Good lighting and good timing are everything, and life is divided into 2 columns- before and post internet- are credos I live by. I just read this book Living The Beatles Legend-The Untold Story of Mal Evans. Mal was the official roadie for the Beatles during their entire run as a group and individually was pretty much at their beck and call when they were together and after the band dissolved. Only a handful of people were allowed into the Fab Four’s orbit so Mal witnessed some pretty incredible scenes as everything went supernova. Many “moments” involved very young girls when the band toured according to Mal, and they toured A LOT. I think most Beatles’ fans would agree that their 7 year run seemed way too short. However, when you read about the schedule they were on you might find it hard to believe they went that long. Not just because their manager Brian Epstein wanted them to complete 2 albums and a movie every year in addition to all the concerts but the circus surrounding them during the internet age would’ve probably clipped 4 years out of their 7 year run. Mal outlines that after almost every show he and another Beatle operative would filter what girls could make it into the lad’s hotel rooms AFTER Mal and his co-roadie took their pick aside. Mal ended up getting a fan pregnant and she put the baby up for adoption. Oh, and this is when Mal was married with two kids. No revelation here that swarms of girls went gaga in the presence of the Beatles but where it gets wiggy is the age of the girls who landed in the hotel rooms. We’re talking 14/15 year olds! And in some cases the mothers of these girls offered themselves up for some Liverpool love because they went ape for the boys too or it was a bonus carrot stick to get their daughters into the swing of things. And yet there was never any “sex scandal” involving John, Paul, George, Ringo because back then it looks like certain people got a pass. There was no internet to stream a picture around the world instantly of a super famous rock star hanging out in a hotel room with a 14 year old girl. And if things looked like they might go sideways in the sexual inappropriateness department Brian would hand the mother a fistful of cash and voila that was the end of it. It must’ve worked because no Beatle was ever involved in any sexual controversy with underage girls. This protective seal was not only afforded to the Beatles, it was often speculated that President Kennedy was bopping Marilyn Monroe but none of that surfaced until years after his death. It was a different time. C’mon, you have to admit if you are of a certain age that lived many years without the internet microscope to worry about you are so glad there is no permanent record of some of the nonsense you were involved in. I’m not talking about breaking the law with underage girls, just anything stupid you did that now with a camera in everybody’s pocket can live forever on this digital sticky trap. I think about my early days in radio and how crappy I must’ve sounded but it doesn’t matter because there is no evidence lying around to come back and haunt me. “She was just 17, you know what I mean”……yes Paul, I do know what you mean….now and then.
Klaatu Barada Nikto,
Garry