This is the kind of utterly inconsequential story that I love. October 23rd and 24th were the only days the Beatles had off in 1962. They were earning good money from live shows. Nevertheless, when McCartney decided to use the two days taking his girlfriend Celia down to London, they hitch-hiked. A series of lorries picked them up, they ate at the Blue Boar at Watford Gap and they arrived in the West End after midnight. "It was a wild, arty thing to do," recalls Celia.
They went straight to Peter Cook's club The Establishment, where Liverpool friend Ivan Vaughan, the boy who introduced John to Paul, was working as a doorman. Paul bought Celia a bitter lemon, he had a Scotch and Coke, and they danced late into the night. They slept on the floor of Ivan's tiny flat in Great Portland Street. The following morning they went for a walk in Fitzroy Square and Celia helped him with the lines to a song he was writing at the time called I Saw Her Standing There, in which, you may recall, they danced through the night and they held each other tight.
As a big Beatles fan I'm very tempted to invest in this. Given its size, it does seem like a time and emotional investment, rather than simply 'buying a book on The Beatles'. Is it easy to read and is the investment worthwhile?
ReplyDeleteAlways amazes me how famous events,people, etc are brought together. In this case Ivan Vaughan introducing the Beatles and being a Doorman at Peter Cook's club. A favourite of mine is John Peel being on film at the Dallas P.D. when Oswald is being held for the Kennedy Assassination in 63. Perhaps time for a book on these coincidences.?
ReplyDeleteThe Blue Boar! ". . . a plate of grease and a load of crap"
ReplyDeleteI've just started on my long journey. The print is quite small. It may take a while.
ReplyDelete