I had never heard this story until tonight, when one of my card-playing companions related it. One detail.
As things continued to escalate, club security attempted to remove the drunken and enraged Lennon, who lashed out, losing his trademark specs in the scuffle. He then, according to Tommy Smothers, kicked the valet. “My wife ended up with Lennon’s glasses because of the punches that were thrown,” Smothers said.Challenging John Lennon to heckle an act on-stage just seems like a monumentally bad idea. Any of the Beatles, really, even Paul, but especially John.
2 comments:
The episodes at the Troubadore happened during his time away from Yoko - the 'lost weekend' that lasted a year or so. Yoko had decided that since he was likely to have affairs anyway she matched him up with a friend and sent them off.
This afternoon I read an article on Dangerous Minds that excerpted part of an old interview with George Harrison wherein he fretted that John and Paul hadn't taken him very seriously as a song writer. After they'd have the band work on ten of their songs they'd reluctantly agree to listen to one of his. Jer and I talked about it later and he mentioned that the Beatles never would have been the sensation they were if George's songs had been promoted. Young girls were simply not going to get hysterical over 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' (good as it was).
It's an interesting reaction that Yoko had. There seems to have been at least a bit of reverse psychology in it, or at least a recognition she was dealing with a sort of contrary man. This friend has actually met May Pang, too, through her art and jewelry career.
Yeah, George could be funny and charming at a very young age, as A Hard Day's Night showed. But you're probably right that most of the songs he wrote were a little too serious and abstract to catch on as pop. He seems to be the favorite Beatle of gigging musicians and guys who want to be.
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