Beatles “reunion” discussion

Sigh!

 

I don't know. Even if John had not been killed, it is still hard for me to imagine. Seems that at any given time, 3 out of the 4 were not opposed to the idea with the 4th not into it.

I think George would have been the lone holdout. That is, if Yoko did not torpedo the whole thing.

Whenever all 4 seemed to be heading towards equilibrium, something would happen to raise tensions again (John not showing up to dissolve the partnership, John getting stage fright before gigging with George, George not mentioning John in his book, etc).

Maybe if they promised George 25% of the set list ....

 

John getting stage fright before gigging with George??

 

Wasn't he supposed to join George on stage at MSG and then back out much to George's fury?

 

It was because John wanted Yoko there and George was having none of it. He did suffer from some stage fright when he appeared with Elton.

 

Yes but it wasn't stage fright that stopped him, it was George insulting Yoko

 

And he threw up before Elton's gig and before Shea Stadium 1965 too

 

I stand corrected, thank you. But it still supports my contention that something would always happen to dispel any notions of unity.

 

"We're the goddamn Beatles, for Christ's sake! We close the ****ing show!"

 

Apparently you disagree.

 

No, I think he's sighing over the thought of what could have been.

 

While George reportedly dismissed the idea of the surviving Beatles playing Live Aid, I've wondered what they would have played there if Lennon had lived and they'd done a five or six song set. Since either McCartney or Geldof wanted McCartney singing "Let It Be" at the concert (and he did), perhaps that would have made the set list.

 

Yes. I'm sighing over what could have been. Even if they had just got together and jammed a few old favourites, it would have been great. But you know if they had come together magic would have happened.

 

Proposed Beatles (With Julian) Live Aid setlist was leaked.

Mr. Moonlight
You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)
The Sheik of Araby
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill
Act Naturally
Her Majesty (Encore)

 

You guys aren't looking at this from the right angle.

Stu's been sitting there waiting the longest...and John's kind of uncomfortable right now, awkwardly sitting next to George drumming his fingers, waiting for Macca to show up, so they can argue over how many songs Ringo gets.

Chances are, if they ever do pull this reunion off, we're not even gonna get a shot at tickets.

 

John could say one thing one day and something different the very next day. He admitted that himself .

As always with the Fabs, I’d guess that what was going on between them that very week could color their comments to the press.
A week or month or two later things could be very different .

I agree that John wasn't having any love for a possible reunion the day or days he was interviewed for Playboy though .

 

He threw up before the Toronto gig also!

 

That's when he was o .heroin !

 

Yep, I’m aware of that, but be that as it may I was just adding it to nikh33’s throw up gig collection.

 

I think people are confusing John not playing at the Concert for Bangladesh and him not playing at MSG. The former was because George didn't want Yoko to be part of it which I've read John was initially ok with and later changed his mind when Yoko wasn't happy about it. The latter was when George got really pissed at him for backing out again.

 

Paul said this in Rolling Stone in 1976:

“We maybe could be together for a thing but it always feels to me like it would be a bit limp.” In response to an American promoter’s offer of between $30 and $50 million for one Beatles concert, McCartney told a reporter that he would not participate in a reunion purely for money. Now, in Toronto, he is qualifying that remark.

“The truth is very ordinary. The truth is just that since we split up, we’ve not seen much of each other. We visit occasionally, we’re still friends, but we don’t feel like getting up and playing again. You can’t tell that to people. You say that and they say, ‘How about this money, then?’ ‘Or how about this?’ And you end up having to think of reasons why you don’t feel like it. And, of course, any one of them taken on its own isn’t really true, but I was just stuck for an answer, so I said I wouldn’t do it just for the money anyway. And I saw John last time, he says, ‘I agreed with that.’ But there’s a million other points in there. A whole million angles.

“I tell you, before this tour, I was tempted to ring everyone up and say, ‘Look, is it true we’re not going to get back together, ’cause we all pretty much feel like we’re not. And as long as I could get everyone to say, ‘No, we’re definitely not,’ then I could say ‘It’s a definite no-no.’ But I know my feeling, and I think the others’ feeling, in a way, is we don’t want to close the door to anything in the future. We might like it someday.

“Again, talking to John before the tour, I’m saying to him, ‘Well, are you coming to the show at Madison Square?’ ‘Well,’ he says, ‘Everyone’s kind of asking me, “Am I going?” Should I go?’ And I’m saying, ‘Oh, god, that’s a drag, isn’t it. You just can’t even come out and see our show.’ So there are these other involvements. If anyone comes, they feel like they’ve got to get up. Then they get up, we’ve got to be good. Can’t just get up and be crummy, ’cause then they say, ‘The Beatles really blew it on the Wings tour,’ or something. So, but you see how long I’ve taken just to answer this question. God, it goes on forever. So you can see why I just wanted to say no.”

And yet, McCartney just cannot close the door.

“We’ve left it,” he says, “if John feels like coming out that evening, great, we’ll try and get him in. Have it all cool, no big numbers. We’ll just play it by ear.”

---

George said this in late 1978 in Men Only:

Int: What about The Beatles nostalgia craze of the past few years, and the current slew of nostalgia musicals, including I Wanna Hold Your Hand, which occurred during the same day you made your American debut?

Harrison: It’s lots of fun for me to relive the past from a distance. Trying to reunite all four of us with ridiculous sums, though, isn’t fun – it’s scary, as though everyone wants us to be what we once were, which we aren’t anymore. But a film like I Wanna Hold Your Hand is not only amusing, it’s downright educational, to find out how kids really reacted to us at the time – at least, according to the filmmakers. See, we were insulated from lots of what was happening then. Eventually, it got to a point where the exuberance and desperation of the fans was something we avoided hearing about or talking about. I haven’t seen all of I Wanna Hold Your Hand, but I’d like to. I hear it’s a heartwarming kind of tribute, without being too mushy or whitewashed.

Int: Which of the ex-Beatles would most like The Beatles to reunite?

Harrison: Personally, I’m not opposed to the idea, if it’s done through mutual agreement. But the pressure seems to be bigger than any of us, and when they talk of sums like $50 or $60 million, it’s almost a farce. I know Paul’s booked for the next few years, and John may have lost interest in the idea. Ringo and I are closest on it; we both feel it’s not impossible, but it’s highly unlikely, if only because of the legal and business maze that would have to be resolved before the four of us set foot on stage together. Things have a way of complicating themselves once stardom strikes. The fun of the early days is how simple things are, how much control the performer has over his or her own destiny. Once that monster fame grabs hold, there’s less and less control and things aren’t done for the fun of it any more. It becomes a greedy corporation with dozens of associates trying to get their slice of the profits, which means they want you work even harder, do things their way, forget you’re a human being in love with music. I’m finally free of all that, and if bringing back The Beatles means returning to that, I’d never agree to it. As for one concert, one huge benefit from which genuinely deserving people would benefit, if that ever becomes possible, I’ll go along with it, as long as there’s a minimum of fuss. But I’m afraid the public would want to hear the old stuff, nothing that we’ve done individually, nor a new sound we’ve developed together. Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, you know.

 

Then there was also the almost-reunion of Pattie Boyd and Eric Clapton's wedding in May 1979. For some reason John wasn't invited, but he said would've gone if he was. It's kind of crazy how many times something *almost* happened. In any case, the other three looked like they were in good spirits at the wedding. Apparently they did perform together, and it was terrible.

 

LOL!

 

Where were those guys that sell Beatles hair clippings?

 

Fan fiction blows.