55 - John and Yoko 1969

THE HILTON HOTEL, Amsterdam

Early Beatles (Google archives)

     The Beatles hit international super-stardom the year I finished school.   In 1964 I was in my last year at Campbell College in Buies Creek, North Carolina (the only place I've ever lived which was even smaller than Aberdeen),  and I recall their record being played on the radio virtually non-stop.  It was Love-Me-Do, and it was the first time I had been aware of what was being described as the "new sound."

Whenever you awakened in the morning,  got into an automobile, or crawled into bed in the evening, it seemed Love-Me-Do was within earshot.  In my teens I had been an Elvis fan, and had followed all of the Little Richard-Fats Domino-Bo Diddley rock and rollers throughout the fifties.   I loved the early Beatles hits, but for some reason I never evolved with any pop music after that.

I not only completely missed the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and everything else that followed, I kind of lost all notion of the Beatles, themselves, after their first couple of years revolutionizing pop music.

By the time I had moved to London at the end of the Swinging Sixties, I was aware that the Beatles were taken seriously, not only by the kids, but also by musicologists and intellectuals.  Further than that, I didn't really have a clue, and I didn't much care one way or the other about their later, more ambitious music.

At UPI, there was an older guy who manned a special United Kingdom desk.  He was the established rock music specialist, and cultivated close contacts --probably on his own time-- with many of the top rock stars.  He wasn't generally a very friendly person, and I didn't normally have occasion to work with him, but one day he proposed that I go to pick up a statement from one of the Beatles.

It turned out to be John Lennon who was just on the point of marrying Yoko Ono.  There was a lot of talk of dissension and infighting within the Beatles, and Yoko was thought to have added to the bad vibes.  It was 1969,  and although the group had not performed for over two years, no one would have dreamed at that time that they were never to appear together again.

Yoko and John 1969 (Evening Standard photo)

The fact was that John Lennon as an individual entertainer held little interest for me.  Yoko even less.  Had I been scheduled to meet the entire Beatles quartet, I would have been thrilled, but just one of them (and I wasn't entirely sure which was which) meant nothing.  With hindsight today, I find my attitude bafflingly ignorant.

So it was that with a minimum of enthusiasm and even less preparation, I went off to Apple Headquarters on Savile Row, where the group had its London offices, to pick up the press release from John and Yoko.  


I was ushered into a large office with white leather sofas around an executive desk.  John sat on one of the couches, I on another, and Yoko kind of draped herself on a cushion more or less at the feet of her future husband.  I don't think she ever opened her mouth, and I erroneously assumed she was overcome with some sort of Asian timidity.

John handed me the press release which because of his special friendship with my UPI colleague was  to be an exclusive.  He explained that he would be waiting twelve hours before releasing it to anyone else.

Wedding day (AP)

  It was the time of the Vietnam War.  The Lennons (along with most everyone else of my generation whom I knew in London) were vehemently anti-war, and they were announcing a seven-day "bed-in" at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam to celebrate their imminent marriage and to protest U.S. participation in the Asian conflict.

I cannot conceive today that I would have had no further questions, but I think I found all the information I needed in his prepared announcement.  So after a few banalities of which I have little memory, I thanked them and left.

Today I cringe when I think how out of touch I was, how oblivious I was to his importance in 20th Century music.   Lennon was very relaxed and friendly.  He may well have been intrigued that I showed so little interest in them, but he undoubtedly knew that his project would be reported throughout the world via United Press International, so he was probably not displeased.

The only part of the day that has left a really vivid memory occurred after the meeting.   Lennon accompanied me to the door when I left, and as he ushered me onto the courtyard, I heard little squeals  coming from behind the gates.  Just then we came face to face with a group of five or six excited teen-aged girls who proceeded to release a flurry of rose petals in our direction.

It may have been boringly routine for John Lennon, but it definitely made my day!

Apple Headquarters, 3 Savile Row

SIDEBAR:  The Honeymooners

Newlyweds in The Amsterdam Hilton's Presidential Suite (AP)

John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent their exceedingly mediatized honeymoon in the presidential suite on the ninth floor of the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel.  

Photo call (AP)

  Having been married for long-forgotten reasons in Gibraltar, the eccentric couple received members of the international press corps from their bed for a week in what was alternatively tagged as their bed-in or love-in peace protest.  Lennon later reminisced about the event in the lyrics of his song "John and Yoko." 

Much of the American press was put off  by what was often perceived as Lennon's shrill anti-American statements, and the couple's frequent publicity stunts were often seen as self-serving.

So when Lennon was refused a U.S. visa (ostensibly due to a previous marijuana possession arrest) to re-stage the anti-war stunt in New York, he received little sympathy in the local press.

They later flew to Montreal where they more or less repeated the bed-in, taking over much of the 17th floor of The Queen Elizabeth Hotel. 

Hilton by night, Amsterdam 2013 (Wikepedia)

  

Your input is welcomed:  hotel-musings@hotmail.fr

CROSS REFERENCING … a look at other postings

Another rock star, this one from the Beatles'  biggest competition,  was featured in blog No. 29, "An Encounter With Keith"  (to access, click on title).

27 - Stompin' At The Savoy...

THE SAVOY HOTEL, London

The new Savoy:  view from the mezzanine

 I finally spent the night at the Savoy!

When I moved to England in January of 1969, “Swinging London” was at its zenith, and the Savoy was generally conceded to be THE show business hostelry.  From Noel Coward to Marlene Dietrich to the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, they all made their way sooner or later through the Savoy’s imposing revolving doors.

After a few months of professional floundering, I managed to find employment at United Press International in its waning years as an international news agency.  My job there was officially a desk one, but occasionally allowed me to do feature stories, sometimes of my choosing.

Mercouri, Never on Sunday (google)

Yoko & John (photo George Konig)

 Which accounted for my finding myself sometimes  in more or less direct contact with a handful of show biz luminaries, including Ginger Rogers, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Elizabeth Taylor (at the apogee of her beauty) and the glamorous Greek actress Melina Mercouri who pinched both my cheeks and said “Oh, how I adore Americans!”  Then, again, did she REALLY pinch my cheeks?  It was one of those film launch cocktail parties for the press, and sometimes I wonder if my memory is to be trusted. 

 Whether walking or riding the No. 13 bus to work just off Fleet Street, I would pass in front of the Savoy’s long driveway off the Strand.  It never occurred to me to look inside.

My life in London was a series of exhilarating discoveries, and I was happy there.  But when I moved to Paris two years later, I hardly ever looked back.  I didn’t return to England until 1986, and this time I did take a stroll through the Savoy’s commanding lobby.  

Mirror effect, Savoy Men's Room 2012

 By now a full blown hotel passioné, I remember trying out their sumptuous toilets.   I was not expecting the old attendant, who in a frenzy of unsolicited attention, proceeded to turn on the water faucet, offer me a hand towel, brush my shoulders –everything but comb my hair and straighten my tie.

Completely taken unawares, I was unprepared with an appropriate gratuity, and consequently unable to enjoy all of this tender loving care. 

I only had a one-pound note which was way too much 30 years ago, but I dropped it in his dish just the same.  It kind of spoiled that first Savoy visit, as I was convinced the veteran gents' attendant had taken me for a hillbilly tourist who didn’t understand the currency.

* * * * * * * *

By the turn of the 21^st century the Savoy was showing distinct signs of fatigue. In 2007 it closed for an extended, major facelift.  As one international financial crisis followed another, and the renovations failed to get off the ground, it looked for a while as though the hotel were never going to re-open.

But re-open it did, in the Fall of 2010.  The brochure and web site looked stunning, but the prices were higher than ever, and it was not until last October that we finally found a price commensurate with our possibilities. 

Brenda, stompin' ...

 We jumped at the “Sunday Night Special,” which proposed one of their less sensational rooms at a relatively reduced rate along with dinner and breakfast for two.  It meant checking out on Monday (I seem to remember a late check-out among the perks) and moving to a decidedly more humble establishment.

The room was fine, but not quite the mind-blowing experience for which I had hoped.  The food was equally acceptable, perhaps even a bit better. The hotel, itself, however, was really gorgeous, probably better than ever before.  The personnel  was first rate.  Bellboys, doormen, the executive staff, everyone with whom we came into contact gave proof of really serious training and excelled in making guests feel important and appreciated.

So now I’ve finally done it,  I’ve spent the night at the Savoy.  I’ve eaten in their restaurants, sampled their chocolates, investigated their pristine new toilets* (see Hotel Loos photo album, top right), and taken endless strolls throughout their lobby.

It was fun.  I approve.  But the wait was just too long.  I built up too many hopes, and despite a great Sunday evening stay, I can’t banish the Peggy Lee song from my mind:   Is that all there is? :

“If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing … if that’s all there is.”

Important Lalique $130,000 crystal fish fountain sculpture, centerpiece of Savoy entrance

* now manned by young attendants who limit their guest interaction to pointing the way to handtowels.  Their presence is a discreet one, and for someone of my advanced years, they hold no powers of intimidation.  I don’t even remember whether there is any longer a tip dish.

SIDEBAR:  London Photo Album

Here are a few miscellaneous snapshots from that first year in London.  As in the Paris album a couple of years later, the photos were taken with the old box camera that my Greensboro friend, Dottie Benjamin, had given me when I left North Carolina  looking for "something else."

Doris Danvers (left and right) was the landlady who succeeded Gilbert (above) when I left Dorset Square for a room in nearby Harley House.  Doris was a likeable wheeler-dealer who rented a large luxury apartment, then sublet all the four bedrooms. My room looked right into Regents Park which was quite special.   She, herself, slept on an overstuffed red velvet sofa in the living room.  In fact, I seem to remember the whole living room pretty much covered in red velvet.

When she learned that I was about to interview Ginger Rogers, I was catapulted to the rank of star boarder.  She was G.R.'s greatest fan, and whenever a guest or potential renter arrived, I would  always be introduced as the American gentleman who had interviewed Ginger Rogers!

                                                          

Piccadilly Circus, time of the hippies

Baker Street

* * * * * * * * * *

My "local" was a singalong pub where I was probably its youngest regular.  Many of the clients had been coming since the war, and the music often dated from that period.  It was there that I discovered "We'll Meet Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover."  In looking back over the photos, I feel a certain sadness as I realize that I am undoubtedly the only one still alive.

Your input is welcomed:  hotel-musings@hotmail.fr

Next Friday:  "Ginger and me!  Still in London"

[Photos are mine, unless otherwise credited]

CROSS REFERENCING … a look at other postings

The Savoy Hotel was also featured in sidebar for blog No. 13, "Kaspar, The Savoy's Black Cat," Nov. 11, 2012; and No. 28, "Ginger and Me," March 15, 2013  (to access, click on above titles).