The Beatles' final gig, on the rooftop at Apple Corps, January 30th 1969.

I always liked the way George would talk about the Beatles like they were just some band he was in when he was younger, often exactly like that. "When I was in my old band, the Beatles ... "

I don't pay as much attention to the Beatles as most of you (LOL) but I remember the bits in the Anthology doc (was there one?) when Paul and George were together being extremely awkward.

You could tell George was very much holding Paul at arms length.

G: ".. my song 'Dehra Dun'.."
P: "(oh.. I remember that one...)"

Had I known nothing about the Beatles watching the doc, I'd swear George was the leader.

For example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPf98jsxyDs

I love the way George talks, could listen to him all day.

Actually, while I'm sure this famous fight has been a bit overblown, what I recall from the film is the band just generally being over Paul's shit. Paul is playing cheerleader but the band is just not feeling it, or is elsewhere mentally. It's been a while, but I recall a scene of them rehearsing "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" with Paul going so far as to call out the chord changes (like George or John really need them), and the guys shooting lasers at him with their eyes in response as they play the dumb song over and over again, bored.

Not Ringo, though. He's always having a blast.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, December 23, 2020 3:58 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Just watched the movie today for the first time since I was a kid and your recollection is accurate.

John and Paul are kind of a classic duo consisting of one person who revels in being a confrontational jerk but who is also charming and amusing much of the time, and another person who wants to be seen as nice or "nice" but is all too often overbearing, manipulative insufferable, etc./PopPsych101

lol you wanna George staring daggers in the modern era? Check out his response to Paul's request (order?) to play "Blue Moon of Kentucky" ("The short version"). Paul's relentless cuteness gets to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wrgrm1eabI

Yeah, was gonna mention that one

I posted this in another Beatles thread, but whenever Paul starts talking during those group interviews in Anthology, George gets this look on his face like, “Ugh, this fucking guy.” If a camera or mic was on Paul, his Performing Persona took over, which George had no use for: “I’ve known you since you were 14, and I can tell when you’re bullshitting.”

One thing I love about that clip, though, is that they’re all, George included, enjoying it, but you get the sense that George just wants to hang out and play without the cameras, and without it being THE REUNITED BEATLES. He might’ve had a blast just swapping tunes and stories without the pressure of it being a heavy Beatle moment.

(Also, when Ringo goes into half time on “Raunchy,” it suddenly sounds more Beatle-y.)

Christ the Anthology era sucked so hard.

Christ: the Anthology <---- the perfect Christmas gift

Too bad Neil Innes and Eric Idle had a falling out before they finished it.

I heard somewhere, maybe from my Beatles nut friend, that the Anthology in the end was designed to be an easy, equitable way to get a heap of money to "the principals" (as I think they were collectively termed). So it served its purpose by, say, making Pete Best a millionaire.

Have I related, or posted anywhere, about the Beatles reunion story I read via the Edge's storied guitar tech, Dallas Schoo? This is the key bit:

There was the time in 1995 when Steve Miller invited him to his home studio in Idaho to service his guitar collection. Miller then warned him: He had some people coming to use his studio and Schoo had to promise to not freak out. Schoo rolled his eyes; he had seen it all.

Two days later, a fleet of SUVs pulled up and out get Paul and Linda McCartney, Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach, George and Olivia Harrison, and Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. They were there to mix “Free As A Bird,” the final new Beatles music that was made using a John Lennon demo tape of an unrecorded song, and they asked Schoo to maintain their guitars.

Schoo freaked out.

At one point, McCartney leaned over to Schoo during a break and struck up a conversation.

“So you’re with that U2?”

“Yes, yes, sir, I am.”

“That’s meant to be a big deal, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“But they didn’t change the world did they?”

Schoo erupts in laughter. “Then he looked at Harrison and said, ‘If it wasn’t for us, you’d still be walking around in Buddy Holly glasses.’ That story I’ve taken all over the world, man, and Paul and I have remained friends to this day.”

The bonus story I heard came from my friend's cousin, an esteemed producer in Nashville. Apparently he was in a session when he got a whispered furtive phone call from Dallas.

"Hey, man, it's Dallas. Do you hear this?" He holds up the phone to let him hear muffled music. "That's the fuckin' Beatles, man!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-PUCx6PzA

Sorry, your story is better.

it's too bad paul didn't finish by excoriating chris for the lame and deeply unfunny sin of reading off of CUE CARDS

Heh, is that a reference to Zappa? #OneThread

ja

Having been thru a separation, if someone had asked me how to edit footage of the last year of my marriage while it was ending I would have chosen the material which showed the reasons for separation. As a grieving and justification process.

yeah but they did that already. in another fifty-one years, you might be ready to look at some photos of the kinder moments in your latter times.

I heard somewhere, maybe from my Beatles nut friend, that the Anthology in the end was designed to be an easy, equitable way to get a heap of money to "the principals" (as I think they were collectively termed). So it served its purpose by, say, making Pete Best a millionaire.

George was open about doing the Anthology stuff because his manager had stolen all his money via HandMade, and fucked off to an island. (The year of Anthology, Harrison sued O'Brien for £16 million, only won £6.7 million, but continued to actually lose more money suing him in bankruptcy court.)

yeah but they did that already. in another fifty-one years, you might be ready to look at some photos of the kinder moments in your latter times.
For sure, which is why I offered it to explain the difference between LiB and this film.

ah!