SheSaidSheSaid Interview with Beatles Stylist Leslie Cavendish
June 2, 2021
Leslie Cavendish, trained in London by Vidal Sassoon as a master stylist (truly an artist), became not only The Beatles’ personal stylist, but also their trusted friend. He developed their post-Fabs look during the later Beatle years. They set him up in his own salon near the Apple Boutique.
His days were spent in the Apple offices, and he was a member of the Magical Mystery Tour Bus! When George Harrison invited the Hell’s Angels to Apple, they stayed in Leslie’s home! Leslie, with his own wry humor and delightful personality, will tell you true Beatles stories you’ve NEVER heard before?
Which Beatle was called “The Headmaster” and couldn’t sit still for a haircut? What were the earliest days of Yoko’s presence in Apple like? How did Jane Asher figure into Leslie’s career? This is a riveting interview. And his book, The Cutting Edge, is even better.
It is remarkable how many people – young – old – worldwide – become or remain intrigued by the legacy of The Beatles. Reissues, covers, films, fan sites, books, it provides an endless stream of new reflections on the music, life and cultural influence of The Fab Four. One such fascinated person is pharmaceutical scientist Peter Eijgenhuijsen, who was only twelve when The Beatles fell apart, but followed them with interest even then. Now at the age of 63 he publishes a book in which he reflects his own quest for the secret of The Beatles.“The Beatles Era, a Quest for the Secret of the Beatles” is written in English to reach a wide international audience and is available through Amazon.
Musical Development
Eijgenhuijsen, involved in daily life in writing registration files for new medicines, listened endlessly to details in the recordings, read every fragment that could be found about the boys and thought thoroughly every facet in order to understand the secret of The Beatles. He goes into detail about their musical development; from “Love me do” to “The End”, trying to find out why their music, fifty years later, still sounds fresh and remains interesting.
The Five Periods of The Beatles
Eijgenhuijsen divides his argument into five distinct periods: Before the Beatles, The Beatles Years, The Solo Years, The Reduced Solo Years, and After the Beatles, and tries to use these periods to explain why the Beatles became so great. He does this with wonder and admiration. To him it is not so much about what happened, but why it happened. The inability and frayed edges that also characterized the mutual relationships of the boys are often left out of consideration, but that is not necessarily a nuisance in a passionate argument in which the composition and performance of the most influential songs are central. McCartney’s musical genius and Lennon’s quirky originality are given free rein. Harrison’s fabulous final sprint as a songwriter is not forgotten.
Excellent Musical Knowledge
You can always argue about taste, but Eijgenhuijsen’s interpretations show excellent musical knowledge. Whether the secret of The Beatles is actually unravelled in this book is up to every reader. In any case, the writer of this piece was intrigued by the raised question that also occupies him and which he believes will continue to exist forever, because miracles cannot be explained.
Jan van Galen (original book review in Dutch on BEATLESFANCLUB.NL)
On 31st May 1981, Nigel filmed Mike McCartney’s wedding when Mike decided to get married at St. Barnabas Church on Penny Lane, where brother Paul had once sang in the choir. Nigel Greenberg was asked to film the wedding, where, of course, Paul would get lots of attention as the best man.
Debbie Greenberg Recalls What Happened
Mike had told Nigel that the wedding party would be leaving the church by the rear door in Elm Hall Drive. We sat in the car for as long as possible before setting up the camera outside the rear door of the church because we knew that if someone saw a film crew they would realise what was happening.
St Barnabas Church
We had barely had the chance to set up the equipment when a torrent of excited onlookers flooded around the corner of the church from Penny Lane to where we were positioned in Elm Hall Drive outside the rear entrance to the church. We could hear them coming long before they came into view. It wasn’t long before the road was bursting at the seams.
Camera at the ready, everybody was anxious to get a bird’s eye view of the bridge and groom and of course their idol Paul and his wife Linda.
We had to make sure that we were right at the front to capture every moment of this memorable occasion.
This first-hand account of Debbie’s teen years frequenting and eventually helping to run the original Cavern Club is the authentic inside story of the Beatles launch pad, full of triumphs and failures – and surprise celebrity encounters.
£17.25Original price was: £17.25.£13.50Current price is: £13.50.
BBC Producer Peter Pilbeam who recorded The Beatles
The Beatles at the BBC Manchester – 8th February 1962
The Beatles first appearance on BBC Radio was in March 1962. Brian Epstein arranged an audition for them with Peter Pilbeam at the Playhouse Theatre and, though Brian had requested the opportunity for all three vocalists to be heard, Pilbeam only wanted to listen to John and Paul. He decided to assess them both to see if they would be suitable, and gave them the opportunity to perform four songs.
The Beatles performed two of their own songs, “Like Dreamers Do” and “Hello Little Girl”, plus “Memphis Tennessee” and “Till There Was You”. They had played all of these songs at Decca just a few weeks earlier, and it was surprising that they included “Till There Was You”, which was a disaster for McCartney at the audition.
The Beatles at the BBC
Paul showed his nerves again. However, this time the boys passed the audition, making Pilbeam the first BBC producer to book The Beatles. He remembered that they stood out among the many other groups that had auditioned, recalling that there was a “load of rubbish – masses of rubbish – and then out of the blue this group turned up at the Playhouse at one of our audition sessions – called The Beatles.” As with most places The Beatles went, their name was perceived as slightly odd. It was a “weird name and everybody said ‘Yuk!’”, Pilbeam said, “but I was impressed with them at the time.”
However, what was interesting was the comments Pilbeam made on their audition report form:
“More Country and Western”
“I wrote that they were ‘an unusual group not as rocky as most, more country and western with a tendency to play music’. This probably sounds awfully crude, but it was praise indeed,” he said. “Many groups just relied on noise to get them through the audition.”
Excerpt from The Country of Liverpool. Get your copy now
The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of The North (SOFTBACK)
The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of the North by David Bedford. The Untold Story of the Country Roots of The Beatles and Liverpool
£25.00Original price was: £25.00.£20.00Current price is: £20.00.
Announcing John Lennon Series author Jude Southerland Kessler’s next online “Focal Points” session, “The Gem that is ‘Some Time in New York City'”!
SAVE YOUR PLACE NOW!
Register here (it’s FREE): to join her Tuesday, June 15th at 7:30 pm CT via Zoom.
CHECK OUT JUDE’S BOOKS IN THE JOHN LENNON SERIES
Shoulda Been There (Vol. 1) 1940 – Dec 1961
In Jude Kessler’s stunning debut narrative biography, you’ll learn the truths behind the Lennon legend. You’ll discover why the popular, rich, famous singer called himself a “Nowhere Man.” There are no hard copies left, but you can get it on Kindle by clicking here for $9.99
But for John Lennon, the hectic rise to glory failed to cure the constant Shivering Inside. He was still searching for something…or someone…to fill the hole in his heart. There are no hard copies left but you can get it on Kindle here for $9.99.
1964 in John’s life! “A Hard Day’s Night”, and created/recorded the accompanying, best-selling soundtrack; a World Tour, a Scottish sojourn, a lengthy North American Tour hitting cities all across the U.S. and Canada.
Review in Shindig for David Stark’s book “It’s All Too Much”
Get Your Copy Now
It’s All Too Much
It’s All Too Much is the unique memoir by music industry veteran David Stark, who grew up in north London during the 1960s as a dedicated Beatles fan and was lucky enough to meet his musical heroes on various memorable occasions. From gate-crashing the Yellow Submarine film premiere in 1968 (aged just fifteen) and ending up sitting directly behind the group, to meeting all of them individually in some extraordinary circumstances, David has some highly entertaining stories about his many Beatles encounters which have never been told before.
