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.

John Lennon - 'The most beautiful place I know'

It was the summer of 1965 when John Lennon decided to get his beloved Aunt Mimi out of Liverpool and away from the fans that besieged the home in Menlove Avenue where he had spent most of his childhood.

He spent £25,000 on Harbour's Edge, a six-bedroom waterside bungalow at 126 Panorama Road, right by the Sandbanks to Studland chain ferry. He called it 'the most beautiful place I know'.

The neighbours kept to themselves and there was no more intrusion on her life than Mimi wanted. Her move that September was reported in the local press, but the rest of the world didn't much care.

Earlier that year The Beatles had recorded songs such as Help! and Ticket To Ride, in which John appears to be confronting the reality of his fame. Perhaps he recognised Sandbanks as a place he could hide away?

He certainly visited as often as he could over the next couple of years.

And perhaps his relationship to the area is perfectly encapsulated by the terrific photo that features in Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth in which he appears with Mimi and his son Julian by the ferry, clutching the boy on one hand a bucket and spade in the other. He's glaring at a cameraman who's presence is unexplained, although it might be the local TV press that Mimi referred to in an interview not long after John's death in which she blames the ferryman for tipping off the press who interrupted a private visit.

Conversely, Cynthia Lennon recalls John cavorting on the beach in a sun hat, shorts and blouse, turning cart wheels and totally ignored by the wider world.

John's love of Sandbanks - and the photo from the book - inspired Dorset artist Stephen Bishop to create this painting, The Collector, in tribute.

'I painted the homage to John Lennon as I am a fan of his solo and Beatles work,' says Stephen. 'I love the Beatles and think they exemplify artists who are both creatively fantastic, experimental and successful. I love the way they developed in such a short space of time. They inspire me.

'Born in 1963 and enjoying family holidays in Purbeck (camping at Tom's Field in Langton Matravers) I have fond memories of taking the ferry at Sandbanks from the late 60s onwards. I adore the photo of John with Mimi and Julian.  

'I feel an emotional attachment to what it represents. It shows a proud father with his son and I find it touching as this relationship wasn't as full or constant as either would have liked it to be. In my painting, The Collector, I have also referenced images from earlier times in Dorset.  

'The figure sharpening a scythe replaces the photographer in the photo and for me is a intimation of what would happen to John in New York, a victim of his fame. The Collector is the title of a John Fowles novel that I like  and also refers to the toll that must be paid to cross on the ferry.'

More of Stephen's new work will be on show at the ARThouse Gallery in Bournemouth's Russell-Cotes Museum in August.

He'll also be exhibiting at L'Artishe Contemporary Art Gallery, Swanage from 21 September to 12 October.

:: Order Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth at a special price from here.

:: More about Stephen Bishop at www.stephenbishop.co.uk.

Wings over Bournemouth

After releasing his solo album McCartney in 1970 and the following year’s Ram with Linda, Paul and his wife recruited former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Danny Seiwell to form Wings. Wild Life, their first album, flopped but the follow up, Red Rose Speedway – and the commission to write the title song for the new James Bond film, Live and Let Die – re-established them.

With the line up augmented by guitarist Henry McCullough, the ensuing tour brought McCartney back to Bournemouth to play the Winter Gardens on 15 May 1973. He was the first – and, until 2011 when Ringo played the BIC, only – former Beatle to perform in the town. 

The tour was a success and did much to restore McCartney’s critical standing, giving him the foundation for Wings’ defining moment, Band On The Run, released that December.

The full Wings set list at the Winter Gardens was: Soily, Big Barn Bed, When The Night, Wild Life, Seaside Woman, Little Woman Love, C Moon, Live And Let Die, Maybe I’m Amazed, My Love, Go Now, Say You Don’t Mind, The Mess, Long Tall Sally.

As ever in all things Beatles-related there are many more who know much more than your humble narrator and I again bow to the greater depth of knowledge and insight of the one they call Happy Nat at www.thebeatlesrarity.com …

“Paul chose to limit his band’s live performances to his home continent during these [early] years and play smaller venues such as universities and town halls, allowing time to build up Wings and make a name for themselves by getting at least a couple hit albums under their belts before attempting anything on a larger scale. He certainly did not want to rely on his clout as a former Beatle to sell Wings to the world and refused to include any Beatles music in any of the concert set lists of 1972-1973. It wasn’t until after the highly successful fourth Wings album Venus And Mars that Wings toured outside of Europe with a short Australian tour that included seven shows over the first two weeks of November 1975. It wasn’t until 1976 when Wings peppered the set list with songs from their newest Wings At The Speed Of Sound album and did a full fledged North American/ European world tour, which yielded the only live Wings album.

This was actually a triple album set titled Wings Over America which gave us a good two-hour sampling of the live performances from the 1976 shows, however they were somewhat doctored up after the fact."

:: More photos of Wings at the Winter Gardens can be found in Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth, available to order at the special price of £14.95 here.

:: Wings photo © Bavarian Beatles Store, Ziegelfeld 1a, 85419 Mauern, Germany, www.bavarian-beatles-store.de

Howie Casey, Hamburg & The Beatles Pt 2

Howie and the Seniors on the train at Lime Street station in Liverpool in 1962 headed for a gig in Ilford

(l-r) Howie Casey, Lou Walters (and friend), sometime second vocalist Freddie Fowell (later known as Freddie Starr), Brian ‘Griff ’ Griffiths, Derry Wilkie, Frank Wibberly

Without the groundwork laid by musicians such as Howie Casey there wouldn't have been a beat scene in Liverpool in the early 1960s from which The Beatles could spring. Howie and others like him fell in love with R&B and swamped the clubs and dance halls with the sounds and songs of Little Richard and Chuck Berry. It wasn't long before Howie and his band, The Seniors, acted as vanguard for the Merseybeat bands and blazed a trail to Hamburg. Having first encountered the (then drummer-less) Silver Beetles in Liverpool and not been impressed Howie was shocked to hear they were also heading for Hamburg and worried in case their youthful incompetence spoiled the gig for the older hands.
But this was The Beatles and they were on their way. Not that Howie was averse to pulling rank on the young upstarts of course... he had the best gig (the Kaiserkeller) and got to sleep on an actual bed, using a Union Jack as a bedspread!Howie has lived in Bournemouth since the late 1970s and shares his story in Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth.

It's adapted here and the second part goes a bit like this...

The Beatles (they dropped the ‘Silver’ and adopted the new spelling just before leaving for Hamburg in August) had a booking at the Indra Club, close to the Kaiserkeller. With drummer Pete Best recruited just a few days before they left home and John’s art school mate Stu Sutcliffe on bass, The Beatles were still a five-piece – John, Paul and George all played guitar.

Their repertoire, like that of The Seniors, was mainly rock ’n’ roll standards with a few show tunes, cabaret standards and instrumentals thrown in. John Lennon later recalled songs had to be extended to fulfil the contracted set times.

“Every song lasted 20 minutes and had 20 solos in it. That’s what improved the playing. There was nobody to copy from. We played what we liked best and the Germans liked it as long as it was loud.”

When Bruno Koschmider, who controlled the Kaiserkeller and the Indra, decided he wanted non-stop music The Beatles and The Seniors used to swap members to give each other a bit of a rest.

“We had this idea to split the bands up so I played with a German drummer, our keyboardist Stan Foster, our singer Derry Wilkie and Stu Sutcliffe on bass. The rest of The Seniors played when we were off stage and the other four Beatles were doing shifts down at the Indra,” says Howie.

“But then we would all mix in together and jam with each other. In between sets we would sit and drink together and talk over our ambitions. We were all pretty much the same in that we wanted to make our living out of music. Like us, The Beatles had that confidence that youth gives you.

“It was the same back in Liverpool. We’d play a session at the Cavern, or The Beatles would, and then we’d go down the road and chat. But I don’t know to what extent we knew each other – it was just we were in the same game, trying to make our way. I was closer with the others than with John. I always felt he had his own agenda. Whereas the others were more sociable, John was always a bit stand-offish.”

Both bands continued the lucrative runs to Hamburg and were joined by others, including Rory Storm and the Hurricanes whose drummer, Ringo Starr, was soon to jump ship and join The Beatles. It was also in Hamburg that both bands met artist/photographers Klaus Voorman and Astrid Kircherr, credited with defining The Beatles’ early stage image by cutting their hair in the famous mop top style.

“I stayed in Hamburg until mid-1962 by which time The Beatles were going in other directions. 

"Brian Epstein wanted to sign The Seniors, but I’d broken the band up the week before! 

"I don’t know if we would have been any different. The Beatles had it all – the talent, the image, the good looks – but we were not the best-looking band in Liverpool!"

:: Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Beatles & Bournemouth can be ordered here at the special price of £14.95.