Post by stavros on Jan 2, 2015 19:26:27 GMT -5
First time I have ever heard this. In fact it was just a couple of hours ago.
BBC4 were showing a retrospective review of "Top of the Pops" from 1980 tonight here in the UK.
Link to the show : Top of the Pops : The Story of 1980
Apologies if you live outside the UK & Ireland because I doubt you'll be able to view it unless you can find a suitable UK proxy server to and know what to do.
Anyway I'll cut to the chase. About 50 mins into the show we hear about John's tragic death and there is a short interview with Richard Skinner (who at the time was a news presenter on Radio 1 - then the UK's most popular radio station).
I've transcribed what he said as close as I could.
I was listening to the BBC World Service and I woke up at 4am ... they were announcing John Lennon had been shot.
I leapt out of my bed and jumped into my car and drove into (BBC) Radio 1 (Newsbeat) newsroom. I suddenly see in my phone book I've got Paul McCartney's home telephone number. I thought about it, because it was kind of a nerve wracking irresponsible thing to do but I did phone the number and somebody did answer the phone.
I asked if they knew about John, and they didn't. And so I passed it on and asked could Paul phone back to Newsbeat because we would value a comment but appreciate that he may not be able to.
Suddenly one of the (office) girls came through and said "Richard! Paul McCartney on the phone. So I went to the back office, the editor's office and shut the door and had a long conversation with Paul who wouldn't go on air.
He was so upset and we talked about John and we talked about plans that, he tells me in the phone call, he and John had to get together and try and write music again together. That would have been happening that December. But the studio they wanted to use was booked out.
They didn't get together and were hoping to get together in the New Year.
So John Lennon shouldn't have even been in New York on the 8th of December
I have never heard of this before and 35 years is a long time for this to come out. I'm also not accepting this totally on face value so did a bit of digging and found this from Monday, 24th September 2007
When John Lennon was shot, I happened to have Paul McCartney's home telephone number.
I phoned and he didn't know. I spoke to his butler or somebody like that and he passed on the news.
About three hours later, about eight o'clock in the morning, Paul McCartney phoned me in the Newsbeat office.
He said, 'Thank you for telling me - I can't talk about this.' So we never got an interview, but being the person to pass on that news was a bit of a weird one.
Source : Why Radio 1's DJs hated Newsbeat
It may seem to confirm that Richard Skinner was the breaker of bad news to Paul McCartney on that fateful morning. But I am not really sure if this corroborates the story about John and Paul planning to be working together, writing music during December 1980.
What do you think?
BBC4 were showing a retrospective review of "Top of the Pops" from 1980 tonight here in the UK.
Link to the show : Top of the Pops : The Story of 1980
Apologies if you live outside the UK & Ireland because I doubt you'll be able to view it unless you can find a suitable UK proxy server to and know what to do.
Anyway I'll cut to the chase. About 50 mins into the show we hear about John's tragic death and there is a short interview with Richard Skinner (who at the time was a news presenter on Radio 1 - then the UK's most popular radio station).
I've transcribed what he said as close as I could.
I was listening to the BBC World Service and I woke up at 4am ... they were announcing John Lennon had been shot.
I leapt out of my bed and jumped into my car and drove into (BBC) Radio 1 (Newsbeat) newsroom. I suddenly see in my phone book I've got Paul McCartney's home telephone number. I thought about it, because it was kind of a nerve wracking irresponsible thing to do but I did phone the number and somebody did answer the phone.
I asked if they knew about John, and they didn't. And so I passed it on and asked could Paul phone back to Newsbeat because we would value a comment but appreciate that he may not be able to.
Suddenly one of the (office) girls came through and said "Richard! Paul McCartney on the phone. So I went to the back office, the editor's office and shut the door and had a long conversation with Paul who wouldn't go on air.
He was so upset and we talked about John and we talked about plans that, he tells me in the phone call, he and John had to get together and try and write music again together. That would have been happening that December. But the studio they wanted to use was booked out.
They didn't get together and were hoping to get together in the New Year.
So John Lennon shouldn't have even been in New York on the 8th of December
I have never heard of this before and 35 years is a long time for this to come out. I'm also not accepting this totally on face value so did a bit of digging and found this from Monday, 24th September 2007
When John Lennon was shot, I happened to have Paul McCartney's home telephone number.
I phoned and he didn't know. I spoke to his butler or somebody like that and he passed on the news.
About three hours later, about eight o'clock in the morning, Paul McCartney phoned me in the Newsbeat office.
He said, 'Thank you for telling me - I can't talk about this.' So we never got an interview, but being the person to pass on that news was a bit of a weird one.
Source : Why Radio 1's DJs hated Newsbeat
It may seem to confirm that Richard Skinner was the breaker of bad news to Paul McCartney on that fateful morning. But I am not really sure if this corroborates the story about John and Paul planning to be working together, writing music during December 1980.
What do you think?