Kenwood: swimming pool, 1967.

Lizzie Bravo (who needs no introduction) has a large cache of previously unseen Kenwood pics, taken between January and the summer of 1967. Being the generous soul that she is, permission has been granted to share them on here; so, as a little "appeteaser", 4 shots of the pool. The above was taken in January of the aforementioned year, whilst the other three must date from early summer (judging by the foliage):



These were all scanned straight from Lizzie's original prints, taken using her (obviously) very-much pre-digital camera, and the old technology lends many of her black and white shots a particularly crepuscular air:



As regulah readahs will know, the pool was built (not literally) by John, and demolished in the mid-90s to make way for not a great deal:



Many more to follow soon(ish), including some with date attached.

Thanks to Lizzie!

Kenwood: July, 1966.

July, 1966: England is convulsed by World Cup "fever". (Or was it? The lack of an all-pervasive media at least seemed to mean that choreographed hysteria, a necessary adjunct to any major sporting event these days, wasn't present. But I digress.) (A pedagogical friend of mine maintains that there are 2 types of teacher; the "...and now for something completely different" type, and the "...but I digress" type. Not that I'm claiming any educational content to these witterings. God, no. But I digress.)
July, 1966: England is moderately enthused by World Cup "interest". The Beatles are girding their collective loins for the following month's U.S. tour, having just suffered a bruising during the Filipino debacle. John, apparently, is up to his third eyeball in acid, and has taken to leaving the heavy wooden gate at Kenwood open, allowing Ver Fannage to wander hither and, moreover, thither at will. And here we have a family group doing that very thing, whilst, luckily, recording their visit with a few wonderfully evocative snapshots.
So, above, the aforementioned gate, very much open. Below, the former location of that Help! boot, heading up the drive:



And again:



A random spot in the grounds:



In front of the den, and first floor bathroom, this part of the house almost unchanged to the present day, as regulah readahs will know:



The front door, Lennon knocker very much in place. Presumably, having got that far, they'd have given it a go, but whether there was any response I don't know:



The familiar canopy:



And again:



On to the garage; note the presence of the pre-decorated Roller, and John's Mini Cooper. He had other cars, as did Cyn, but the presence of these means it's tempting to picture him in, but not answering:



And another:



Finally, the most intriguing shot. I can't really place it, but note the presence of wood on the stairs, there to facilitate the use of a wheelbarrow:



Many thanks to the people in these pics for giving permission to have them on here, and to Lizzie Bravo for sorting it all out.

57 Green Street: Flat L.

Despite lysergic dreams of communal living in 1967, the only time all 4 actually co-habited was in the autumn of 1963, at number 57 Green Street in Mayfair, central London. And yes, you guessed it - massive renovation means that this place is almost completely unrecognisable, making the auld then unt nau-ing almost impossible.
However, tragically, I have nothing better to do today, so hier ist der guff; fireplaces may be ripped out and renewed, but the locations don't tend to move about, so it's probably safe to assume that the above correspond.
The famous photos of fan-mail-openage would have been taken at the other end of this room. Note the bit of wall above the right hand red arrow - back in '63 there were 2 rooms here, with the far end forming a small dining room next to the kitchen. That section of wall "hanging" from the ceiling is what remains of the division between the living/dining rooms:

I think the record player would have been in the living room, and the windows seem to correspond:

As does the brick edge visible outside the window. Note too how the '63 ceiling has gone, so to utilise what would have been attic space back then and create a more "roomy" room:

If that's a blind, then these may correspond:

I'm pretty sure these don't, though. The modern one is an en-suite off one of the two bedrooms; I'd guess the '63 shot was taken in the small central toilet designed for communal use (though one at a time, gentlemen please):

Or.................................................................................not.

Kenwood: June 29, 1967.

The Beatles' Book Monthly photo library is being digitised and put on-line, including, o' course, the Leslie Bryce session from Kenwood. As suspected, a few new 'uns have been lurking unused in the files. Above - another sunroom seamstress shot, below - Lennon Jnr on the steps down to the pool:

This is maybe the most "interesting", however; the shelving in the living room, giving a glimpse of the platters that mattered at Kennie in the summer o' '67:

The first Buffalo Springfield album, clearly, plus that copy of Electronic Music again, somewhat less clearly, and then the rest is lo-res sludge:

...though I bet someone recognises them. Comment away if so. (I think there might be a Pepper in there. Or not.)

More new shots may follow.

The Beatles: All These Years, Vol 1.

Exciting! For once! The Special Edition of Mark Lewisohn's Beatles' history can now be pre-ordered! (He's the one on the right, above.)(I think.)

I don't need to to tell you, do I not, that this tome has been 8 years in the making, that this tome promises to be the ultimate why? what? where? when? how? whathefuck? tome; that though this tome will certainly spawn a thousand trails leading to other tomes, there will never be another tome like this tome. 3 volumes (or tomes), overall, and, finally, here is the first.

According to Amazon, Volume 1 will have, initially, two editions: a standard hardback first, priced at 30 pounds, and the Special Edition, priced at 120.

Now, 120 quid in these disgusted times is a lot o' dough, no question, but you are getting the whole schnizzle for that - the unexpurgated poop, the undefiled shiznit... 1856 pages, apparently, and, in short, the fruit of 8 years' research and writing, and half a century's knowledge.

Plus it's a limited edition and I guarantee you there won't be a more sure-fire investment this year.

So, if you can possibly afford it, here it is: ALL THESE YEARS - SPECIAL EDITION VOLUME 1

The above leads to the UK Amazon site. The US one doesn't have it up yet. As it were.

But all actually quite exciting, no?

UPDATE: Official site link now added under Friends unt Neighbours!

Tittenhurst: then unt etc.

Some relatively recent photos of Tittie have been doing the rounds, allowing for the usual guff. No red arrows required, as the new bits are clear to anyone with revolving eyeballs. Me no like (the new bits, not revolving etc.).
The front door area is pretty much still the same, despite a lick o' paint, and, with no small dash of irony, the not here "This Is Not Here" sign (which isn't):

Finally, the swimming pool, these days fully enclosed in glass carbuncle:

Thanks to Eric Nernie for the pics.

Kenwood: 3D sunroom update.

Chris Sileo continues work on the virtual Kenwood; lots more detail outside now, and a shift in seasons to boot.
Link under Friends & Neighbours (3D Sunroom).

Kenwood: knockers (related).

It turns oot the very day our old buddy, pal unt etc Henry Grossman arrived at Kenwood, John was sticking a self-designed coat of arms on the front door, and Henry, bless 'im, had the presence of mind to capture the very moment. To wit, the bovine frontispiece:

Clearly nicked at some point, for by '68, it was the auld Lennon coat o' arms in place:

Lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely stuff. Many thanks once again to Lynn Mayes, Jeannette Casarta and the the Cynthia Powell Lennon Yahoo Group for sticking it aw up. Fanks.

Kenwood: 1965.

Some incredible new Kennie pics have begun to seep out, following publication of the reportedly astonishing Henry Grossman book.
So, the living room in 1965 during a visit by George and Pattie. Compare the room now, and the first thing that strikes you is that the old fireplace has also gone... but note the much lower ceiling; I reckon the old beams are possibly still up there:

First ordah o' business when the Kenwood restoration gets under-way will be to remove that new ceiling and see what's up there.
A couple more charming tableaux; this 'un:

Unt this:

What were they up to?
To the first floor, and a glimpse beyond the sliding screen in the master bedroom to the en-suite bathroom sink:

The same room now (as readahs will know, this was a bathroom for years, but is currently back to being used as the master bedroom):

I also couldn't help but notice the Lennon-era decor, and recall the fragments of wallpaper rescued by Joe Baiardi on one of his visits to Kenwood a few years back:

Many thanks to Lynn Mayes and the Cynthia Powell Lennon Yahoo Group for making these available, and to Jeannette Caserta for passing them on.

Cavern Club: August 22, 1962 (unt oder sheisse).

This only has 200 or so views on YouTube, so far. Why God, why? It's all great, but the highlight has to be a complete run through on one camera of Some Other Guy, with no stupid cutaways to them doing Kansas Shitty (or whatever it was).
Regulah readahs will know my fondness for pretentious bullshit. Enuff already! This, to quote Shakin' Speare 'imself, is the shit, the bomb, the flim flam flum: in short, feckin' GENIUS.

Flood Street: 4 Chelsea Manor Studios, SW3.

Above: Chelsea Manor Studios on Flood Street, opened in 1902, and from 1966 "home" to the photographer Michael Cooper, who occupied Studio 4 on the rear ground floor.
Twas in this very space, twas it not, come 30 March 1967, that Ver Fabs assembled to complete the still remarkable Pepper cover collage.
And here is that very same very space almost half a century later; converted for residential use in 2002, below is the former studio from both ends - and note how the camera lies, making the room appear much bigger than it actually is.
Compare, using the radiator for perspective (and, o' course, click on the pics for a better look):

At some point in the intervening period, a mezzanine floor has been constructed, something which makes perfect sense in terms of maximising the useable space, but is somewhat unfortunate when it comes to "then unt now-ing": the new floor sits right where the upper portion of the collage would have been.
Again, compare the door visible in '67, with the doors now:

So, the room inevitably much changed; however, study it for a bit - recognisable features remain...
1) Parquet floor:

2) What was probably a fireplace in the early 20th century:

Now from the other angle - the rear wall:

Widen the perspective a bit, and there's that fireplace/chimney again, and here almost the exact same angle, then unt now:

So there it is, a magikal spot for anyone interested in this nonsense...

...which just leaves a couple o' things.
Firstly, John's quote from Whistle Test, viz "Two of them are flying...", whence twas stated that he and one other Fab had taken something, presumably acid, before the shoot.
If so, this gives the lie to the oft-repeated "fact" that the only time John ever took the dread lysergic at Abbey Road was 9 days previously, by mistake, on 21 March during a session for Getting Better.
Immediately following the Pepper shoot, off they did scoot to Studio 2 at Abbey Road in order to watch Paul add bass to With A Little Help..., all the eternal while John and mystery Fab plumbing the depths of inner space. (Who was it? Not Paul, shurely - he had bassage to attend to. Most think it must have been George, and maybe so. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was actually Ringo - the majority of photos from this memorable evening show John and Richie as tight as the proverbial "cran du moucheron"):

Lastly, and much more prosaically, following Cooper's death in 1972 the studio became a Beauty School, of all things, and here are 3 vintage pics of Studio 4 under that very guise:

Note that parquet floor. Again. (Or, as ever, don't.)