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Ready 'n' Steady

"Ready 'n' Steady" (or "Ready & Steady") is a song written by D. A. Lucchesi and Jim Franks, and performed by D. A. The song "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in June 1979. Together the two wrote a handful of songs, including "Don't Let Go" (1983). D. A. was Dennis Armand Lucchesi of San Rafael, California. He passed away in 2005.

The Mistake on the Lake

The phrase originated in Cleveland's African-American community in 1964 as an expression of frustration with the city's inadequate response to civil rights concerns, particularly following the death of Reverend Bruce W. Klunder. It was a rejoinder to the city's slogan "the Best Location in the Nation."

Dawson, Lois. "The Mistake on the Lake?" Call and Post May 2, 1964: 3B
"Rights Law Praised at Holmes Luncheon" The Plain Dealer July 26, 1964: 4
Ford, Jean. "Rev. Bruce Klunder" Ebony August 1964: 13
Sanders, Charles. "Black Power at the Polls" Ebony January 1968: 23
Stokes, Carl. "My First Year in Office" Ebony January 1969: 116

Cold Cuts

"Paul & Linda Try the Gentle Life" The Tennessean July 18, 1974

Though there was much speculation that McCartney had come to Nashville to record when his plane touched down nearly six weeks away, he made it clear yesterday that any recording was just incidental to the visit. Most of his stay was spent rehearsing with his group Wings, jamming with Nashville musicians and just enjoying the countryside. He finally did get around to putting something on tape a few days ago when Chet Atkins offered his services: "I was talking to Chet about it one night when we were over at his house socializing, and he said ‘Why don’t you do it?’ Then Chet brought along Floyd Cramer and some brass guys that he uses and then there was my drummer Geoff and me and Bobby Thompson, the banjo player." The tune they had decided to record was "Eloise," written by McCartney’s father some 20 years ago.

The song may be released as a single and included in an album called Cold Cuts, McCartney said.

The English musician incorporated the Music Row sidemen into another "country flavored" song called "Sally G" which he wrote after an inspiring visit to a country music club in Printer's Alley.

The songs will be combined with more of McCartney’s material which he had previously found no use for. "We had a lot of tracks that were going to be wasted and just thrown away," he said. "But I thought there was some good stuff on them, so we just cleaned them up, and then I did the stuff here so we could make them up into a record."

"It probably won't be on the next album. That'll be a proper studio follow-up to Band on the Run (his current release). But it'll probably be on the album after that, which we're thinking of calling 'Cold Cuts'. Get it? Cold cuts."

"Random Notes" Rolling Stone November 21, 1974

Paul and Linda McCartney secretly recorded an album at the Caribou Ranch and finished it in New York, for Christmas release. Their Nashville tracks, expected to be on their next album, will be on a second LP called Cold Cuts.

Record World February 15, 1975

Toshiba EMI has launched a Beatles campaign aimed at promoting the individual albums by former Beatle members. The campaign was kicked-off at the end of last year with the releases of John Lennon's Walls and Bridges and Ringo Starr's Goodnight Vienna, and was followed by George Harrison's Dark Horse on January 20. The fourth and final album of this campaign, Paul McCartney and Wings' Cold Cuts, will be released in March to welcome the group when they appear here in April as part of their world tour. It will be the first visit to Japan by any member of the Beatles since their concerts caused riots in Tokyo in June of 1966.

"Random Notes" Rolling Stone July 31, 1975

Paul McCartney is rehearsing Wings in an old theater he rented in Scotland for the group's possible U.S. tour in October. And McCartney's greatest hits album, Cold Cuts—due for release months ago but shelved for the Venus and Mars album—will finally be released in the fall. It will also include some previously unreleased material such as "The Mess," recorded live in France in 1973.

"McCartney Comes of Age" Record Mirror September 13, 1975

The next Wings album could well be a collection of oldies. "We've had this idea for a long time and are waiting for the right moment to do one called Hot Hits and Cold Cuts, a bit like the Odds & Sods thing of the Who's—hits and tracks that never got released, which we've got a whole bunch of. It's an idea to use up all the old songs, because really I like to start fresh."

Record Mirror September 27, 1975

Linda McCartney: "I've done a few tracks actually but we might put them on the Hot Hits, Cold Cuts album, instead of doing Suzy and the Red Stripes. I don't know yet, I'll see."

"Really! I did the reggae track before any of the white reggae tracks came out but I never dared release it – "Seaside Woman" – I used to play it when we toured Europe and stuff and we recorded it. That's how the Suzy and the Red Stripes idea came about 'cos in Jamaica the beer they all drink is called Red Stripe. I thought maybe I should put it out, maybe I shouldn't and it got to be such a debate, then everybody else started puttin' 'em out," she grimaces. "Too bad."

Interview by Paul Gambaccini, 1980

"...by the time the Beatles finished, there weren't any unreleased things hidden away. But with Wings, there are quite a few, a few from the Ram sessions, which, strictly speaking, wasn't Wings, and quite a few off Red Rose Speedway that didn't get released. And there have been the odd songs that just didn't fit for what people wanted them for, like a film or something. I still say that I'd like to get it all together, finish it up, and release an album called Cold Cuts, which would just be all the things that didn't get released. Some of them are pretty good tracks, some of them are almost better than the ones that did get released!"

Press conference, New York, February 11, 1993

Question: A lot of your contemporaries like Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan released boxed sets of their outtakes, rarities, B-sides. Have you given any thought to that as far as your solo work and also you've got a lot of videos. How about a video anthology?

Paul: Yeah, well that's one of those things that I think some day will happen. What happens with me is I put a new album out, so I'd rather put out new material than outtakes of old material. But I've got a lot of stuff. But originally we were going to for years, going to try and put together an album called Cold Cuts, which was going to be all the things that didn't get on Ram, things that didn't get on Red Rose Speedway, through the years, you know, which I think would be interesting for collectors and for real fans who've got all the other stuff. But as I say, when you're going on tour, it becomes a nicer possibility to write some new stuff and do that. And plus, Cold Cuts is a bootleg, someone's put it together anyway.

Club Sandwich Vol. 72, Winter 1994

Lewisohn: What happened to the Cold Cuts album project?

"It became a bootleg, which put me off the idea. The project originally started out as Hot Hitz and Kold Kutz, with two k's and two z's, but then someone at the record company said 'Why have cold cuts on a hot hits album?', as a result of which it became simply Cold Cuts. So it went on the back-burner and cooled off, to mix a few metaphors, and then went even cooler when I discovered that it had become a bootleg."

"I still have a lovely unused cover for the album, drawn for me by Saul Steinberg, best known by the public for his New Yorker drawings. I got to know him and for many years was asking him to draw me a cover, and eventually he came up with something. This is probably the most compelling reason to issue the album, actually: just to use his cover!"

"Like the promo video compilation, though, these things can get in the way of other projects. I mean, if you've got a 'real' album already out then to issue another one can be confusing. I'd love to release millions of things but it would mean issuing about 12 albums a year, and the powers that be don’t like that because you spread yourself too thin."

Interview with Steve Holley, Pearldrum.com

Holley: "Cold Cuts was a brilliant idea. CBS wanted a hits album, Paul wanted it to be Hot Hits and Cold Cuts, a double album. I was disappointed considering how much money CBS had spent on Paul. They were impatient"

[Note: In a radio interview, Holley says that Columbia wouldn't wait for the ''Cold Cuts'' tracks to be finished and so released ''Wings Greatest''. When the interviewer points out that album was released earlier on Capitol, Holley seems confused and says he wasn't really privy to business matters.]

Cleveland Stadium

"Q — I have a few questions about the Cleveland Stadium. What is its official name?"

"A — The official name is Cleveland Stadium."

Lebovitz, Hal. "Ask Hal" The Plain Dealer January 16, 1979: 2-C

Classic rock

Scott, Jane. "The Happening" The Plain Dealer June 13, 1980: Friday 30

"Incidentally M-105's newest slogan is Cleveland's Classic Rock, with past (Beatles, Stones), present (Billy Joel, Supertramp, etc.) and future (the Pretenders, Gary Numan, Judas Priest)."

Scott, Jane. "The Happening" The Plain Dealer July 25, 1980: Friday 31

"Bob Seger's light show Saturday at the Belkin Productions-WMMS World Series in the Stadium was very tasteful, but it was dimmed a bit at one point by the one in the sky. A helicopter overhead flew a bright white banner saying M-105 Cleveland's Classic Rock Station."

Gorman, John. The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio (2008): 166

"M105 had briefly experimented with new wave but was now turning in a mainstream direction. They were making desperation moves, like running tracks from our tenth anniversary concert with Springsteen, and we were tipped off that they might move the station to classic rock, an unknown format at the time. They were getting bolder and more active promotionally, even renting a plane towing an M105 banner over our World Series of Rock in July."

Scott, Jane. "How rock radio picks the discs it spins" The Plain Dealer May 1, 1981: Friday 7

"Music director Marty Sobol of AOR station M-105 chooses classic rock. 'That means the best of 25 years of rock on record, both present and past. We mix it in,' he said."

"Changed radio formats causing static" The Plain Dealer June 20, 1982: 4-D

"I can't believe what has just happened at M105. At first I was shocked; now I'm disgusted. The station was the No. 1 rocker in Cleveland where rock is a serious business. The classic rock format was in my opinion the best a rock fan could ever ask for."

Let It Be

Let It Be draft article

Smith, Alan. "Beatles Music Straightforward On Next Album: An Interview with John Lennon" New Musical Express May 3, 1969

The way we're writing at the moment, it's straightforward and there's nothing weird. Songs like 'Get Back,' things like that. We recorded that one on the Apple roof but I'm not sure if that's the version that went out. We always record about ten versions. You get lost in the end.

Why did we spring 'Get Back' on the public so suddenly? Well, we'd been talking about it since we recorded it, and we kept saying 'That's a single.' Eventually we got so fed up talking about it we suddenly said 'Okay, that's it. Get it out tomorrow.'

I can't give you any definite plans for a live show when we're not even agreed on it. We've got to come to an agreement. For a start, there's too much going on now for us to even talk realistically about going on tour.

In a way, that's why it's unfortunate that all the publicity came out about doing live shows when it did. We were only thinking about it vaguely, but it kind of got out of hand. I suppose the next great Beatle Event will be the next LP, in about eight weeks. A lot of the tracks will be like 'Get Back,' and a lot that we did in one take, kind of thing. We've done about twelve tracks, some of them still to be remixed.

The film that the Beatles made recently, of us recording and working, somebody's editing that at this moment. It's 68 hours, and they're trying to get it down to 5 for several TV specials. Or then, it might be a movie. I don't know.

Yorke, Ritchie. "Boosting Peace: John and Yoko in Canada" Rolling Stone June 28, 1969

Yorke: What is happening with Beatles records?

Lennon: We've finished the next album. It was like a rehearsal. But we decided to put the rehearsal out. Only one track almost finished and that was "Get Back." The others are in various stages of completion.

One day we just decided to stop right then or we'd be on it for another four months. So we stopped. It will be called Get Back, Don't Let Me Down and 12 Others. Remember the cover on the "Please Please Me" album. Well, we went back to the same photographic studios and had our pictures taken in the same positions, except that we look as we do now. It looks great.

So we've got that album finished, and another half done. Oh, and we have a new single, "The Ballad of John and Yoko," and "Old Brown Shoe," one of George's songs.

"Beatles 'Get Back' LP Due in July" Rolling Stone July 12, 1969

The Beatles' next album, called Get Back, Don't Let Me Down, and 12 Other Titles, is scheduled for release next month.

The Beatles, now reunited in London, are considering whether to make a promotional film for TV for the album.

"Beatles Get Back, Track by Track" Rolling Stone September 20, 1969

LONDON—The Beatles; Get Back album, now set for a December release in the U.S., is a model of simplicity—in concept, music, philosophy, and politics.

Regression appears to be one main theme for this album, beginning with the cover photo. The Beatles are posed at the offices of EMI records in Manchester Square, grouped over the staircase, just as they were for their first English album, Please Please Me, in 1963. The photograph is by Angus McBean, who took the original cover photo six years ago.

Interview with Johnny Moran on BBC's The Beatles Today, broadcast March 15, 1970, recorded March 11, 1970. (Howlett, Kevin. The Beatles: The BBC Archives 1962–1970 (2013) p. 306)

Moran: What's the Beatles' film gonna be about?

George Harrison: The Beatle film is just pure documentary of us slogging, working...

Moran: On Let It Be?

Harrison: Yeah, on the album. And the hold-up of the album is because we want this film to go out simultaneously. Originally, we were rehearsing. We were rehearsing the songs that we were planning to do in some big TV spectacular. We had a vague idea of doing a TV show, but we didn't really know the formula of how to do it. Because we didn't really want to do... obviously we didn't want to do a Magical Mystery Tour, having already been on that... trip. And we didn't want to do sort of the Tom Jones spectacular. And we're always trying to do something slightly different.

We were down in Apple rehearsing and we decided to film it on 16 millimeter to maybe use as a documentary. The record happened to be the rehearsal of the record and the film happened to be, rather than a TV show, it happened to be a film of us making the record. Though it's very rough in a way, it's nice. You can see 'our warts'. You can hear us talking, you can hear us playing out of tune and you can hear us coughing and all those things. It's the complete opposite to the clinical approach that we've normally had—you know, studio recording: the balance, everything's just right and there's silence in between each track. This is really not like that.

In fact, some people may be put off at hearing it, it sounds maybe... my attitude when we decided to use it as an album was that people may think we're not trying, you know, because it's really like a demo record. But, on the other hand, it's worth so much more than those records, because you actually get to know us a bit. It's a bit more human than the average studio recording. But there's nice songs; really good songs on it. 'Let It Be', of course, and 'Don't Let Me Down'—I think they're the two that you people will have heard of.

John Tobler, Stuart Grundy. The Record Producers (1982) BBC Books

Glyn Johns: The extraordinary thing is that they proved up to that point that they were the masters of the 'produced record', yet the stuff I did with them wasn't 'produced' in that way at all, it was all recorded live in rehearsal, in a room, in a rehearsal situation. And for that, I think it has great value, because for the album, I originally put together an album of rehearsals, with chat and jokes and bits of general conversation in between the tracks, which was the way I wanted Let It Be to be — breakdowns, false starts.

One night, I mixed a bunch of stuff that they didn't even know I'd recorded half the time — I just whacked the recorder on for a lot of stuff that they did, and gave them an acetate the following morning of what I'd done, as a rough idea of what an album could be like, released as it was.

They came back and said they didn't like it, or each individual bloke came in and said he didn't like it, and that was the end of that. A period of time went by and I went to America to work with Steve Miller, and when I came back, I got a call from John and Paul asking me to meet them at EMI, which I duly did. They pointed to a big pile of tapes in the corner, and said, "Remember that idea you had about putting together an album?" and I said, "Yes". They said, "Well, there are the tapes — go and do it". So I was absolutely petrified — you can imagine. I was actually being asked to put together a Beatle album on my own. So I did — I went off and locked myself away for a week or so and pieced an album together out of these rehearsed tapes, which they then all liked, really liked. This was some months after the thing had actually been recorded, and we'd actually started work on Abbey Road about the same time.

Break-up of the Beatles

Smith, Alan. "Beatles Are on the Brink of Splitting" New Musical Express December 13, 1969

John Lennon: The Beatles split up? It just depends how much we all want to record together. I don’t know if I want to record together again. I go off and on it. I really do.

Interview with David Wigg on BBC's Scene and Heard, broadcast February 15, 1970, recorded February 6. (Howlett, Kevin. The Beatles: The BBC Archives 1962–1970 (2013) p. 303-309)

Wigg: What would you like to see happen for the Beatles in the future?

Lennon: All I want for the Beatles is their individual happiness, and whether that's in a collective form or not remains to be seen.

Wigg: Are you in fact going your own way with Yoko these days? Because that is the impression one has.

Lennon: Well, each Beatle is doing his own thing at the moment and it's like... it could be a rebirth or a death and we'll see what it is.

Wigg: When do you in fact plan to record with the Beatles again?

Lennon: At the moment there is no plan whatsoever. And maybe if one of us starts it off the others will come around and make an album.

Wigg: The main reason I ask you that John is that there have been so many rumours going around about the Beatles having had rows and there being friction and that you're not talking to Paul and Paul's not talking to you.

(UPI) "McCartney's solo efforts may bring an end to Beatles as recording group" The Bulletin April 7, 1970: 9

"Paul McCartney announced today he is undertaking a number of independent projects which close friends said means the virtual end of the Beatles as a group. 'It is highly unlikely they will ever even record together again,' said one well informed source."

Agora Ballroom

Scott, Jane. "Agora marks sweet 16th" The Plain Dealer July 9, 1982: Friday 46

It's common knowledge that the club will move—Cleveland State University needs the space—but where is still a mystery. The old Allen Theater is still a rumor, said owner Hank LoConti. "We're still looking, but it will definitely be downtown."

"CSU to buy Agora land for new athletic facilities" The Plain Dealer September 27, 1984: 21-A

Cleveland State University trustees yesterday voted to buy the building housing the Cleveland Agora and other properties.

Henry LoConti, who operates the Agora, said he leased the building from MLJ Corp. and has three years left on his contract. He said he did not know about the sale but he had been looking for another location.

"Fire damages Agora restaurant, ballroom" The Plain Dealer October 25, 1984: 2-B

A member of the Cleveland State University police auto theft spyglass detail on the 20th floor of a CSU building noticed smoke rising from the Agora on E. 24th St. last night and discovered a fire that caused an estimated $30,000 damage to the restaurant.

He [LoConti] estimated the Agora would be closed for at least two weeks.

"Agora reopening still uncertain" The Plain Dealer October 26, 1984: 17-A

No decision on whether to reopen the Agora will be made for two to three weeks, Agora Inc. President Henry LoConti said yesterday.

In the past the club would have been put back in operation as quickly as possible, LoConti said. But the club does not own the building and has 2 1/2 years on its lease. LoConti said rumors that Cleveland State University has bought the property for expansion were not true but added CSU was negotiating for the property. Whether the Agora reopens depends on what the property owner decides to do, LoConti said.

Scott, Jane. "Agora to reopen in newly renovated WHK Auditorium" The Plain Dealer May 3, 1985: 40

"But it's time to go on," said LoConti. "We knew that Cleveland State wanted to expand there anyway."

Paul is dead

"False Rumour" The Beatles Book February 1967

"The 7th January was very icy, with dangerous conditions on the M1 motorway, linking London with the Midlands, and towards the end of the day, a rumour swept London that Paul McCartney had been killed in a car crash on the M1. But, of course, there was absolutely no truth in it at all, as the Beatles' press officer found out when he telephoned Paul's St. John's Wood home and was answered by Paul himself who had been at home all day with his black Mini Cooper safely locked up in the garage."

Aldridge, Alan. "Paul McCartney's Guide to the Beatles' Songbook", Los Angeles Times 14 January 1968: B19

Lost friends have been trying to decipher what the Beatles are saying ever since the quartet vaulted the saccharine innocence of "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Love Me Do" and raced into numbers about yesterdays, taxmen, spinsters, priests, nowhere men, submarines and meter maids. Alarms were raised that the fresh intelligence of the group might mask a streak of cunning. After all, if Beatle John Lennon could write two clever pun-heavy books, why might he not create layers of insidious meanings underpinning outwardly innocent lyrics? The group's attitude toward social conventions has never been reverential and they might delight in slipping a few nasties into family rooms as an extension of their general nose-thumbing philosophy.

Harper, Tim. "Is Beatle Paul McCartney Dead?" Drake Times-Delphic September 17, 1969 (link)

Ulvilden, Barb. "Something Wrong With McCartney? Clues Hint At Possible Death" The Northern Star September 23, 1969 (link)

Newman, Bill. "From The Cage" Ohio Wesleyan Transcript October 8, 1969: 5 (link)

Hear ye, hear ye! Fresh off the grapevine—Paul McCartney is dead. This seems to be the latest rap circulating the local taverns and coteries.

(UPI) "McCartney Contradicts Rumors of His Demise" October 11, 1969 (link)

"Recently we've been getting a flood of enquiries asking about reports that Paul is dead," Taylor said. "We've been getting questions like that for years, of course, but in the past few days we've been getting them at the office and home night and day."

Taylor said some of the callers said they had received reports claiming McCartney has been dead for two years. "According to these reports, we were accused of using a stand-in and ridiculous things like that," Taylor said. Taylor said most of the queries from the United States seemed to come from the region of Ohio.

Labour, Fred. "McCartney Dead: New Evidence Brought to Light" The Michigan Daily October 14, 1969

Morris, Julie. "Beatle Mystery: Is Paul Dead?" Detroit Free Press October 16, 1969

(UPI) "Reports of Beatle's Death Exaggerated" The Cincinnati Enquirer October 21, 1969: 1

Paul McCartney is alive, well and living in London, a spokeman for the Beatles said Monday.

The reports were traced back to John Summer, a student at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.

Summer said he had discovered portents symbolizing McCartney's death from the jackets of Beatle albums released over the last two years.

The first, he said, appeared on the 1967 album of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" which bore a wreath inscribed "Paul." A hand appearing over the head of McCartney, according to Summer, repesented a Welsh symbol for death.

Summer marshalled other elements of purported "evidence" which he says point either to McCartney's death or a Beatle "hoax."

(UPI) "Beatles' Paul Alive and Well, Despite Thesis" Marysville Journal-Tribune October 21, 1969: 1

Paul McCartney is alive and well, but no one wants to believe it.

The Beatles office said Monday it has been deluged with rumors that McCartney is dead, some of which were traced back to a thesis by an Ohio Wesleyan University student who believes either McCartney has died or the Beatles are playing a "hoax."

John Summer said he had discovered recurrent use of symbols denoting death and refering to McCartney on Beatles album jackets and lyrics in their songs. He said they began appearing in 1967.

Summer said he had done considerable research and found various symbols of death. The first, he said, appeared on the 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" which bore a wreath inscribed "Paul." McCartney is shown wearing a black carnation in the Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" album. Several times Summer said a hand appeared over the head of Paul with the palm turned outward, a Welsh symbol for death.

Phillips, B.J. "McCartney 'Death' Rumors" The Washington Post October 22, 1969: B1 (link)

The latest rumor apparently began with a thesis written by John Summer, a student at Ohio Wesleyan University. It was expanded in the Oct. 14 edition of The Daily, the University of Michigan newspaper.

Tschappat, Michael. "Is Paul Dead?" The Lantern October 22, 1969: 5

John Summer has changed his tune about Paul McCartney.

Summer, a student at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, started the rumor that McCartney of the Beatles has been dead since 1966.

A spokesman for the Beatles in London told United Press International Monday that Paul is alive and well and that Summer's rumor is incorrect.

Summer is only half convinced.

"I'm pretty sure he is alive" he said. "I don't take much stock in the fact that the rumor has been disclaimed though. Rumors always are.

Summer stated that he believes if Paul is not dead, he has been the victim of a mock death engineered by John Lennon.

Now the Beatles are working on Paul's "resurrection through their music and John's little games" Summer claimed.

Summers said his suspicions of Paul's death grew as he noticed numerous "hints" on the Beatles album covers and in their music.

Although he never put anything in print, Summers made known his beliefs and the story spread quickly to Detroit and finally to London.

The explanation given for Paul's continued appearance with the Beatles was that he had been replaced by the winner of a Paul McCartney look-a-like contest Summer said.

The winner, a William Campbell, underwent plastic surgery to make him look even more like Paul, according to some rumors.

Summer said one his reasons for launching the rumor was to find out the truth about Paul.

"They (the Beatles) would have to make some sort of formal statement soon," he said. "We'd been pressuring for this thing."

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was the first album that contained hints of Paul's death.

A later album, "Magical Mystery Tour," showed Paul wearing a black carnation while the other Beatles wore red ones.

Other photographs in the album show Paul dressed as a black walrus (a symbol of death according to Summer). Paul was photographed with his back to the camera while the remaining three Beatles faced forward in a group picture of the Beatles on the back of the "Sgt. Pepper" album jacket.

Summer said that such clues are numerous on all the Beatles albums since "Sgt. Pepper."

Fischer, Neil. "Drake Sophomore Wanted Alive in 'Death' of Beatle" The Des Moines Register October 23, 1969

A Drake University sophomore is wanted live in the alleged death of Beatle Paul McCartney.

Tim Harper, 19, of Peoria, Ill., became an overnight celebrity after he compiled rumors of McCartney's demise in an issue of Drake's student newspaper.

The story which kicked off Harper's career as a celebrity — probably the first published account of the common campus rumor that McCartney might be dead — appeared in the Drake Times-Delphic on Sept. 17.

Harper, who doesn't even own a Beatles album, said he merely assembled clues from Beatles lyrics and photos on the jackets of their records.

Keegan, Victor. "Reverse charge dialogue with a Beatle by proxy" The Guardian October 23, 1969 (link)

Scott, Jane. "Paul's death 'exaggerated'" The Plain Dealer October 24, 1969: 18

And over at Ohio Wesleyan you'll find John Summer, 21, a one-man Sherlock Holmes, Hercules Poirot and Dick Tracy. "Five of us think that Paul was being singled out. We've been studying the possibilities for two years," said John.

John was in England in 1967 when a contest was held for Paul's look-alike, but the winner never announced.

(AP) "Paul McCartney Arrives In Scotland In Good Health" Freeport Journal-Standard October 24, 1969

Worried Beatle fans take note: Paul McCartney is alive and appears in good health.

McCartney, his wife and their two children were seen and photographed at Glasgow Airport when they arrived from London Wednesday night. (Oct. 22)

The millionaire pop music star told newsmen he and his wife were going for a two-week holiday on a farm near Campbelltown.

Haupricht, Lani. "Do Clues to Beatle's Mystery Death Lie Buried in Lyrics?" The Miami Student October 31, 1969: 1

The "Paul McCartney is dead" rumor has been circulating for some months, but no one seems to know how it originated.

"I heard rumors of McCartney's death at the beginning of the school year, but I ignored them until I listened closely to 'I Am the Walrus,'" explained one student.

Marks, J. "No, No, No, Paul McCartney Is Not Dead" New York Times November 2, 1969: D13

When I was informed that Paul was "dead," I was not very surprised because I had heard the story before. In fact, I first heard about poor Paul's demise in the fall of 1967 when Linda and I were in London.

Debasker, Darwin. "Wither Paul?" The Post-Crescent November 2, 1969:

The rumor began two years ago, but became epidemic only recently. For the past several months, I've kept my mouth shut about the situation, but the stupidity of recent events became more than the Debasker restraint — not known for its depth, anyway — could bear.

Using more imagination than even active-minded young might be expected to display, an elaborate — if silly — puzzle was "solved" from "clues" contained in the covers of two Beatle albums — "Sgt. Pepper" and "Magical Mystery Tour." Both had graphic art covers which, it was said, provided proof positive that Paul was GOING to die.

At any rate, the impending death of Paul rumors provided a diversion the early part of this year. They were so silly as to be passed off, but to the "believers," there was no dissuading. So the summer was filled with excited adolescents finding ominous forebodings in black roses, bare feet, backs to camera, telephone numbers, designs in flowers and a host of others.

Neary, John. "The Magical McCartney Mystery" Life November 7, 1969: 103–106 (link)

Woolf, Gwen. "Is Paul McCartney Still With Us?" The Free Lance-Star November 22, 1969: 8-A

Speculation during the past two years reached a high pitch here in recent months, according to Bill Ross at Ross' Record & Music Center, who says he never believed the death rumor.

Debasker, Darwin. "Paul McCartney lives, part 2" The Post-Crescent November 23, 1969

Last time I promised my ideas on how the rumor got started. As mentioned earlier, there have been rumors about Paul since the Beatles struck it rich. First it was that Paul and Jane Asher were secretly married. Then, the elaborate set of "clues" alleged to prove Paul's impending death — probably soon. Finally, these same clues were used to prove Paul was dead.

Burks, John. "A Pile of Money On Paul's 'Death'" Rolling Stone November 29, 1969: 10

The rumor has been around for a long time. As early as last fall, a young man with a number of clues (that are now part of the rumor) had come by Rolling Stone to pronounce Paul dead.

Documented clues prior to October 12, 1969

Album covers:

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The front cover depicts a grave with a left-handed guitar placed on top. There is a hand over McCartney's head, a symbol of death. (Harper, Ulviden, Newman)
On the back cover McCartney has his back turned while the others are facing forwards and Harrison is pointing to the lyric "Wednesday morning at five o'clock," the supposed time of death. (Harper, Ulviden, Newman)

Magical Mystery Tour

One of the Beatles is dressed in black as a walrus, a symbol of death. (Harper, Ulviden, Newman)
In the booklet, McCartney wears a black carnation while the other Beatles have red carnations. (Newman)

Abbey Road

McCartney is barefoot and out of step with the others. (Newman)

Songs:

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" – The song introduces "Billy Shears," supposedly the name of the look-alike that took McCartney's place after his death. (Newman)
"A Day in the Life" – Lennon sings "he blew his mind out in a car." (Harper, Newman)
"Glass Onion" – Lennon sings "here's another clue for you all, the walrus was Paul" (Harper, Ulviden, Newman)
"Revolution 9" – When played backwards, the words "turn me on dead man" are heard. (Harper, Ulviden, Newman)

Sources:

Harper, Tim. "Is Beatle Paul McCartney Dead?" Drake Times-Delphic September 17, 1969: 1 (link)
Ulvilden, Barb. "Something Wrong With McCartney? Clues Hint At Possible Death" The Northern Star September 23, 1969 (link)
Newman, Bill. "From The Cage" Ohio Wesleyan Transcript October 8, 1969: 5 (link)

Clues per John Summer, Ohio Wesleyan University

Album covers:

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

The front cover depicts a grave with a left-handed guitar placed on top. There is a hand over McCartney's head, a sign of death.
On the back cover McCartney has his back turned while the others are facing forwards and Harrison is pointing to the lyric "Wednesday morning at five o'clock," the supposed time of death.
Inside the gatefold cover, McCartney wears a black patch with the letters "O.P.D." (officially pronounced dead).

Magical Mystery Tour:

McCartney is dressed in black as a walrus, a symbol of death.
In the booklet, McCartney wears a black carnation while the other Beatles have red carnations.
In another photo, McCartney has flags over his head, a sign of death, and the words "I was" in front.

Abbey Road

The album cover depicts a funeral procession with McCartney barefoot, out of step with the others and a cigarette in his right hand.
The license plate on a car reads "28IF" suggesting McCartney would have been 28 years old if he had lived.

Songs:

"Glass Onion" – Lennon sings "here's another clue for you all, the walrus was Paul"
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" – The song introduces "Billy Shears," supposedly the name of the look-alike that took McCartney's place after his death.
"A Day in the Life" – Lennon sings "he blew his mind out in a car."

Source:

Scott, Jane. "Paul's death 'exaggerated'" The Plain Dealer October 24, 1969: 18

Ric Ocasek

Richard Otcasek, Maple Heights High School, Maple Heights, Ohio, Class of '63 [1]

Pareles, Jon. "Power Steering" Rolling Stone January 25, 1979: 59

Ocasek, who claims to be twenty-nine but looks a few years older, says he was in his early twenties when he met Cars bassist and vocalist Benjamin Orr (formerly Orzechowski) in the Columbus, Ohio office of a now-defunct booking agency where they both worked.

Ocasek was born into a Polish catholic family in Baltimore, the son of a computer systems analyst, and attended a parochial elementary school.

When he was sixteen, his father was transferred in his job and the family moved to Cleveland.

Scott, Jane. "Cars are roaring back; Blossom is a sell-out" The Plain Dealer August 7, 1984: 5-C

"I met Ric years ago in Cleveland, about '68 or '69," said Orr. The pair met again in Columbus when they were booking bands and formed a booking agency.

Scott, Jane. "In the Driver's Seat" The Plain Dealer November 14, 1986: Friday 42

"He called me one day after hearing me on 'Upbeat,'" said Orr, "and we started writing songs together."

Scott, Jane. "Cars racing into Coliseum" The Plain Dealer November 20, 1987: Friday 47

Ocasek called Orr after watching the Grasshoppers' final 13-week house band gig on Herman Spero's WEWS Channel 5 "Upbeat Show." "And after that we began writing songs together," Orr recalled.

Christensen, Thor. "Cars tour finally in gear" The Milwaukee Journal November 27, 1987: 2D

Of course, Ocasek likes to leave fans wondering. He doesn't give out his exact age (he's in his early 40s)... Prod him and he admits he can be downright deceitful. "I've told many a lie in interviews," he says matter-of-factly. "They just come off the top of my head."

Cleveland Indians

1897

"Sockalexis Signed" The Plain Dealer March 10, 1897: 3

Manager Tebeau of the Cleveland team went to South Bend, Ind., yesterday on a little scouting expedition, and the result was that he signed Sockaelxis, the player whom several teams have been trying to land for some time. Tebeau first noticed Sockalexis last season, when he was on the Holy Cross college team at Worcester, Mass. An effort was made to secure him, but it failed at the time, and a close watch has been kept on him ever since. Burkett was recently instructed to sign the player, but failed to get at him, and Tebeau finally located him.

Sockalexis is said to be a fine outfielder and a wonderful batter. He is a full blooded Indian.

"They're Indians Now" Sporting Life March 22, 1897: 3

There is no feature of the signing of Sockalexis more gratifying than the fact that his presence on the team will result in relegating to obscurity the title of "Spiders," by which the team has been handicapped for several season, to give place to the more significant name "Indians."

1903

"Napoleons. That's the New Official Nickname of the Former Bronchos — Many Votes Cast" Cleveland Press April 6, 1903: 8

Farewell, Bronchos, and welcome, Napoleons!

Almost 5,000 votes were cast in "The Press" contest to decide what should be the official sobriquet of the Cleveland team, this year, and "Napoleons" has won by a safe majority from "Buckeyes" and "Emperors," names that had a close run for second honors. "Metropolitans," "Giants" and "Cyclops" were nicknames that found considerable favor, but the fans sought to honor the greatest living ball player, and succeeded in so doing by casting a plurality of the votes for "Napoleons."

1915

"Fans Will Help Select New Nickname for Naps" Cleveland Press January 7, 1915: 14

When the Naps take the field in the first game of the coming season they'll no longer be the Naps.

Now that Napoleon Lajoie, after whom the club was named, has been sold to the Athletics, the team is to have a new nickname.

President C. W. Somers of the Naps has appointed the sporting editor of the The Press a member of a committee of sport writers to select a new nickname for the team.

The sporting editor wants the fans to help name the team. If you have in mind what you think a suitable nickname for the club, Mr. Fan or Miss Faness, send it to the nickname editor of The Press.

Nicknames suggested will be submitted to the committee.

"Baseball writers select 'Indians' as the best name to apply to the former Naps" The Plain Dealer January 17, 1915: 15

With the going of Nap Lajoie to the Athletics, a new name had to be selected for the Cleveland American league club. President Somers invited the Cleveland baseball writers to make the selection. The title of Indians was their choice, it having been one of the names applied to the old National league club of Cleveland many years ago.

The nickname, however, is but temporarily bestowed, as the club may so conduct itself during the present season as to earn some other cognomen which may be more appropriate. The choice of a name that would be significant just now was rather difficult with the club itself anchored in last place.

While picking a name for the Cleveland A. L. team, the committee also agreed that the Cleveland A. A. team owned too many names, and that while they were at it, it might be well to agree on just one name for the erstwhile Bearcats. Consequently, the other old nickname of the Cleveland National leaguers was adopted and henceforth all the local papers will call the A. A. club the Spiders.

So there you are—Indians and Spiders.

"Looking Backwards" The Plain Dealer January 18, 1915: 8

Many years ago there was an Indian named Sockalexis who was the star player of the Cleveland baseball club. As a batter, fielder and base runner he was a marvel. Sockalexis so far outshone his teammates that he naturally came to be regarded as the whole team. The "fans" throughout the country began to call the Clevelanders the "Indians." It was an honorable name, and while it stuck the team made an excellent record.

It has now been decided to revive this name. The Clevelands of 1915 will be the "Indians." There will be no real red Indians on the roster, but the name will recall fine traditions. It is looking backward to a time when Cleveland had one of the most popular teams of the United States. It also serves to revive the memory of a single great player who has been gathered to his fathers in the happy hunting grounds of the Abenakis.

"Indians to follow example of Braves" The Plain Dealer February 28, 1915: 1C

Following the example of the Boston Braves, the management of the Cleveland Indians intends to have an Indian head on the left sleeve of each of the suits of the Cleveland American league club players. In this way, the officials hope to keep the Indians reminded of what the Braves did last year, jumping from last place to first.

The Beatles discography

Valley Girl soundtrack LP

Valley Girl LP Epic Records FE 38673 (April 1983)

Side 1

"School Is In" – Josie Cotton
"Johnny, Are You Queer?" – Josie Cotton
"Girls Like Me" – Bonnie Hayes with the Wild Combo
"He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" – Bananarama and Fun Boy Three
"Town Called Malice" – The Jam

Side 2

"Time to Win" – Gary Myrick
"Rock the Casbah" – The Clash
"A Million Miles Away" – The Plimsouls
"She Talks in Stereo – Gary Myrick and the Figures
"Angst in My Pants" – Sparks

Valley Girl LP Roadshow Records RS-101 (1983)

Side 1

"Girls Like Me" – Bonnie Hayes with the Wild Combo
"Angst in My Pants" – Sparks
"School Is In" – Josie Cotton

Side 2

"Everywhere at Once" – The Plimsouls
"Johnny, Are You Queer?" – Josie Cotton
"Shelley's Boyfriend" – Bonnie Hayes with the Wild Combo

Complete soundtrack, in order of appearance:

"Girls Like Me" – Bonnie Hayes with the Wild Combo
"Angst in My Pants" – Sparks
"Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime)" – The Flirts
"The Fanatic" – Felony
"Eyes of a Stranger" – Payolas
"Electric Avenue" – Eddy Grant
"Shelley's Boyfriend" – Bonnie Hayes with the Wild Combo
"Who Can It Be Now?" – Men at Work
"Love My Way" – Psychedelic Furs
"I La La La Love You" – Pat Travers
"Everywhere at Once" – The Plimsouls
"A Million Miles Away" – The Plimsouls
"Time to Win" – Gary Myrick
"She Talks in Stereo" – Gary Myrick and the Figures
"I Melt with You" – Modern English
"Girls Like Me" – Bonnie Hayes with the Wild Combo (repeat)
"Eaten By the Monster of Love" – Sparks
"Oldest Story in the World" – The Plimsouls
"A Million Miles Away" – The Plimsouls (repeat)
"Eyes of a Stranger" – Payolas (repeat)
"School Is In" – Josie Cotton
"Johnny, Are You Queer?" – Josie Cotton
"He Could Be the One" – Josie Cotton
"I Melt with You" – Modern English (repeat)

Songs cut from the film:

"Town Called Malice" – The Jam
"Rock the Casbah" – The Clash
"He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" – Bananarama and Fun Boy Three
"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" – Culture Club

The Beatles' 1964 US tour

"Screaming Beatle Fans Stop Show 10 Minutes" The Plain Dealer September 16, 1964: 1

It is not enough to call last night's Beatle concert madness or hysteria. Rather, it came close to mob violence. Some 11,000 young people, most of them girls, filled the air with shrieks for their mop-haired idols. Crowding into Public Hall, they surged toward the stage in a spontaneous banzai charge that caused police officials to stop the show for 10 minutes.

In all, it was an incredible night, and it is doubtful whether this city is up to taking many more of them. Especially when one considers the wild day that preceded it.

There were moments of high drama—unscheduled. And there were times when the children honestly tried to behave themselves. And there was one frightening second where one of the Beatles, John Lennon, almost single-handedly started a riot.

When the crowd was almost out of hand, Deputy Inspector Carl C. Bare strode to stage center and stopped the music. "This show is over!" he hollered into one of the microphones. The three guitar-strumming Beatles were still playing. Inspector Bare turned and walked toward Lennon, who did a little dance and made a face. This precipitated a hurricane of boos for Bare.

"Beatle Music Subtle... Like a Barrage" The Plain Dealer September 16, 1964: 24

There may have been a Beatles concert in Public Hall Tuesday night. I'm not sure. All I could hear was the audience.

The Liverpool foursome sang and played with all the subtlety of an artillery bombardment, but they were no match for their temporarily insane fans who sang a continuous fortissimo chorus in 10,000 different keys throughout the evening.

In 20-plus years of concertgoing, this music critic has often been moved, amused, charmed and exalted by what he heard. But this was the first time he ever was terrified. Not to give a false impression: it WAS occasionally possible amid the din to hear noises from the stage. To the eye the Beatles appeared to be producing these sounds with drums, guitars and lungs. But my musical (and common) sense tells me it wasn't so. It sounded more like a battery of air raid sirens, cherry bombs and starving orangutans.

The effect on this listener was overwhelming: fractured eardrums and a headache.

"Beatlemania Lures 2 Runaways to London" The Plain Dealer September 19, 1964: 1

Beatlemania has led two 16-year-old Cleveland Heights girls on a junket to London, police said yesterday.

Cleveland Heights Police Chief Edward F. Gaffney reported that the two flew to New York and took a Trans World Airlines plane from there to London, arriving Thursday. Chief Gaffney said he believed the two girls were headed for the Soho section of London. He has asked London police to search for them.

"Beatles Runaways Must Knock the Rock" The Plain Dealer November 3, 1964: 1

The Beatles runaways—two 16-year-old Cleveland Heights girls who followed their mop-haired idols to England—received two pieces of bad news yesterday.

First, Juvenile Court Judge Angelo J. Gagliardo adjudged both girls delinquent following a day-long hearing. Then Judge Gagliardo forbade the girls to attend any concerts of groups such as the Beatles while they are under the jurisdiction of Juvenile Court.

In ruling the girls delinquent, Judge Gagliardo took occasion to level sharp criticism at the promoters of rock 'n' roll concerts and parents who allow their children to attend such concerts without adult supervision. "The parents of Cleveland should hang their heads in shame that they allow their children to attend such performance unsupervised," he said.

"It is like feeding narcotics to teen-agers. It is very dangerous. It could very well lead to riots."

"The promoters are morally if not legally responsible for the behavior that results from these shows. It is a matter of wanting to make a dollar at the expense of teen-agers," Judge Gagliardo said.

"Cleveland to Bar Beatles and the Like in Public Hall" New York Times November 4, 1964:46

Cleveland's Public Hall or other city facilities no longer will be available to the Beatles or similar groups, Mayor Ralph S. Locher said today.

"Such groups do not add to the community's culture or entertainment," Mr Locher said. "These groups still will be able to appear here at private halls but we do not feel we should invite this problem by making public facilities available."

The ban goes into effect after tonight's Public Hall appearance of the Rolling Stones, another group of shaggy-haired English singers.

"Stones Fan Falls... Off Balcony" The Plain Dealer November 4, 1964: 26

A 17-year-old girl fell 20 feet from a balcony at Public Hall at the Rolling Stones concert last night but escaped with minor injuries.

Pandemonium erupted at the concert 45 seconds after the five shaggy-haired Englishmen appeared on stage.

Except for the excitement the show was a flop. Scarcely more than 1,000 were in the audience. Girls, aged 12 to 16, merely filled the first four rows of seats and odd pockets of seats in the balcony.

Before the show, the Rolling Stones were furious at the tiny crowd. WHK program director Scott Burton blamed Mayor Ralph S. Locher and Juvenile Court Judge Angelo J. Gagliano for their comments. "Many kids have seats and weren't allowed to come," Burton said.

The Sgt. Pepper 26th of May Conspiracy: The Truth Revealed

Sgt. Pepper was in fact released on June 1, 1967 but for reasons that could not be disclosed at the time, Brian Epstein had to make it appear that the album had been released earlier. The significance of May 26 is that it is Billy Shears' (Paul McCartney's look-alike) birthday and after the album was finished he started getting a big head and threatened to expose the whole "Paul is dead" conspiracy unless they changed the release date to his birthday. Since only Sir John Lockwood had the authority to make such a change, and he was still in the dark about Paul's death, Epstein called in favors with several London record stores to falsely report to the music papers that they were selling enough copies of Sgt. Pepper during the last week of May to get it on the charts. The charts were not actually doctored as many reliable sources state since the music papers, such as New Musical Express and Disc, thought the sales reported by retailers were authentic.

After the album was released, a young student who only identified himself as "Lewisohn" began phoning Epstein's office asking for information about release dates and other studio documentation, saying he was writing a school essay about the Beatles' discography. Shortly before his suspicious death from an "accidental" overdose, Epstein confided in a friend that he couldn't understand how this "kid" seemed to know every detail about the Beatles and that he was afraid MI5 was "closing in."

Meanwhile, Shears' out-of-control ego and bossiness was becoming a problem. He got on George's nerves so much, even telling him how to tie his shoes, that George walked out of a recording session saying "see you 'round dubs," George's sarcastic nickname for Paul's "double" (Harrison later used the alias "Tyrone Shoelaces" on the Cheech & Chong hit "Basketball Jones", a dig at Paul who he always thought was a dithering pothead). The Beatles desperately tried to deflate Shears ego by teasing him about his one weakness—he was a terrible driver. Lennon, with his rapier wit, would mercilessly bully Shears saying things like "you're not a very good driver... you fucking fag jew!" Shears was particularly over-matched when trying to operate Paul's Aston Martin sports car, prompting the Beatles to tease him with inside jokes about getting killed in a car crash in the lyrics of their songs.

Shears' revenge was to have an affair with John's girlfriend but while on a motoring trip with her in Scotland his bad driving habits finally caught up with him and he crashed their car into a roadside fruit stand, getting decapitated by an apple peeler. Hearing the news John rushed to the scene, removed Shears from the car and took his place behind the wheel so it would appear he had been driving and no one would find out about the affair. He then stuffed the girlfriend into a large white bag where he could "keep an eye on her," taking her with him everywhere he went from then on—even into the men's room.

Allen Klein quickly telephoned John to inform him that he was in the process of extorting... er negotiating a big payday from Capitol Records and they needed to keep the ruse going a little longer. Klein also attempted to console John, saying "he was a fucking asshole anyway."

Now needing a quick replacement for Shears, John found a Scotsman named William Campbell who was the winner of a local Paul McCartney look-alike contest. In his haste to find someone to fill in, John made no attempt to learn much about Campbell other than he looked and sounded just like Paul. Other than that Campbell had no discernible musical talent, not to mention a chronic case of athlete's foot that caused him to go barefoot much of the time. George Martin was called on to complete Shears' pompous "symphony" on side two of the new album and Campbell dutifully signed the new Capitol contract which Shears had been refusing to sign.

What Lennon also didn't know, and wouldn't find out until 11 years later, was that Campbell was an undercover CIA agent, unlike Shears who was MI5. Campbell's mission, authorized by Richard Nixon himself, was to infiltrate the music world and destroy rock 'n' roll from the inside. His first job was break up the Beatles, which he did by leaking a memo (written by himself) to reporters just days before the release of a solo album. Next up was the formation of a new group, including a piano player with no prior musical experience, and the recording of an album that was meant to be "deliberately bad."

Just as Lennon, as well as some music critics, began to suggest publicly that this was not the same guy who made Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road, comments which could blow his cover and threaten mission integrity, a fortuitous event occurred while Campbell was in Lagos, Nigeria recording his next album. With the album all but finished, Campbell was robbed by some thugs who made off with all of the tapes. Not wanting to miss the Christmas shopping season, Campbell quickly came up with a plan to steal some recordings by a local musician named Fela Kuti and overdub his own voice onto the tapes and turn it into the record company as his new album. As Kuti was an accomplished artist, the album was lauded by the critics and greatly raised expectations for future McCartney albums.

Campbell decided that to maintain his cover, from now on he would have to make albums that, while unremarkable, were at least passable. Having gained some experience at recording, making somewhat lame, mediocre music was easy and unchallenging for Campbell, so much so that he would often make albums while on vacation. The added benefit was that this type of fluff was just what the recording industry and its retarded cousin, the radio industry, love to turn into No. 1 records, making a pile of money for Campbell in the process.

By the mid '70s, after failing to get Lennon deported, Nixon leaned on Campbell to use his new jet-setting lifestyle to get back on mission. The first order of business was an attempt to bankrupt the major record companies by hoodwinking them into making multi-million dollar recording contracts, then slowly drain their finances by releasing successively lower selling albums each year. In addition to this, Campbell began handing out tainted "Macca" guitar picks to his rock star friends at night clubs and backstage parties. The picks were coated with a mind-altering drug developed by the CIA that stifled creativity and left the brain open to banal influences such as disco music.

The government's plan to destroy rock 'n' roll worked well, but not well enough, so a parallel operation was undertaken to create a "backlash" against shitty music with an even shittier form of music, called punk rock. The sudden rise of punk rock prompted the KGB, which saw an opportunity to infiltrate western youth culture, to plant its own undercover agent in the punk movement. Unfortunately, he went rogue, releasing double and triple albums with a marginally popular band and hardly even trying to conceal that he was a Red. After re-education, with a cover story that their man had been wandering around Paris, the band released a commercial single disc album but the KGB abandoned the program after one of the new tracks became a disco hit.

Meanwhile, the CIA was having its own problems with Campbell who wanted to retire and become a sheep farmer in his native Scotland, and was threatening to blow his cover. Since the CIA would never allow that to happen, Campbell devised a plan to discredit himself and keep him out of the recording studio for years. He announced that he would tour Japan, a country known for its strict drug laws, and as soon as he got off the plane he went straight to the first policeman he saw and opened a large suitcase filled with marijuana. The plan seemed to work and normally he would have spent the next few years in jail but when his fingerprints didn't match the real McCartney's, the prosecutor dropped the case due to lack of evidence and he was sent home. Campbell's next plan was to commit "artistic suicide" by releasing an album that consisted of recordings of his children messing around with a synthesizer, onto which he over-dubbed vocals in what he called his "silly voice."

Realizing their operative had now successfully squandered all of the credibility they had enriched him with by planting him in the Beatles, the CIA made one last effort to restore his standing in the music world by hiring George Martin to make a decent album at their "black site" on the remote island of Montserrat. Martin fired the amateur musicians Campbell had been using and brought in professional musicians and guest stars for recording—all Campbell had to do was sing. Although the album was a critical success, the CIA knew full well that rock stars could not continue their careers past age 40, and were already grooming their next agent—the youngest brother in a soul group that had been popular in the 1970s.

Banned By the BBC

"One Beatle Song Is Banned By the B.B.C." (AP) May 20, 1967

The British Broadcasting Corp. has banned the radio and television broadcasting of a song from the Beatles' new record on the ground that it "could encourage a permissive attitude to drug taking."

The song, "A Day in the Life," on the long-playing record "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," is the first Beatles number banned by the BBC.

"Beatles Going Spiritual" The Branson Sun September 29, 1967

The BBC banned "A Day in the Life," one of the cuts on the Beatles Sgt. Pepper LP. The song was banned, according to the report, because of one line... "I'd love to turn you on."

Now, on the same LP is another song called "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." The song tells of a girl with sunlight in her eyes and rocking horse people and newspaper taxis and plasticine porters and other assorted psychedelic trivia.

Now, add to this the meaning in the title. Lucy, Sky, Diamonds. Get the point... LSD.

Now the commissioner of censorship or whatever turned a blind eye to good ole Lucy and banned "A Day in the Life." Love that rational adult society.

Ezard, John. "BBC and Film Board give order to play down on drug scenes" The Guardian December 29, 1967

The BBC and British Board of Film Censors now stand openly and firmly in favour of banning programmes or films which might tempt young people to experiment with drugs.

The BBC has closed its channels to two pop records this year—the Beatles' "A Day In the Life" (a track from "Sergeant Pepper") and the Game's "The Addicted Man."

Abbey Road Studios

Google books search

New Musical Express November 14, 1952

Young clarinettist Tony Coe had a most successful debut at Abbey Road studios on Joe Daniels' recording date for Parlophone, last Thursday.

Cash Box April 16, 1960

The E.M.I. Record Company held a reception this week at their Abbey Road studios to welcome top British singing act The Beverly Sisters back to the Columbia label.

"Special Merit Spotlights" Billboard May 23, 1960

Add to this the fine recording achieved in the London Abbey Road studios and you have the ingredients of name and sound that can sell despite the presence of eminent competition on other labels.

Cash Box August 6, 1960

After this week's session both Vera and her husband-manager, Harry Lewis, seemed delighted with the results and full of praise for the magnificent accompaniment of Geoff Love and his Orchestra as well as the conditions at E.M.I.'s Abbey Road Studios.

Cash Box January 28, 1961

EMI has recorded an LP of the BBC's top teenage radio show, "Parade of the Pops"--for release in March on the Parlophone label. The session took place at EMI's Abbey Road Studios before an invited audience of over 120 people.

"A Revealing Account of Brahms's D Minor Concerto" The Times December 15, 1962

The film (made in E.M.I. Abbey Road studios) concentrated on the rehearsing and play-backs of only one of these five concertos.

Music Business May 29, 1965

On Monday night this week the boys cut a rush session at EMI's Abbey Road studios specially for the American market. Two titles were cut—"Dizzy Miss Lizzie" and "Bad Boy."

Melody Maker March 11, 1967

The Beatles — still number one this week with "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" — have won two Grammy awards in America.

In London, the Beatles are still working on their new album in EMI's Abbey Road studios.

Melody Maker July 8, 1967

George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, pictured during a break in recording at EMI's Abbey Road studios.

"Szell European Tour Ends" Billboard September 2, 1967

Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra fly to London on Thursday for a recording session for Columbia Records at the Abbey Road Studios of EMI.

Cash Box September 9, 1967

Recording history was made in London last weekend when George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra recorded Mozart's "G Minor Symphony"; Beethoven's "Fidelio Overture" and the "Leonora No. 1 Overture" at EMI's Abbey Road Studios.

"Largo, ma non troppo" The Times February 21, 1968

Otto Klemperer has just begun recording a new Flying Dutchman for E.M.I. at their Abbey Road Studios in London.

Power pop

McGee, David; Taylor, Barry. "New York, N.Y." Record World October 22, 1977: 56

Who? A single by Eddie Phillips titled "City Woman" (Casablanca) quietly crossed our desk last week and for the benefit of those who are not familiar with the work of this artist, a brief explanation should underline the significance of the record

In the middle sixties, Phillips was a member of Creation, one of London's most notorious exponents of power pop.

Along with groups like the Who and the Move, Creation was also involved with auto-destruction and had a bad reputation for setting stages afire, smashing their instruments and wreaking havoc with spray paint cans at the end of their set.

Phillips was Creation's guitarist and pioneered a technique of playing his axe with a violin bow that was mightily influential to at least one name guitar player who assimilated much of the group's energy.

Shaw, Greg. "Powerpop" Bomp! March 1978

So what's Powerpop? At this point, merely a word, a word that sounds right the way "punk rock" sounded right two years ago. Before it took on definition through being promoted in the media, "punk" was used freely to describe anything from ZZ Top to Nils Lofgren.

The Sources of Powerpop

Any way you look at it, Powerpop began with the Who (the Easybeats started around the same time, but unfortunately we didn't hear them until two years later...). Their approach to songwriting was solidly pop — every song was short, catchy, hook-filled, built on bright, uplifting major chords, and they never shied away from those all-important little "la la la"s. And behind it all, that explosive, violent, rebellious sound. The Who in 1965 sounded a lot more dangerous than 90% of the punk bands in 1977!

Try as we may, we can't trace it back any further. Eddie Cochran? His songs were perfect, but due to purely technical factors, nothing from the '50s has the requisite power. What about the Beatles? There was power enough in "I Want to Hold Your Hand" yet it's not Powerpop. What's missing is element of urgency, the possibility of uncontrolled violence—the Beatles could be loud and even raunchy, but their music was ultimately under control at all times.

Powerpop Past

Powerpop (or Mod-rock as it was once called) thus began with the Who and was in fact pretty much a British phenomenon all the way. Australia was a strong outpost with the Easybeats, Masters Apprentices, and others, and with the Tages in Sweden, the Wizards in Norway, etc., it had its exponents everywhere. But as a movement, we need look no further than London's West End for the core. Most of the groups who catered to the Mod youths of '64–65 had a sound we'd call more or less Powerpop. The Small Faces, Eyes, Sorrows, even the Troggs, and somewhat later, when Mod merged for a magical moment with flower power, a second peak period that gave us the Smoke, Jason Crest, Wimple Winch, the Attack, the Syn, the Move, the Idle Race, John's Children, the Herd, and the band that has become one of the most legendary names, Creation. Another Shel Talmy production, they had only a few first-rate songs, but those were the epitome of Powerpop.

The Raspberries were the essence of Powerpop, more than the Who or any of their prototypes. On their best records, every nuance, every tiny bit was flawlessly designed to create an overall impact that's never been matched. Whatever the reasons they didn't, if the Raspberries had become phenomenally big, who's to say what might've followed in their wake. They represented a growing movement that only needed a catalyst to take off. In Cleveland and other Midwestern cities, whole echelons of similarly-minded bands were working the club circuits, many issuing private records in anticipation of the New Wave, with the support of local press and radio. The possibilities of Cleveland as a "New Liverpool" were, for a time, very real.

Philip Norman

"Profiles in verse: why Philip Norman does not love Paul McCartney." The Sunday Times April 16, 1978

Profiles in verse by Philip Norman:

Paul McCartney

You were the one
in the shining-haired days
When the music broke, happy and free:
You were always the one,
in the fabness, the fun,
That all of us wished we could be.
Angelic of face, with a left-handed bass
Bouncing blithely about in your arm,
What we read in the Press,
we could already guess:
That you'd be the one with the charm.

You were the one
In the songwriting days,
When two, and not four, shared the crown
If John wrote a song that was rather too strong
He could send it to Paul to tone down.
No longer uncouth, inspirational youth
Which could echo the soul of the city,
But songs without drums,
for the kids and the mums.
That were pleasant and placid and pretty.

You were the one
in the quarrelling days,
As the idyll raced on to its crash,
As Apple grew bruised,
what a firmness you used
To determine your share of the cash.
In the hours that were spent, as the Rolls
came and went,
Were you ever aware you gave pain?
While their boy angel haggled,
bewildered, bedraggled
The fans waited on in the rain.

You are the one
In the scavenging days
With all the pazzazz and the drive
You've said it at last: we can stuff what is past
'Cos old Paul here intends to survive.
O deified Scouse, with unmusical spouse,
For cliches and cloy you unload,
To an anodyne tune may they bury you soon
In the middlemost midst of the road.