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northof49
Good, So now we can all lick his backside one last time and send him far, far away.
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RollingFreak
Thats so exciting. I was far from alive at this time, but I can really picture the energy in the city that weekend. Its funny, it seems so obvious now that the Beatles WOULDN'T be there, but back then you're obviously not looking at it with the benefit of history. Seems obvious they won't when you know the story and know that it NEVER happened and I can come to the conclusion today "yeah, why would it? Why would anyone expect it to?" But thinking back to then, in the moment, its not inconceivable (it is given that McCartney really wanted to solidify and step away from that Beatles legacy it seemed like Wings, making it a big deal that it was WINGS and not just Paul McCartney like it became in years later, which oddly enough today seeing a show of his is synonymous with just seeing a Beatles show given what he plays). Its the same today though as us 10 years ago just hoping Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor would step on the stage with the Stones one more time. Just seeing that group together, since they're all alive and live in that area. The idea that John wouldn't stop by can't escape your mind when you know his location in the city. I totally get why the pandemonium would happen then even though it seems kinda absurd nowadays. The idea that one day they might get back on stage definitely would have remained a constant had John obviously not been shot, and I guess knowing that that happened in 1980 there was never a time in my life that it was possible for the Beatles to reunite.
Wasn't it such a different time when something as simple as this would make so many happy? And that Wings Over America album is so good. Best thing he did during his solo career IMO. What a great set of songs he had by 76 to pull from.
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MisterDDDD
"You divide it anyway you want. If you want to give Ringo [Starr] less, that's up to you."
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MisterDDDD
It was meant as a joke, but it turned into, arguably, the greatest missed opportunity in rock history. On April 24, 1976, John Lennon and Paul McCartney nearly took Lorne Michaels up on his offer to have the Beatles perform on Saturday Night Live.
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tattersQuote
MisterDDDD
It was meant as a joke, but it turned into, arguably, the greatest missed opportunity in rock history. On April 24, 1976, John Lennon and Paul McCartney nearly took Lorne Michaels up on his offer to have the Beatles perform on Saturday Night Live.
Lorne knew what he was doing. He knew that offering them a ridiculously small amount of money was exactly the kind of thing that would appeal to their somewhat off-kilter sense of humor, and that they just might take him up on it, if not on the night of the broadcast (I doubt very much he could have known they were watching), then maybe at some point in the future. After all, Michaels had already reunited Simon & Garfunkel on only the second-ever episode of SNL, so where do you go from there? Who's bigger than Simon & Garfunkel?
By the way, although it's now largely forgotten, Michaels did make his offer to the Beatles a second time, just a few weeks later, in fact. On Saturday, May 22, 1976, when he knew Wings would be in New York, with a night off between appearances at Nassau Coliseum and Madison Square Garden.
Yeah. He knew what he was doing.
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tattersQuote
MisterDDDD
It was meant as a joke, but it turned into, arguably, the greatest missed opportunity in rock history. On April 24, 1976, John Lennon and Paul McCartney nearly took Lorne Michaels up on his offer to have the Beatles perform on Saturday Night Live.
Lorne knew what he was doing. He knew that offering them a ridiculously small amount of money was exactly the kind of thing that would appeal to their somewhat off-kilter sense of humor, and that they just might take him up on it, if not on the night of the broadcast (I doubt very much he could have known they were watching), then maybe at some point in the future. After all, Michaels had already reunited Simon & Garfunkel on only the second-ever episode of SNL, so where do you go from there? Who's bigger than Simon & Garfunkel?
By the way, although it's now largely forgotten, Michaels did make his offer to the Beatles a second time, just a few weeks later, in fact. On Saturday, May 22, 1976, when he knew Wings would be in New York, with a night off between appearances at Nassau Coliseum and Madison Square Garden.
Yeah. He knew what he was doing.
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RollingFreak
Its incredible of the few times they hung out post Beatles they happened to be together and watching that offer. Its to the point that it really seems like its not true, but they've both confirmed it, and I don't really know why John would have lied about it. Yeah, they really should have gone down.
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tattersQuote
RollingFreak
Thats so exciting. I was far from alive at this time, but I can really picture the energy in the city that weekend. Its funny, it seems so obvious now that the Beatles WOULDN'T be there, but back then you're obviously not looking at it with the benefit of history. Seems obvious they won't when you know the story and know that it NEVER happened and I can come to the conclusion today "yeah, why would it? Why would anyone expect it to?" But thinking back to then, in the moment, its not inconceivable (it is given that McCartney really wanted to solidify and step away from that Beatles legacy it seemed like Wings, making it a big deal that it was WINGS and not just Paul McCartney like it became in years later, which oddly enough today seeing a show of his is synonymous with just seeing a Beatles show given what he plays). Its the same today though as us 10 years ago just hoping Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor would step on the stage with the Stones one more time. Just seeing that group together, since they're all alive and live in that area. The idea that John wouldn't stop by can't escape your mind when you know his location in the city. I totally get why the pandemonium would happen then even though it seems kinda absurd nowadays. The idea that one day they might get back on stage definitely would have remained a constant had John obviously not been shot, and I guess knowing that that happened in 1980 there was never a time in my life that it was possible for the Beatles to reunite.
Wasn't it such a different time when something as simple as this would make so many happy? And that Wings Over America album is so good. Best thing he did during his solo career IMO. What a great set of songs he had by 76 to pull from.
Lennon's surprise appearance 18 months earlier at Elton John's MSG show is what gave us hope that he might just show up at Paul's concert as well. Also, I believe there were reports that John had been in the audience when George Harrison played Long Island's Nassau Coliseum on December 15, 1974, just a couple weeks after the Elton John gig. It's also interesting to note that as originally planned, the Wings tour had been scheduled to have the final show take place at the Garden on May 25, 1976. Then, if memory serves, the drummer Joe English broke his finger, and the start of the tour had to be postponed from early April to early May. Everything got re-arranged, but the New York dates stayed the same, except now they were in the middle of the tour, with the final shows now taking place in Los Angeles in June. In retrospect, that ruled out New York for any possible reunion, since it would have made no sense at all to do it in the middle of the tour. It would have made the entire second half of the tour seem anti-climatic. As for the final show in L.A., I think Ringo actually did show up for that, not to perform in any way, but simply to walk onstage to give Paul a hug and wave to the crowd. Doesn't seem like such a big deal now, but to see two ex-Beatles on the same stage at a time when all four of them were alive was an extremely rare thing. The only other instance I can think of that happening is The Concert for Bangladesh. As to why they didn't keep New York as the final stop on the tour, my guess is that the argument between Lennon and McCartney on April 25, 1976, the day after they watched SNL together, and the final time they saw one another, convinced Paul that the cantankerous Lennon wasn't going to show up anyway, so there was no longer any reason to leave the door open to a reunion by having the final show in New York.
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tatters
45 years ago this weekend. Damn that was an exciting time to be a sixteen-year-old Beatles fan. Macca's first Big Apple performances since the Beatles second visit to Shea Stadium in '66. Beatles reunion rumors at a fever pitch, and Lennon potentially just a taxi cab ride away. This clip from a NYC TV News report really captures the moment.
[www.youtube.com]
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tatters
45 years ago this weekend. Damn that was an exciting time to be a sixteen-year-old Beatles fan. Macca's first Big Apple performances since the Beatles second visit to Shea Stadium in '66. Beatles reunion rumors at a fever pitch, and Lennon potentially just a taxi cab ride away. This clip from a NYC TV News report really captures the moment.
[www.youtube.com]
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2000 LYFHQuote
tatters
45 years ago this weekend. Damn that was an exciting time to be a sixteen-year-old Beatles fan. Macca's first Big Apple performances since the Beatles second visit to Shea Stadium in '66. Beatles reunion rumors at a fever pitch, and Lennon potentially just a taxi cab ride away. This clip from a NYC TV News report really captures the moment.
[www.youtube.com]
Thanks for the reminder tatters - Now I remember what I was doing 45 years ago tonight - Nassau Coliseum May 21, 1976. Wonder how I got there and got back home...
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tatters
Yeah. He knew what he was doing.