Eight arms to hold you

While Beatles Two was evidently a working title, the hugely uninspired Eight Arms To Hold You, a throwaway reference to the Kali goddess figure from Ringo’s mouth, sat badly with the group after a couple of days’ usage. Help! (already mooted – but rejected on the grounds that it had already been used as a film – sans exclamation) would find the best favour with everyone – even though it was well into filming before it was finally struck. Nonetheless, despite its brevity, it gave everyone plenty of scope – unlike its more convoluted eight-armed predecessor.

The cover to one of the first script versions of Help! The picture endured a variety of monikers—with Beatles Two and then Eight Arms To Hold You as early titles. The interior content too, underwent numerous changes – New Jerseyian Marc Behm’s already written but un-Beatled project (entitled Help), was later rewritten and anglicised by playwright Charles Wood on the instruction of director, Richard Lester.

Opposite:

002

While Beatles Two was evidently a working title, the hugely uninspired Eight Arms To Hold You, a throwaway reference to the Kali goddess figure from Ringo’s mouth, sat badly with the group after a couple of days’ usage. Help! (already mooted – but rejected on the grounds that it had already been used as a film – sans exclamation) would find the best favour with everyone – even though it was well into filming before it was finally struck. Nonetheless, despite its brevity, it gave everyone plenty of scope – unlike its more convoluted eight-armed predecessor.

The cover to one of the first script versions of Help! The picture endured a variety of monikers—with Beatles Two and then Eight Arms To Hold You as early titles. The interior content too, underwent numerous changes – New Jerseyian Marc Behm’s already written but un-Beatled project (entitled Help), was later rewritten and anglicised by playwright Charles Wood on the instruction of director, Richard Lester.

Opposite:

002

The story of Help! is undoubtedly a story of 1965; a year – much like every year in the 1960s – that contained a multitude of eras within its 365 days. The list is quite incredible: Malcolm X is murdered, US troops arrive in Vietnam, Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov performs the first spacewalk, Sound of Music premieres, The Who score with “My Generation”, The Stones with “Satisfaction”, Rhodesia splits from the British Commonwealth, Tom and Jerry cartoon debuts on TV, oh and John Lennon passed his driving test on Monday, 15th February 1965 – a few hours before he started recording songs for Help! at EMI Studios at Abbey Road, London – one of them being “Ticket To Ride”. Any old irony, eh?

OPENING UP THE DOORS If you can spare a few moments, come back with me to a time that we now call “The Sixties”. It’s a magical Brigadoon of a decade; dripping with innocence and wonder, an era where people dressed up in colourful clothes, youngsters put flowers in the end of guns and millions decided to explore freedoms previously ring-fenced. Britain especially was undergoing a renaissance not seen since the early part of the 20th century, and for a short while, the youth of the world were demanding a future free from the constraints of the past.

The emergence of The Beatles into Britain during early 1963 ensured the country took a dramatic turn and never looked back. The world would soon follow suit. Along with a coterie of simpatico artists and thinkers, the Beatles grabbed this monochromatic environment by the throat and yanked it out of the kitchen sink. The world The Beatles landed in had certainly been knocked hard: Cuba, East Berlin, Kennedy, and the ongoing spectre of Vietnam, had sought to replace humour, compassion and love with savage hearts of darkness. The likes of Martin Luther King (and to his left, Malcolm X) stepping out of the racial pulpit to challenge the status quo, only upped the already simmering anxiety and the insatiable demand for change.

005

The story of Help! is undoubtedly a story of 1965; a year – much like every year in the 1960s – that contained a multitude of eras within its 365 days. The list is quite incredible: Malcolm X is murdered, US troops arrive in Vietnam, Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov performs the first spacewalk, Sound of Music premieres, The Who score with “My Generation”, The Stones with “Satisfaction”, Rhodesia splits from the British Commonwealth, Tom and Jerry cartoon debuts on TV, oh and John Lennon passed his driving test on Monday, 15th February 1965 – a few hours before he started recording songs for Help! at EMI Studios at Abbey Road, London – one of them being “Ticket To Ride”. Any old irony, eh?

OPENING UP THE DOORS If you can spare a few moments, come back with me to a time that we now call “The Sixties”. It’s a magical Brigadoon of a decade; dripping with innocence and wonder, an era where people dressed up in colourful clothes, youngsters put flowers in the end of guns and millions decided to explore freedoms previously ring-fenced. Britain especially was undergoing a renaissance not seen since the early part of the 20th century, and for a short while, the youth of the world were demanding a future free from the constraints of the past.

The emergence of The Beatles into Britain during early 1963 ensured the country took a dramatic turn and never looked back. The world would soon follow suit. Along with a coterie of simpatico artists and thinkers, the Beatles grabbed this monochromatic environment by the throat and yanked it out of the kitchen sink. The world The Beatles landed in had certainly been knocked hard: Cuba, East Berlin, Kennedy, and the ongoing spectre of Vietnam, had sought to replace humour, compassion and love with savage hearts of darkness. The likes of Martin Luther King (and to his left, Malcolm X) stepping out of the racial pulpit to challenge the status quo, only upped the already simmering anxiety and the insatiable demand for change.

005

Interviewer: “John, how was the trip over? Did you all get bored on the flight or did you have things that usually keep you entertained that you all were doing?”

John: “Well, we got stoned!”

Interviewer: “I know you’re only kidding.”

John: “I’m not!”

In the wake of Help!, impresario Don Kirshner and eager director Bob Rafelson, quickly storyboarded a TV series based on four young musicians sharing the same sort of communal madness that abounded in Help! Within a year, a series called The Monkees would be commissioned, its style, colour, humour and tone all evidently inspired by the film. If ever there was a Help! industry, The Monkees was its greatest export. Help! both as album and film, caught The Beatles firmly on the move. Operating within the hothouse of accelerated sensations and experiences, the world could only draw deep, startled breaths as the extraordinary music unfolded. The new songwriting ethos that bore rich, emotional fruit in Help! found the group morphing together all the elements that had surrounded them. Lennon in particular had previously kept his twin worlds of writing and composing distinctly apart – his two books In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works barely recognisable as the sort of unadventurous lyrics he’d been previously writing for Beatlemania tunes.

Late 1964 saw Lennon beginning to bleed these two worlds together – to great effect. With more than a nod from Bob Dylan, the album Beatles For Sale, released in late 1964, began to display an introspective approach to lyrics. The success of songs such as “I’m a Loser”, “No Reply” and “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” compelled Lennon to utilise the album as a fresh canvas to dig deeper into the human experience. A little over two years from the pedestrian semantics of “Love Me Do”, songs such as “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, “Help!” and “Yesterday” were proving that the Beatles’ boy-band divinity had been handed far deeper pursuits. The landscape that greeted Help! in July 1965 revealed a nation deeply divided; many of those over 30 still mourning the past and all it stood for. While Winston Churchill’s death in January 1965 pulled together the strands of the old guard to mourn one of the pillars of the era, there were other elements that served to confuse and outrage society as change gathered a greater pace.

11th February 1965

For The Beatles, the entirety of the Help! project would dominate the first half of 1965. While filming as such wouldn’t begin until the end of February – through to early May, other events within that time-scale would ultimately fall into the whole Help! ether—the madness of their real lives at times indivisible from what was being caught on film. Just a tad before Help! went into production, Ringo and Maureen Cox were married on 11th February 1965 at Caxton Register Hall in West London. With manager Brian Epstein as best man and John, wife Cynthia and George present, the marriage was kept quiet until the press scuppered any potential and exotic honeymoon – leaving the newly weds a modest alternative in Hove, Sussex, where these photos were captured. Just over a week later Ringo and Maureen would have what amounted to a busman’s holiday in the Bahamas during the making of Help!

The departure for Bahamian sunnier climes on 22nd February 1965, had become something of a formality at London Airport, and the crowd present was wild—1,400 fans all yelling their collective heads off.

On what amounted to a very smoky passage across the States for refuelling, the boys managed to avoid US Customs and Immigration, which was probably just as well as their eyeballs may well have given it all away.

Mind you, on arrival – John (as high as the proverbial kite) appeared happy to spill the beans.

22nd February 1965

008

009

Interviewer: “John, how was the trip over? Did you all get bored on the flight or did you have things that usually keep you entertained that you all were doing?”

John: “Well, we got stoned!”

Interviewer: “I know you’re only kidding.”

John: “I’m not!”

In the wake of Help!, impresario Don Kirshner and eager director Bob Rafelson, quickly storyboarded a TV series based on four young musicians sharing the same sort of communal madness that abounded in Help! Within a year, a series called The Monkees would be commissioned, its style, colour, humour and tone all evidently inspired by the film. If ever there was a Help! industry, The Monkees was its greatest export. Help! both as album and film, caught The Beatles firmly on the move. Operating within the hothouse of accelerated sensations and experiences, the world could only draw deep, startled breaths as the extraordinary music unfolded. The new songwriting ethos that bore rich, emotional fruit in Help! found the group morphing together all the elements that had surrounded them. Lennon in particular had previously kept his twin worlds of writing and composing distinctly apart – his two books In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works barely recognisable as the sort of unadventurous lyrics he’d been previously writing for Beatlemania tunes.

Late 1964 saw Lennon beginning to bleed these two worlds together – to great effect. With more than a nod from Bob Dylan, the album Beatles For Sale, released in late 1964, began to display an introspective approach to lyrics. The success of songs such as “I’m a Loser”, “No Reply” and “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” compelled Lennon to utilise the album as a fresh canvas to dig deeper into the human experience. A little over two years from the pedestrian semantics of “Love Me Do”, songs such as “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, “Help!” and “Yesterday” were proving that the Beatles’ boy-band divinity had been handed far deeper pursuits. The landscape that greeted Help! in July 1965 revealed a nation deeply divided; many of those over 30 still mourning the past and all it stood for. While Winston Churchill’s death in January 1965 pulled together the strands of the old guard to mourn one of the pillars of the era, there were other elements that served to confuse and outrage society as change gathered a greater pace.

11th February 1965

For The Beatles, the entirety of the Help! project would dominate the first half of 1965. While filming as such wouldn’t begin until the end of February – through to early May, other events within that time-scale would ultimately fall into the whole Help! ether—the madness of their real lives at times indivisible from what was being caught on film. Just a tad before Help! went into production, Ringo and Maureen Cox were married on 11th February 1965 at Caxton Register Hall in West London. With manager Brian Epstein as best man and John, wife Cynthia and George present, the marriage was kept quiet until the press scuppered any potential and exotic honeymoon – leaving the newly weds a modest alternative in Hove, Sussex, where these photos were captured. Just over a week later Ringo and Maureen would have what amounted to a busman’s holiday in the Bahamas during the making of Help!

The departure for Bahamian sunnier climes on 22nd February 1965, had become something of a formality at London Airport, and the crowd present was wild—1,400 fans all yelling their collective heads off.

On what amounted to a very smoky passage across the States for refuelling, the boys managed to avoid US Customs and Immigration, which was probably just as well as their eyeballs may well have given it all away.

Mind you, on arrival – John (as high as the proverbial kite) appeared happy to spill the beans.

22nd February 1965

008

009

THE BEATLES ON SALISBURY PLAIN 51.1550° N, 1.8090° W

Chalk plateau in England covering 300 square miles (780 km2)

Tuesday, 3rd May & Wednesday, 4th May 1965 Filming the sequence for “The Night Before” on Salisbury Plain. Three days on Salisbury Plain turned The Beatles from pampered pop princes into weather-beaten Mods. Ten-hour days on Salisbury Plain ensured scant opportunities to relax – and when they could grab a gasper, it was a limo drive two miles to the Antrobus Hotel in nearby Amesbury, a modest little town with little other than a chemist, chippy, social club and a couple of pubs. The Antrobus Arms was (and still is) set out of the village by a few hundred metres and, as was atypical for the era, the Fabs shared bedroom space with each other. Not imagining for one moment that Wiltshire fans would be as rabid as their more instinctive London cousins, while they slept, their limousine (parked outside the hotel) was royally stripped of its Beatles interior: clothing, ephemera and even the contents of the ashtrays making its way into the hands of the local Fab fan mafioso.

111

THE BEATLES ON SALISBURY PLAIN 51.1550° N, 1.8090° W

Chalk plateau in England covering 300 square miles (780 km2)

Tuesday, 3rd May & Wednesday, 4th May 1965 Filming the sequence for “The Night Before” on Salisbury Plain. Three days on Salisbury Plain turned The Beatles from pampered pop princes into weather-beaten Mods. Ten-hour days on Salisbury Plain ensured scant opportunities to relax – and when they could grab a gasper, it was a limo drive two miles to the Antrobus Hotel in nearby Amesbury, a modest little town with little other than a chemist, chippy, social club and a couple of pubs. The Antrobus Arms was (and still is) set out of the village by a few hundred metres and, as was atypical for the era, the Fabs shared bedroom space with each other. Not imagining for one moment that Wiltshire fans would be as rabid as their more instinctive London cousins, while they slept, their limousine (parked outside the hotel) was royally stripped of its Beatles interior: clothing, ephemera and even the contents of the ashtrays making its way into the hands of the local Fab fan mafioso.

111

138

138

A moment to breathe before one of Help!’s most hectic scenes in the mock Buckingham Palace. Because the boys’ hair needed to main­tain a consistency during takes, Betty Glasgow – the production’s on-set hairdresser – touches up John’s locks. While slowed down exponentially by the radical “Relativity Cadenza”, at full speed the action was fast and frenetic. For anyone who charts osmosis action, the boys’ wandering through palatial corridors would soon assume a greater reality when they were awarded the M.B.E. just a few months later.

Interiors, ostensibly for Buckingham Palace, collected at the French Dining Room, Cliveden House, Buckinghamshire. Paul’s baseball glove (and ball) was a reference to Steve McQueen’s natty prop in the immensely popular film of just two years previous, The Great Escape.

Cliveden’s ritzy past, littered with dukes, duchesses and princes since the 19th century, found its main celebrity between the war years when Nancy Astor utilised the sumptuous house and grounds to establish what would become known as The Cliveden Set (slightly dodgy lot to be honest). The Beatles’ arrival in 1965 added another element to its rip-roaring celebrity. As Cliveden House is bordered by a rich arboretum rolling down towards the Thames, it would seem amiss not to film something al fresco – especially as spring was in full bluebell bloom.

If the hills weren’t rolling enough, the lads were certainly enjoying rolling their own to pass the time.

A moment to breathe before one of Help!’s most hectic scenes in the mock Buckingham Palace. Because the boys’ hair needed to main­tain a consistency during takes, Betty Glasgow – the production’s on-set hairdresser – touches up John’s locks. While slowed down exponentially by the radical “Relativity Cadenza”, at full speed the action was fast and frenetic. For anyone who charts osmosis action, the boys’ wandering through palatial corridors would soon assume a greater reality when they were awarded the M.B.E. just a few months later.

Interiors, ostensibly for Buckingham Palace, collected at the French Dining Room, Cliveden House, Buckinghamshire. Paul’s baseball glove (and ball) was a reference to Steve McQueen’s natty prop in the immensely popular film of just two years previous, The Great Escape.

Cliveden’s ritzy past, littered with dukes, duchesses and princes since the 19th century, found its main celebrity between the war years when Nancy Astor utilised the sumptuous house and grounds to establish what would become known as The Cliveden Set (slightly dodgy lot to be honest). The Beatles’ arrival in 1965 added another element to its rip-roaring celebrity. As Cliveden House is bordered by a rich arboretum rolling down towards the Thames, it would seem amiss not to film something al fresco – especially as spring was in full bluebell bloom.

If the hills weren’t rolling enough, the lads were certainly enjoying rolling their own to pass the time.

156

157

156

157

The Beatles machine keeps rolling.

Beyond HELP! America beckons once again making historical performances on the Ed Sullivan show, at Shea Stadium and the Chicago White Sox Park.

TWA air hostess, Gisa Kothe, quoted in Ted Schaar’s excellent article, “Beatles Encounters 1965: Unplanned & Planned”, says that air travel was a different experience in the ‘60s. “People got dressed up,” she said. “Men wore suits and women, dresses.

In the Ambassador Section, meals were served on fine china with tablecloths. Very classy. Today, it’s a job to fly anywhere; back then it was a pleasurable experience.”

“How do you find America?”

“Turn left at Greenland.”

Ringo Starr

The jet that carried The Beatles was a Boeing 707-20, which she flew on many times.

Flying on Friday 13th didn’t bother her as she was “never superstitious”, although she said she was aware that some airlines didn’t (and still don’t) use the number 13 to mark rows in their planes. “TWA was often called ‘the Airline of the Stars’,” she said, “and I had the opportunity to meet many celebrities, but none caused as much excitement as The Beatles.” It’s been a long time, but she believes the crew for The Beatles flight “deadheaded” (travelled as passengers for logistical reasons) to London because “management wanted to be sure it had the best.”

173

The Beatles machine keeps rolling.

Beyond HELP! America beckons once again making historical performances on the Ed Sullivan show, at Shea Stadium and the Chicago White Sox Park.

TWA air hostess, Gisa Kothe, quoted in Ted Schaar’s excellent article, “Beatles Encounters 1965: Unplanned & Planned”, says that air travel was a different experience in the ‘60s. “People got dressed up,” she said. “Men wore suits and women, dresses.

In the Ambassador Section, meals were served on fine china with tablecloths. Very classy. Today, it’s a job to fly anywhere; back then it was a pleasurable experience.”

“How do you find America?”

“Turn left at Greenland.”

Ringo Starr

The jet that carried The Beatles was a Boeing 707-20, which she flew on many times.

Flying on Friday 13th didn’t bother her as she was “never superstitious”, although she said she was aware that some airlines didn’t (and still don’t) use the number 13 to mark rows in their planes. “TWA was often called ‘the Airline of the Stars’,” she said, “and I had the opportunity to meet many celebrities, but none caused as much excitement as The Beatles.” It’s been a long time, but she believes the crew for The Beatles flight “deadheaded” (travelled as passengers for logistical reasons) to London because “management wanted to be sure it had the best.”

173

THE BEATLES / EIGHT ARMS TO HOLD YOU

A historical archive celebrating 50 years of the film HELP!

TRADE EDITION RELEASED UNDER LICENCE FROM ARCHIVUM PUBLICATIONS

Paul Skellett ( for art by Skellett visit www.skellett.com )

Creative/Art Direction & Design, Digital Restoration and Remastering, Image Curation, Research and Print Production

Simon Wells

Editorial Curation, Foreword, Authorship and Captions

Simon Weitzman

Project Wrangler, P. Gambaccini & R. Lester (RJSS) Interviews/ Editorial and Research Archive images courtesy of Shutterstock, the British Film Institute, Richard Lester, Pete Nash, Mark Hayward, The Vincent Vigil Collection, Dundee University and the Peto Collection, The Library of Congress, Life, Karl Höfner GmbH & Co., Robert Kern, Mark Naboshek, Ted Schaar, Jerrold F. Hilton, Gisa Kothe, Sara Schmidt, Richard and Irina Porter, Stan Panenka, Rob Bennett, Enrica Gabrielli and Robert Freeman.

About Paul Skellett Paul Skellett is a creative/art director, designer/artist, author and audio producer.

Paul lives and works in the beautiful village of Rosliston in Derbyshire. His branding and graphics work had major influence changing the conceptual and visual landscape of bars and clubs within the leisure industry during the nineties and the noughties before he returned to a creative focus in photo-graphics within music and fashion, leading him into the new era of publishing. Although a massive Beatles fan, Paul’s fascination and passion is all about the creative process, creating and producing both visual and audio art. Paul has also designed and published The Beatles - All You Need is Love, Tom Murray’s Mad Day Out - The Beatles, The Rolling Stones - CIRCUS and The Jam In echoed Steps. Paul has had exhibitions of his work in London, Liverpool, Paris and Tokyo. He was also the co-author and book designer of the highly acclaimed publication, The Bible Of Golf (the only golf book on the planet with a whack of rock ’n’ roll).

About Simon Wells Simon Wells has written on film and music for numerous magazines and newspapers including The Guardian, The Times and The Independent. He is a regular contributor to Empire, Record Collector, Hotdog, TV Zone, Total Film, and was a contributor to The Beatles’ Book, the group’s official magazine. In addition to his writing credits, Simon has researched projects for the likes of BBC, Channel Four, C5, Discovery Channel and Virgin Media, as well as broadcasting live on LBC, ITN and BBC on film and music. Simon is the author of nine books, including Beatles 365 Days and The Beatles in Japan.

About Simon Weitzman Simon Weitzman has previously written, produced and directed network TV shows, as well as writing short stories that went on to be licensed by movie studios, including the original stories for the movies, Event Horizon and Bad Santa. Simon has also co-authored The Beatles - All You Need is Love, Tom Murray’s Mad Day Out - The Beatles. He was the co-author of the highly acclaimed publication, The Bible Of Golf. Simon’s previous credits include work with Disney/Buena Vista, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, HBO, PolyGram and BMG.

This edition published by ACC Editions ©2017 Archivum Publications.

Original edition ©2015 Archivum Publications.

ISBN 978-1-85149-868-0 Archivum Publications is a mark of Bad Halo Limited / 06181173.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Every effort has been made in this publication to correctly source and use imagery.

The authors have used their best endeavours to create the editorial. We apologise in advance for any overlooked corrections in this volume. Any editorial viewpoints, unless quoted, are those of the authors. This publication uses English spelling.

The publisher (and this book) has no relationship with Apple Corps Ltd or The Beatles.

There is no attempt in the book to pass itself off as an officially recognised or authorised publication.

It does, however, through some wonderful archives, many of which come directly from fans, pay homage to a particularly magnificent band, appreciated and loved by fans the world over.

For more information about Archivum Publications: www.archivumuk.com For more information about Studio Skellett: www.skellett.com For more information about ACC Art Books: www.accartbooks.com Printed in China for ACC Editions, an imprint of ACC Art Books Ltd, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4SD, UK

Love from all of us to John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Four lads from Liverpool who shook the world!

ACC EDITIONS

www.accartbooks.com