Press conference in Seattle • Thursday, August 25, 1966

Interview

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The Beatles took a day off in Los Angeles the day before their concerts in Seattle. At 10 am on August 25, 1966, they flew to Seattle and landed at 1:40 pm. They were then taken directly to the Seattle Center Coliseum for their first concert of the day.

After the first show, the Beatles convened a press conference at Edgewater Inn. The main subject was the rumour that Paul McCartney was about to marry Jane Asher after the evening concert. Additionally, the band received honorary Washington citizenship.

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In Seattle, Paul was questioned by journalists over a rumour that he was about to get married. Gossip had spread through the city suggesting that Jane was due to fly in to join Paul. The word was that a wedding cake had been ordered and a bridal suite reserved at a local hotel. A reporter said: ‘Mr McCartney, would you please confirm or deny reports that you plan to marry Jane Asher here in Seattle this evening.’ Playing along at first, Paul grinned broadly and said: ‘It’s tonight, yeah!’ Then he added more seriously: ‘No, she’s not coming in tonight, as far as I know. I do hope it’s not true. I’m going back to Los Angeles tonight so if Jane flies in I’m not even going to see her, let alone marry her!’

Tony Barrow – From “John, Paul, George, Ringo & me: the real Beatles story“, 2006

The big highlight of the Seattle trip was the rumor that Paul would meet Jane Asher in Seattle and marry her there. Hotel reservations had been made, a cake had been ordered—all in the name of a mysterious Mr. Bartholomew— and the whole thing was one big mistake. But, the rumor drew a lot of attention to the Seattle performance, and gave the Seattle press several questions for the conference.

Judith Sims – From TeenSet Magazine – Quoted in “Ticket To ride – The Extraordinary Diary of The Beatles’ Last Tour” by Barry Tashian

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M.C: “Can we have the first question, please.”

Q: “John, could you please tell me something about your new movie, ‘How I Won The War’?”

JOHN: “Oh, I don’t know anything about it except for I’m in it, and it’s about the last world war.”

Q: “I’d like to address a question to Paul McCartney. Would you confirm or deny the report of your marriage to Jane Asher in Seattle this evening?”

PAUL: (jokingly) “It’s tonight, yeah.”

Q: “What time and where?”

PAUL: “Tonight – I can’t tell you that, now can I?”

(laughter)

PAUL: “I couldn’t tell ya… it’s a secret.”

GEORGE: “OK, it’s a secret. We don’t want all the people there, do we?”

Q: “You are confirming the report?”

PAUL: “No, not really. It was… it’s a joke. Who started this? Anyone know? Does anyone know? I just got in today and found out I was getting married tonight. No, she is not coming in tonight as far as I know.”

GEORGE: “And if she does, we are going out tonight anyway… so we’ll miss her.”

PAUL: (laughs)

(laughter)

Q: “I’d like to direct this to any of the Beatles. Do you believe that you represent a different type of morality – or a new type of morality – than, say, the ‘Rolling Stones’ or the protest groups?”

JOHN: “Are they a protest group? Since when?”

Q: “No. ‘OR a protest group.'”

PAUL: “OR a protest group! No. We don’t represent anything like that. It’s the ‘Cyrkle’ that do that.”

(laughter)

PAUL: “‘Turn Down Day.’ I think you’ve heard that one, haven’t you! (jokingly) Folk song!”

Q: “I’d like to ask John Lennon a question– I hope I get a chance to ask him a second one. This is sort of double-barreled. I’d like to know your motivation in this. Money? I’d like to think it’s enjoyment, and I’d like to think you’re having as much fun as you seem to be when you’re doing it.”

JOHN: “Well, when I look as though I’m having fun– I am, you know. When I’m not– I’m not, usually. So it varies.”

Q: “Do I get another chance? One more chance? I have this little prediction that in 25 years you’re going to be a great writer. I’d like to talk to you about it sometime.”

JOHN: “Well, I mean, we’re between 25 years then.”

Q: “I’ll make you a date.”

JOHN: “OK.”

GEORGE: “See ya, Penny Lane.”

Q: “I’d like to address this question to anybody in the group. What about the next movie? –heard alot of stories –nothing’s confirmed. Has there been anything decided?”

PAUL: “Nothing.”

GEORGE: “Somebody gave us a good idea, so we told him to go and write it into a script. So we won’t really be able to tell if we’re gonna make the film until we’ve read the script. And as he hasn’t finished the script, we haven’t read the script– so we won’t know yet until about Christmas, maybe. But if it is a good one and we like it, we’ll probably start it ’round about January, February, or March… or December.”

Q: “I have three questions, if I can. For one– Do you think the audience that your music attracts has changed from say the thirteen and fourteen year old girls to more of the college age, and if so, do you like it better that way?”

PAUL: “Uhh, I think it’s probably got a bit older. I don’t know how old. And it’s nice.”

Q: “Did you intend it that way?”

PAUL: “No. We don’t intend anything, you know. That’s the trouble.” (laughs)

JOHN: “It all happens…”

Q: “Also, Paul– Since your rumors were denied, then what are you doing after the show?”

(laughter)

PAUL: “I don’t know… marrying you, probably!”

(laughter)

Q: “How are the attendance on this tour compared to past American tours?”

PAUL: “It’s been… apparently been more at the shows than there were last time.”

Q: “Do you think that the so-called adverse publicity hurt or helped in this?”

PAUL: “No idea, you know. We haven’t been able to tell really because we… You know, the press keeps saying, ‘I see it’s hurt you.’ And our managers keep saying it hasn’t. So, you know, who do we believe?”

Q: “John and Paul, I’d like to know if all the songs that are said to be written by Lennon and McCartney are always written by both of you, or do you ever do one all by yourself?”

JOHN: (jokingly, to Paul) “Don’t they buy ‘Datebook’?”

PAUL: “No, we do them seperately and together.”

Q: “Your music used to be mostly composed of guitar backgrounds, and recently you’ve come around to strings and harpsichords and alot of weird things like that. Is there any purpose in this evolution?”

PAUL: “Yeah.”

JOHN: (at same time as Paul) “No.”

PAUL: (laughs)

GEORGE: “Just to use something else besides guitars.”

PAUL: “And because those things aren’t… it’s not necessarily sort of ‘coming around to them’ you know, like we’re giving-in to ’em. It’s finding them again.”

Q: (dressed as a ‘Jolly Green Giant’) “I don’t know if there is a Jolly Green Giant in England, fellows, but I come with good wishes from Vancouver. You played there a short while ago. And we were wondering whether you are coming back to Vancouver.”

PAUL: “Maybe. Brian decides where we go. So, maybe.”

Q: “All the people in Vancouver wanted to wish John a happy 4th anniversary a few days ago, John.”

JOHN: “Thank you. Well, you thank them… Jolly Green Giant.”

(laughter)

Q: “…and a question. George, where do you get your sitars?”

GEORGE: “Where do I get them? Or where do people generally get them?”

Q: “Where can people generally get a sitar?”

GEORGE: “India.”

(laughter)

Q: “Paul, before, you said that there were some songs that you ‘have to’ write. Could you explain what you mean by ‘have to’ write?”

PAUL: “Hmmm. No see, I just said that in passing. I just meant that there was an LP due. And when an LP is due we write songs, you know. We do it like that more than write all the time. We don’t write all the time. We write more ‘to order.’ You know, if we’ve got fourteen tracks to fill, then we’ve got fourteen songs to write. That’s what I mean.”

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Paul-Jane Hoax in Seattle

The Beatles have come and gone, another year, another tour. It was a great financial success than any other.
The screams have subsided, momentarily anyhow, and now everyone is reminiscing, trading individual impressions, some trying to impress others with “inside” info on the fab four and some very probably starting new rumors. And lemme tell you, here in Seattle, we’ve had more than our share of rumors! Beatles rumors, that is.
“Paul and Jane to be married?”
“During this current American tour?”
“In Seattle?!?!”
And we all fell for it.

Reservations had been made for the bridal suit at one of the leading hotels here. Masses of flowers had been ordered from various florists. Jane was supposed to arrive in town the night before the concert. A four-tier cake had even been ordered. And everyone was in a flip! Circumstantial evidence and everyone jumped on it—well and truly!
Here at KOL, every other phone call asked much the same questions. Are they really? Where? When? What’s the big? How? And the calls came from all over.

Our news director, Don Hughes, was even interviewed by a station in Montreal, Canada for seven minutes live but a DJ on the air. One of the jox here managed to “acquire” a state patrol car, drove out to the airport and waited for Jane to arrive. I think he got towed away for being parked in a wrong zone.

And get this! One li’l darlin’ about 10 years old, called the station at the height of the reports that Paul would be marrying Jane and without even saying “hello” in a tearfully determined voice she said, “to hell with Jane Asher!” and hung up.

And so the calls went on. Everyone ran around in a panic, tearing their hair out and Jane didn’t arrive. But the Beatles did.

Paul said, “I just got in and found out I was getting married.” More panic, more hair is torn out, more running about.

Paul is asked if Jane is actually coming to Seattle and he replies, “No – she’s not coming as far as I know. If she does, we’re going out tonight anyway, so we would miss her.”

More running about, more phone calls, more mass mumbling, more jaws a-flappin, and our airport representative pays a traffic fine under great duress.

The Beatles play their concerts here and then they’re gone, but somehow Seattle-ites aren’t quite satisfied. So, more questions. What about the marriage? What happened? Was it on the level or was it a hoax?

All that is left is pure speculation and a four-tier cake with ‘Best wishes Paul and Jane” written on it. But people will speculate.

Some are firmly convinced that the couple were to be married but changed their minds at the last minute because of laws concerning marriage in the state of Washington or because of the excitement created by the news that leaked out prior to the ceremony. Some believe quite simply that it was a hoax. And some believe it was one heckuva publicity stunt.

Who knows? Nobody.
Well, maybe not quite.
Just before he left Seattle, Paul did say to me “…

P.S. from J.M.: Here’s a bit of news that will help clear up at least part of the mystery. Before the Beatles press officer, Tony Barrow, left L.A. he stated that Paul and Jane had made no plans to arrive in Seattle. All they have been able to find out about the incident is that the reservations (cake, room, flowers, etc.) were made by a “Mr. Bartholomew,” and when it comes to knowing who THAT might be, their guess is as good as yours! As Rhett said, nobody knows what really did happen. Fortunately, everyone knows what didn’t happen. A wedding didn’t happen. And Mr. Bartholomew if you would like to know what to do with all that cake, I and a few million other people would be more than happy to tell you.

By Rhett Hamilton Walker – From Meet the Beatles for Real: The Paul-Jane hoax in Seattle

Last updated on September 20, 2023