The various "swinging" clubs the Beatles frequented are truly fascinating, aren't they? Aren't they? Aren't they? Aren't they? Aren't they? Aren't they?
Well, aren't they? Aren't they? Aren't they? Aren't they?
No, they are not.
Or are they?
No.
But...etc.
Actually, they are. It's perhaps unsurprising that so few photos exist of "Oor Fabs" (as they are generally known on Scottish council estates) in among the pish. But of course, they were unable to attend pubs, for reasons of prodding/dribbling upon Fabs. (We can all sympathise, one deeply feels, with these.)
Anyway, the actual reason so few pics exist, despite the fact they spent more time getting pished in these places than they did adding flange to Ringo's backing "vox" on etc. was as follows: these clubs were not pubs - they were playgrounds for the "cool", and the "cool" doth not take photos of the "cool", for fear of seeming "uncool".
Here's how the entrance looked in '66, and how it looks now:
By far the coolest thing is that the door remains the same, as John Bonham might have etc.
In the first pic, John and George are there to see Family, a band John admired due to the "LOVE"/"HATE" tattoos on Roger Chapman's knuckles.
And Normans rocks. Yes?
Didn't Harrison have some form of financial interest in Sibyllas, similar to Ringo's Bricky Builders and Lennon's grocery store? Apparently these were pre-Apple efforts by Epstein and Walter Stratch keep one step ahead of the tax collectors, while ensuring a comfortable nest egg for the boys once the bubble burst. I wonder what Paul's money went into...
ReplyDeleteNorthern Songs!
ReplyDeleteYes, George had a part interest in the place, and they were regulars here during 1966/67. There's a neat precis of the club's history in the Beatles' London, and, judging by the description in there, the layout is pretty much the same (though the fixtures and fittings (and name) have changed).
we couldn't see them in the clubs because we were too young to go in! to think i was home in bed in london when this was going on...
ReplyDelete