Paul McCartney visits Jane Asher in Bristol

MARATHON FOR JANE

DON’T let the relaxed pose of Jane Asher, actress girl friend of Beatle Paul McCartney, deceive you. For 19-year-old Jane will soon be hard-at work rehearsing her lead role in “Cleo,” a new play by Frank Marcus, which opens at Bristol next month. Jane’s star part, announced yesterday, will keep her on stage all through the play, so she needs all the rest she can get.

From Daily Mirror – October 13, 1965

BEATLE FOR BRISTOL?

BRISTOL is definitely OUT of the Beatles’ mini-tour in December. But one Beatle may pay the city a secret visit in the next few weeks.

Jane Asher, actress girl-friend of Paul McCartney, has been picked to star in the world premier of Cleo, a play at the Little Theatre from November 9 for three weeks. And Paul is quite likely to slip down to Bristol to see her act in the name role of teenager Cleo.

Jane’s agent Mr. Neil Landor said she would not comment on the likelihood of Paul coming.

“She is excited at getting this part, and doing it well. That is the only thing that matters, and I do not think that, as a professional actress, her performance would be in any way affected by the appearance of her boy-friend in the audience. I have no idea whether he will go down to Bristol: it is a purely private matter.”

The Little Theatre management are completely unperturbed at the prospect of a Beatle in the audience. They say that if Paul comes he can book a seat in the normal way.

“Naturally, we would not publicise the fact in advance even if we knew he was coming,” said a management spokesman. “And there would be no risk of him causing any disturbance. Probably a lot of our theatregoers wouldn’t even recognise him. And they are not the sort of people who would be likely to start screaming if they did.”

Beatles press officer, Tony Barrow, finally confirmed this week that Bristol has been ruled out from the short tour fixed for December.

One extra date has been arranged — a two-house show at the Capitol, Cardiff, on December 12. Booking opens on Oct. 31. Mr. Barrow explained: “We were conscious of the fact that the tour did not include any date in the West and Wales. One day was available, and it was allotted to Cardiff because Scotland has one date and we thought Welsh fans deserved one in their capital.”

From Evening Post – October 16, 1965

Beatle Paul drops in to see his Jane in ‘Cleo’

Beatle Paul McCartney sipped a whisky and dry, pulled his chair a little closer to Jane Asher, and told me: “She’s a great little actress.”

Paul last night made a secret visit to the Little Theatre, Bristol, to see Jane, starring in Cleo. He sat in the audience unnoticed until the second act, when an excited teenager gasped and pointed at the mop-haired Beatle. The whole theatre turned to see Paul disappear out of a side door.

After the show, Paul and Jane slipped out of the main entrance of the theatre and chased by only a handful of teenagers, nipped into the quiet lounge bar of the Artichoke. Paul bought a gin and something for Jane, a whisky and dry for himself and a beer for me.

He said: “I think Jane was great in the show. This is the first time I have seen it. I won’t be staying in Bristol tonight, I’m going back to London. It’s too cold.”

I asked Paul about his expected engagement to red-haired Jane… but he smiled and said nothing.

Paul was on the fringe of success with the Beatles when we first met in Liverpool’s famous Cavern Club several years ago. I was chewing a hot-dog to the sound of fellow group Gerry and the Pacemakers when we were introduced. Since then, we have met several times at parties and television shows, when I was a beat columnist. Last night we chatted over old times for a few minutes, before he went to join Jane and their friends.

Jane told me: “I knew Paul was in the audience tonight, but I wasn’t nervous.”

From Western Daily Press, November 16, 1965