Journalist Ivor Davis talks about touring with the Beatles in the
summer of 1964.
Interviewed By Marshall Terrill: First published in September 2014…
In the summer of 1964, The Beatles embarked on a record-breaking
pandemonium-inducing tour of America and Canada. Ivor Davis’ new book, The
Beatles and Me On Tour, presents an insider’s chronicle of that tour and a peek
into a beloved era with the world’s most famous band. Davis, who was then a
young reporter for the London Daily Express, traveled with The Beatles as the
only British writer on the entire tour.
Through 34 days and 24 cities, Davis traveled with The Beatles
watching them make rock and roll history. He enjoyed unrestricted access to the
Fab Four – from their hotel suites to backstage concert areas to their private
jet. He fended off excited girls, played all night games of Monopoly with John
Lennon, became the ghostwriter of a newspaper column for George Harrison and
witnessed the night Bob Dylan turned The Beatles onto marijuana.
In The Beatles and Me On Tour, Davis recounts in frank and amusing
fashion, the rip-roaring adventures of The Beatles at a critical moment in rock
history.
Q: Your book, The Beatles
and Me On Tour marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles first tour of the U.S.
What took you so long to sit down and write this book?
Davis: I was getting on with my life. Newspaper reporters do a
story and then move onto the next and seldom look back. I got married, had a
family and covered some terrific stories in half a century – but I finally
decided to look back. I’m glad I did.
Q: Tell us briefly where you were in your career at this point,
who you were working for, and how you got the assignment to cover the Beatles
first U.S. Tour?
Davis: I was newly appointed West Coast correspondent for the
London Daily Express, circulation four million daily. My editor called and
said, “The Beatles are coming to America, and I want you to fly to San
Francisco where they’ve just arrived. Cover them, eat, drink and hang out with
them – and, oh yes, we have signed George Harrison to write a column. He’s a
musician and can’t write so you’ll have to make what he has to say palatable
reading.”
Q: You did a great job of covering a day in the life of
Beatlemania experienced from the inside of the fishbowl, but it didn’t always
sound so wonderful or cute. Looking back, can you talk about the stress and
strain of that tour and how they handled everything?
Davis: Strangely enough The Beatles were like kids in the candy
store; the prisoner effect was a strain. They were unable to leave their hotel
rooms for fear of being torn from limb to limb by ecstatic fans. And they were
upset about the lousy sound systems in nearly all of the venues. I couldn’t
hear what they were singing. We were all drowned out by the screeching, wailing
fans and so were The Beatles. Ringo often didn’t know what song they were
singing and told me he had to lip-read to catch up!!!
Q: You came from an era of journalists where they flipped their
notebook shut on the personal indiscretions of celebrities and politicians, and
certainly, there’s still an element of that with this book. What was the
informal agreement, or not-stated but implicitly-understood agreement with The
Beatles in this particular case?
Davis: No one ever said, “Don’t write negative stories” … but we
knew being allowed into The Beatles inner sanctum came with unwritten rules.
The Beatles co-opted us onto their team, their entourage. We sympathized with
their prisoner status. We could go anywhere, and so we treated them kindly.
Q: Given what you just said, you don’t seem to defend John Lennon
regarding an incident with a teen in Las Vegas.
Davis: The Vegas incident was a harsh wake-up call. We knew that
when girls were ushered into meet The Beatles, they didn’t ask for their birth
certificates. But as Paul said, “We were aware of underage girls hanging
around, but there were lots of over-age girls – and this was at the start of birth
control pills. And we were healthy young lads.” With, of course, lively
libidos.
Q: Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley never experienced the kind of
frenzy and mania The Beatles did. Can you give a perspective on why The Beatles
seemed to evoke such feelings from the teens of that era?
Davis: Lots of older women I spoke to in the last couple of years
told me that honestly they were in love with John, Paul, George, and Ringo. In
their own (fantasizing) minds, when they looked at each individual member, they
winked, waved and smiled back … and it was true love.
Q: The Beatles’ side trip to Alton, Missouri for a few days of
relaxation seemed unnecessary and dangerous. What do you recall of that stay?
Davis: It was a great break. What was dangerous was the late night
flight in a rinky-dink plane with the owner of the charter jet company in the
cockpit. And their landings in Missouri were runways with virtually no lights.
It wasn’t until they were well into this flight that The Beatles realized
danger threatened. Once on the ground, they had a wonderful break – celebrating
Brian’s birthday and getting nicely inebriated.
Q: Can you give me a brief thumbnail sketch of each Beatle,
starting with John Lennon, who seemed to be a real pisser.
Davis: JOHN: wickedly funny, who spoke his mind and it often came
back to bite him. Witness that Jesus statement that landed him in hot water.
But brilliant and like Robin Williams a bit of a genius.
PAUL: Very PR-oriented. The most approachable of The Beatles, who
knew the value of hobnobbing with the media and being nice.
GEORGE: Really uncomfortable with strangers at first. He was a bit
sullen at first and the kind of guy who warmed to you later – once he felt more
relaxed and got used to you.
RINGO: The newbie in The Beatles pack. Definitely the fourth
banana. But as Brian Epstein said later, America made Ringo. By the time they
flew home in September 1964, Ringo had become the most popular Beatle.
Q: The Brian Epstein you painted was a man who seemed a harsh
taskmaster who was volatile, vulnerable and emotionally fragile at times.
Davis: Brian lived a secret life. He was a closet gay, who took
terrible risks in his personal life and had terrible experiences as a result.
He tried to give off the cool, imperious front but beneath he was terrified
that his sexual preferences would come out and destroy The Beatles who he had
worked so hard to build up.
Q: John Lennon’s fascination with President Kennedy assassination
and insisting on a tour of the book depository where Lee Harvey Oswald made the
deadly shots seems almost fateful or ironic?
Davis: It was. But John was always pushing and prodding more than
any of the other Beatles and at an early age was more concerned about politics
and events outside the music biz. He was the political/social conscience of The
Beatles.
Q: Lennon specifically commented to you about America being the
Wild West when it came to guns. What would he have thought of today’s America
with random shootings at malls, colleges and military bases on such a regular basis?
Davis: John would still be campaigning, using his fame to right
terrible wrongs – in Iraq, Afghanistan and the plight of the have-nots in
third-world countries.
Q: You were covering the Watts riots in Los Angeles when you
received a phone call that The Beatles and Elvis were about to meet at his home
on Perugia Way. Given that no photos or recordings were made of that night, why
were you, a journalist, invited to come in the first place and what was your
take on if they got along or not?
Davis: Elvis did not have a great time. It’s funny, everyone
there, including the Memphis Mafia and those in The Beatles’ inner circle, said
the ice thawed eventually, and they began to communicate. That’s what I saw.
Awkward beginning and a lightening of the atmosphere and mood once they started
jamming. Don’t forget Elvis was the King of his castle and The Beatles had
invaded his home terrain and taken over the No. 1 spot. Elvis was not a happy
camper making those repeat movies (three a year!) and The Beatles’ first movie
was a home run!
Q: You write at the end of the tour, it was fun, but that you
didn’t expect it to be historical or the Beatles to become legends. What’s your
outlook today?
Davis: Back then I was around the same age as The Beatles, and
none of us had the vision. Who in their early twenties has great vision … that
comes with age. Today I am still astonished that people come up to me as if
I’ve been sprinkled with invisible Beatle magic dust. I was just a lucky guy at
the right place and right time – and who could have predicted it? No one. I was
just doing a nice job when by happenstance The Beatles rode into town…
The Beatles and Me On Tour is available in hardback and Kindle on
www.amazon.com
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