Interview with the BBC • Saturday, February 22, 1964

Interview

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On February 22, 1964, at 8:10 am, The Beatles arrived at London airport coming back from their successful first US tour. They held a press conference at the airport’s Kingsford-Smith suite and were later interviewed by BBC’s sports presenter David Coleman. The interview was featured in a 13-minute segment of that day’s BBC sports program “Grandstand”, which was broadcast between 1 pm and 5:15 pm.

During the interview, Ringo Starr made one of his malapropisms, “tomorrow never knows,” which John Lennon later turned into a song. “Tomorrow Never Knows” was the final track on The Beatles’ “Revolver” album, released in 1966.

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David Coleman: Welcome back, boys. How does this reception here compare with America?

Ringo Starr: Oh, it was great! It was every bit as good.

John Lennon: It was better.

Paul McCartney: Better.

Ringo: It was better.

DC: I must say even you boys looked surprised as you came down the aircraft steps.

Paul: Yeah.

John: Well, wouldn’t you be?

George Harrison: It’s so early in the morning.

John: Yeah, we only just got up.

Ringo: We haven’t got up, we haven’t been to bed yet. Don’t forget, it’s four o’clock in the states now.

DC: What do you think about America? Is it very different from your point of view?

Ringo: It’s bigger.

DC: Did you get lost then, George?

Ringo: I’ll pass you on to George now.

George: No, I didn’t get lost, George.

Paul: Nobody let him out, you know. He was in the hotel the whole time.

George: Yeah, as soon as we got there they strapped me up in bed.

Paul: But it’s a marvelous place. We loved it.

DC: Is it very different for performance over there than performing here?

George: Yeah.

DC: In what way?

George: You don’t play theatres over there, you know. The places we played – Carnegie Hall and this place in Washington.

Ringo: A big stadium.

George: Yeah, a big stadium with the audience all around and the acoustics were terrible.

John: So we sparred up, you know, before we got…

Ringo: Yeah, it was good.

George: But it was good for, you know… It was quite a novelty, wasn’t it, John?

John: Yeah it was. I’ll pass you on to Paul.

Paul: It was, too. Yes.

DC: Now Ringo, I hear you were manhandled at the Embassy Ball. Is this right?

Ringo: Not really. Someone just cut a bit of my hair, you see.

DC: Let’s have a look. You seem to have got plently left.

Ringo: Can you see the difference? It’s longer, this side.

DC: What happened exactly?

Ringo: I don’t know. I was just talking, having an interview, just like I am NOW! I was talking away and I looked ’round, and there was about 400 people just smiling. So, you know, what can you say?

John: What can you say?

Ringo: Tomorrow never knows.

David Coleman: George, how do you like being described as the Prime Minister’s secret weapon?

George Harrison: It’s great, yeah. The thing is, I didn’t get the bit where they said, ‘Earning all these dollars for Britain.’ Like, are we sharing it out or something?

DC: But we’re told that you’ve come back from America millionaires.

Paul McCartney: No, you’re kidding.

John Lennon: Next time.

DC: Now what about Miami? I mean, you were in the millionaire’s playground.

Ringo Starr: Oh, that was marvelous, Miami!

DC: You lived well, did you?

Paul: Yeah. Well, we borrowed these houses, you see. These people rang up and said, ‘Do you want our house, lad?’ So we said, ‘By gum, we do!’

Paul: And we went across there, and we all water-skied, and fishing.

Ringo: He caught a monster!

DC: How did it compare with New Brighton?

Paul: With New Brighton? It wasn’t as sunny, of course, as New Brighton.

Ringo: Of course, we missed the docks.

John: And the people didn’t have as much money.

George: And there was more oil on the sand in Miami.

DC: We’d like to hear what you thought about Mr [Cassius] Clay.

John: Very tall.

Ringo: Oh, he’s a big lad.

Paul: He’s a great laugh, more than anything. He’s a big lad.

George: He’s gonna get Sonny Liston in three.

John: He said.

Ringo: So he said.

Paul: That’s what he said. I don’t think he will, though.

DC: I hear you were creeping up to Harry Carpenter in the training camp, Paul, and whispering things to him.

Paul: Yeah. Well you see, the only thing was, he asked me who was going to win. And I would have told him out that I thought Liston was gonna win.

John: You coward!

Paul: I’m a coward! And it was in Clay’s camp, you see, and there was all these big fellas around. I had to whisper, you know.

John, singing: Listen, do you want to know a secret?

Ringo: Plugging, you know. We’re still trying to sell!

DC: How did Clay compare with you?

Ringo: He’s bigger than all of us put together.

DC: We’re told that he was acting in a way that even the Beatles couldn’t match.

Paul: Yeah. He was, actually.

Ringo: He was good.

John: He was saying, ‘I’s beautiful, and you’s beautiful, too!’

Paul: Yeah, he’s a showman.

Ringo: Oh, definitely.

DC: Well now that you’re back, you’re out of the top 10 for the first time for a long time. What about it?

Paul: Er, I don’t know.

John: What do you suggest?

DC: Have you got anything on the way?

John: We could go straight, couldn’t we?

George: I’m going to try tap dancing.

Paul: And Ringo’s doing comedy on the high wire.

David Coleman: But have you got anything on the way, apart from the film?

Paul McCartney: We’re doing recording next week.

John Lennon: Shh!

Ringo Starr: Don’t tell ’em.

Paul: We’re not! It’s a lie! Sorry! We’re recording next week.

DC: We daren’t ask you where.

Paul: No!

Ringo: We couldn’t tell you.

John: Oh no. Decca!

DC: What about your impression of American adults? I mean, we hear your impression of teenagers and so on. I saw you, Ringo, being quoted as saying something about this.

Ringo: What did I say?

DC: You tell me.

Ringo: I don’t know! You know, I’m quoted so much it’s just ridiculous.

DC: You tell him what he said, Paul.

Paul: I don’t remember. About adults?

Ringo: They’re older than I am!

DC: You said the adults were a bigger problem than the teenagers.

Ringo: Oh, yeah. Well, you know, they’ve sort of gone potty.

Paul: Yeah, they were.

Ringo: I mean, the teenagers will ask for the autograph, and take it, and leave it at that. But the adults want to know where you’ve been, and…

Paul: Yeah. Cut your hair, too.

Ringo: Yeah. Well, I don’t know if it was an adult, but somebody did.

DC: Did you manage to get much time away from all this, and really get away by yourselves?

John: We got three days at the end, after the Ed Sullivan in Miami, you know, we stayed on. Was it three days?

Paul: Yeah.

Ringo: It was around that.

John: Three days, you know. Nearly three.

DC: Anyway, nice to see you back, boys. Thanks very much.

Paul: Thank you.

Ringo: Good to see you. Keep kicking.

John: Keep kicking.

Last updated on December 1, 2023