Interview with the BBC • Saturday, February 22, 1964
- Timeline More from year 1964
Interview
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.
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