Leslie Cavendish, hairdresser to the Beatles, recalls one of his favourite Paul McCartney stories.
My Grandmother who lived with us said to me when I got home in her thick eastern European accent that “a Paul McCartney” phoned for you. Really? What did you say to him?
“We had a nice little chat and told him that I would pass on the message.”
She wasn’t quite sure who he was so I said to her that he was a member of The Beatles, and she replied, “Oh, when you speak to him tell him he needs a haircut.”
Grandma, you do know that I cut his hair?
Really!
Discover more great stories in Leslie’s fascinating book:
The Cutting Edge (Paperback)
The Beatles’ hair changed the world. As their increasingly wild, untamed manes grew, to the horror of parents everywhere, they set off a cultural revolution as the most tangible symbol of the Sixties’ psychedelic dream of peace, love and playful rebellion. In the midst of this epochal change was Leslie Cavendish, hairdresser to the Beatles and some of the greatest stars of the music and entertainment industry.
The iconic character in the movie Almost Famous notwithstanding, Penny Lane is a place, not a person. Paul wrote this loving tribute to a street in his hometown of Liverpool. In the Barry Miles biography Many Years from Now, McCartney talked about the song and Penny Lane itself:
Childhood Reminiscences
“It was childhood reminiscences: there is a bus stop called Penny Lane. There was a barber shop called Bioletti’s with head shots of the haircuts you can have in the window and I just took it all and arted it up a little bit to make it sound like he was having a picture exhibition in his window. It was all based on real things; there was a bank on the corner so I imagined the banker, it was not a real person, and his slightly dubious habits and the little children laughing at him, and the pouring rain.
“The fire station was a bit of poetic license; there’s a fire station about half a mile down the road, not actually in Penny Lane, but we needed a third verse so we took that and I was very pleased with the line “It’s a clean machine.” I still like that phrase, you occasionally hit a lucky little phrase and it becomes more than a phrase. So the banker helped me with the third verse, as often was the case. We were writing childhood memories: recently faded memories from eight or ten years before, so it was a recent nostalgia, pleasant memories for both of us. All the places were still there, and because we remembered it so clearly we could have gone on.“
Lennon and McCartney
This song and the flip side of the double-A-sided single – “Strawberry Fields Forever” – are an object lesson of Lennon and McCartney at the peak of their creative collaborative powers. And if you would like a true visual and auditory treat to go with today’s Beatles song, scroll 31 minutes into this special show in the East Room of the Barack Obama White House:
Play Elvis Costello’s rendition of “Penny Lane.” And I’ll defy you not to get goosebumps when Master Sergeant Matthew Harding of the Marine Corps Band absolutely nails the piccolo trumpet solo. The entire hour and a half show is all-star performances of some of Paul McCartney’ songs, capped by McCartney himself and his band.
Think of Penny Lane
I’d invite all of you to think of “Penny Lane” as an invitation to pay attention to what is going on in your community. Notice what is happening, what is not happening, who is in need, what you’re willing to do to be involved. These would be important goals for any community, and especially during any challenging time.
Find out more about the songs the Beatles wrote in Tim Hatfield’s great book:
When We Find Ourselves in Times of Trouble: The Beatles: All Their Songs with Encouraging Words for Challenging Times
KINDLE (OR DOWNLOAD THE FREE APP TO READ ON YOUR LAPTOP)
This book addresses all the songs of the Beatles, from their earliest demos to Abbey Road, in a conversational, accessible format. Special attention is devoted to the band’s creative process and its influence on and synergistic relationship with the culture at large. The book’s genesis was the author’s hope that a daily Beatles song could provide a brief respite from the significant stress and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and beyond that, from the challenges of any personally difficult time – our times of trouble.
Paul is the rare musical talent, which only comes by once so often. Of course, all Beatles had great musical talents: John’s contribution to contemporary music cannot be overestimated, George wrote beautiful songs, and Ringo was an excellent drummer and even he wrote some nice songs. But even among those musical talents Paul did stand out.
The Day John Met Paul
Already on July 6, 1957, the day when Paul met John, Paul’s musical talent became obvious. That day, the Quarry Men played at a church party at St. Peter’s church in Woolton Liverpool. Paul McCartney was invited by a mutual friend, Ivan Vaughan, to see and meet them. Paul was impressed with John, the singer, who had great presence and clearly was the leader of the band. After some time, he noticed that John was playing banjo chords on his guitar, using only four of the six strings.
Twenty Flight Rock
After the show John and Paul met and started talking music. After a while Paul, being only fifteen years of age, asked whether he could have a go on John’s guitar. He corrected the banjo tuning, turned the guitar upside down, being left-handed, and played Twenty Flight Rock by Eddie Cochran, from the beginning to the end, knowing all the words. None of the Quarry Men could do anything like this.
Throughout The Beatles Years and after that, there are many illustrations of Paul’s special talent. You can find them in …
A budding painter could be immersed in the artistry of The Beatles with a ‘Paint Your Own Beatle’ set. The set was available in four different paint-by-number versions, one for each Beatle. Produced in 1964, the collection came with oil-colored paints, two bristled brushes, a thinner/brush cleaner, and an 11″x14″ numbered, ready-to-paint canvas board for you to paint a life-like portrait. Artistic Creations made it, Incorporated at 12825 South Broadway in Los Angeles, California.
The box, which was14″x19″, advertised “Paint Your Own Beatle” and included a graphic depicting the finished product. “Sensational Real-Life Oil Portrait. Do it yourself by the numbers. It’s fun; it’s easy! So great… you’ll want to do all four Beatle portraits” “Everything you need to create an exciting oil painting.” “Not a print, not a picture…genuine 11″x14″ oil painting. Paint it…frame it…hang it! The Official Beatles licensed oil paint kit by Artistic Creations, Inc.”
Printed on the box exterior was a list of the contents:
–Giant 11″x14″ Paint By Number Portrait
–Genuine Pre-Mixed Oil Colors
–Two Genuine Bristle Paint Brushes
–Supply Of Special Brush Cleaner Liquid
–Print Of Finished Paint-By-Number Portrait
–Complete Easy To Follow Instructions
Congratulations
Printed detailed instructions inside the box said, “Congratulations! You have just purchased a genuine Artistic Creations Numbers Oil Painting Set…Before You Start Your Painting Read These Simple Instructions.” It then went on to list nine instruction items to follow to paint your picture correctly. The kit series listed for these were “Beatles 102-5.” Individual kit numbers were Ringo – #102, George – #103, Paul – #104, John – #105.
Columbia Record Club published a flyer for this item. The cover displayed a 6″x8″ painting of Ringo and said, “A first for club members – Paint Your Own Beatle or other famous personality…”
Create an Exciting Oil Portrait of The Beatles
A print graced the lid “window” of a paint by number kit. It showed what the completed painting would look like if you followed the directions. The print measured 11″x14″ and had a biography of the Beatle on the back.
The Painted Beatles
“The full set comes with a guide print with a bio on the back, printed on thin paper. The actual painting is on very hard cardboard.” – Ricky Glover.
Find out more about Beatles memorabilia in Terry’s great book:
NEMS and the Business of Selling Beatles Merchandise in the U.S. 1964-1966 (2ND EDITION)
The book covers the approximately 150 licensed items that dotted store shelves and helped fuel the band-crazed fan during the time right after the band landed in America and performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. Toys, games, dolls, jewelry, clothing, wigs, and more!
THE ROAD TO NASHVILLE STARTS NOW FOR THE LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL SONG CONTEST 2022.
TWO MUSIC CITY POWERHOUSES, LIVERPOOL AND NASHVILLE, ARE COMING TOGETHER TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR MENTAL HEALTH.
The launch of the Liverpool International song Contest 2022 is Monday, May 9th, starting with a live stream launch between Liverpool, hosted at the British Music Experience, and Nashville, anchored at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum. and you can tune in live on TUFFM.com
Nashville and Liverpool
This is a global, historic project, bringing Nashville & Liverpool together to support musicians & songwriters battling the stigma of mental health while promoting diversity and understanding. The mayors from both of these iconic music cities will come together to combat mental health while also championing the search for the best songwriters from around the globe.
The Road to Nashville – Liverpool International Song Contest 2022 is a seven-month project which highlights original material of global songwriters & musicians with a unique infrastructure to support them with mental health services while submitting their songs throughout the process of the song contest.
Mental Health Awareness
With May marking Mental Health Awareness Month, the timing was perfect for igniting this initiative. As a display of the unity between the cities, the Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson and Cavern director Jon Keats, will be passing to Nashville Mayor John Cooper a priceless artefact from the British Invasion era of music history to truly reveal how the cities will “Come Together.”
Last year, the project took place in The Cavern Club, acquiring over 20,000 submissions from 28 countries. The top prize for the inaugural contest went to James Holt for his song “Make My Day.” You can relive the performance here.
WHAT IS LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL SONG CONTEST?
Last year, Liverpool City Council played a role in supporting the International Song for Kindness created by the charity TUFF (The Unity of Faiths Foundation) to support the goals of empowering young people and promoting acceptance, equality and respect for other cultures.
The Liverpool International Song Contest is a vehicle used to tackle discrimination and mental health stigma, providing support for those most in need and developing a bespoke mental health service infrastructure specifically tailored toward those in the creative sector.
Participants in the 2020/21 Liverpool International Song Contest were invited to attend one of 23 workshops across the Liverpool City region, delivered by TUFFs Music division and led by TUFFs co-founders Anna Prior & Dr Shamender Talwar FRSA (renowned social psychologist) and Liverpool based producer Daniel Xander BSc MA (TUFFs Head of Music).
Education in Music
These engaging workshops provided education in music, production and human values. While also providing education on mental health and counselling with mental health practitioners. As well as the thousands who attended the in-person workshops, TUFF also offered an online version of the syllabus for those unable to participate. This online digital format provided people with the same opportunities and one to one counselling, delivered in a way that best suited their needs.
The connection with Liverpool came about because TUFF developed the global #KIND20 campaign as a way to demonstrate and promote social integration, which reached a staggering 6.5 million people worldwide. After conversations with The Cavern Club and other organisations in Liverpool, they came up with the idea of an International Song Contest to celebrate what would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday.
Kevin McManus, Head of UNESCO City of Music, was involved on behalf of the city and attended the final event at The Cavern in October 2021.
FOR THE FULL STORY OF COUNTRY MUSIC IN LIVERPOOL AND THE COUNTRY ROOTS OF THE BEATLES IN DAVID BEDFORD’S BOOK: THE COUNTRY OF LIVERPOOL.
The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of The North (Limited Hardback Edition)
The Country of Liverpool: Nashville of the North by David Bedford. The Untold Story of the Country Roots of The Beatles and Liverpool, when Liverpool had the largest country and western scene in Europe!
There are still a few Beatles songs from their major albums that have not yet made an appearance here. When I initially wrote this in early November of 2020, I referred specifically to the title of the song in this way: “Today, the day before what many are calling the most consequential Presidential election in a long time, if not in the history of the republic, is time to highlight one of them, if only for the title of the song – ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’.”
LSD
A highly experimental, and LSD-enhanced song that came at the end of the B-side of Revolver, it denoted a significant moment in the evolution of the Beatles as a group. But before I discuss the song itself, I should mention that for the longest time the working titles were “The Void” or “Mark 1.”
Ringoism
Then, as noted by Kenneth Womack in his 2014 book The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four, the group recalled an interview Ringo had given during the group’s first concert tour in America, after a female fan had come up and cut off a swatch of Ringo’s hair in DC. His response, which may not have risen to the level of his most famous malapropism – “It’s been a hard day’s night” – was another, now famous malapropism of the phrase “tomorrow never comes.”
You know – what can you say? Tomorrow never knows.
The phrase never appears in the mystical song, but it stuck as the title.
Timothy Leary
John Lennon wrote this song, and besides some significant LSD usage also leaned heavily on Timothy Leary’s The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based onThe Tibetan Book of the Dead. Some of the initial verses from the song, including the very first, are direct quotes from Leary’s book:
Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream….
Lay down all thought, surrender to the void.
Ravi Shankar
All the Beatles, not just John Lennon, joined in the experimentation that made “Tomorrow Never Knows” such a revolutionary piece. Ringo slackened the tuning on his tom-toms and recorded them through an echo chamber. George played the sitar, which he had been studying with master sitar artist Ravi Shankar, and recorded it at varying speeds for playback both forward and backwards; Paul drew on his interest in the electronic music of Karlheinz Stockhausen to encourage all his bandmates to create tape loops of interesting sounds that also could be played forward, backwards, and at different speeds. One of Paul’s loops sounded like a seagull, but really was him laughing and recorded at high speed before playback.
Dalai Lennon
John’s lead vocal required significant experimentation by sound engineer Geoff Emerick, who reported in the Beatles’ Anthology that Lennon said that he wanted his voice
to sound like the Dalai Lama chanting from a mountaintop, miles away.
As reported in the Anthology, what finally worked, and pleased Lennon greatly, was the directing of his voice track through the rotating speaker of a Leslie cabinet, then through a Hammond organ. Lennon wasn’t the only Beatle excited about the effect; McCartney, upon hearing the track, exclaimed, “It’s the Dalai Lennon!”
Remarkably, for this very, very different song, leaning so heavily on experimental recording techniques, it all came together very quickly: only three takes, and an evening and an afternoon of overdubs for the experimental loops.
The Beatles had introduced an additional “different” song, “Love You To,” also on Revolver (#143), but with this song to round out the Revolver album they made an emphatic statement that their work henceforth would not follow an established pattern. And as I wrote on November 2, 2020, “Tomorrow, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the country, may provide some insight as to whether there is interest in sustaining – or changing – our nation’s response to it. But for now, ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’.”
When We Find Ourselves in Times of Trouble: The Beatles: All Their Songs with Encouraging Words for Challenging Times
KINDLE (OR DOWNLOAD THE FREE APP TO READ ON YOUR LAPTOP)
This book addresses all the songs of the Beatles, from their earliest demos to Abbey Road, in a conversational, accessible format. Special attention is devoted to the band’s creative process and its influence on and synergistic relationship with the culture at large. The book’s genesis was the author’s hope that a daily Beatles song could provide a brief respite from the significant stress and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and beyond that, from the challenges of any personally difficult time – our times of trouble.
