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Post by Panther on Oct 28, 2014 3:21:49 GMT -5
Any other Canadians out there? Who would've thought John was a Habs fan?: Joking aside, there's a great line in Tune In where, after The Beatles dispense with the athletic Pete Best, Lewisohn notes that in finding Ringo they found perhaps the only other young male on Merseyside who was completely indifferent to sport(s). It is sort of odd that 4 young dudes got together and no one of them was arsed in the slightest about sport(s). Any anecdotes, stories, about The Beatles and sport(s)?
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Post by John S. Damm on Oct 28, 2014 15:52:27 GMT -5
Random thoughts from me on what is an interesting Thread.
John loved to swim and was said to be a good, "powerful swimmer." Not competitively but he just loved to swim and he was very proud of teaching Sean how to swim. It was also said John wasn't very good or interested in soccer(or football) or cricket, maybe because of his poor eyesight. And in footage from 1988's Imagine documentary, John is shown shooting a basketball to a goal set up at Ascot(there is a party going on and maybe Andy Warhol is there, how surreal) and John's shooting form looks like 1930's American high school, two handed, set-shot!
George loved motorcycle and car racing from early on. We know he went to many Formula One events up to the end.
I was fascinated as a kid watching Paul and the Wings kick a soccer ball around in the TV show James Paul McCartney. Paul may not have played sports in grammar school but he could control a soccer ball light years better than I could! I thought he looked athletic kicking and passing it to the other Wings. And he was a smoker back then.
John's guest appearance on Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell and Ronald Reagan(of all people) was cool even if it would prove horribly ironic that many Americans were first told of his murder by Cosell on MNF years later.
Paul is now to be seen prominently at many professional American sporting events like the NBA, MLB and NFL. He also was seen at the London Olympics. Maybe Nancy has turned Paul onto basketball, baseball and American football, I do not know. But Paul is always captured by the Jumbotron camera in the various stadiums and enjoys the attention, hamming it up for the crowd.
I think the Beatles enjoyed boxing and we know they knew Ali and some of the other greats.
Interesting Thread, Panther, I'd love to hear other anecdotes
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kc
Beatle Freak
Posts: 1,085
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Post by kc on Oct 28, 2014 16:54:47 GMT -5
George loved motorcycle and car racing from early on. We know he went to many Formula One events up to the end. Including at least one and probably several Grand Prix races here in Adelaide in the mid-late 1980s. My former brother in law met him there, possibly in 1986. He had a photo of him, now out of my reach.
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Post by stavros on Oct 28, 2014 17:54:00 GMT -5
I have to be honest I did once think the Beatles interest in sport was virtually zero. But perhaps no so. George was always a motor racing fan not just Formula 1 but the whole spectrum from Le Mans to bikes. In fact his interest pre-dates his Beatle Days as the British Grand Prix was occasionally hosted at Aintree in Liverpool not too far from his Wavertree home. Here he is in 1955. Nowadays Aintree is better known for the "Grand National" which is arguably the most famous horse race meeting in the UK. Although parts of the old Grand Prix circuit are still visible it hasn't been used for decades. More here : George and Motor SportsThere is a story that he and John also went (or at least attempted to get tickets for) the 1971 FA Cup Final featuring Liverpool v Arsenal. I think North Americans probably know this is sort of the 'English' equivalent to the Super Bowl. Although I can't remember where my source was for that one sorry, perhaps Badman's books. It may turn out not to be true. John did appear in an impromptu interview at an NFL game back in the 1970s if I recall? His Walls and Bridges album features a sketch of what is thought to be of the 1952 FA Cup Final Pete Best claimed (back in 2009)that John Lennon was actually a decent footballer. And of course Liverpool footballer Albert Stubbins features on the cover of Sgt. Pepper. Along with the line about "Matt Busby" (the former Liverpool player and then Manchester United manager) in the throwaway song "Dig It" on Let it Be. As for Paul well he seemed to tread very carefully where football is concerned. Often declaring that he supports both Liverpool and Everton but admitting his dad was a blues (Everton) fan. He did attend the 1966 FA Cup Final featuring Everton and also the Liverpool v Everton final in 1986 SourceFinally in 2011 he admitted his main team was Everton but would also follow Liverpool (ever the diplomat) . Source : Liverpool Echo Dec 201As for Ringo I think he was a fairly sickly child and so perhaps participating in sport was beyond him. I think somewhere amongst all the 'Get Back' sessions you can hear him discussing a football match involving Chelsea in some detail that he'd been watching the previous evening. But beyond that I don't know. In general I think the Beatles interest in sport can be described as mainly passive. But they certainly didn't ignore it. As JSD says Paul is often seen as a celeb spectator everywhere these days. I am not certain whether it's for his own PR or if he has genuinely developed an interest in them.
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Post by Panther on Oct 28, 2014 19:31:59 GMT -5
Speaking of hockey again, apparently Elton John became a huge fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs after he married a Canadian guy some years ago. Elton was watching Leafs' games religiously for a while anyway. (If you don't know, Toronto hockey fans are the butt of Canadian jokes because they're by far the biggest fanbase but haven't won anything since 1967, as they slowly start becoming the Chicago Cubs of hockey.)
Bob Dylan was a bit of a basketball fan. He writes about watching 'Pistol' Pete Maravich live in New Orleans, in his autobiography. Dylan also played b-ball a bit on court with the Rolling Thunder touring band.
George Harrison was indeed into auto-racing, but that's not an 'athletic' sport, as such. I guess no Beatle was really interested in this.
The athlete of Liverpool, of course, was Alan Caldwell / Rory Storm.
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Post by sayne on Oct 28, 2014 22:05:46 GMT -5
Didn't they all like hunting for "birds"?
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Post by Panther on Oct 28, 2014 22:24:51 GMT -5
Didn't they all like hunting for "birds"? I believe George Harrison was the most enthusiastic in this particular sporting area.
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Post by sayne on Oct 29, 2014 0:16:39 GMT -5
Didn't they all like hunting for "birds"? I believe George Harrison was the most enthusiastic in this particular sporting area. Living in the material world indeed.
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Post by winstonoboogie on Oct 29, 2014 21:24:36 GMT -5
Also Sonny Liston was on the Sgt. Pepper cover (or at least a wax figurine of him). I also remember Derek Taylor's essay about being the Beatles' "go-fer" which included getting a sample of Sonny Liston's sweat (anybody else remember seeing this?).
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Post by coachbk on Oct 30, 2014 11:29:21 GMT -5
Wasn't Ringo big on pool/snooker?
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Post by John S. Damm on Oct 30, 2014 15:36:25 GMT -5
The Beatles Press Conference September 6, 1964 in Detroit, Michigan: "Q: "Fellas, I know Europe soccer is the big sport. Do you have any favorite sport here in America, such as Baseball or American football?" JOHN & RINGO: "We don't like ANY sport." PAUL: "Very unsporting, really. Smoking is a sport." www.beatlesinterviews.org/db1964.0906.beatles.html
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Post by John S. Damm on Oct 30, 2014 15:53:25 GMT -5
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Post by debjorgo on Oct 30, 2014 16:37:04 GMT -5
John Lennon and Miles Davis shooting hoops! Dig John's two-handed set-shot! John playing two sports in one, basketball and smoking. I bet he was winded after that!
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Post by stavros on Oct 30, 2014 18:51:06 GMT -5
I am certain that this photo has most definitely been 'altered' .
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Post by Panther on Oct 30, 2014 21:08:39 GMT -5
I am certain that this photo has most definitely been 'altered' . Ya think?? Georgie Best was a Beatles' fan, though.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2014 4:31:22 GMT -5
I believe George Harrison was the most enthusiastic in this particular sporting area. Living in the material world indeed. I thought the idea was to discard the material so that the sport could begin..
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Post by stavros on Oct 31, 2014 18:13:36 GMT -5
I am certain that this photo has most definitely been 'altered' . Ya think?? Georgie Best was a Beatles' fan, though. Of course it's a fake! Manchester United didn't wear that strip until 1971 And despite the fact that Georgie Best played for a major rival of Liverpool, he was one of the greatest players I've ever seen. Not sure he was a Beatles fan to be honest. Because he rose to fame in the sixties and had film star looks he was dubbed "El Beatle" and "O Quinto Beatle" after United's European Cup win by 'Ze Europeans'. But I don't actually recall ever seeing anything indicating George Best was a Beatles fan. That doesn't mean he wasn't either.
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Post by Panther on Nov 1, 2014 1:53:15 GMT -5
There are interviews with Best where he says he liked The Beatles. Of course, he may have been saying this to perpetuate his media-image, I don't know.
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