Saturday, August 07, 2010

George Harrison on his first LSD trip

"The first time we, John and I, had LSD was when we were having dinner with our dentist. He slipped it into our coffee. We didn't know what it was. We didn't ask for it, but we did say, 'Thank you.'

"It was like I had never tasted, smelled or heard anything before. For me, it was like a flash. It just opened up something inside of me, and I realised a lot of very heavy things. From that moment on, I wanted to have that depth and clarity of perception."



Friday, August 06, 2010

Sid Bernstein on promoting the Shea Stadium concert

"I let the word out to a few reporters and the phones came off the wall. I didn't have a formal contract, nor did I have the agreed $100,000 fee, let alone even $10,000. I was in bad shape because I had lost heavily on some other concert venues. Carnegie Hall, a year ago, had just helped pay off some old debts. I asked Brian to draw up a contract, but by the time I heard from him again I already had $180,000 in the bank on tickets sold. Brian had asked for $50,000 on signing and another $50,000 was payable about a month before the concert in August. When he sent me the contract, he was surprised to get the full $100,000 immediately."

Thursday, August 05, 2010

John Lennon on the Abbey Road Album

"I liked the 'A' side but I never liked that sort of pop opera on the other side. I think it's junk because it was just bits of songs thrown together. 'Come Together' is all right, that's all I remember. That was my song. It was a competent album, like Rubber Soul. It was together in that way, but Abbey Road had no life in it."

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Beatles Covers: Kenny Lynch - Misery

In 1963, the Beatles promoted this version as the first cover of one of their songs.

Monday, August 02, 2010

Why Did the Beatles Break Up? George Harrison Answers, 1971

"We consciously stopped being the Beatles because it was just too much. Everyone was growing too much and the Beatles were too small to hold four people. I think there was not much of a reason for it to end like it did. It's sad because it made it look as though nothing good has come from it. Everybody was angry with everybody else but there was so much good. We had many good times but we had bad times, too. If you counted them up, we had more good times than bad. But unfortunately, we all had so many different opinions about the business and it was the business that broke us up. John, Ringo and myself are still very close and Paul I'd like to be friends with..."

Sunday, August 01, 2010

George Harrison on the Beatles Break-Up

"When we broke up, I thought, 'Thank God that's over!' The idea of the Beatles was like having a job and you are either fired or the factory burns down. For me, I was glad that we burned it down. It was too stifling. I'm not gloomy, it's just that it wasn't as much fun for us in the end as it was for all of you."