{"id":8367,"date":"2020-11-16T17:30:08","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T22:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefest.com\/kdstaging2\/?p=8367"},"modified":"2020-11-16T17:30:08","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T22:30:08","slug":"the-beatles-in-november-game-changer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/the-beatles-in-november-game-changer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beatles in November: Game Changer!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jude is the author of The John Lennon Series: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.johnlennonseries.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Certain seasons consistently inspire us, sweep us off our feet, or bless us immeasurably. The patterns of our lives are etched as we return, time and again, to that happy collection of weeks or months in which we feel that we\u2019re at our very best. Some people blossom in autumn\u2019s slanting light, chilly afternoons, and radiant foliage. Others shine in summer\u2019s sand and sun. Some find peace in spring\u2019s gentle, sea-green rebirth. But for The Beatles, it was November \u2014 winter\u2019s brisk onset \u2014 that always spiraled them to new heights! Let\u2019s take a look:<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9 November 1961<\/strong> – Mr. Epstein Comes to the Cavern Club<\/strong><\/p>\n

Accompanied by his assistant, Alistair Taylor, dapper 27-year-old North End Music Store manager, Brian Epstein, arrived at Mathew Street\u2019s raucous, underground Cavern Club for the lunchtime session. Feeling nervous and out of place, Epstein pushed jitters aside, to see the much-discussed band, The Beatles. For months, he\u2019d seen John Lennon\u2019s \u201cBeatcomber\u201d column in Mersey Beat<\/em>, right next to his own \u201cRecord Releases\u201d column, and the boys\u2019 offbeat wit had intrigued him. Brian had even visited Editor, Bill Harry, at the Mersey Beat<\/em> office on Renshaw Street, Liverpool, to discuss Lennon and his group. But when a young NEMS customer named Raymond Jones (and later that afternoon, two teenage girls) had requested the new record, \u201cMy Bonnie,\u201d by The Beatles,* Brian had decided to see the group for himself. The Cavern excursion was not in vain. Planning to stay only for the first set of the afternoon, Epstein became intrigued with the charismatic, lively, and talented lads who not only sang incomparably but also gave their all to mach shau<\/em>. During a break, Brian approached George Harrison about getting a copy of \u201cMy Bonnie,\u201d and speaking to the group as a whole, Epstein proposed a meeting in the days ahead, with an eye to management of the band. As we all know, the rest is history! What a landmark November day it was! And as John would later wryly point out \u2014 of course, it occurred on the NINTH<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

*Actually, the record was by Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4 November 1963<\/strong> – The Beatles at the Royal Command Performance<\/strong><\/p>\n

In October 1963, The Beatles had taken the boards for Sunday Night at the Palladium<\/em>, and they\u2019d thought it was the greatest honor they could achieve! Now, however, they\u2019d been included in the roster for The Royal Command Performance (a.k.a. The Royal Variety Show)! John, was a bit reticent about performing for \u201csuits,\u201d the \u201cvery sort I\u2019ve always sought to avoid.\u201d But the other three Beatles were elated. Appearing as the 7th<\/sup> act on a 19-act bill, the boys were to perform four songs: \u201cFrom Me to You,\u201d \u201cShe Loves You,\u201d \u201cTill There Was You,\u201d and \u201cTwist and Shout.\u201d John \u2014 taking the mickey out of the nervous-as-a-cat Brian Epstein \u2014 had threatened to announce the final song with this irreverent introduction: \u201cFor our last number, I\u2019d like to ask your help. The people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands. And the rest of you, if you\u2019d just rattle your f******* jewelry!\u201d But after watching Brian dissolve into tears over the brazen suggestion, John modified the intro a bit, with (as they say) the offending \u201cexpletive deleted.\u201d Even so, Lennon\u2019s cheeky comment made a statement. John had taken the stage with his brothers for camaraderie\u2019s sake, but he\u2019d still found a way to announce his independence from conformity. The show itself was Beatle-brilliant, and the lads were invited back every single year that they were together. But each year, partially in deference to John, The Beatles very politely declined. That November 1963 night, however, with Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother looking on, four lads from \u201cthe uncultured North, Liverpool\u201d shone as stars unequalled and made British entertainment history.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9 November 1966<\/strong> – John meets Yoko Ono at the Indica Gallery <\/strong><\/p>\n

John Lennon had once admitted to his friend, journalist Maureen Cleave, that being in The Beatles wasn\u2019t his \u201cend all, be all.\u201d He said, \u201cYou see, there\u2019s something else I\u2019m going to do, something I must do \u2014 only I don\u2019t know what it is. That\u2019s why I go around painting and taping and drawing and writing and that, because it may be one of them. All I know is, this isn\u2019t it <\/em>for me.\u201d (\u201cHow Does a Beatle Live? London Evening Standard<\/em>, 4 March 1966) John was forever searching for significance. But he seemed to find his heart\u2019s home on 9 November 1966, when he attended the private, pre-show for \u201cUnfinished Paintings and Objects,\u201d the work of Japanese avant garde<\/em> artist, Yoko Ono. Strolling through London\u2019s Indica Art Gallery, John was bowled over by Ono\u2019s \u201coutside the box\u201d style and humour \u2014 a style that very much reminded him of his quirky, clever mother, Julia Stanley Lennon. And when John talked with the petite, soft-spoken artist, he found Ono as interesting as her work. It was the beginning of a romance that would transform John\u2019s life. Over the next few years, his ideas would drastically alter. John would become different altogether (now) thanks to this one remarkable November night. \u00a0(And it was also on the ninth!)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

John Lennon fans, please note:<\/strong>\u00a0 In the ancient world, November was the ninth<\/strong> month of the calendar of Romulus, c. 750 BC. When January and February were added to the Roman calendar, November retained its name (from the Latin novem,<\/em> meaning \u201cnine\u201d). No wonder this month was so life-changing for The Beatles!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We often scurry through November to get to the glittering joys that December holds, but the eleventh month – as The Beatles teach us here – holds remarkable enchantment of its own. Take time to enjoy bonfires, changing leaves, Thanksgiving, walks in the chill, roasted marshmallows and chestnuts – the vivid sights and sounds that accompany first frost. Be aware. Be open to possibility. November undoubtedly \u201cloomed large in The Beatles\u2019 legend.\u201d Perhaps November has a bit of magic to share with you as well!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jude is the author of The John Lennon Series: https:\/\/www.johnlennonseries.com \u00a0 Certain seasons consistently inspire us, sweep us off our feet, or bless us immeasurably. The patterns of our lives are etched as we return, time and again, to that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[98,117],"class_list":["post-8367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-beatles","tag-jude-southerland-kessler","tag-the-beatles"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8369,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8367\/revisions\/8369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}