Interview for KNUZ-AM

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For two days, on May 10 and 11, 1965, filming for “Help!” moved to Cliveden House, the grand country mansion overlooking the River Thames in Berkshire.

During their stay, The Beatles took part in a relay race around the gardens. They defeated three other six-person teams made up of members of the crew. The Beatles’ team also included their road manager Neil Aspinall and chauffeur Alf Bicknell.

During a break in filming and after the race, Houston disc jockey Buddy McGregor spent time chatting with The Beatles.

The race call

McGREGOR: There’s the gun, and here they come. He pushes [?] Ringo right past me — whoops, he’s running third. Now he’s running second — he’s moved up. Now one of the cameramen’s about to pass him. There — now they pass the baton. Ringo passes it on to Paul, who’s moving very well. Paul is down to the third hedge, which— (tape cuts)

Part 1 — Paul and John on the race

McGREGOR: Quite a race was run on the lawn here at the Astor mansion today, and the Beatles did win, as I told you earlier. And I have Paul and John here. Good to see you, Paul.

PAUL: Okay.

McGREGOR: Good to see you. You ran a very good race.

PAUL: Thank you very much. Thank you.

McGREGOR: Have you ever done this before?

PAUL: Not since [?] school, you know. Done a bit since— I haven’t done any since, I mean. I’ve done some now, you know. Hey!

McGREGOR: This was quite a long course out there.

PAUL: Well, yes — fifteen furlongs, I’d say.

McGREGOR: There was a lot of good running back there. Do you think you did your share?

PAUL: Well, you see — the best team won.

McGREGOR: John, do you have any comments?

JOHN: No.

Part 2 — John on A Spaniard in the Works

McGREGOR: John, Americans aren’t—

JOHN: Aren’t they? [?]

McGREGOR: —aren’t acquainted with the term “spanner.” It’s a wrench, isn’t it?

JOHN: Wrench, monkey wrench. Yeah.

McGREGOR: And so your new book, called Spaniard In The Works, is really a play on the word “spanner.”

JOHN: Yes, we’re playing about with spanners. (laughs) Just me laughing.

McGREGOR: Does it have anything to do with the monkey wrench?

JOHN: No. It’s just about a fella. There’s just a drawing of him with cars, you see, and it’s nothing about cars. He’s a Spaniard working on a farm.

Part 3 — Lolly ices, and Ringo’s Facel Vega

McGREGOR: What is that?

JOHN: It’s a whopper.

McGREGOR: We call these popsicles at home.

JOHN: We call them, uhh— what do we call them? Lolly ices.

PAUL: Lolly ices. I was gonna say icicles, but we don’t.

JOHN: We call some of them Jerry.

McGREGOR: Yours is red and his is yellow, and Ringo’s is yellow.

RINGO: Guess whose one’s got the bellow. [?]

McGREGOR: Ringo just joined our little group. Good seeing you.

RINGO: Good seeing you.

McGREGOR: I want to ask about your car, Ringo. It’s a beautiful thing. What’s it called?

JOHN: Arthur. [?]

RINGO: It’s called Nigel. It’s called a Facel Vega, actually.

McGREGOR: Doesn’t it have a Chevrolet engine?

RINGO: I don’t know. It’s got an American engine whose name I will not say… unless they give me a free engine.

JOHN: Yeah, I’ll mention it too, if you’ll give me a free engine.

Part 4 — The rare rocks at the pub

McGREGOR: John, the rocks that you and Paul got from our trip this morning — we went down to—

JOHN: It was me and George that got the rocks. [?]

McGREGOR: Oh, I’m sorry — it was George.

JOHN: Paul’s already got rocks.

McGREGOR: We went down to the pub at lunchtime, and there were some little bushes and hedges around the front of the pub. And what do you think surrounded them?

JOHN: I dunno. More little bushes and hedges?

McGREGOR: No — all those rare rocks that we thought we’d had a scoop on.

JOHN: Oh, that’s lousy. What happened? Maybe somebody else had been down there plucking them.

McGREGOR: They’re all over the place up at the pub.

Part 5 — Houston, the Astrodome, and Early Bird

McGREGOR: Are you looking forward to this trip? (the August 1965 American tour)

BEATLES: Yeah. Yeah.

RINGO: Can’t wait to get to Houston, man.

JOHN: Yeah, let’s go to Houston.

McGREGOR: John, have you heard about our Astrodome?

JOHN: No, thanks.

PAUL: Yeah, I have. It was on the Early Bird link the other day, on the television.

RINGO: That’s right.

PAUL: And it said, “Howdy, Europe!”

JOHN: Really? … Oh, was that it?

PAUL: That was it.

JOHN: Oh, it was great, that.

McGREGOR: The scoreboard lit up and said “Howdy.” When they hit a home run, it goes crazy — it flashes lights and does all sorts of tricks.

PAUL: It has a mind of its own.

McGREGOR: Pretty much. Pretty much.

JOHN: Pretty polly.

Part 6 — Popsicles vs lolly ices

McGREGOR: The Beatles are eating… lollysicles. Is that right?

RINGO: Lolly ices.

McGREGOR: Oh, lolly ices, I’m sorry. Which is what we refer to as popsicles in America.

RINGO: Do you? Why? ‘Cause they’re made of ice.

McGREGOR: I really don’t know why we call them popsicles.

JOHN: I mean, they’re not made out of popsics, are they?

McGREGOR: No.

PAUL: Lemonade pop, made into an icicle. Pop… sicle.

RINGO: Well, that’s figured that out then. … Well, why is it lolly ice? ‘Cause it’s lolly with ice. And it’s lolly ice.

JOHN: Well, what’s lolly?

RINGO: You don’t know what a lolly is? Everybody knows what a lolly is.

JOHN: Well, we’ve made the LP then. Shall we go?