John Lennon admitted there was nothing he could do to stop the Vietnam War
Recordings of The Beatles during their 1965 US tour have emerged 57 years later
Radio DJ Tim Hudson followed Fab Four on tour and made unreleased recordings
Hudson's tapes tipped to sell for £3,000 at auction in Merseyside after his death
John Lennon admitted there was nothing he could do to stop the Vietnam War, four years before his famous 'bed-in for peace' protest, a recording which has emerged 57 years on reveals.
John made the glum remark as The Beatles prepared for their iconic performance at New York's Shea Stadium on August 15, 1965.
It is included in 40 minutes of recordings made by British radio star 'Lord' Tim Hudson who followed the Fab Four on their American tour, which are now going up for sale.
Lennon was asked by Hudson if he had any plans to stop the war, he dryly remarked: 'No, I don't think I can stop war'.
His attitude was a far cry from the songwriter's 'positive' action in his 'bed-in for peace' protests, in which he and wife Yoko Ono refused to leave hotel beds for days at a time while the war went on.
The recording also revealed a number of other never-seen-before behind the scenes interactions between the band members and Hudson.
Ringo Starr teased him for the impossible-to-read writing on his notepad, saying: 'Well, that's not writing... he's a terrible writer folks, let's hope he's not a terrible DJ.'
Elsewhere, when Paul McCartney was asked whether The Beatles were leaders of young people, he responded: 'We're not leaders, leave that to (US President) Lyndon Johnson and all them'.
George Harrison sounded equally dour when he dismissed newspaper reports about the band as 'a load of rubbish'.
Hudson spent time with the band as they prepared for their 'big night' in New York.
He can be heard trying to ask questions as hoards of Beatle-crazed fans screamed in the background.
The rare recordings on cassettes and master-players were made for Hudson's KCBQ radio show in San Diego.
But many of them never made it into the final cut and were instead filed away in a box for decades.
They emerged again after the DJ's death in 2019 and are now being sold by his estate.
The tapes are tipped to sell for £3,000 at Omega Auctions of Newton-Le Willows, Merseyside.
Hudson's press card and a letter confirming his place onboard a chartered flight following The Beatles around the US is worth £500.
Dan Hampson, of Omega Auctioneers, said: 'These recordings have come from Tim Hudson's estate after his death a few years ago.
'There are some of them which never made it to his radio show. Items like this are very rare.
'The amount of coverage about The Beatles at the time was huge - that means it is unusual to find something that hasn't been seen or heard before.
'The recordings are quite refreshing - Lennon clearly changed his mind (on the war). I'm glad he became more positive about it.
'In contrast, you've got Ringo taking the mick whereas the others sounded a bit tired and fed up.
'Ringo is often characterised as a bit dower - but he is a funny guy'.
At the time of the interviews, The Beatles had just arrived at Shea Stadium after disembarking from a plane to start their 16-show US tour.
They were about to shatter records as their performance would attract the largest concert crowd in history up until that point.
The cassette recordings will be sold on Tuesday.
dailymail
No comments:
Post a Comment