The Ladders

During the course of 1972, Ringo had become fast friends with Harry Nilsson and his producer, Richard Perry. When Ringo decided it was time to record his first solo LP of pop/rock material, he turned to Perry, whose past efforts with artists ranging from Fats Domino to Tiny Tim were much admired by Ringo.

On February 28th, Ringo and Maureen flew to the US, where he and Harry were co-presenters at the Grammy Awards in Nashville on March 3rd:

Foruitously, The Concert For Bangla Desh won the Grammy for Album of the Year that night, and Ringo was happy to accept on behalf of George and the other participants:

Two days later, he and Harry flew on to Los Angeles to begin work at Sunset Sound Studios on what would become the Ringo LP. During their stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel on March 10th, both Ringo and Richard Perry taped radio spots for an anti-drug campaign.

The industrious team, abetted by Klaus Voormann, Nicky Hopkins, and Jim Keltner, completed the backing for eight songs in just under two weeks. George dropped by to land a hand on his composition "Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)" and his co-write with Ringo, "Photograph".

But is was the events of March 13th that would make jaws drop at Sunset Sound and find the music world abuzz for weeks thereafter. John had been uncharacteristically quiet for several months while Yoko recorded and promoted her own album, Approximately Infinite Universe. They had arrived in Los Angeles in early February, ostensibly for Apple business (such as the Red/Blue albums, and to discuss Allen Klein's management contract, which was set to expire at the end of March), but John must have itching to play some rock and roll.

Naturally, he socialized with Ringo (they took their wives and Richard Perry to see Last Tango In Paris one evening) and was impressed by what he heard at the sessions, particularly George's numbers. So on the night of the 13th, he offered up a song he had been working on since 1970, "I'm The Greatest", which seemed perfect for the occasion.

With Billy Preston sitting in on organ, it was January 1969 all over again; John played piano and sang a guide vocal, while Ringo drummed, George played guitar, and Klaus filled in on bass:

Although Paul hadn't been present, and John flew back to New York the next day, rumors began to emanate from Los Angeles that all four Beatles were secretly recording a reunion album there. The craziness would only ratchet up a notch when Paul added his contribution to the album back in London the following month.

Red Alpha/Blue Omega

1973 began with Ringo making another appearance on BBC Radio's Scene And Heard. His interview with David Wigg was taped January 3rd (probably in his office at Apple) and broadcast three days later. With no new product to plug, the discussion touches on financial matters, how to deal with bothersome fans, and the state of relations between the ex-Beatles.

Wigg guessed that Ringo would be the one to bring all four together on a project, a theory which would soon be borne out. But with no group releases since the split, and no greatest hits package available in the US, some unscrupulous entrepreneurs filled the market's gap.

Dubbing the recordings from whatever vinyl was handy, they pressed a 4-LP set collecting 60 Beatles songs, seemingly chosen at random and sequenced roughly in alphabetical order. Many hits were included, but so were album tracks such as "I'll Follow The Sun", "All I've Got To Do", and "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby". Solo numbers including "Imagine", "Bangla Desh", and "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" were also tossed in.

The unauthorized package, titled The Beatles Alpha Omega, was sold only by mail order and promoted with a series of TV and radio ads beginning around Christmas 1972; here's a radio spot from a January 27th, 1973 airing. It was quickly followed up by another 4-disc set, this time called Beatles Vol. 2, and likewise advertised on TV. The sequel had an even stranger track listing, with filler material ("Maggie Mae", "Why Don't We Do It In The Road") alongside solo cuts ("Apple Scruffs", "Crippled Inside", "The Lovely Linda") and even a George Martin number ("Pepperland")!

Needless to say, the Beatles and EMI were quick to counter the unofficial product; on February 16th, Allan Klein filed a suit against the producers, Audiotape, Inc., as well as ABC, which aired the offending commercials, for $15 million in damages. The best way for Apple to quash the pirates was to put out their own "greatest hits", so two official double-LP sets were hurried into production.

The intelligently-sequenced and attractively packaged sets, The Beatles 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 (colloquially known as the Red and Blue albums), hit US store shelves on April 2nd, accompanied by EMI's own TV ads. Both were certified gold based on pre-orders alone, on March 31st, and both would top the charts.

Recover From The Trip

After the satisfaction of their One To One benefit performance in August 1972, John and Yoko's world slowly began to fall apart. They spent most of October and November at the Record Plant, mixing the concert tapes and recording new numbers for a Yoko Ono album, Approximately Infinite Universe.

On November 7th, Richard Nixon was re-elected in a landslide, striking a major blow to John's chances of staying in the country. Drunk and demoralized, he spent the night at a party blatantly cheating on Yoko within earshot of his wife and their chagrined comrades. Little would be heard from the couple for several months.

Meanwhile, Wings had spent more time in the studio following their European tour and emerged with a fantastic single, "Hi Hi Hi"/"C Moon", issued December 1st in the UK and three days later in the US. Paul and Linda recorded a goofy radio commercial to promote the single, and the band filmed clips for both songs on November 25th:

George Harrison had amazed the music world with the twin triumphs of All Things Must Pass and the Concert for Bangla Desh in 1971, then all but disappeared throughout 1972. It wasn't until October that he finally returned to the recording studio, taping new compositions for the LP Living In The Material World.

Ringo joined George as session drummer when he wasn't busy filming or attending premieres. On December 11th, he was at the London opening of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, and on the 17th, he and Marc Bolan attended the gala premiere of their concert film Born To Boogie:

John and Yoko's film of the One To One concert was aired on ABC-TV the night of December 15th. On that evening's Eyewitness News on WABC in New York, Geraldo Rivera reported on the money raised by the benefit and previewed the telecast.

While none of the ex-Fabs had an exemplary musical output in 1972, 1973 would be a tremendous improvement for all four. Ringo's "Back Off Boogaloo" was chosen to conclude the December 28th Top Of The Pops year-end edition:

Might Win An Oscar

While Ringo had spent the first half of 1972 in recording studios, sitting in on Harry Nilsson's Son Of Schmilsson LP, Lon and Derrek Van Eaton's Brother LP (for which he taped a radio spot), and recording his own single, "Back Off Boogaloo", the latter half of the year was spent in front of movie cameras.

From August through October, Ringo and Harry filmed the lamentable musical horror comedy Son Of Dracula for Apple Films. Ringo played Merlin, advisor to Harry's Count Downe (son of Count Dracula), and the music was taken from Nilsson's two most recent albums:

Ringo moved directly from that project into a far meatier role in That'll Be The Day, a nostalgic look at the early years of rock in Britain. Filming on location from late October through early December, Ringo was able to relive his days playing at Butlins holiday camps with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes (Rory had just died on September 27th). Ringo was right at home playing a street-tough Teddy Boy, and received the best reviews of his film career since A Hard Day's Night:

The Who's drummer Keith Moon had small roles in both films (playing a drummer, naturally), and he and Ringo were becoming close friends as well as drinking buddies during this period. In September, Ringo had performed the part of Uncle Ernie on an orchestrated LP version of the Who's rock opera Tommy. When this iteration of Tommy was performed at the Rainbow in London on December 9th, Keith took over the role of Ernie. Moon would deliver the ultimate Uncle Ernie in Ken Russell's 1975 film.

Meanwhile, Ringo could be seen on the small screen when the film Yellow Submarine made its US network television debut October 29th on CBS.

Welcome To The Rehearsal

Because it would be his first (and as it turned out, only) full live performances as a solo artist, John put in plenty of rehearsal prior to the "One To One" Willowbrook benefit concerts in August, 1972.

He and Yoko began rehearsing with Elephant's Memory at Butterfly Studios soon after returning to New York from the west coast. August 16th was "One To One Day" in New York City, with Mayor Lindsay making the proclamation at a ceremony attended by John and Yoko with Geraldo Rivera.

Rivera was at the rehearsals on the 18th to tape a series of radio spots for airing on local stations. The concert had sold out within hours of the announcement, so the ads alerted listeners that a matinee show was being added for the same day. Noise complaints from neighbors meant the rehearsals changed venues to the Fillmore East on August 25th.

On the 28th, John and Yoko appeared live on the WABC evening news, chatting with Geraldo at the TV studio and playing a bit of "Give Peace A Chance" rehearsal footage. Another TV report from around that time reminded viewers that tickets for the matinee were still available.

Ready or not, the shows went on as scheduled on August 30th at Madison Square Garden, with both houses being filmed and professionally recorded. Opening acts included Sha Na Na, Stevie Wonder, and Roberta Flack. Edited and remixed versions of the concerts were released on the LP Live In New York City in 1986, as well as on home video:

John, Yoko, and the band had one final commitment in 1972: performing on the annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, hosted by Jerry Lewis and airing from the Americana Hotel in New York. The night before their appearance, September 3rd, they were interviewed in their hotel room by Roy Carr of the New Musical Express.

On the evening of September 4th, John and Yoko appeared live on the telethon, performing "Imagine", "Now Or Never", and "Give Peace A Chance". It would be the last time the couple performed together in front of an audience.

One Long Loon

The second leg of Wings' 1972 European tour began August 1st in Copenhagen and concluded on the 24th in West Berlin.

Along the way they visited Finland (Helsinki and Turku), Sweden (Stockholm, Orebro, Goteborg, and Lund), Norway (Oslo), Denmark (Odense and Arhus), and Dusseldorf, West Germany.

By the time they reached the Netherlands on August 17th, Paul felt the act was tight enough to begin recording and filming the shows professionally for possible release.

The opening medley from the August 19th Groningen show, "Eat At Home"/"Smile Away", was recently released as a bonus download with the Ram deluxe reissue.

On August 20th, Wings played the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the same day, Paul and Linda were interviewed for the VPRO radio show Popsmuk. They also performed an exclusive ad-lib number for the broadcast, with Henry McCullough on piano, called "Complain To The Queen".

August 21st found Wings at the Congresgebouw in the Hague, a performance filmed for a potential TV special called the Bruce McMouse Show:

The B-side of "My Love", a live rendition of "The Mess", also comes from the Hague concert. August 22nd had Wings playing at the Cine Rome in Antwerp, Belgium; this concert was also recorded (it's the source of the outtake "Best Friend"):

Heading Out On The Road

After extensive rehearsal and recording, Paul judged Wings fit for a proper tour around the continent in July 1972. They began on the 9th with a concert in Chateauvallon, France, after which the BBC's Michael Wale interviewed a clearly relieved Paul and Linda, now past their opening night jitters.

The setlist was expanded from the University tour, with some covers dropped and new (but unfamiliar to audiences) numbers added, including "1882", "I Would Only Smile", "Best Friend", "Soily", and "Hi Hi Hi".

As they had in the UK, Wings traveled as a family unit, this time in an open-topped bus. They drove through France, hitting venues in Juan-les-Pins, Arles, and Paris. The band then arrived in West Germany for concerts in Munich and Frankfurt, winding up the first leg of the tour in Switzerland with shows in Zurich and Montreux, on July 21st.

Meanwhile, John and Yoko had decided to take a road trip of their own, heading west across the USA in a station wagon, bound for California. Part of the reason was a tip that Tony Cox might be hiding Kyoko in the San Fernando Valley, but John also wanted to see more of the country at ground level. By the middle of June, they had checked in to the Hotel Miyako in San Francisco, moving to a house in Mill Valley at the beginning of July for a lengthy stay.

They spent most of the summer out of the public eye (partly because they were undergoing treatment to kick a methadone habit), but re-emerged back in San Francisco on August 5th. That was when New York TV reporter Geraldo Rivera flew out to interview the couple around town, accompanied by a cameraman from local ABC affiliate KGO.

Back in February, Geraldo had produced an award-winning exposé of conditions at the Willowbrook State School for children with mental disabilities. Now he was enlisting John and Yoko's help by asking them to headline a benefit concert for the children of Willowbrook. After filming the couple in various locations around town, Geraldo joined them in their Hotel Miyako suite for a singalong of oldies (plus their last single). Rivera's finished report included a bit of music, plus an interview with John and Yoko promoting the upcoming gig.

Of Mice And Lambs

After spending the latter half of 1971 on the Bangla Desh concert/album/film, George took it easy for the first half of 1972. He and Pattie were injured in a crash on February 28th when George totalled his Mercedes on the M4. In the spring, they traveled to India, visiting Ravi Shankar's brother Uday in Calcutta. And on June 5th, George and Ravi were in New York to collect UNICEF's "Child Is The Father Of The Man" award for their relief efforts.

During March and April 1972, Ringo had been sitting in on sessions for Harry Nilsson's new album, Son Of Schmilsson, at Trident Studios. The proceedings were filmed for a still-unreleased documentary, Did Somebody Drop His Mouse?, in which Ringo appears briefly:

Meanwhile, Paul was back in the studio with Wings, who would record sporadically from March through December 1972 at EMI, Trident, Morgan, Olympic, and Island Studios, building up material for singles and (eventually) their next LP. Their next release was the single "Mary Had A Little Lamb", taped in March at Olympic, backed with "Little Woman Love", a leftover from the November 1970 Ram sessions.

The single was released May 12th, 1972 in the UK, and Wings appeared on Top Of The Pops May 25th to mime the A-side. On June 6th, the band videotaped several promo clips of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" for use on various TV shows. One was aired on The Basil Brush Show June 24th, a second on Top Of The Pops June 29th, and a third on US TV's Flip Wilson Show, broadcast October 12th on NBC:

And don't think I've forgotten John and Yoko! David Peel's LP The Pope Smokes Dope was finally released by Apple (in the US only) on April 17th, and on May 24th and 25th John and Yoko were interviewed by Peel's friend Ron Skoler for ROCK magazine, discussing Peel and their general views on art.

John and Yoko's own album, Sometime In New York City, came out in the US on June 12th to lukewarm reviews and horrible sales by ex-Beatle standards (failing to reach Billboard's top 40). Its release was delayed until September in the UK, where it inexplicably sold much better, peaking at #13. Here is a vintage radio ad promoting the album.

Bold As A Sergeant Major

John and Yoko's busy spring of 1972 continued apace with another quick visit to Washington DC on May 9th for a private party attended by US Senators and other politicos sympathetic to the Lennons' immigration fight.

The next day, they flew to Chicago for a short promotional trip, taping a TV appearance on the nationally syndicated talk show, Kup's Show, hosted by local columnist Irv Kupcinet. After an in-depth discussion of their deportation case, John explained why his latest single, "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World", was being widely banned.

The controversial single was also a topic of conversation on May 11th when John and Yoko visited the Chicago headquarters of Jet magazine. The publication, aimed at an African-American market, assigned comedian/activist Dick Gregory to interview the couple, and he agreed with John's point of view that it was mostly white male disc jockeys who had a problem with the song.

John and Yoko returned to New York on May 12th for yet another court hearing, with several character witnesses testifying on John's behalf. The hearing was adjourned until May 17th, on which date John himself testified. On the street outside, David Peel and others showed their support in song.

On May 18th, WNBC reporter Pat Collins interviewed John and Yoko on the roof of their Bank Street apartment building, for a piece which aired on the following evening's news.

John Lemmon

In between fighting to stay in the country and holding recording sessions, John and Yoko continued to lend their celebrity to causes, particularly the one dearest to their hearts: peace. On April 22nd, 1972, they appeared at a large anti-war rally in New York, in a chilly spring rain, giving a brief speech and leading the crowd in a singalong of "Give Peace A Chance".

On April 28th, they turned their attentions back to the deportation case, flying to Washington, DC where they held a press conference at the National Press Club. Here they announced the National Committee for John and Yoko, a way of organizing public support for their fight.

Some good news arrived on May 2nd when John and Yoko were given "second preference" status based on their valuable contributions to the culture as artists. The following day, they taped a second appearance on The Dick Cavett Show, discussing the latest events and performing "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World" and "We're All Water" backed by Elephant's Memory:

By now, the Some Time In New York City album was in the can, but John and Yoko continued recording at the Record Plant, producing sessions for David Peel and Elephant's Memory. All parties were present in the studio May 5th (as was visitor Mick Jagger) when a camera crew arrived. Reporter Chuck Collins was there to videotape an interview for the Chicago-based series, Underground.

Long Johns

Thanks to Steve Marinucci for pointing out the link to a longer recording of the phone call between John Sinclair and John and Yoko (December 13th, 1971). I'd previously posted the excerpts as aired on The Lost Lennon Tapes, but here is the full six-minute conversation.

Son Of Tricky Dicky

Since their arrival the previous summer, John and Yoko had been living in New York from visa to visa, always receiving the extensions they applied for allowing them to remain in the US. That all changed on the final day of February 1972, when their latest visa expired.

Beginning with Senator Strom Thurmond, several elected officials had been exchanging private correspondence looking for a way to keep the publicly radical ex-Beatle out of the country in this election year. The Immigration and Naturalization Service proved to be the perfect weapon, thanks to John's 1968 guilty plea for cannabis possession in a London court.

It was that same conviction that had kept John from entering the US during his 1969 Bed-In period, so he probably wasn't too worried when on March 1st he was given 15 days to leave the country. The immediate problems were twofold: firstly, John and Yoko were currently busy recording a new LP, Some Time In New York City, with Phil Spector at the Record Plant.

More crucially, they were still trying to track down Tony Cox and Yoko's daughter Kyoko, attending a court hearing in Houston on March 3rd which granted Yoko temporary custody. During their initial appearance before New York's INS on March 16th, the couple pointed out to the assembled press how difficult it would be to find the girl if John was forcibly deported.

A return court date was set for April 18th, and the Lennons kept busy in the interim, finishing off their album, and attending (along with George and Pattie) the world premiere of Apple's Concert For Bangla Desh film on March 23rd:

Apple and 20th Century Fox also issued a radio promo disc containing two 60-second and two 30-second commercials plugging the film. The "soundtrack" LP had already been issued at the end of 1971 and spent six weeks at #2 on Billboard's chart (stuck behind Don McLean's American Pie).

Sometime around April 17th, John and Yoko were filmed in conversation with composer John Cage, a long-time acquaintance of Yoko's and their current Bank Street neighbor. The chat was part of a documentary, Birdcage - 73'20.958" For A Composer, being produced for German television's WDR. It can be seen here in full.

John and Yoko's follow-up hearing at the INS offices arrived as scheduled on April 18th, and in what would become a familiar pattern, their attorney Leon Wildes argued for an delay, and proceedings were postponed until May. By now, press interest was starting to build in the case, and both CBS and ABC sent news crews to interview the couple and their attorney outside the INS building.

WABC's Geraldo Rivera also got an exclusive interview with John and Yoko, filmed inside ABKCO's offices on Broadway. John took the opportunity to plug their new single, "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World", officially released April 24th but already banned from airplay on dozens of radio stations thanks to early promo copies. As such, the song would only reach #57 in the US chart (Apple didn't bother to release it in the UK).

Born To Boogaloo

Although he'd been out of the public spotlight in recent months, Ringo kept busy during the winter of 1971-1972 as a session drummer, playing on sessions for Peter Frampton, Bobby Keys, and Lon & Derrek Van Eaton, among others.

He and Maureen also attended the 40th birthday party for Elizabeth Taylor, held in Budapest, Hungary on February 27th, 1972:

Ringo's main job during this period was to oversee Apple Films, and for his directorial debut he chose Born To Boogie, a documentary about the hottest band in the UK, T. Rex. He had been hanging out with frontman Marc Bolan, whose lingo had inspired Ringo's new single, "Back Off Boogaloo".

Ringo promoted the single and discussed his film projects during an appearance on BBC Radio's Scene And Heard, aired March 18th. That evening, Ringo was busy shooting concert footage of T. Rex at the Empire Pool, Wembley.

Scenes for Born To Boogie were also filmed on location at John's former home, Tittenhurst Park. It was there on March 20th that Ringo shot a promo clip for "Back Off Boogaloo":

The following day, filming moved to Apple's basement studio for a T. Rex recording session, with Ringo on drums and Elton John playing piano:

Bloody Nazis

Wings began its touring career in the lowest-key fashion possible on February 8th, 1972. Paul and Linda merely loaded a van with band members, kids, dogs, and equipment and headed down the highway with no destination in mind. They ended up at the University of Nottingham, inquired about playing a gig, and played to a few hundred gobsmacked students the next afternoon.

With no intention of playing Beatles numbers and no back catalog of Wings hits to choose from, Paul chose a setlist heavy with covers and simple blues numbers, plus a couple of tracks from Wild Life and the band's next single, "Give Ireland Back To The Irish". The novelty of playing unadvertised (and thus critic-proof) shows to small college audiences appealed to Paul, and the impromptu tour carried on through York, Hull, Newcastle, and Lancaster before arriving at Leeds on February 16th.

It was there that a reporter finally caught up with Paul, when Steve Hague interviewed him at a hotel restaurant for Radio Leeds. Paul brushed aside Hague's Beatle-related queries, plugging his band and new single. On February 17th, Wings played the University of Sheffield, and the following morning, Paul and Linda chatted with Heather Richardson of Radio Sheffield. Her interview was also aired on BBC Radio's Woman's Hour February 24th.

The "tour" wrapped up on February 23rd, and "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" was released in the UK two days later. The song's controversial topic caused it to be banned from airplay on the BBC, a fact which US reporter George Watson asked Paul about in an interview for ABC News, aired March 7th. The piece was filmed at Paul and Linda's Cavendish Avenue home in London, and the unaired B-roll footage of Wings rehearsing their new single still exists:

Was He Jailed For What He Done?

What a time to take a vacation, and what a time for Mediafire to suspend my account, just as we're getting into the "Nixon Administration harasses John Lennon" era.

Although my last post was titled "Cleanup Time", I didn't mean that literally, but I guess it's as good a time as any to start over. I came back from a brief trip today to find my account suspended, which means that pretty much every link on the blog is gone. I think it was just a case of Mediafire's "three strikes and you're out" policy, because I've gotten individual files removed before, "pursuant to Section 512(c)(1)(C) of the DCMA".

Ironically, they never requested the removal of vinyl Beatlegs, which contain obvious copyright violations, but interview recordings which have never been released or published anywhere. For instance, the file which broke the camel's back was the John Sinclair phone call. The agent claiming copyright on it was "www.fifthfreedom.com", which is just an anti-piracy website.

In any case, I've opened a new Mediafire account and will use it to carry on from here. I will NOT be going back to reupload three years of posts, so I hope you all got what you needed. Feel free to trade and share old files with each other via the comment sections of older posts.

Cleanup Time

As long as we're in the late 71/early 72 era, here are a few snippets from Lost Lennon Tapes episodes which don't seem to be available elsewhere.

The first is a recording from December 13th, 1971, of John Sinclair, newly freed from Michigan prison, talking to John and Yoko on the phone. The latter were in New York at the Record Plant, producing David Peel's LP The Pope Smokes Dope, and Sinclair and his wife Leni were obviously overcome with emotion at the sudden turn of events.

During their stay in Philadelphia to tape their week of Mike Douglas Shows, John and Yoko held a press conference at the Warwick Hotel. This brief recording is probably from that conference, and features John discussing the Ram/"How Do You Sleep" skirmishes with Paul, as well as their recent detente meeting.

On January 30th, 1972, a protest in Derry, Northern Ireland, turned deadly when 26 protesters, mostly unarmed young men, were shot (and 14 killed) by British soldiers. The following weekend, February 5th, John and Yoko participated in a march on the New York headquarters of BOAC airlines, performing an acoustic rendition of "Luck Of The Irish". John also recorded a summary of the day's events, presumably for local radio news.

Interestingly, both John and Paul reacted within days by writing songs about what came to be known as "Bloody Sunday". John's composition, "Sunday Bloody Sunday", would be taped with Elephant's Memory as part of the Phil Spector-produced sessions for the LP Some Time In New York City.

Paul's song was his first recording with the five-piece Wings lineup, "Give Ireland Back To The Irish", taped early in February at Abbey Road and mixed February 6th at Apple's basement studio. It was banned by the BBC when released as a single later that month, but sold well enough to reach the top 25 in both the UK and US.

Henry V

In mid-January, 1972, Wings found its fifth and final (for now) member, guitarist Henry McCullough, who had most recently been a member of Joe Cocker's Grease Band.

Wings spent the next couple of weeks rehearsing at the Scotch of St. James nightclub in London. Disc jockey Kid Jensen stopped by one day to interview Paul about the new band, the Wild Life album, and touring plans. The interview was broadcast January 28th on Radio Luxembourg.

For the first week of February, Wings rehearsals moved across town to the Institute for Contemporary Arts. Cameras rolled as the band ran through songs from Wild Life, oldies such as "Lucille", and new numbers including "The Mess":

At one or the other of these rehearsal venues, BBC reporter Johnny Moran interviewed Paul (most likely for Scene And Heard) about the impromptu nature of the imminent tour.

Meanwhile, Ringo was busy appearing on glamorous chat shows such as this one (taped January 28th and broadcast October 26th):

Johnny? Be Good.

John and Yoko's final Mike Douglas Show appearances were taped January 27th and 28th, 1972. The first of these shows included the most interesting performances of the whole week, when rock and roll icon Chuck Berry joined the panel.

John's schoolboy excitement at sharing the stage with one of his musical heroes was obvious during their two-song set and conversation (Chuck even joined in with a macrobiotic cooking demonstration!). The haphazard renditions of "Memphis Tennessee" and "Johnny B. Goode" proved anticlimactic, but Chuck liked the backing of Elephant's Memory enough to use them on his 1973 album Bio.

On the evening of January 27th, John and Yoko were interviewed by John Wade, for Philadelphia radio station WIBG. Wade had covered previous Beatle tours for WDRC-AM, and had recently interviewed George Harrison (anyone got a tape of that?). The conversation begins with similar topics to the Howard Smith interview four days prior, but touches on the problems with booking controversial guests during their week with Mike Douglas. Wade also talks about playing copies of "Attica State" and "Luck Of The Irish" on his radio show, and John says they were recorded "in bed", so presumably the VPRO versions were circulating in the US by now.

The final Mike Douglas Show appearance was the blandest of all, with no overtly political guests or avant-garde happenings (although "God damn" was bleeped from a rendition of "Luck Of The Irish"). John took questions from the studio audience, talking a bit about the Lennon-McCartney feud which both sides were now eager to put behind them. A pleasant and low-key way to end the week was with Yoko singing a Japanese folk song, "Sakura", accompanied by her husband on acoustic guitar:

John and Yoko's guest hosting week was aired in most US markets the week of February 14th through 18th and went off without any backlash from sponsors or viewers. Certain eyes in Washington DC, however, had been monitoring the Lennons' every move for the last few months, and things were about to get ugly.

14 Tracks Per Side

John and Yoko's Mike Douglas Show tapings continued on January 18th and 20th, 1972, in Philadelphia. Each show had a controversial guest booked: radical Jerry Rubin on the first and Black Panther Bobby Seale on the second, and Rubin in particular chose to make several outrageous statements which couldn't have endeared John and Yoko to middle America. The highlight of both days was John's rendition of "Imagine" on the 20th, backed by Elephant's Memory:

January 23rd, 1972 was "Beatle marathon day" on WPLJ, with 17 continuous hours of Beatle music and programming. John and Yoko listened in during the afternoon, and were still tuned in when Howard Smith dropped by to tape an interview for airing at 10pm. The result was a unique opportunity to hear John react in real time to blasts from his past, recalling (and often misremembering) bits of trivia about each song for Yoko and Howard.

Among the recordings heard are Fan Club Christmas messages from 1963 and 1965, Eleanor Rigby, A Hard Day's Night, Back In The USSR, Rain, I'm A Loser, Maybe I'm Amazed, It Won't Be Long, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, She Loves You, I Should Have Known Better, Strawberry Fields Forever, Why Don't We Do It In The Road, All My Loving, A Day In The Life, Something, Tell Me Why, Magical Mystery Tour, Day Tripper, I Wanna Be Your Man, I'll Cry Instead, Hey Jude, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Bungalow Bill, and The Fool On The Hill.

Other topics included American vs. British television, the recent Mike Douglas tapings, Arthur Janov, and plans for a new album with Elephant's Memory, as well as their accumulating stockpile of live recordings.

Howard Smith interview, Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

New York Beatles fan Dave Morrell had phoned in to Howard Smith's "radio happening" with John and Yoko on June 6th, 1971; later that year he had picked up a copy of the bootleg Yellow Matter Custard. Curious as to the source of these mysterious recordings, he wrote to Smith, asking if he could perhaps put the question to John sometime.

To his astonishment, Smith called a few days later, saying John had read the letter and wanted to meet Morrell. So on December 7th, 1971, Howard and Dave dropped by the Record Plant, where sessions for David Peel's album were ongoing. Along with some other memorabilia, Dave brought a reel-to-reel copy of Yellow Matter Custard, which he presented to John. In exchange, John traded his personal copy of the "butcher cover" of Yesterday And Today (actually a blank cover with the butcher slick pasted on), which he promptly signed, dated, and adorned with a drawing!

Upon hearing the tracks, John deduced incorrectly that they must be the failed Decca audition tapes, and they were played as such when Morrell dropped by the studio later on the night of January 23rd.

Live From Germany

no label, 1972

This is a copy of a Beatleg from late 1971, The Beatles Last Album. The BBC Radio material (from a Top Of The Pops transcription disc) and Smothers Brothers performances were new to boot, and the rest was from common sources (including the non-Beatles tracks by "John and Paul"). None of it is live from Germany, of course.

Side 1:

- People Say

- I'm Walking

- Hey Jude

- Revolution

- The Beatles' Seventh Christmas Record (excerpt)

- Long Tall Sally

Side 2:

- A Hard Day's Night

- Things We Said Today

- Shout!

- Pantomime: Everywhere It's Christmas (excerpts)

- Christmas Time (Is Here Again) (excerpts)

- Sie Liebt Dich

Dutch Treat

Here's a special bonus post, featuring a recording I just stumbled across. It has much in common with the "born in a prison" 1972 New Year's Message, and stems from around the same time.

Soon after meeting Paul and Linda on December 15th, 1971, John and Yoko were interviewed at their Bank Street apartment for Dutch radio by Ineke van den Bergen. The topics are familiar for the period: his feud with Paul, the Rock Liberation Front, David Peel, Jerry Rubin, etc. There's also a message to prisoners which apparently aired on the Joe Blow Show, a program for Dutch inmates, in a segment called "Jail Cats Corner".

What sets the interview apart is the inclusion of exclusive acoustic runthroughs of "Attica State" and "Luck Of The Irish". At John's insistence, they were marred by voiceover during the original VPRO broadcast on January 7th, 1972. This attempt to foil bootleggers didn't work, as the tracks were booted four years later on the LP Angel Baby. However, those were awful quality, while this recent upload is in mint condition (although still partially obscured).

Enjoy!

UPDATE: Thanks to John McEwen for pointing out this page which has clean versions of both songs, from the Joe Blow Show:

http://content1b.omroep.nl/b98edfdfcca1109b0f6b2da1cee09126/4fad212c/vpro/radio-archief/010NB1442_John_Lennon_en_Yoko_Ono_.mp3

Love Calls

John and Yoko kicked off 1972 with a less-than-cheerful New Year's Message (particularly Yoko's segment). Two events early in January would chart their course for the next few months. First, Yoko appeared solo on the syndicated Mike Douglas Show, taped in Philadelphia (broadcast January 17th in most areas). Along with Mike and his co-host for the week, Robert Wagner, Yoko made "Love Calls" to various citizens chosen at random out of the Philly phone book, telling the unsuspecting strangers they were loved.

Douglas made an offer to Yoko and John to co-host an upcoming week of shows with him, and they jumped at the chance to effectively take over an entire week of American middlebrow television, spreading their political and musical messages. Around this time, they also hooked up with a New York band, Elephant's Memory, who would supersede David Peel and the Lower East Side's role as sideman (and eventually as Apple artists).

After a week or so of rehearsal with the band, it was off to Philadelphia on January 14th to tape the first of five Mike Douglas shows that would air during Valentine's week. In addition to more "Love Calls", they talked about Yoko's conceptual art, and John performed "It's So Hard" with Elephant's Memory (and the ever-present Jerry Rubin). Other guests included consumer advocate Ralph Nader, comic actor Louis Nye, and soul band the Chambers Brothers:

Other than the conceptual art pieces, nothing in the first show was controversial or even out-of-the-ordinary for American TV. The next two appearances would push the envelope a bit further.

Living With The Cockaroaches

John added a few more pages to his FBI dossier by appearing on the syndicated David Frost Show on December 16th, 1971. He and Yoko had been spending much of December producing an Apple LP, The Pope Smokes Dope, for street musician David Peel and his band, the Lower East Side.

Naturally, they brought the band with them for their appearance, and joined in with the opening and closing numbers, "The Ballad Of New York City/John Lennon-Yoko Ono" and "The Hippie From New York City". Jerry Rubin, who had wreaked havoc on Frost's show a year earlier, was also there but wisely kept his mouth shut.

The trouble began when John and Yoko sang "Attica State", which drew the ire of two audience members who accused the Lennons of glorifying prisoners. After a spirited debate, which included a sample chorus from "Luck Of The Irish", Yoko performed "Sisters O Sisters". It was then her turn to complain, accusing Frost of giving her famous husband more airtime on what was supposed to be her forum.

John also performed "John Sinclair", after gleefully announcing that Sinclair had been released. The show was broadcast January 13th, 1972 and survives on video. Here is the soundtrack to a truncated 1997 airing on VH-1 (including all the music and most of the interesting chat).

Far more dignified was their appearance the following night at a benefit at the Apollo in Harlem to benefit the families of the Attica prison riot. Naturally, they played "Attica State" as well as "Sisters O Sisters" and a beautiful acoustic rendition of "Imagine":

John and Yoko's Christmas was spoiled when Tony Cox, now living in Houston, refused to allow them to see Kyoko. After being jailed for contempt of court and released on bond two days before Christmas, Tony and his wife Melinda fled with Kyoko for parts unknown. Worse was yet to come for the Lennons in 1972.

Aminals In The Zoo

Paul and Linda began December 1971 with a brief vacation in Jamaica, and then flew to New York to meet up with the other members of Wings for rehearsals and promotion of Wild Life (issued December 7th in the US).

The group appeared live on WCBS radio December 15th for an interview with Ed Williams. Although he was reluctant to talk about the legal troubles and feuds surrounding his ex-bandmates, Paul did reveal that he had met with John "this very evening". In addition to tracks from Wild Life, Paul and Linda spun a number of reggae singles brought back from Jamaica, as well as Badfinger's new single "Day After Day".

They also premiered a new Wings instrumental, "The Great Cock And Seagull Race", which, based on its appearance on the new Ram reissue, may have been recorded early in the year and overdubbed/remixed in December. Although it remained unreleased at the time, it was being considered as a single B-side.

One potential A-side, "Mary Had A Little Lamb", was rehearsed that month by Wings at the New York headquarters of MPL. WRKO radio visited the sessions, capturing a bit of the rehearsal and taping interviews with the band for a special, Paul McCartney Now, broadcast January 13th, 1972.

In the end, no single was released to accompany the album (although "Love Is Strange" was nearly issued in the UK), and despite the promotion, bad reviews and word-of-mouth kept Wild Life out of the top ten in the UK (it peaked at #10 in the US).

Set Him Free!

John and Yoko's radical activism phase went public in a big way in December, 1971. Sometime during the first week of the month, their Bank Street apartment was visited by a film crew from France's ORTF, shooting an interview for the TV series Pop 2.

Jean François Vallée interviewed the couple in their bed, alongside Jerry Rubin, and John was clearly caught up in the "Rock Liberation Front" movement, railing against capitalism, "British Imperialist pigs" in Northern Ireland, and espousing the immediate release of prisoners across the USA. Luckily, he also had his dobro in hand and treated viewers to some off-the-cuff renditions of new songs "Free The People" (later fleshed out as "Bring On The Lucie") and "Attica State", as well as Bob Dylan's latest single, "George Jackson".

The interview was aired in two parts, on January 8th and January 22nd on ORTF (they can be viewed here and here). While the French broadcast is generally marred by translation, some of the interview was used without voice-over in a British TV show, Aquarius, transmitted on LWT March 11th, 1972.

One cause John mentions in the interview is an upcoming rally to benefit poet/activist John Sinclair, then serving a ridiculous 10-year sentence in Michigan prison for selling two marijuana joints to an undercover officer. John and Yoko, along with Jerry Rubin and David Peel, flew to Ann Arbor on December 9th to participate in the concert. Sometime during their stay (perhaps that night), John was recorded in a hotel room with folk singer Phil Ochs, also on the bill. At Rubin's request, Ochs ran through his song "Chords Of Fame", accompanied by John on the ever-present dobro.

The concert took place the night of December 10th at Crisler Arena. John and Yoko topped the bill, finishing off the concert (accompanied by Peel and his band) with four then-unreleased politically-based songs, including "John Sinclair", penned specially for the occasion:

While the concert may not have been an artistic triumph, it did the trick, as three days later, Sinclair was freed from prison when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled the state's marijuana law unconstitutional. This victory only further convinced John Lennon of the righteousness of the path he was heading down, and shaped his actions for the next few months (which would cause him untold problems with the Nixon government).

Bip Bop Baby

George continued promotion for Raga and the Concert For Bangla Desh LP (finally released December 20th in the US) with back-to-back appearances on chat shows in New York.

First up was The Dick Cavett Show, taped November 23rd (the night after Raga's premiere). Cavett had a much harder time getting George to open up than he had with John, although George warmed to the topic of Capitol Records' president Bhaskar Menon, and EMI's delaying of the Bangla Desh LP for what he perceived as greedy reasons. George also sat in on a song with Gary Wright and watched Ravi Shankar perform, as well as screening clips from Raga and the in-progress Concert For Bangla Desh film:

The next day, George and Ravi were guests on The David Frost Show, syndicated on American TV December 3rd. George begins this appearance even more reluctant to speak, but by the middle of the show has loosened up, singing snatches of "I Believe", "When The Saints Go Marching In", "Isolation", and even "Bip Bop"! He also introduces guest musician David Bromberg, who performs a song he and George had written the previous Thanksgiving, "The Holdup". And George is even persuaded by Frost to reproduce the first sitar exercise he learned from Ravi!

Unfortunately, the videotape of this show doesn't seem to have survived (only a short silent monochrome clip filmed by a home viewer), but a basically complete audio recording does exist.

David Frost Show, segment 1

Segment 2

Segment 3

Segment 4

Segment 5

Segment 6

Segment 7

Irish Sitar

November 1971 was the month of Beatle-related movies, as 200 Motels opened in New York on the 10th, Blindman premiered in Rome on the 15th, and Raga had a special screening at Carnegie Hall on the 22nd, attended by George and John and their wives.

George was in New York all month, editing the film of the Bangla Desh concert and promoting the Raga movie and soundtrack LP. Near the beginning of November (it's introduced as the 7th, but a comment by George places it nearer the 1st), he dropped by WPLJ's studios and talked with Alex Bennett about Ravi Shankar and Indian music in general, as well as his experiences recording Wonderwall in Bombay.

Meanwhile, John and Yoko were entering the "activist/protest music" phase of their career, spurred on by meetings with Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman. As well as producing an album by street musician David Peel, John was writing songs about the Attica prison riot, the jailings of Black Panther Angela Davis and White Panther John Sinclair, and the situation in Northern Ireland.

On November 12th, filmmaker John Reilly videotaped John and Yoko in their Bank Street apartment, working on a new song, "The Luck Of The Irish":

Early versions of "Attica State" and "The Luck Of The Irish" were apparently recorded in the fall of '71 for possible release as a single, or even as part of an LP containing the live Lyceum and Fillmore East concerts. In the end, both numbers were redone during the early 1972 Sometime In New York City sessions with Phil Spector.

Straight Babies

As soon as Ram was released, Paul was already considering his next step, and with the thought of going back on the road, he decided to form a permanent band. Beginning with Linda (for moral support more than her rudimentary keyboard skills), Paul retained drummer Denny Seiwell from the Ram session band, and called upon ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine.

The new group assembled at Abbey Road in August, 1971 to record their debut album, with Paul deliberately keeping the atmosphere loose and undisciplined. The result was perhaps his slightest solo album, Wild Life, containing a Ram leftover ("Dear Friend"), two lengthy jams ("Mumbo" and "Love Is Strange"), a throwaway nonsense ditty ("Bip Bop"), two short instrumental links, and four actual new compositions.

Around the time his and Linda's second child Stella was born (September 13th), Paul devised a name for the band: Wings. He introduced Wings at a launch party on November 8th at the Empire Ballroom in London. Two days later, a Wild Life listening session was held at Abbey Road for members of the press.

One of the reporters, Melody Maker's Chris Charlesworth, taped an interview that day, and rather than introducing his new band and their LP, Paul chose to unload a year's worth of stored resentment at the way Allen Klein and his ex-bandmates had been portraying him since the dissolution lawsuit had begun.

Paul had undoubtedly been hurt by John's song "How Do You Sleep" (on Imagine), and responded to its charges that he hadn't done anything worthwhile since "Yesterday". John had actually written that song partly in response to Paul's veiled attack on him and Yoko in "Too Many People" (on Ram), as he explains in this excerpt from the October 25th David Wigg interview (inadvertantly omitted from the earlier blog post).

In any case, the sniping continued, for after the Melody Maker article was published November 20th, John fired off a point-by-point rebuttal/attack, which was printed in the December 4th issue.

All Paul really wanted at this point was to be rid of Klein's management and set off on his own career, something which he stressed in another November interview with Record Mirror's Mike Hennessy.

It's Nothing Important

With their duties in Syracuse finished, John and Yoko returned to their suite at the St. Regis in New York City. On October 25th, they were interviewed there by David Wigg for BBC Radio's Scene And Heard, broadcast over three weeks in November. Here is a 17-minute composite from two separate broadcasts and the raw tape (as released in 1976 on The Beatles Tapes With David Wigg).

John and Yoko went back into the studio with Phil Spector on October 28th, recording their next single at the Record Plant, as well as mixing the live recording with Frank Zappa's band from June. "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was released as a single in the US on December 6th, probably too late to take advantage of Christmas airplay, as it failed to chart. It didn't even come out in the UK until the following year, but has grown to become a holiday standard:

During the first week of November, John and Yoko moved out of the St. Regis and into an apartment on Bank Street in Greenwich Village. One of their first visitors was reporter Don Singleton, who was preparing a profile on Yoko for the Daily News. As part of his research, he spoke to John at length (and very candidly and profanely) about the Syracuse exhibit and Yoko's standing in the art world, while builders worked in the background.

Don Singleton interview, Part 1

Part 2

This Is Not Here

Yoko Ono's art exhibition, This Is Not Here, occupied the entire Everson Museum at Syracuse University from October 9th (John's 31st birthday) through the 27th, 1971. John and Yoko, along with museum director Jim Harithas, held a press conference at the Hotel Syracuse on October 5th to promote the event.

Yoko also gave some remarks and fielded questions at the museum on October 8th, the day prior to the opening. The next day, John looked on like a proud parent as the crowds explored and participated in Yoko's pieces.

Late that night, John's birthday was celebrated with a singalong party in their suite at the Hotel Syracuse, attended by Ringo and Maureen Starr, Phil Spector, Klaus Voormann, Allan Ginsberg, and Jonas Mekas, who shot a bit of footage:

John, Yoko, and Mekas participated in a bizarre (even by their standards) television show a few days later, apparently to promote the gallery show. Taped October 14th at a Syracuse TV studio, the program was 64 minutes of television without form or narrative, consisting of audience participation pieces culled from Yoko's career, extracts of her films, and exercises from Grapefruit, all tossed together in a surreal fashion. The result was aired on the WNET (public TV) series Free Time, to the bafflement of all:

Get It On And Rip It Off

Yoko's Fly LP was accompanied by a single, released September 29th, 1971 in the US, which paired two surprisingly conventional numbers from the album: the ballad "Mrs. Lennon" and the rocker "Midsummer New York".

She promoted the new releases in an interview at the St. Regis with WNEW-FM's Scott Muni, who had been interviewing John and his cohorts since their first New York visit in 1964. The first half of the interview is largely devoted to Yoko, but John participates, and takes a larger role in the second half. (Unfortunately, the circulating tape was dubbed on a machine with dying batteries, and speeds up dramatically as it reaches the end).

One of John and Yoko's final film projects was produced in their hotel suite that month. Titled Clock, in best Warhol fashion, it consisted of a one-hour continuous shot of the face of an alarm clock. Its only redeeming factor would have been the soundtrack, consisting of John singing Buddy Holly tunes and other oldies while strumming an acoustic guitar.

Perhaps the film's only screening (no copy circulates at present) was during Yoko's first major American art exhibition, in October at the Everson Museum in Syracuse, NY. John and Yoko talked about the preparations for that event to their old pal Howard Smith of WPLJ radio. The interview also found John defending himself against a number of attacks, both real and perceived, ranging from a letter in the Village Voice, to the lyrics of Ram, to George Martin, of all people!

Howard Smith interview, Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

What You Gonna Do Now?

Ringo Starr spent the summer of 1971 in Spain and Italy, co-starring in the ABKCO-produced spaghetti western, Blindman. Ringo played the role of a bandito named Candy, which just happened to be the title of an earlier Ringo movie.

The film premiered in Rome November 15th, 1971 and trickled into theatres worldwide over the next year or so, to poor reviews and minimal attendance. Ringo's only attempt at promoting the film was to compose a dreadful song, "Blindman", and sneak it out on the B-side of "Back Off Boogaloo" in the spring of 1972.

Apart from appearing at the Concert for Bangla Desh, Ringo's other major project that summer was the launching of a home furnishing design company, ROR Ltd., with partner Robin Cruikshank. The duo exhibited their wares that September at Liberty's department store, and Ringo recorded a message promoting the event. He also appeared on the BBC children's show Blue Peter September 16th to show off some of their steel and glass pieces (this footage survives but isn't circulating widely).

Betty Rollin's Legs

Once they settled into their suite at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City, John and Yoko wasted no time hitting the promotional circuit. The Imagine LP was released in the US on September 7th, 1971, with Yoko's companion album, Fly, coming out later that month.

On September 2nd, John and Yoko were interviewed by a Japanese journalist about their new releases. With Yoko translating the queries and responses, the 20-minute recording has a minimum of Lennon content, but listen out for his Kabuki impression at the very end!

September 6th found visitors to the St. Regis suite, including George Harrison and Dick Cavett, stepping in front of the camera for the Imagine companion film. Cavett was there to meet the couple prior to interviewing them on his ABC talk show.

The conversation, videotaped September 8th, turned out to be one of John's most entertaining television appearances, and as such over-ran the 90-minute time slot. John and Yoko took up the whole show on September 21st, and a further 25 minutes of leftover material was slotted in on the 24th:

Another early September guest at the St. Regis was writer Peter McCabe, who was working (with Robert Schonfeld) on a book about the dismantling of The Beatles' financial empire, Apple To The Core. Highlights of McCabe's four-hour conversation with John were aired in a 1984 radio special which coincided with the publication of a book containing the full interview, John Lennon: For The Record.

McCabe interview, Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9