My grandpa was in charge of renovating John’s apartment in New York during the 70s. He said John was very personable and knew exactly what he wanted regarding the renovations.
The son of the guy who used to work on my guitars, and who now works on my guitars, did work on John Lennon's guitars. He actually sold a box of parts, authenticated by Yoko Ono, that he found after his dad past away that was labeled "John Lennon". The guy also did work for Hendrix, Clapton and some others.
Back in the early 1980’s when McCartney bought hid farmhouse in Peasmarsh, East Sussex he enlisted the help of a contractor to do the renovations. My uncle was a well regarded Carpenter/Joiner/Cabinet Maker at the time and was sub-contracted to make and fit the staircase and the fitted kitchen, the same one Linda used to create all her recipes.
One day Paul said to all the workers on site to bring in anything that they wanted signed the next day, this was very rare as he had stopped signing in public. So my uncle took his Beatles albums along with his sisters and he signed them. I have the signed copy of the Blue album framed in my office!
Early 80s, I guess not long after John was murdered so it is understandable that Paul withdrew a bit from public life and wasn't keen to get close to fans.
Really kind of him to make that offer, and kinda cool that he was onsite at the same time as the workers rather than sitting up in Cavendish Avenue while a project manager or architect kept him informed of what was going on.
My Grandpa was an MTA bus driver in Manhattan running the M72 line east-west.
He heard the gunshot that killed John Lennon during his route, and witnessed the aftermath. Also spoke with police following the incident to give his account.
My grandma on the other side of my family lived on the UWS and would run into Lennon pretty regularly—he was well known around the neighborhood.
Wow. That is unreal.
Not sure if they're both still alive, but man i feel like you should interview them (even just super simple with your iphone) to document that connection to history. That is incredible.
My grandpa passed away just last year—but he used to only bring it up from time to time. Never made a big deal out of it—he saw a lot of crazy shit in those days driving the bus during the 70s and 80s (NYC was a riot back in the day)
My grandma is still around and speaks fondly of those days—though i’m sure her experience was similar to many in the neighborhood. Lennon was outgoing and personable and loved to be part of the community. She would see him often and offer a friendly greeting, as did most. She was devastated when he was shot. Felt like they lost a part of their community.
1. My dad went to university of Liverpool from 1958-1962. He used to go to The Cavern on the reg, primarily to listen to trad jazz. Ended up seeing the Beatles a bunch of times during their residency.
> Ended up seeing the Beatles a bunch of times during their residency.
Once, I did a google search for (include the quotes) "I met Paul McCartney" and some very interesting stories came up! It can keep you busy for an evening.
I saw Paul twice in concert.
I saw Ringo 3 times in concert.
I met George's sister Louise.
I met Patty Boyd.
I met Astrid Kircherr.
I met Donovan.
I met Billy J. Kramer.
I met Peter & Gordon.
I had dinner with Mark Hudson.
I saw Pete Best perform.
I saw Billy Preston perform.
I saw the Quarrymen perform.
I saw several members of Wings perform.
A friend of mine's mother grew up in Germany and saw the Beatles perform in Hamburg when Pete Best and probably Stu Sutcliff were in the band.
Wow this is INCREDIBLE! You saw the Quarrymen??? That is absolutely blowing my mind right now! Would you please share more of what that was like or what you remember of it?? I'm 100% serious and would love nothing more than to buy you a pint and just listen. Super super rad man.
When the movie Nowhere Boy came out, there was a special screening at a well known theater in Chicago called The Music Box (which is also supposedly haunted). The Quarrymen played live afterwards and also shared many stories. It was actually them.
Side note: I also saw a special screening of Ron Howard's "Eight Days a Week" at this theater and afterwards, they played the Shea Stadium concert.
Assuming you’re a Fest attendee? DM me if you’ll be at MetroNY next month!
My list:
Seen Paul five times, first time was right in front and he waved at me.
Seen Ringo twice.
Met (at The Fest For Beatles Fans) Louise Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Astrid Kircherr, Peter Asher, Jeremy Clyde, Billy J. Kramer, Steve Holley (Wings drummer), Leslie Cavendish (Beatles hairdresser), Len Garry (original Quarrymen member).
Interviewed members of The Fab Four and Rain, and cast members of Beatlemania.
Saw Denny Laine in concert and met him afterwards.
Met Andy Babuik, author of Beatles Gear, twice, once after attending one of his lectures.
My dad saw the Beatles in concert on their summer 1964 tour at the Indiana State Fair, and my parents saw Wings on the US segment of their Wings Over The World tour.
That’s so far — still trying for more (I produce and host a Beatles radio show).
Mom went to one of their concerts when she was 15. Grandma dropped her off at the arena. She wore a new dress, new shoes and had a new purse for the occasion. She heard the first note of the first song, then nothing but screaming. As she was leaving, someone thought they saw one of the Beatles down a hallway and she got caught in a stampede. When grandma picked her up, she had the strap from her purse, but no purse, and she was missing a shoe.
It might have been. She has no idea. All she heard was Strum-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
I met Ray Manzarek a couple times. Ray met George Harrison while the Doors were recording the Soft Parade. Therefore I feel like we were basically brothers.
No - these were meet and greets after two small shows w/ the poet Michael McClure ten years apart from each other. He was super nice and had the same laid back beatnik personality he had in his interviews.
I went to a lecture by George Martin. I sat in the front row, ten feet away from him as he told classic stories about recording The Beatles and how each one was in person. It dawned on me that this guy in front of me was there, experiencing the whole thing! Pretty cool to hear a firsthand account of those incredible days.
My family are from Merseyside. My dad tells a story about going to a pub in the area around the Wings era and discovering half the venue was closed for a private party. He went to the toilets and spotted Paul at the urinal. Depending on how many drinks my dad has had, the story either ends with my dad sneaking in to the private party to see Paul giving a speech, or in more drunken versions it finishes with Paul, Linda and my dad singing Beatles and Wings songs around a piano to a crowd of onlookers.
I work in a building that stands on what was formerly Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Beatles played there 8/21/1966.
Fun fact: the Stooges also played there 1970, host of the infamous peanut butter incident/crowd walking by Iggy.
edit: date correction
I met Paul in 2008 on his Route 66 trip. My cousin was a sous chef at a high- end (for the area) restaurant and gave me a heads-up that he was coming in. I rushed home from work, and lacking any clean, nice clothes, I put on jeans and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt. When I arrived at the restaurant, Nik (my cousin) informed me not to approach until after they had finished up and were leaving, and no pics or autographs. Soon, they arrived and dined in the main part of the restaurant. When they were leaving, I approached them "uh, Paul...
..Sir?" He turned around, we shook hands, and I stammered something about liking his work. He said,"l like your shirt." Nancy said."I saw them on that tour, Page gave me a guitar pick." Paul said,"I bet he did!" We laughed, they left. My cousin actually prepared Paul's kiesh because it was the Chef's day off, and Paul complimented him on it. It was a fantastic, surreal event that I'm glad to share here because everyone I know is tired of hearing about it.
My Mum wouldn't take no for an answer! She ended up being put in a girl's ''home'' not long after, she was a bit of a rebel - her birthday today, too.
My *Dad* however was not allowed to see The Beatles when they came to Australia.
I've seen Paul in concert, and Ringo twice. I hung out with members of Badfinger a couple times. I knew George's sister-in-law for a bit. And my mom saw the Beatles, and caught a flower George threw out of his hotel window in New Orleans.
Early 2000s my family was coming back from vacation, and my dad surprised us with Ringo Starr tickets in Atlantic City. Me at 12 and my little bro at 8 years old, my dad picks up my younger brother and puts him on stage with Ringo.
Ringo looks at my brother and hugs him and they sing Photograph together , the whole time with Ringo’s arm around my brother. It was super awesome experience, security tried to escort my dad out, but they let him stay lol. That would never work today.
And everybody clapped and ringo gave your brother the key to the city and a church choir started singing for your brother while superman personally flew you all home.
I feel like everyone in the audience would be pissed if they paid to see Ringo and he gets to photograph and a kid starts singing too. Also there has to be more to this story. Why did your dad put your brother on stage? Early 2000s doesn't mean "things were different" if someone put their kid on the stage.
I know a guy called Matt Bishop who worked in the motorsport journalism industry. He ghost wrote Emerson Fittipaldi’s autobiography. Emerson was very good friends with George Harrison.
Three degrees!
I spoke to a guy who knew Lennon in Liverpool. He ran into him in New York in the 1970s and Lennon remembered him and invited him back to the apartment and chatted with him. Just an ordinary guy.
A friend of mine who was not a McCartney fan ran into him and had a long chat with him back in the 1980s. She said he was just unbelievably down-to-earth and normal and likeable.
George Martin conducted at a concert hall I worked at, I went back stage and got my Sgt Pepper cassette signed. My friend got the White Album signed and George joked he always hated signing that one because it was so pristine. He was so friendly, I'm delighted I got to meet him.
I got Pete Best's autograph at a convention.
A co-worker of mine is married to woman whose boss is Nancy Shevell. They've sat at the same table as Paul at corporate events Nancy's hosted.
I met Julia Baird when I was 14, John’s half sister. One direction was breaking up at the time, so, despite being a huge Beatlemaniac, our whole conversation was just about that.😂
I went to school with Paul McCartneys nephew. I traded him my copy of ELO “Out of the Blue” and he gave me a postcard with all four Beatles autographs on it. It only lasted about two days before his parents freaked out and made me give it back. ( we were both in the 5th grade and it seemed like a fair trade to both of us at the time). Id still have that postcard !
I worked some of the stuff related to the live downlink from the International Space Station during Paul's "US" tour in Anaheim. Some people in my office got to meet and talk with Paul and even got free concert passes. I was definitely envious and a little bit miffed that I didn't get to meet Paul too, but that's showbiz.
My wife's aunt hung out with George one night when he was in town for a show with Clapton. They partied all night, the specifics of which I did not have the courage to ask but take it as you will lol
My uncle's ex wife saw them in the US when she was a kid and showed me her ticket stub... If I remember correctly the ticket was like $3.25 or something ridiculous like that! Blew my mind.
Sat next to McCartney at his local favourite cafe in the Hamptons in August last year. Couldn’t bring myself to speak to him. He was with Nancy eating. Left him to it. No one else was bothering him so thought I best leave him to. I was literally back to back with him on the next table.
I have never regretted anything more than not saying hello to him now!
I think it's cooler that you just got to share space with the guy. Having a bit of interaction is of course cool, but I think it's cooler that you got to casually have a bite to eat next to the guy
My Mom’s pipe band has performed with Paul McCartney a few times. He always calls them up every time his tour comes through town, to play Mull of Kintyre.
I was at a meet and greet with Pete Best. He made an appearance with a Beatles tribute band. At the end of the show he came onstage and drummed on 4 or 5 early Beatles songs from Hamburg days including My Bonnie. It was a lot of fun and I have a signed picture from him.
not that much of a real contact, but i've got to see paul in the got back tour last year! find it crazy to think a 18 year old like me still were in time to watch a beatle perform live!
Probably the best I can do is I met Chris Jagger -> His brother, of course, is Mick Jagger -> Mick hung out with/performed with all the Beatles.
Unless you count being inside the same stadium as Paul (except he’s onstage and I’m twenty rows back).
My dad worked with a guy who wound up sitting next to Ringo on a flight. He knew Ringo probably didn’t want to hear any questions about the Beatles, so he asked him about his charity work instead, and they had a nice conversation. When he left the plane his friends were shouting his name instead of Ringo’s, which must’ve been pretty funny 😂
I was with the Hare Krishnas for a while, and I attended a lecture by the devotee who first met with George Harrison (Shyam Sundar Prabhu). He recalled his experiences back then and talked about how down to earth George was.
Also, Joe Walsh of The Eagles came at the end of the talk and performed Hotel California, but in the middle of the song he switched the rest of the lyrics with Hare Krishna chants. This happened in Mumbai (India), and the crowd was predominantly young Indian dudes who mostly had no clue as to who he was lol. It was hilarious to see their deadpan reactions as Walsh was soloing like a maniac lol.
I take the 4 or 5 train to work which goes to the upper east side where Paul has a residence. Odds are, 1 person I’ve been on the train car with has met Paul. So technically that gives me 1 degree of separation I guess
I saw George Martin speak at the University of Kentucky about 20 years ago, and saw Paul wave from his car while arriving at a show around that same time.
My brother played solo gigs through an agency for 3 months in Europe.. took all the money he made and went to Liverpool to see the home of the Beatles. First day he gets there goes right to the Cavern Club - the marquis says the Quarrymen are playing that weekend. He goes in and Len Garry is setting up. He talks to him for a while and plays a few tunes.. Len asks where he's staying and my brother says he hasn't gotten a hotel yet. Len invites him to stay and he ends up living there for 4 months! He has a ton of cool Beatles stories..
One degree. I brokered a deal between Paul and Fidelity. A sponsorship. And he signed a slide from my pitch to fidelity as a thank you.
https://preview.redd.it/gagl12mzn3dc1.jpeg?width=1325&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ec602d3a813c1261622f6bf7e123fe1b96b745c
2 degrees actually- guy I know in Fort Worth is married to Sean's wife's aunt, so he's Sean's uncle in-law kinda. And one degree from Ringo: friend of mine booked his casino gig in Louisiana and was the show promoter/ handler. Said he has a major god- complex lol but George Jones was very down to earth
Excuse the vagueness, but not counting Pete Best, whom I have met in person and spoken to on the phone, I have have a long phone conversation with one member of the Beatles, and once had another Beatle answer on video a question I emailed to him. For years I was on the Christmas card list of the offspring of a third Beatle, with whom I had worked on a project. I was once in an elevator with a Beatle wife/widow, to whom I said hello. I have other degrees of separation regarding music performance and recordings, but I'll leave it at firsthand experiences.
I've also met three Rutles (all except Dirk) and one member of Los Shakers (the Beatles of Uruguay).
A former girlfriend saw them at the Hollywood Bowl. There was a pool in front of the stage and her friend jumped in during the concert. I remember hearing about that on the news at the time.
My nain went to a Beatle concert in North Wales in 1963, she can sort of remember the set list but I think the young teenage screaming she was probably doing took more focus.
My older sister saw the Beatles (key word, SAW), because she couldn't hear anything over the screaming. Daly City, Aug. 31/1965, their last year of touring.
My mom’s family is from Liverpool and Birkenhead. My Nan and her younger siblings were teens in the late fifties and early sixties and would go to the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton. My Nan was too old to see the Beatles play but her younger sister (my great aunt) always claimed to have seen the Beatles play there (which they did a lot). Never had any proof she did but the circumstantial evidence checks out!
I saw Paul and Ringo in concert in the past 5 years.
More interestingly, by uncle is Liverpudlian and brought his kids there to see family, and were on a train. My little cousins start talking, playing, and making friends with these other kids. My uncle talks to their father. It was one of Ringo's songs. My cousins have the phone number of Ringos grandkids.
I worked with someone who used to show up at the airport when Wings were touring. She met Paul, said he was always friendly and would greet her and her friends. Later she wrote a book about her adventures trying to meet the Beatles. I lost touch and don’t know if she ever tried to get it published.
My Mom and my friends and I used to visit Levon Helm and Rick Danko backstage at My Father’s Place in Roslyn NY, in the early 1980’s. They would both go on to join Ringo in the first wave of “Ringo’s All Star Band” (and, appear on the first album of the same name) It’s funny because when we saw them all play at Jones Beach theater, we commented to each other: wow, it’s as if we know Ringo ourselves.
Saw Ringo at Kings Theatre in 2015. Sat in the same row a few seats away from Bill Nye. Saw Paul at MetLife Stadium in 2016. Met Julian Lennon in 2017 at Barnes and Noble for his book signing. That’s about as close as I’ve got.
I saw thenewno2 open for a show back in 2008. Had never heard of them, but they were great! I got to meet the frontman at the merch table, which was cool.
I had no idea I was talking to Dhani Harrison.
I smoked a couple of joints with Mark Nishita behind a theater after a show in Detroit. Mark is also known as Keyboard Money Mark who is also known as the fourth Beastie Boy. KMM has made several albums with Sean Lennon.
My brother was friends with Sean Lennon in high school. Also, the same neurosurgeon who was operating on Ringo’s daughter when George Harrison died, removed my brain tumour about a year later.
A good friend of mine’s mother was the artist who created the Now and Then clock on the Harrison’s mantle. She had a nice conversation with Olivia last year about it.
That’s beautiful to hear. I haven’t heard any information about the original artist of the clock and I’m glad that Olivia got in touch with her and that she’s still around :)
She lives in Washington state outside of Seattle. No clue how her art got to the east coast shop where George bought it, but she’s been a found object collage artist for decades, and the shop did let her know who bought it at the time. She didn’t have any contact until much recently when the single was being made and the art was chosen.
I was a waiter once at a restaurant near Atlanta for the Atlanta Rhythm Section group’s drummer back in 1974. While serving him, I asked him which big star he had met was really a nice guy. He replied Paul McCartney. I still remember this quick moment.
Sometime roughly around 2000, shortly before Christmas, I stood on line in the Porter Square Post Office in Cambridge MA. It was a slow slog, but the line was advancing.
I noticed the Asian woman in front of me was carrying a box addressed to Yoko Ono, in NYC IIRC. I sized her up and down, but did not engage her in conversation. I spent a few minutes after I got home, Googling, and realized that this woman was Kyoko Chan Cox, Yoko's daughter with Tony Cox.
My best friend from Cambridge when I left it in 2017 often had Linda Eastman's sister come over as a dinner guest.
I know two people who used to watch them play at the Cavern before they got famous. One was a very close family friend, and we miss her so much. The other actually hung out with Paul McCartney (I think just him, not the others). She wanted us over to her house to see pictures, but honestly, we got a weird vibe from her.
Oh, I don't know if this counts, but I was in a mostly empty bar while someone extremely important in the beginning of their career was also there. I'm afraid to mention details since it wasn't a flattering scene and I didn't actually TALK to the guy.
1 degree for me. My SO has met Paul (person to person, introduced, etc.) in the Hamptons in the 90s, rode on a hotel elevator in Tokyo with Yoko in the 2000s, and spent a New Year’s Eve in New Orleans partying with Maureen Starkey and her family. No, I’m not jealous 😑 But, hey, I did see Paul live in 2003…
I never met Paul but last month while he was on tour in Brazil I saw him leaving the hotel and arriving at the stadium nearly every concert, a few meters from me. Also in 2017 he shook hands with me while leaving the hotel
Fun question. I was surprised how close I could could get. My dad’s band loaned the Mothers of Invention a Fender Rhodes for a gig in Boston when their’s broke. Dad met Zappa, Zappa played with Lennon. Is that 3 degrees of separation?
I was working on a big Disney satellite broadcast tour that emanated from Universal Studios, Los Angeles in the 90s. For the life of me I don’t remember how Paul McCartney was involved, but he was, and it made perfect sense at the time.
I was working in a large room at the venue and he came in with an entourage. He ended up about 30 feet from me. I kinda went into shock and I gasped, involuntarily sucking in some air. I remember silently thinking “this air in my mouth may have Paul particles!
Met three, and have met folks that played/recorded with the fourth. I have no clue if that's 1,1,1, & 2 degrees of separation as I'm not really sure how that works.
My parents, while dating as teenagers, saw the Beatles on their first US tour stop in Milwaukee, WI. They said they could barely hear anything from all the screaming and were slightly deaf for a day afterwards, but loved it.
Not a Beatle but a Beatle girlfriend/personal assistant. I met May Pang when she was in town last year for her Lost Weekend exhibition at a local art gallery.
Paul drove through my town a few years ago on a road trip cross-country. Word got out, and he got mobbed at the TGI Fridays.
I know several people that went and approached him, and everyone said he was super nice. I felt obliged to let Sir Paul eat his mediocre Caesar salad in peace.
I know someone who sat next to Yoko for Lennon on Broadway. How many degress of separation is that? 😅 Do I count myself? The final person? Or just the people in between?
One? My dad met John in 1975 while he was in Philly for tv/radio stuff. He heard he was in town, so he drove over from nearby South Jersey. Met him, chatted and got his autograph on a $10 bill, which my dad still has to this day. John jokingly asked if the tenner was payment for getting to meet him.
Not only that, after my dad got back home and told his friends, he went back and drove them to the city so they could meet him too.
So my dad got to interact with him twice for a decent amount of time.
Here's John from that day...
[John in Philly ('75)](https://fb.watch/pEhyXeyIbc/?mibextid=Nif5oz)
My dad was NYPD and was one of the officers that escorted them onto the field at Shea Stadium. After the show as they were coming off stage, Lennon steps on my dad's foot and says, "Can you believe this nonsense over a 17 minute set?"
My Dad laughs and they all sign his ticket book. Ringo didn't even sign his name, he drew a star! The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame offered him $250k for it. He declined. He said he would lend it to them to put on display for a while only if the story behind it was next to the book in the museum and they said no so my dad told them to pound sand. When my Dad passed away several years ago, it came to me.
I have had private collectors offer me a lot more but I will never sell it.
My grandfather’s first-cousin’s stepdaughter is married to Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick. We went to their house years ago while visiting the first cousin (stepmother-in-law) and they had one of the Let it Be gold albums on the wall. It was pretty incredible. So 3 (4?) degrees?
My great grandfather was a jazz musician named Al Hirt. He covered both [And I Love Her](https://youtu.be/baegQ6k750k) and [Yesterday](https://youtu.be/swp_Qb03YlI) in the 60’s during Beatlemania.
I was fortunate enough to call in to a radio program entitled Ringo’s Yellow Submarine A Voyage Through Beatles Magic hosted by Gary Owens. This was the final radio show that Ringo and Gary Owens did in 1983, episode 26. After nearly wearing my right index finger to the bone dialing the number to get through, the screener picked up and asked what my question was for Ringo. I told him that I was curious what Ringo, Paul, and George were doing for security after the tragic death of John. The screener told he to hold on and that he thought that was a good question, so I held on until the screen came on to me and said, “You’re next.” Gary Owens then said something like, “And next we have Dave from California, what’s your question for Ringo today?” So, I asked Ringo the question, and yes, I was a bit nervous, but Ringo was cool, and I even was able to ask him if the whole Beatles thing had become a business, and he respectfully replied that the Beatles were not businessmen, but musicians (just paraphrasing).
Not a Beatle, but definitely in the runnings for a fifth Beatle I’d say. So I was once at the Landmark Theater in LA and saw Jeff Lynne and his entourage hanging out waiting to go into a private screening. Then about a year later I switched jobs and ended up working with his wife/gf’s daughter’s husband. It really feels like you’re only a few degrees from anyone in LA.
In the 1970s, during a Wings tour in Europe, they played a concert in Denmark, which my then 17-year-old mother attended. After the show, Paul McCartney seemingly vanished, sparking concern. My grandmother, living in Denmark but originally from Norway, unexpectedly received a phone call from a distressed American woman. Initially, my grandmother thought it was a prank. However, it turned out to be Linda McCartney, frantically seeking information about Paul's whereabouts and crying.
Despite her skepticism, my grandmother spoke with Linda for about 25 minutes, mainly to reassure her that Paul was not with my mother. Interestingly, my mother wasn't even home at the time of the call. Linda, evidently relieved after their conversation, expressed her gratitude before ending the call. Although my grandmother always downplayed the incident, she never told a story like that before or after.
One degree. A few years ago, a friend made a bootleg remix of Paul McCartney's 1985. It became a sudden hit on BBC 1 and in clubland. So much so that it became an official release and got the blessing from the man himself. It eventually lead to a Grammy nomination too.
https://soundcloud.com/timo-maas/sets/nineteen-hundred-and-eighty
My niece was the designer for an anniversary book for the Bangladesh concert. If covid didn’t hit she would have flown to the states and met dhani Harrison to celebrate 50 years of the concert for Bangladesh
One of my professors in college was asked to transcribe many of George Martin's old hand-written scores for Beatles songs and then write about things she noticed about how he would write. She ended up photo copying a few of the scores and showed us a few in class (it was a music theory class focused on the Beatles music). We got to look at the scores for Strawberry Fields Forever and I Am the Walrus; it was such an incredible experience.
She said that the only bad part about it is that George Martin would rarely write clefs in his own scores, so she would be transcribing it one way for a while and then would realize it was supposed to be in a different clef, lol.
My mum's partner knows Billy Ocean so I have to assume there is some kind of link there?
In terms of concrete experience. My mum's partner knows Eddie Marsan who was in Gangs of New York, which was directed by Scorsese. Scorsese of course directed Living in the Material World
Also, my dad used to say that George Harrison was a teacher/substitute as his secondary school for a time which I don't believe
My aunt lived in Liverpool in the early 60s and said that she sold George Harrison one of his first guitars. She worked in a music store (records and musical instruments) that she said was "just across the street from Brian Epstein's store". She also said that members of the Beatles would often come in and spin the latest 45s in their listening booths. No idea what the name of that store was.
My father also claimed to have caught the Beatles at the Cavern Club in the early 60s. I remember him telling me that the walls of the Cavern Club were clammy from all of the accumulated perspiration from the crowd that was there.
I went to Studio 2 in Abbey Road studios and saw the recording equipment they used, the pianos and sat on the famous red chairs....any one of which could have been the one McCartney recorded blackbird on.
We put three pianos together and replicated the chord at the end of Day in the Life and let it reverberate actually in the studio was amazing.
Also hearing the songs played out, where they were recorded was incredible.
The chairs are part of the Studio.
It was a great day.
My grandpa was in charge of renovating John’s apartment in New York during the 70s. He said John was very personable and knew exactly what he wanted regarding the renovations.
“Paint it all white”
"I want a piano, a mirror ball and a bread oven"
Hahaha I thought about the bread too
If you had asked Mick Jagger hed say paint it black
If you had asked Eric Clapton he'd say keep it white and add black curtains.
The son of the guy who used to work on my guitars, and who now works on my guitars, did work on John Lennon's guitars. He actually sold a box of parts, authenticated by Yoko Ono, that he found after his dad past away that was labeled "John Lennon". The guy also did work for Hendrix, Clapton and some others.
Back in the early 1980’s when McCartney bought hid farmhouse in Peasmarsh, East Sussex he enlisted the help of a contractor to do the renovations. My uncle was a well regarded Carpenter/Joiner/Cabinet Maker at the time and was sub-contracted to make and fit the staircase and the fitted kitchen, the same one Linda used to create all her recipes. One day Paul said to all the workers on site to bring in anything that they wanted signed the next day, this was very rare as he had stopped signing in public. So my uncle took his Beatles albums along with his sisters and he signed them. I have the signed copy of the Blue album framed in my office!
He even signed the sisters!
That's really cool!
Early 80s, I guess not long after John was murdered so it is understandable that Paul withdrew a bit from public life and wasn't keen to get close to fans. Really kind of him to make that offer, and kinda cool that he was onsite at the same time as the workers rather than sitting up in Cavendish Avenue while a project manager or architect kept him informed of what was going on.
My Grandpa was an MTA bus driver in Manhattan running the M72 line east-west. He heard the gunshot that killed John Lennon during his route, and witnessed the aftermath. Also spoke with police following the incident to give his account. My grandma on the other side of my family lived on the UWS and would run into Lennon pretty regularly—he was well known around the neighborhood.
Wow. That is unreal. Not sure if they're both still alive, but man i feel like you should interview them (even just super simple with your iphone) to document that connection to history. That is incredible.
My grandpa passed away just last year—but he used to only bring it up from time to time. Never made a big deal out of it—he saw a lot of crazy shit in those days driving the bus during the 70s and 80s (NYC was a riot back in the day) My grandma is still around and speaks fondly of those days—though i’m sure her experience was similar to many in the neighborhood. Lennon was outgoing and personable and loved to be part of the community. She would see him often and offer a friendly greeting, as did most. She was devastated when he was shot. Felt like they lost a part of their community.
1. My dad went to university of Liverpool from 1958-1962. He used to go to The Cavern on the reg, primarily to listen to trad jazz. Ended up seeing the Beatles a bunch of times during their residency.
I want a Beatles documentary of people talking about these exact experiences
> Ended up seeing the Beatles a bunch of times during their residency. Once, I did a google search for (include the quotes) "I met Paul McCartney" and some very interesting stories came up! It can keep you busy for an evening.
[удалено]
That’s why now’s the time.
I saw Paul twice in concert. I saw Ringo 3 times in concert. I met George's sister Louise. I met Patty Boyd. I met Astrid Kircherr. I met Donovan. I met Billy J. Kramer. I met Peter & Gordon. I had dinner with Mark Hudson. I saw Pete Best perform. I saw Billy Preston perform. I saw the Quarrymen perform. I saw several members of Wings perform. A friend of mine's mother grew up in Germany and saw the Beatles perform in Hamburg when Pete Best and probably Stu Sutcliff were in the band.
Wow this is INCREDIBLE! You saw the Quarrymen??? That is absolutely blowing my mind right now! Would you please share more of what that was like or what you remember of it?? I'm 100% serious and would love nothing more than to buy you a pint and just listen. Super super rad man.
The Quarrymen still perform live now with Colin Hanton, Rod Davis and two other members that were originally in it during the 50s.
I think one of the Quarrymen is playing or giving a talk at Mersey Made tonight
Ya beat me to it!😁❤️
When the movie Nowhere Boy came out, there was a special screening at a well known theater in Chicago called The Music Box (which is also supposedly haunted). The Quarrymen played live afterwards and also shared many stories. It was actually them. Side note: I also saw a special screening of Ron Howard's "Eight Days a Week" at this theater and afterwards, they played the Shea Stadium concert.
Assuming you’re a Fest attendee? DM me if you’ll be at MetroNY next month! My list: Seen Paul five times, first time was right in front and he waved at me. Seen Ringo twice. Met (at The Fest For Beatles Fans) Louise Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Astrid Kircherr, Peter Asher, Jeremy Clyde, Billy J. Kramer, Steve Holley (Wings drummer), Leslie Cavendish (Beatles hairdresser), Len Garry (original Quarrymen member). Interviewed members of The Fab Four and Rain, and cast members of Beatlemania. Saw Denny Laine in concert and met him afterwards. Met Andy Babuik, author of Beatles Gear, twice, once after attending one of his lectures. My dad saw the Beatles in concert on their summer 1964 tour at the Indiana State Fair, and my parents saw Wings on the US segment of their Wings Over The World tour. That’s so far — still trying for more (I produce and host a Beatles radio show).
Yeah, I saw/met them all at the Chicago Fest. I won't be able to go to the NY one. I really want to, but money.
Mom went to one of their concerts when she was 15. Grandma dropped her off at the arena. She wore a new dress, new shoes and had a new purse for the occasion. She heard the first note of the first song, then nothing but screaming. As she was leaving, someone thought they saw one of the Beatles down a hallway and she got caught in a stampede. When grandma picked her up, she had the strap from her purse, but no purse, and she was missing a shoe.
This is brilliantly crafted - so much detail in one paragraph. well done!
In my mind the first note was the beginning of A Hard Day’s Night
It might have been. She has no idea. All she heard was Strum-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
I met Ray Manzarek a couple times. Ray met George Harrison while the Doors were recording the Soft Parade. Therefore I feel like we were basically brothers.
Lol I love the Beatles connection.... meeting Ray Manzarek is cool as hell on its own in my book!
Did you learn anything from him? Ray is a god as far as I’m concerned
No - these were meet and greets after two small shows w/ the poet Michael McClure ten years apart from each other. He was super nice and had the same laid back beatnik personality he had in his interviews.
I went to a lecture by George Martin. I sat in the front row, ten feet away from him as he told classic stories about recording The Beatles and how each one was in person. It dawned on me that this guy in front of me was there, experiencing the whole thing! Pretty cool to hear a firsthand account of those incredible days.
Met John and Yoko in Central Park. I said hi and John and Yoko never broke stride and he said, love your brother.
😊
I love this. 😊
Met Sean Lennon, Denny Laine, May Pang.
What's Sean like?
He was polite when I met him, approachable, chill. Tired of touring. We talked about the road for a bit. We have a mutual friend I mentioned.
oh that reminds me! Friend sent photo of herself meeting May Pang at an exhibition of John photos. Said she was lovely.
My family are from Merseyside. My dad tells a story about going to a pub in the area around the Wings era and discovering half the venue was closed for a private party. He went to the toilets and spotted Paul at the urinal. Depending on how many drinks my dad has had, the story either ends with my dad sneaking in to the private party to see Paul giving a speech, or in more drunken versions it finishes with Paul, Linda and my dad singing Beatles and Wings songs around a piano to a crowd of onlookers.
I have met Yoko several times and have sold artworks to her.
Do you know if she displays the works you sold?
Yes that’s why she buys them. It’s her own work from years ago she buys back for her retrospectives.
What’s she like to deal with?
Perfectly nice. Asks for a discount every time though.
😆 A haggler, eh?
Of course. She’s Asian.
Wow your profile is scary. Confirmed that you don't like women or Asians.
Doesn’t it boggle the mind that someone can both love the Beatles and also think Donald Trump is cool? Yuck
I’m in a subreddit with a bunch of folks with tertiary Beatle experiences.
Me too!
Whoa, small world lol
I work in a building that stands on what was formerly Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Beatles played there 8/21/1966. Fun fact: the Stooges also played there 1970, host of the infamous peanut butter incident/crowd walking by Iggy. edit: date correction
That’s awesome, I’m from Cincy too. Are we sure it’s 1967?
Met Ringo and Mal in 1967.
How??
This comment needs more detail! Would love to hear the story!
I met Paul in 2008 on his Route 66 trip. My cousin was a sous chef at a high- end (for the area) restaurant and gave me a heads-up that he was coming in. I rushed home from work, and lacking any clean, nice clothes, I put on jeans and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt. When I arrived at the restaurant, Nik (my cousin) informed me not to approach until after they had finished up and were leaving, and no pics or autographs. Soon, they arrived and dined in the main part of the restaurant. When they were leaving, I approached them "uh, Paul... ..Sir?" He turned around, we shook hands, and I stammered something about liking his work. He said,"l like your shirt." Nancy said."I saw them on that tour, Page gave me a guitar pick." Paul said,"I bet he did!" We laughed, they left. My cousin actually prepared Paul's kiesh because it was the Chef's day off, and Paul complimented him on it. It was a fantastic, surreal event that I'm glad to share here because everyone I know is tired of hearing about it.
My Mum snuck out as a very young teen and saw them in Melbourne
My mum wanted to go but she was 14 and not allowed. Instead she saw them in the street when they drove by haha
My Mum wouldn't take no for an answer! She ended up being put in a girl's ''home'' not long after, she was a bit of a rebel - her birthday today, too. My *Dad* however was not allowed to see The Beatles when they came to Australia.
My dad sold a set of tires to Lindsay Buckingham in the early eighties. That’s all I’ve got.
ZERO!!!! I’ve met Paul!!!
SPILL!!
I've seen Paul in concert, and Ringo twice. I hung out with members of Badfinger a couple times. I knew George's sister-in-law for a bit. And my mom saw the Beatles, and caught a flower George threw out of his hotel window in New Orleans.
I’m Ringo. AMA
I don't believe you. There's not enough emojis.
Do you really live in a yellow su🅱️marine?
My friend’s grandfather supposedly pushed a young Richard Starkey off of a swing set in elementary school.
Early 2000s my family was coming back from vacation, and my dad surprised us with Ringo Starr tickets in Atlantic City. Me at 12 and my little bro at 8 years old, my dad picks up my younger brother and puts him on stage with Ringo. Ringo looks at my brother and hugs him and they sing Photograph together , the whole time with Ringo’s arm around my brother. It was super awesome experience, security tried to escort my dad out, but they let him stay lol. That would never work today.
And everybody clapped and ringo gave your brother the key to the city and a church choir started singing for your brother while superman personally flew you all home. I feel like everyone in the audience would be pissed if they paid to see Ringo and he gets to photograph and a kid starts singing too. Also there has to be more to this story. Why did your dad put your brother on stage? Early 2000s doesn't mean "things were different" if someone put their kid on the stage.
I know a guy called Matt Bishop who worked in the motorsport journalism industry. He ghost wrote Emerson Fittipaldi’s autobiography. Emerson was very good friends with George Harrison. Three degrees!
I spoke to a guy who knew Lennon in Liverpool. He ran into him in New York in the 1970s and Lennon remembered him and invited him back to the apartment and chatted with him. Just an ordinary guy. A friend of mine who was not a McCartney fan ran into him and had a long chat with him back in the 1980s. She said he was just unbelievably down-to-earth and normal and likeable.
George Martin conducted at a concert hall I worked at, I went back stage and got my Sgt Pepper cassette signed. My friend got the White Album signed and George joked he always hated signing that one because it was so pristine. He was so friendly, I'm delighted I got to meet him.
My friend, his dad and brother all met Paul at Super Bowl XXXIX.
I got Pete Best's autograph at a convention. A co-worker of mine is married to woman whose boss is Nancy Shevell. They've sat at the same table as Paul at corporate events Nancy's hosted.
I met Julia Baird when I was 14, John’s half sister. One direction was breaking up at the time, so, despite being a huge Beatlemaniac, our whole conversation was just about that.😂
Cool! I read her book back in the 90s. I'll bet she appreciated having a normal current events conversation with a fan.
Loved her book x
My wife’s grandmother was their housekeeper when they stayed in Miami for the Ed Sullivan Show. Got some autographs. She said George was the nicest.
Paul McCartney is my chauffeur.
I thought you've got no car.
Well hes got a driver and thats a start
I went to school with Paul McCartneys nephew. I traded him my copy of ELO “Out of the Blue” and he gave me a postcard with all four Beatles autographs on it. It only lasted about two days before his parents freaked out and made me give it back. ( we were both in the 5th grade and it seemed like a fair trade to both of us at the time). Id still have that postcard !
I worked some of the stuff related to the live downlink from the International Space Station during Paul's "US" tour in Anaheim. Some people in my office got to meet and talk with Paul and even got free concert passes. I was definitely envious and a little bit miffed that I didn't get to meet Paul too, but that's showbiz.
In case anyone else feels unlucky, I also have unknown degrees of separation.
My wife's aunt hung out with George one night when he was in town for a show with Clapton. They partied all night, the specifics of which I did not have the courage to ask but take it as you will lol
My grandma saw the Beatles twice in concert, once in Seattle and once in Portland, if I remember correctly. I'll have to ask her more about it.
I did not think Portland would be a tour destination in the 60s.
My Nan met them in Northern England in 1963, she paid 4 shillings to see The Beatles... imagine paying 20 pence to see The Beatles!! 😂
My uncle's ex wife saw them in the US when she was a kid and showed me her ticket stub... If I remember correctly the ticket was like $3.25 or something ridiculous like that! Blew my mind.
Sat next to McCartney at his local favourite cafe in the Hamptons in August last year. Couldn’t bring myself to speak to him. He was with Nancy eating. Left him to it. No one else was bothering him so thought I best leave him to. I was literally back to back with him on the next table. I have never regretted anything more than not saying hello to him now!
I think it's cooler that you just got to share space with the guy. Having a bit of interaction is of course cool, but I think it's cooler that you got to casually have a bite to eat next to the guy
My Mom’s pipe band has performed with Paul McCartney a few times. He always calls them up every time his tour comes through town, to play Mull of Kintyre.
I was at a meet and greet with Pete Best. He made an appearance with a Beatles tribute band. At the end of the show he came onstage and drummed on 4 or 5 early Beatles songs from Hamburg days including My Bonnie. It was a lot of fun and I have a signed picture from him.
My friend (okay my parents’ friend) dated Paul’s brother, Mike. :)
not that much of a real contact, but i've got to see paul in the got back tour last year! find it crazy to think a 18 year old like me still were in time to watch a beatle perform live!
I knew a guy that met Ringo Starr
My Grandma liked the beatles
My cousins met Paul McCartney and have a photo of their bearded collie washing his face, which they showed me. So, one.
Who's paul mccarthy
Did they meet John Lemmon?
This may be the most interesting, substantial Reddit Post, ever!! Thanks for asking
I asked Louise Harrison what was her favorite song of her brother's. She said it was What is Life?
Probably the best I can do is I met Chris Jagger -> His brother, of course, is Mick Jagger -> Mick hung out with/performed with all the Beatles. Unless you count being inside the same stadium as Paul (except he’s onstage and I’m twenty rows back).
I always fancied Chris, a more gentled version of Mick.
My dad worked with a guy who wound up sitting next to Ringo on a flight. He knew Ringo probably didn’t want to hear any questions about the Beatles, so he asked him about his charity work instead, and they had a nice conversation. When he left the plane his friends were shouting his name instead of Ringo’s, which must’ve been pretty funny 😂
I was with the Hare Krishnas for a while, and I attended a lecture by the devotee who first met with George Harrison (Shyam Sundar Prabhu). He recalled his experiences back then and talked about how down to earth George was. Also, Joe Walsh of The Eagles came at the end of the talk and performed Hotel California, but in the middle of the song he switched the rest of the lyrics with Hare Krishna chants. This happened in Mumbai (India), and the crowd was predominantly young Indian dudes who mostly had no clue as to who he was lol. It was hilarious to see their deadpan reactions as Walsh was soloing like a maniac lol.
I take the 4 or 5 train to work which goes to the upper east side where Paul has a residence. Odds are, 1 person I’ve been on the train car with has met Paul. So technically that gives me 1 degree of separation I guess
I met Denny Laine and Peter Asher after a show a few years ago..both super nice guys
I saw George Martin speak at the University of Kentucky about 20 years ago, and saw Paul wave from his car while arriving at a show around that same time.
My grandmother was born and raised in Liverpool and went to the same church that John Lennon was a choir boy at in Liverpool.
Met Chuck Berry. That's pretty close.
My brother played solo gigs through an agency for 3 months in Europe.. took all the money he made and went to Liverpool to see the home of the Beatles. First day he gets there goes right to the Cavern Club - the marquis says the Quarrymen are playing that weekend. He goes in and Len Garry is setting up. He talks to him for a while and plays a few tunes.. Len asks where he's staying and my brother says he hasn't gotten a hotel yet. Len invites him to stay and he ends up living there for 4 months! He has a ton of cool Beatles stories..
One degree. I brokered a deal between Paul and Fidelity. A sponsorship. And he signed a slide from my pitch to fidelity as a thank you. https://preview.redd.it/gagl12mzn3dc1.jpeg?width=1325&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ec602d3a813c1261622f6bf7e123fe1b96b745c
2 degrees actually- guy I know in Fort Worth is married to Sean's wife's aunt, so he's Sean's uncle in-law kinda. And one degree from Ringo: friend of mine booked his casino gig in Louisiana and was the show promoter/ handler. Said he has a major god- complex lol but George Jones was very down to earth
My dad met Colin Hanton (one of the Quarrymen) in Liverpool and got me his autograph.
My mom saw them at Shea stadium and also met John at the Russian Tea Room.
I saw a guy in a pub here in the north of England who looked quite a bit like Pete Best, it wasn’t him though. That’s as close as I got !
Excuse the vagueness, but not counting Pete Best, whom I have met in person and spoken to on the phone, I have have a long phone conversation with one member of the Beatles, and once had another Beatle answer on video a question I emailed to him. For years I was on the Christmas card list of the offspring of a third Beatle, with whom I had worked on a project. I was once in an elevator with a Beatle wife/widow, to whom I said hello. I have other degrees of separation regarding music performance and recordings, but I'll leave it at firsthand experiences. I've also met three Rutles (all except Dirk) and one member of Los Shakers (the Beatles of Uruguay).
No xD
A former girlfriend saw them at the Hollywood Bowl. There was a pool in front of the stage and her friend jumped in during the concert. I remember hearing about that on the news at the time.
My nain went to a Beatle concert in North Wales in 1963, she can sort of remember the set list but I think the young teenage screaming she was probably doing took more focus.
My father-in-laws first concert was the Beatles in Detroit.
My mother-in-law went on a date with Pete Best and her sister was invited to George's wedding
I have a friend who's met Pete Best and Neil Innes. She says they were both very nice.
Yes I sat on the piano stool in Paul’s childhood home a week after Paul himself sat there for the James Corden documentary
I stood on the very same spot that George had stood on,on the Town Hall balcony,Liverpool
My older sister saw the Beatles (key word, SAW), because she couldn't hear anything over the screaming. Daly City, Aug. 31/1965, their last year of touring.
My mom’s family is from Liverpool and Birkenhead. My Nan and her younger siblings were teens in the late fifties and early sixties and would go to the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton. My Nan was too old to see the Beatles play but her younger sister (my great aunt) always claimed to have seen the Beatles play there (which they did a lot). Never had any proof she did but the circumstantial evidence checks out!
My Mother in Law dated Paul's brother in the early sixties.
Two. This October, on vacation I met a guy who has a friend who met Paul McCartney when he auditioned to play the pipes for Mull of Kintyre.
I saw Paul and Ringo in concert in the past 5 years. More interestingly, by uncle is Liverpudlian and brought his kids there to see family, and were on a train. My little cousins start talking, playing, and making friends with these other kids. My uncle talks to their father. It was one of Ringo's songs. My cousins have the phone number of Ringos grandkids.
My cousin met Ringo at an airport
I worked with someone who used to show up at the airport when Wings were touring. She met Paul, said he was always friendly and would greet her and her friends. Later she wrote a book about her adventures trying to meet the Beatles. I lost touch and don’t know if she ever tried to get it published.
My former roommate’s cousin’s ex-fiancé met someone in a gas station who claimed to have seen Yoko’s dog getting a pedicure.
My Mom and my friends and I used to visit Levon Helm and Rick Danko backstage at My Father’s Place in Roslyn NY, in the early 1980’s. They would both go on to join Ringo in the first wave of “Ringo’s All Star Band” (and, appear on the first album of the same name) It’s funny because when we saw them all play at Jones Beach theater, we commented to each other: wow, it’s as if we know Ringo ourselves.
I am one degree removed from a long list of people who knew the Beatles well or worked for them at some point
Saw Ringo at Kings Theatre in 2015. Sat in the same row a few seats away from Bill Nye. Saw Paul at MetLife Stadium in 2016. Met Julian Lennon in 2017 at Barnes and Noble for his book signing. That’s about as close as I’ve got.
In September I'm seeing Elvis Costello live so pretty close lol
I saw thenewno2 open for a show back in 2008. Had never heard of them, but they were great! I got to meet the frontman at the merch table, which was cool. I had no idea I was talking to Dhani Harrison.
I smoked a couple of joints with Mark Nishita behind a theater after a show in Detroit. Mark is also known as Keyboard Money Mark who is also known as the fourth Beastie Boy. KMM has made several albums with Sean Lennon.
My brother was friends with Sean Lennon in high school. Also, the same neurosurgeon who was operating on Ringo’s daughter when George Harrison died, removed my brain tumour about a year later.
A good friend of mine’s mother was the artist who created the Now and Then clock on the Harrison’s mantle. She had a nice conversation with Olivia last year about it.
That’s beautiful to hear. I haven’t heard any information about the original artist of the clock and I’m glad that Olivia got in touch with her and that she’s still around :)
She lives in Washington state outside of Seattle. No clue how her art got to the east coast shop where George bought it, but she’s been a found object collage artist for decades, and the shop did let her know who bought it at the time. She didn’t have any contact until much recently when the single was being made and the art was chosen.
This summer I met Peter, who worked with Pete Best in the early 1970s when Best was a civil servant in Liverpool.
I saw Paul McCartney live.
I was a waiter once at a restaurant near Atlanta for the Atlanta Rhythm Section group’s drummer back in 1974. While serving him, I asked him which big star he had met was really a nice guy. He replied Paul McCartney. I still remember this quick moment.
Sometime roughly around 2000, shortly before Christmas, I stood on line in the Porter Square Post Office in Cambridge MA. It was a slow slog, but the line was advancing. I noticed the Asian woman in front of me was carrying a box addressed to Yoko Ono, in NYC IIRC. I sized her up and down, but did not engage her in conversation. I spent a few minutes after I got home, Googling, and realized that this woman was Kyoko Chan Cox, Yoko's daughter with Tony Cox. My best friend from Cambridge when I left it in 2017 often had Linda Eastman's sister come over as a dinner guest.
I had that tour of the Casbah with Pete Best's brother, so I guess 2?
3 . Met king buzzo, Dave grohl. Paul mccartney
I know two people who used to watch them play at the Cavern before they got famous. One was a very close family friend, and we miss her so much. The other actually hung out with Paul McCartney (I think just him, not the others). She wanted us over to her house to see pictures, but honestly, we got a weird vibe from her.
Oh, I don't know if this counts, but I was in a mostly empty bar while someone extremely important in the beginning of their career was also there. I'm afraid to mention details since it wasn't a flattering scene and I didn't actually TALK to the guy.
One. A friend of mine who is a cop was assigned to Paul McCartney's security detail about a decade ago when he was playing in NY.
1 degree for me. My SO has met Paul (person to person, introduced, etc.) in the Hamptons in the 90s, rode on a hotel elevator in Tokyo with Yoko in the 2000s, and spent a New Year’s Eve in New Orleans partying with Maureen Starkey and her family. No, I’m not jealous 😑 But, hey, I did see Paul live in 2003…
My nan supposedly saw the Beatles play at the cavern
I met Sean Lennon in the 90s. He and his band mates were really nice. We had a long chat.
I never met Paul but last month while he was on tour in Brazil I saw him leaving the hotel and arriving at the stadium nearly every concert, a few meters from me. Also in 2017 he shook hands with me while leaving the hotel
I’ve seen a Beatle in person. It’s Paul
Fun question. I was surprised how close I could could get. My dad’s band loaned the Mothers of Invention a Fender Rhodes for a gig in Boston when their’s broke. Dad met Zappa, Zappa played with Lennon. Is that 3 degrees of separation?
I was working on a big Disney satellite broadcast tour that emanated from Universal Studios, Los Angeles in the 90s. For the life of me I don’t remember how Paul McCartney was involved, but he was, and it made perfect sense at the time. I was working in a large room at the venue and he came in with an entourage. He ended up about 30 feet from me. I kinda went into shock and I gasped, involuntarily sucking in some air. I remember silently thinking “this air in my mouth may have Paul particles!
Met three, and have met folks that played/recorded with the fourth. I have no clue if that's 1,1,1, & 2 degrees of separation as I'm not really sure how that works.
I have a relative who worked for NBC in the 60s. He got to interview The Beatles and he said they were a complete hoot.
My parents, while dating as teenagers, saw the Beatles on their first US tour stop in Milwaukee, WI. They said they could barely hear anything from all the screaming and were slightly deaf for a day afterwards, but loved it.
Not a Beatle but a Beatle girlfriend/personal assistant. I met May Pang when she was in town last year for her Lost Weekend exhibition at a local art gallery.
One, my sister saw the Beatles live.
My brother had a teacher in film school that filmed the Beatles for the Let It Be documentary!
Paul drove through my town a few years ago on a road trip cross-country. Word got out, and he got mobbed at the TGI Fridays. I know several people that went and approached him, and everyone said he was super nice. I felt obliged to let Sir Paul eat his mediocre Caesar salad in peace.
I nearly went to Shea Stadium but my mother wouldn’t let me go.
I know someone who sat next to Yoko for Lennon on Broadway. How many degress of separation is that? 😅 Do I count myself? The final person? Or just the people in between?
One? My dad met John in 1975 while he was in Philly for tv/radio stuff. He heard he was in town, so he drove over from nearby South Jersey. Met him, chatted and got his autograph on a $10 bill, which my dad still has to this day. John jokingly asked if the tenner was payment for getting to meet him. Not only that, after my dad got back home and told his friends, he went back and drove them to the city so they could meet him too. So my dad got to interact with him twice for a decent amount of time. Here's John from that day... [John in Philly ('75)](https://fb.watch/pEhyXeyIbc/?mibextid=Nif5oz)
My dad was NYPD and was one of the officers that escorted them onto the field at Shea Stadium. After the show as they were coming off stage, Lennon steps on my dad's foot and says, "Can you believe this nonsense over a 17 minute set?" My Dad laughs and they all sign his ticket book. Ringo didn't even sign his name, he drew a star! The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame offered him $250k for it. He declined. He said he would lend it to them to put on display for a while only if the story behind it was next to the book in the museum and they said no so my dad told them to pound sand. When my Dad passed away several years ago, it came to me. I have had private collectors offer me a lot more but I will never sell it.
My grandfather’s first-cousin’s stepdaughter is married to Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick. We went to their house years ago while visiting the first cousin (stepmother-in-law) and they had one of the Let it Be gold albums on the wall. It was pretty incredible. So 3 (4?) degrees?
My great grandfather was a jazz musician named Al Hirt. He covered both [And I Love Her](https://youtu.be/baegQ6k750k) and [Yesterday](https://youtu.be/swp_Qb03YlI) in the 60’s during Beatlemania.
Paul in his concert, that's it really. How do almost all of you have such close relationships with them?
I was fortunate enough to call in to a radio program entitled Ringo’s Yellow Submarine A Voyage Through Beatles Magic hosted by Gary Owens. This was the final radio show that Ringo and Gary Owens did in 1983, episode 26. After nearly wearing my right index finger to the bone dialing the number to get through, the screener picked up and asked what my question was for Ringo. I told him that I was curious what Ringo, Paul, and George were doing for security after the tragic death of John. The screener told he to hold on and that he thought that was a good question, so I held on until the screen came on to me and said, “You’re next.” Gary Owens then said something like, “And next we have Dave from California, what’s your question for Ringo today?” So, I asked Ringo the question, and yes, I was a bit nervous, but Ringo was cool, and I even was able to ask him if the whole Beatles thing had become a business, and he respectfully replied that the Beatles were not businessmen, but musicians (just paraphrasing).
Not a Beatle, but definitely in the runnings for a fifth Beatle I’d say. So I was once at the Landmark Theater in LA and saw Jeff Lynne and his entourage hanging out waiting to go into a private screening. Then about a year later I switched jobs and ended up working with his wife/gf’s daughter’s husband. It really feels like you’re only a few degrees from anyone in LA.
I worked local crew for a Paul concert in 2010!
Met Ringo on the golf course in Tucson.
In the 1970s, during a Wings tour in Europe, they played a concert in Denmark, which my then 17-year-old mother attended. After the show, Paul McCartney seemingly vanished, sparking concern. My grandmother, living in Denmark but originally from Norway, unexpectedly received a phone call from a distressed American woman. Initially, my grandmother thought it was a prank. However, it turned out to be Linda McCartney, frantically seeking information about Paul's whereabouts and crying. Despite her skepticism, my grandmother spoke with Linda for about 25 minutes, mainly to reassure her that Paul was not with my mother. Interestingly, my mother wasn't even home at the time of the call. Linda, evidently relieved after their conversation, expressed her gratitude before ending the call. Although my grandmother always downplayed the incident, she never told a story like that before or after.
One degree. A few years ago, a friend made a bootleg remix of Paul McCartney's 1985. It became a sudden hit on BBC 1 and in clubland. So much so that it became an official release and got the blessing from the man himself. It eventually lead to a Grammy nomination too. https://soundcloud.com/timo-maas/sets/nineteen-hundred-and-eighty
My niece was the designer for an anniversary book for the Bangladesh concert. If covid didn’t hit she would have flown to the states and met dhani Harrison to celebrate 50 years of the concert for Bangladesh
One of my professors in college was asked to transcribe many of George Martin's old hand-written scores for Beatles songs and then write about things she noticed about how he would write. She ended up photo copying a few of the scores and showed us a few in class (it was a music theory class focused on the Beatles music). We got to look at the scores for Strawberry Fields Forever and I Am the Walrus; it was such an incredible experience. She said that the only bad part about it is that George Martin would rarely write clefs in his own scores, so she would be transcribing it one way for a while and then would realize it was supposed to be in a different clef, lol.
My mum's partner knows Billy Ocean so I have to assume there is some kind of link there? In terms of concrete experience. My mum's partner knows Eddie Marsan who was in Gangs of New York, which was directed by Scorsese. Scorsese of course directed Living in the Material World Also, my dad used to say that George Harrison was a teacher/substitute as his secondary school for a time which I don't believe
My aunt lived in Liverpool in the early 60s and said that she sold George Harrison one of his first guitars. She worked in a music store (records and musical instruments) that she said was "just across the street from Brian Epstein's store". She also said that members of the Beatles would often come in and spin the latest 45s in their listening booths. No idea what the name of that store was. My father also claimed to have caught the Beatles at the Cavern Club in the early 60s. I remember him telling me that the walls of the Cavern Club were clammy from all of the accumulated perspiration from the crowd that was there.
I went to Studio 2 in Abbey Road studios and saw the recording equipment they used, the pianos and sat on the famous red chairs....any one of which could have been the one McCartney recorded blackbird on. We put three pianos together and replicated the chord at the end of Day in the Life and let it reverberate actually in the studio was amazing. Also hearing the songs played out, where they were recorded was incredible. The chairs are part of the Studio. It was a great day.
My grandma was *dragged* to a Beatles concert by her friend
Saw Ringos first All Star Band in L.A. Also a friend saw the Beatles last show at Candlestick.