Interview for New Musical Express (NME)

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EARLY next week John Lennon is off to the Alps (country undisclosed) for the first ski-ing holiday of his life. With him go his wife Cynthia and recording manager George Martin. Paul stays home to finish work on the songs for their new film. Ringo is house-hunting and George has plans he is keeping to himself.

Yes, it’s play time for the Beatles once again. This has been the first of four weeks rest they get before launching into a new hectic schedule of recording and filming.

A few nights ago I was at the mews cottage the Beatles have rented for their road manager Neil Aspinall and Malcolm Evans when John and Ringo called in shortly before 1 am with a bottle of champagne for a mock (and unexpected) house warming party.

“How about showing us round our house?” gagged Ringo. “I may have to move in with you for a couple of weeks next month, anyway.“

He was referring to his enforced move from a London mews apartment block that accepts the Beatles manager but rejects them themselves on the grounds of disturbances which don’t quite go with the area.

House hunt

However, Ringo has now got down to house-hunting in earnest. He has decided that a home of his own would be a better investment than an expensive flat that he can only rent.

That’s one way of spending a month off. John has found an easier one in his fun-in-the-snow trek; George is likely to make a last-minute decision and also go off in search of some sport — though it will probably be in the sun.

…AND HOW THEY SPEND IT!

John has left Paul with much of the music to write for the new film: “We’ve written some but still have to do most of them, including a title song — and that could be difficult because the film hasn’t even got a title yet!” Paul told me, as their Hammersmith Christmas show drew to a close last week.

I asked Paul if he was happy with the show, which hadn’t exactly met with wild acclaim from the critics:

“Yeah, we are because all the fans seem to have enjoyed it and, after all, they’re the ones we set out to please. Mind you we definitely want to do something different next Christmas.

“Obviously this show has its weaknesses, particularly in the sketches, but we did our best to make up for this. For example, in the sketch where we played polar explorers one of us would do something different every night which would change the whole idea of the sketch and it generally ended up in chaos but very funny.“

Paul revealed that after buying and furnishing a house for his father and new stepmother he was thinking of buying one for himself as John and George have done:

“People say it’s a good investment, although I’ve never given it much thought before.“

No book

Beyond the house near Liverpool and the horse which he also bought for his father Paul has not been extravagant. He does, of course, have a 150 m.p.h. Aston Martin (in dark blue with black upholstery and a fitted record player) for those who value such information.

“The only other thing I’ve gone mad on just lately is a wild jacket which is very old-fashioned. It has got wide lapels and is black with chalk pin-stripes. Bit of a laugh, really.“

But for the benefit of NME readers who keep asking, Paul is NOT writing a book:

“As an author, who could follow Lennon?“

And that’s that.