, but in a way he was just being a pain in the butt to a friend.

Astrid

To anyone familiar with Beatles history, just saying the name “Astrid” speaks volumes. Astrid Kirchherr has died, closing yet another point of contact into appreciating the most fascinating musical and cultural phenomenon of the 20th century.

Astrid and Stuart

Depending on your level of interest, there are plenty of places to read about Astrid, so I don’t need to go into any details here, but the most exhaustive telling of her significance is found in Mark Lewisohn’s book Tune In.

Here are some of Astrid’s candid photographs taken during the filming of A Hard Day’s Night, featuring my wonderful friend Prue.

Sitting around between takes, with Prue’s hair still pinned up by stylist Betty Glasow.

A few low-quality scans from the series that Astrid took, showing Prue as I know her, spirited and very funny.

Billet Ballet

For Prue, on her birthday. Something Prue once said, that made me laugh out loud was, “I assure you, Douglas, not all men who are ballet dancers are gay!”

Prudence Bury at the Royal Ballet School, photo by Antony Armstrong-Jones.

Armstrong-Jones had a distinctive approach to his casual photos of women, having them wear one of his shirts, it seems. Here is one he took of Prue…

… and one he took of another friend, who Prue says, “wasn’t Tony’s type.”

Take a Sad Film and Make it Better

Ah, 1968. A unique, transitional year in popular music, with some of the best-ever Adult Contemporary records.

Like this one…

… and this one, from later that year.

To me, the piano opening of the second song seems to owe something to the start of the first song. Also, take notice of the picture quality of the Beatles video. England’s PAL television system had significantly better detail than America’s NTSC system.

The big Beatles news today is that Peter Jackson’s re-imagined and extended cut of ‘Let It Be’ will be out later this year, and it’s rumored to have a more balanced and happier view of the band in its final year. The announcement coming from Disney has me recalling the early Beatles song ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’, that John Lennon said was inspired by a line in Walt Disney’s first cartoon feature, ‘Snow White’.

Bonzo Boxing Day

The evening of December 26, 1967 was the first airing on BBC television, unfortunately in black and white, of “Magical Mystery Tour” by the Beatles. Featured in the film was the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, performing “Death Cab for Cutie.” Earlier that very same day, the Bonzos appeared on the ITV network, in the premiere episode of “Do Not Adjust Your Set,” featuring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Eric Idle.

https://youtu.be/RyZSgy5wmJk