Category: Beatles

That ol’ Len-Mac magic

For lack of a better descriptive word, the Beatles were magical. The Rolling Stones were cool, the Beach Boys were fantastic, and the Motown singles were super, but there was just something about the four fabs that elevated them above and beyond anything and everything else.

There was sooooo much anticipation before The Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show, and when we saw them (“Sorry, girls: he’s married”) they vastly exceeded even the most hopeful, optimistic expectation… and that’s what they kept doing! They got better and better, and they never, ever disappointed, unless you’re one of those who doesn’t care for Mr. Moonlight.

What really cemented it all, the breakthrough that elevated the Beatles beyond a teen craze to THE BEATLES as a lasting social phenomenon, was A Hard Day’s Night. The doubtful parents and cynical critics who were so certain the Beatles were just a “yeah, yeah, yeah” fad really had to admit that John, Paul, George, and Ringo were indeed the greatest thing since Schubert and the Marx Brothers put together.

I was not quite nine years old when I saw A Hard Day’s Night, and it had an incalculably powerful effect on me. I couldn’t believe that the girls in the audience were screaming as if the Beatles were there live! Even though I couldn’t hear everything that was said because of the screaming, let alone get all of the jokes because of my age, I enjoyed the experience of seeing the movie so much that the feeling of being there has never left me. In my mind I still can relive the sensation that ran through me when the helicopter lifted off and the end credits started to roll. Mary Poppins was released at almost the same time, and I really enjoyed it, but as delightful as it was it didn’t imprint on my psyche the way A Hard Day’s Night did. (The most uninformed opinion I have ever heard about the movie came from, of all people, my friend Bismo, who said he’s never gotten all the way through it, and he thinks of A Hard Day’s Night as being like an Elvis movie. That’s equivalent to me telling Bismo that I think The Blues Brothers is just a car chase movie with some music thrown in.)

My eldest sister bought all of the Beatles albums as they came out. It wasn’t until I was in college that I realized the American albums before Sgt. Pepper were at best variations of the UK Beatles LP’s and, at worst, complete fabrications. There were two Beatles songs from the UK AHDN album that caught my interest in a particularly unique and vivid way. The thing was, I didn’t know they were both done with A Hard Day’s Night, because this one is on side 1, track 1 on Something New…

http://youtu.be/Z1e-Yk0cAmg

…and this one is on side 2 of Beatles ’65, released months later.
http://youtu.be/q3nksQSRYCI

Things We Said Today and I’ll Be Back had a mood that seemed to come from some place much deeper and different than She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand. They were, to my young ears and mind, strange and compelling. They felt as though they belonged together, and in fact they did. I’ll Be Back was recorded on June 1, 1964, and Things We Said Today was recorded the next day. (“I’ll be back” was later a hit for Arnold Schwarzenegger. ;-)) What Dave Dexter, Jr. did to the Beatles catalog at Capitol Records was both good and bad, and eventually I’ll devote the time and effort to present the material I’ve collected about the much-maligned Dexter.

Innes much as Ron’s Nasty

From Neil Innes last Saturday I got a typically nasty autograph from his Rutles alter ego, Ron Nasty.

After Innes and the Bonzo Dog Band were in Magical Mystery Tour with the Beatles, they were on a BBC TV show for kids called Do Not Adjust Your Set, where they met Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam.

http://youtu.be/AI4ekBi5Hhc

During A People’s Guide to World Domination last Saturday night, Innes sang the “Brave” Sir Robin song from Monty Python and the Holy Grail…

… but he didn’t do the famous Knights of the Round Table song, for which he wrote the tune but not the words, which were by Cleese and Chapman.

http://youtu.be/sGAYk5VWkTw

A People’s Guide to World Domination is a wonderfully funny and engaging show, mixing British music hall humor with social satire. When Innes was in town he did this interview, and on his way up to Boston he stopped at the NPR music studios in Washington, for a Tiny Desk Concert. When I saw Innes he didn’t play Urban Spaceman, a Bonzo-era favorite, but you’ll hear it here.

A tip o’ the virtual toupee to Samjay, for spotting a Rutles song in the credits when he saw The Robber last weekend. It’s I Love You, from the Rutles second album, Archaeology.

An Innes-cent man

You know about the Rutles, I’m sure. You must. The Rutles is a Beatles parody by Monty Python’s Eric Idle and a tremendously talented and funny musical chap named Neil Innes, whose Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (later just the Bonzo Dog Band) had a spot in Magical Mystery Tour, performing their legendary dirty ditty, Death Cab for Cutie.

http://youtu.be/jfHPs_1KUW4

Neil Innes appeared in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, singing the ballad of Eric Idle’s “Brave” Sir Robin. Innes then did a BBC comedy sketch show with Idle called Rutland Weekend Television. RWT was most notable for introducing the Rutles, with Idle playing the George part (he switched to being Paul) and Innes as John.

[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/Beatles/Rutles.flv 400 300]

The Rutles film re-appeared on Saturday Night Live, and it was such a big hit that Lorne Michaels produced a TV movie with the faux four called All You Need is Cash. The parody adhered so closely to the Beatles story that it made the reality of it seem all the more unreal.

All of the Rutle songs are by Neil Innes, and they don’t just capture the sound and feeling of the Beatles. Innes managed to deconstruct the Lennon-McCartney magic and turn it inside out, while being both scathing and reverential. Lyrics like “nature’s calling and I must go there” are brilliant and hilarious.

I’ve been wanting to do a Neil Innes post for some months, but I have to do this one right now, because I will be seeing Innes perform tonight, at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Prue Bury, by Ringo Starr

It’s Easter, and a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the lovely and wonderful Prudence Bury. As promised, here is a very special picture of Prue. It was taken by Ringo Starr on the set of A Hard Day’s Night.

The caption reads, “This gorgeous girl is Pru Berry. She plays my girlfriend in our movie. Too bad it’s only make believe!” Amen to that! Ringo was actually paired with Tina Williams for the famous hair-combing publicity photos, and Prue was with Paul. She was 22 at the time, and Prue says of this portrait, “I love it, I look grown up!!” (Oh, the lure of evil ciggies to make one appear grown up!)

Prue had told me that Ringo was “snap-happy” with his camera during the filming of A Hard Day’s Night, and she said that he had taken some snapshots of her. (The sequence where Ringo went “parading” around town was built around him taking pictures.) Prue and I have been wondering if Ringo’s pictures had appeared anywhere, and the answer is yes. They’re in Ringo’s Photo-Album, published in 1964. Hover over the image below to see the back cover.

I have scanned the entire magazine and it’ll be featured later. My thanks go to noted Rock journalist Marcus Gray, for finding this treasure. I’ve seen many Beatles-related items, but I’d never spotted this one before. Marcus is the leading expert on The Clash, having written two books on the legendary British Punk Rock band — one a comprehensive and authoritative biography, the other a definitive study of their landmark album London Calling. Having been a Clash fan myself, I have both tomes and they are in my must-read stack. Marcus is also, to his credit, a Prue fan.