More Marrakesh: New Year, 1967.

You wait 50 years for a photo of John's sojourn in Marrakesh and then 2 turn up at once... so here's the second.

On a theme of new year, a belated happy one to all readahs.

Less happily, ye will no doubt have heard that Allan Williams and Alexis Mardas have both recently gone to, respectively, that great night club and that great electronics lab in the sky. One can't help but feel that Mr Mardas has been treated somewhat unfairly by "history".

As for Mr Williams, perhaps the first stop should be his book, one of very few Beatles-related tomes to receive a personal endorsement from 'imself... and another posthumous one is in from Mr Lewisohn who has penned a pithy appreciation of the contribution made. It can be read HERE.

Marrakesh: New Year 1967.

Sotheby's is currently selling a few candid snaps at a ludicrous price. Still, one or two interesting ones including this; almost certainly taken in Marrakesh during John, Cyn and Victor Spinetti's post-Chrimbo holiday in 1967. If I had to wager on a location, I'd put my offal infested plastic fiver down against Talitha Getty's Palais de Zahir.

John Hopkins (that's John Hopkins the American writer and friend to the Beats, not to be confused with John Hopkins the British counter-cultural figure and friend to the etc.), who attended the end of year party at the Palace in '67, described it thusly in his Tangier Diaries: "Last night Paul and Talitha Getty threw a New Year's Eve party at their palace in the Medina. Paul McCartney and John Lennon were there, flat on their backs. They couldn't get off the floor let alone talk. I've never seen so many people out of control."

Now, Macca certainly wasn't there; he was flat on his back in another location. But to someone who wasn't really paying attention (fill in your own reasons), I suppose from a distance Victor Spinetti might have been mistaken for Paul (and indeed, in this instance, probably was). If you examine the picture above, that's almost certainly Victor to Cynthia's right.

Incidentally, a quick search on-line reveals a few interior images taken in le Palais, which is full of similar alcoves:

Thanks to Lizzie Bravo for forwarding the pic.
Also, further apologies for the lack of activity round these parts. Can't be helped at the moment, but there will be occasional posts as and when...