Dudley Edwards of BEV paints a mural in Paul’s house
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In late 1966, Paul McCartney asked the pop-art collective BEV (the initials of Douglas Binder, Dudley Edwards and David Vaughan) to paint his Knight piano in psychedelic colours.
On January 13, 1967, Paul’s girlfriend, Jane Asher, left London for a five-month US tour with the Old Vic. Around the same time, Paul dismissed his housekeeper and chauffeur. He then invited Mal Evans, one of the Beatles’ roadies, to stay at his Cavendish home and temporarily act as a housekeeper. Dudley Edwards of BEV explained that he moved into Cavendish to paint a mural, joining Paul and Mal for some time.
At one point, I was doing murals for the Beatles. I did a mural in Paul’s house and lived with him for about six months. I later painted a mural for Ringo and lived with him for a bit as well. This was around the time of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Paul’s girlfriend at the time, actress Jane Asher, was away doing some theatrical production in America. Consequently, Paul liked having me around as a sort of companion.
Every time I got started painting, Paul would say, “Come on, let’s go off to the recording studio! Come on, let’s go off to a nightclub!” or, “I’ve got a meeting with Epstein, will you come along?”
When Jane came back, Paul told me that Ringo had wanted a mural too. So, I went over to live with Ringo.
Dudley Edwards – From Dudley Edwards Page (godfreytownsendmusic.com)
We got invited around for dinner when they were writing the music for Sergeant Pepper. We went up to Paul McCartney’s bathroom and they were writing and singing there and they asked if we’d wait downstairs – ‘We’ll only be an hour and then we’ll come and have dinner’. I thought we couldn’t really crowd them like this, so we went downstairs! We had dinner with them a couple of times. On the second occasion, we’d stayed rather late and were watching television. In those days everyone was taking drugs and we were no exception – nothing too heavy, just some smoking – and we were just watching a blank television with all the electrical spots coming on and bleeps and all that. Paul McCartney was thinking we were looking at the night sky. We all joined in and tried to see the same pictures
Douglas Binder – From Sixties City – Binder Edwards and Vaughan – BEV
Paul called and asked if I was free, and would I like to stay at his place and paint a mural for him. Stash was staying there as well, so it was just the three of us. A lot of the time I got the feeling Paul wasn’t really bothered with me doing a mural, really. He just wanted a mate around. So every time I started painting Paul would say, ‘Let’s go off to a studio and lay off some tracks’ or ‘Let’s go to a nightclub’
Edward Dudley – From “Electrical Banana: Masters of Psychedelic Art“, February 2012
Edward Dudley mentioned Stash, the nickname of Stanislas Klossowski de Rola:
[…] On Friday, January 13, 1967, [Jane Asher, Paul’s girlfriend] flew to the United States with the Bristol Old Vic for a four-and-a-half-month tour. Paul was not at Heathrow to see her off. Even if he’d liked his own company, there was no way he was going to spend all that time alone. He was going to have his mates round, pick girls up, drink, take drugs, leave his clothes where he dropped them and the dishes unwashed.
Two pals moved in to keep him company — the artist Dudley Edwards and Prince Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, the playboy son of the French painter Balthus. Stash — as he was known — had just been charged with possession of cocaine and cannabis, along with his friend, the Rolling Stone Brian Jones.
In St John’s Wood, the three young men entertained what Stash describes as harems of girls, while Beatles fans camped outside, periodically bursting in through the gates ‘sort of like cattle breaking through a fence’. […]
Howard Sounes – From Daily Mail Online, August 16, 2010
Last updated on May 5, 2024