Filming “A Hard Day’s Night” • Day 20

On this, The Beatles returned to London’s Scala Theatre to film the concert performance sequence at the end of the “A Hard Day’s Night” film.

Paul and I were chatting during a break in the shooting of the television concert finale. ‘It’s me dad’s birthday soon,’ he said. ‘Oh really?’ ‘Yeah, and I don’t know what to buy him.’

Now at that time I bred and raced thoroughbred horses. It so happened that the previous week, while watching some horse-racing, I had been approached by the International Racing Bureau to investigate the possibility of getting the Beatles to attend a race meeting for publicity purposes. I had told them that this was impossible since the Beatles had no interest whatsoever in horses. However, I had met Paul’s father on one or two occasions and suspected he liked the odd flutter.

‘Does he ever have a bet, Paul, your old man?’

‘Yeah, he sometimes used to have a bet, a shilling each way on whatever.’

‘Why don’t you buy him a racehorse?’

‘What?’

‘Why don’t you buy him a racehorse if he likes to bet?’

He paused for a moment, as the idea took hold. ‘How much are they?’

I laughed. ‘That depends on the horse. out a thousand pounds might get you something that could win a little race somewhere.’

‘It’s a great idea. Will you do it? Will you get one for me?’

And I did. The following week I acquired on Paul’s behalf a three-year-old bay gelding called Drake’s Drum.

Denis O’Dell – From “At the Apple’s Core: The Beatles from the Inside“, 2002

Going further

The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years

With greatly expanded text, this is the most revealing and frank personal 30-year chronicle of the group ever written. Insider Barry Miles covers the Beatles story from childhood to the break-up of the group.

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