Dave Davies on Kinks, Beatles and Bournemouth

The ill-tempered night The Kinks opened for The Beatles at Bournemouth Gaumont - a one-off show on 2 August 1964 - has gone down in the annals of rock history thanks largely to Kinks' frontman Ray Davies' lengthy description of the backstage shenanigans in his superbly written autobiography, X-Ray.
He remembers lining up with The Kinks behind the curtain and hearing the crowd baying for his band while John Lennon and Paul McCartney tried to intimidate him and the band. What's more he say the audience screamed louder for his band than for The Beatles that night and for the second show they were moved to a different spot, closing the first half of the show, to prevent them overshadowing The Beatles.
There are lots of stories to counter those claims - not least an attempted stage invasion during The Beatles' set - but Ray's recollection gains a little extra weight in the light of comments made recently by his guitarist brother Dave (pictured) in an interview with Rock Cellar magazine. 
The interviewer suggests The Kinks actually went on after The Beatles - a claim that's highly unlikely and one that was never suggested during research for the book Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth. 
Dave replies: "The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, worked it out that way. He wanted us to go on after them. 
"What happened is a year before we played before The Beatles at Liverpool Empire, I think, and they couldn’t get us off the stage.

"So I think with Brian arranging it for us going on after the Beatles at that show in Bournemouth was his way of showing us who the boss was. I mean, you try and follow-up The Beatles, but we thought we could. Epstein had that sort of humour."

The truth? Well, perhaps there are times it shouldn't get in the way of a good story - and, unlike his brother, Dave certainly doesn't suggest The Kinks blew The Beatles off stage.

:: The full story of what happened that night, with photos, including The Beatles getting trapped by fans in an alleyway outside the Gaumont, can be read in Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth. Available to order at a special price here.

John signs for Mimi's furniture

John Lennon's signature on a receipt for the delivery of some furniture to Mimi's house at Sandbanks in what looks like March 1967.
It would certainly tie in with John's visit to see Mimi when the two of them were photographed with Julian at Sandbanks ferry, as seen in this Dorset magazine cover.

John is wearing the Afghan he wore at the press launch of Sgt Pepper at Brian Epstein's house on May 19, but everyone in the photo appears to be dressed for March rather than May.
It seems the boys had a few days off following the session at Abbey Road on 23 March to record more vocals for Getting Better and a session on 28 March at which John had his first crack at the lead vocal for Good Morning Good Morning.
Mimi obviously had an account at Beales and Bealesons - the receipt indicates it has been made up to 24 February 1967, still further evidence that the almost entirely illegible delivery stamps indicate March rather than May.
And, of course, it's impossible to resist the obvious similarities between the Beales name and that of the group in which her nephew had earned the money to buy her home. (Bealesons was previously a draper's store in Commercial Road, Bournemouth that Beales' founder, John Elmes Beale bought from a Mr Okey after World War One. It's now The Avenue shopping centre.)

We can only wonder at the reaction of the delivery driver when he called to deliver an old lady's chairs, blankets and came face to face with a Beatle.
:: The complete version of the photo of John and Mimi with Julian at Sandbanks ferry can be found in Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth, available to order at a special price here.
:: A permanent exhibition of memorabilia relating to The Beatles and their connection to Bournemouth can be seen at the Beacon Hotel.