the beatles' new haircuts – 7/29/22
Today's selection -- from The Last Days of John Lennon by James Patterson. A new group called the Beatles perform live for the BBC. They are sporting new haircuts:
"‘At least the BBC thinks we're good,’ George [Harrison] says. Brian's booked them to record in front of a live audience for a BBC radio program called Here We Go that will air them in a half-hour slot called ‘Teenagers Turn.’ It pays well and, even better, will reach millions of listeners.
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"The boys arrive dressed in their new mohair suits, bright white shirts, and thin ties. Their trousers are trim, and they're wearing Chelsea boots fitted with Cuban heels. Their hair is no longer slicked back with grease but clean and combed forward in a strange ‘mop-top’ style. Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart’s fiancée, gave Stu the haircut first, and George liked it so much he asks her to cut his hair, too. Paul and John are more skeptical. 'John was always a little bit sarcastic,’ Astrid recalls, ‘so at first, even with the hairstyle, he couldn't stop laughing, but in the end he just joined in. That was John. That was typical.’ Which leaves only Pete still Brylcreemed, though Astrid points out, ‘Pete couldn't have the hairstyle anyway because he had curly hair.’
"Shocking new look aside, the Beatles are on their best behavior. They play four songs – ‘Hello Little Girl,’ Chuck Berry’s ‘Memphis,’ Roy Orbison’s ‘Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream),’ and the Marvelettes' ‘Please Mr. Postman’ -- and win over the live audience of 250 young people, everyone cheering and clapping. As the band walks off, John feels happy, particularly with his singing on ‘Memphis’ and their take on ‘Please Mr. Postman’ which introduced the ‘Motown sound’ to much of the British listening public. Last summer, Bob Wooler had declared in Mersey Beat, ‘The Beatles were the stuff that screams were made of.’ Tonight, when they finished their last song, nearly all the girls had indeed screamed."
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