The ECHO spoke to the director and co-producer of Disney’s new documentary “Beatles ’64”, which features interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr
Around half an hour into the new documentary “Beatles ’64”, Ringo Starr launches into an impression. As he’s interviewed by the film’s producer Martin Scorsese, the drummer from Dingle yells “How you doing?” in his best take on a New York accent, sounding a bit like Joey from Friends if he’d ended up working at Chandlers hardware shop on Allerton Road.
At this point in the film, which charts The Beatles’ all-conquering February 1964 arrival in the United States and their legendary performances on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, Ringo and Scorsese are discussing larger-than-life New York DJ ‘Murray the K’, who became friends with the band on their first US jaunt. Ringo’s impression is of Murray himself.
About the DJ, he goes on to say: “He wasn’t obnoxious to us… just felt he was New York-ish.” After Scorsese – a man who has spent his career capturing these effervescent New York characters – agrees, Ringo then adds: “Well they are quite loud and direct. If you want to get any more of that, go to Liverpool.”
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It is not the only comparison drawn between our city and the Big Apple in the new documentary, which arrived on streaming platform Disney+ on Friday. Combining sumptuous footage of the band shot in 1964 by Albert and David Maysles with contemporary interviews with Ringo, Paul McCartney, Beatles fans and figures from American music, the film charts the rapid spread of Beatlemania across America and the legacy it has left.
Many of the film’s joys come from seeing the four lads from Liverpool having the time of their lives in New York. Similarities with their home are why the band took to the east coast city, according to the film’s director David Tedeschi and co-producer Margaret Bodde, who spoke to the ECHO from London this week.
“It’s funny – Liverpool does seem to be mentioned over and over again, by Ringo and some of the people we interviewed”, says David. “It’s almost like an unseen character.
“Paul had done his exhibit ‘Eyes of the Storm’ (a selection of his own photography of The Beatles’ early touring years) in London and then moved it to New York, which is where we filmed it. So he was already thinking about 1964 and you see these beautiful shots of his family, his house, his origins – along with Paris and then New York, Washington and Miami and all that happens to them.
“So he was already thinking in terms of revisiting the past and thinking about it. Ringo is the one who mentions it (Liverpool) more.
“Even when he talks about Washington Coliseum and the absurdity of it (a concert where issues with the staging meant Ringo’s drum set up didn’t go to plan). This poor guy, the stage is moving and his drum rostra was not. He has to move it, but he says ‘we’re from Liverpool, we knew what to do’.”
Both David and Margaret, who are long-time collaborators with the masterful Scorsese, speak fondly of Liverpool and the way that Paul and Ringo reflect on their home. About Ringo’s comparison between Scousers and New Yorkers, Margaret said: “It’s so funny because he said ‘and he was really loud’. Marty’s laughing because New York understands a character like Murray the K and then Ringo says ‘if you want any more of that, just go to Liverpool’.
“So I think there is this simpatico and connection between the attitude in both places. That’s why the rapport that they have in the footage that Albert and David Maysles shot with the press, it’s a very familiar thing for them.”
David added: I don’t know how much the world has changed. But I did find it fascinating when George Harrison (in an interview from the 1980s included in the film) says ‘well everyone in Liverpool is a comedian, just look at the toll collector at the Mersey Tunnel – you can just start there’
The director then asked the ECHO: “Is it still like that?” We told him it certainly is.
The footage shot by the Maysles encapsulates The Beatles’ ‘Scouseness‘ and their trademark wit. It primarily shows the band holed up in New York’s Plaza Hotel, as legions of screaming and crying fans surround the building. Essentially trapped in their suite, you see the band killing time between performances – smoking, drinking, joking with each other and taking the mick out of reporters.
Their humour shines through and anyone from Liverpool watching these scenes will feel like they could just be sitting around with their mates. So, to answer David’s question properly – not much has changed at all. But you then see the band’s electric performances on stage and are reminded that the four normal lads from Liverpool just happen to be the greatest and most influential musicians of all time.
David found The Beatles’ excitement and joy in New York infectious as he worked his way through 11 hours of the Maysles’ footage to make his film. He told the ECHO: “They’re very happy in all the footage. It’s literally a dream come true for them, all their musical heroes, the music they listened to and they loved, came from the United States.
“George had been to the US, his sister had moved to the US, so he was the only one who had a feeling for it. None of them could believe it.
“Paul had said in September of 1963 – they left in February 1964 – we’re not going to America unless we have a number one hit, because of this history of British artists going to the United States and failing.
“Brian Epstein in his wisdom, or genius or naivety, booked them on The Ed Sullivan Show and said ‘we’ll see what happens’. Then ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ hit number one a week before they arrived in New York. So it was this remarkable confluence of events and I think it was a joy to look at.”
The impact of that cannot be understated. The Beatles’ arrival was a watershed moment in American culture, which legendary musicians like Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel have cited as being transformative events in their own lives.
It also had quite the impact on a young Martin Scorsese, who was 21 and at college when The Beatles arrived in the States. David explained: “Like a lot of people we interviewed in the film, Marty was there and he’s part of that generation.
“He talks about the first time The Beatles were played in New York, when DJ Cousin Brucie played ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’. Marty remembers that moment, it made him late to school, he walked to school and he told everyone in his class ‘you’ve got to hear this new band, they’re just incredible’. He brought a point of view of what the world was like in 1964, which was first person.”
Rock music – particularly The Rolling Stones – has always played a starring role in Scorsese’s films. Robert De Niro’s entrance to ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ in ‘Mean Street’ is a seminal cinematic moment and ‘Gimme Shelter’ is used brilliantly in both ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘The Departed’, but The Beatles hold a special place in the 82-year-old’s heart.
He directed the 2011 documentary ‘George Harrison: Living in the Material World’, on which David and Margaret both worked. It was that film which led the trio to “Beatles ’64”, as Margaret explained.
“David and I have both had the good fortune of working with Marty for over 20 years and we’ve made together in different capacities a lot of documentary films” she said. “One of those films was the George Harrison documentary ‘Living in the Material World’ and we got to know Olivia Harrison and Danny Harrison really well.
“We are still very good friends with Olivia and it was kind of her idea to talk to David and Marty about making this film on the 60th anniversary of the February ’64 US visit. Apple Corps had worked with Peter Jackson’s company in New Zealand to restore all the footage and eventually got all the mono tracks mixed and re-mixed.
“That had already been underway, so by the time it came to us, we had about a year to make the film because they wanted to get it out in the 60th anniversary.
“Marty loves music and he loves history and he loves preservation. This project combines all of those things. He’s a producer – he’s a creative producer on this project, David is the director.
“David and Marty have worked together co-directing two other films and so, he’s always on board for a good time. He’s always on board for having the opportunity to talk to idols. He idolises musicians at the level of Paul and Ringo and he was seriously excited to get in there.”
“Beatles ’64” is available to stream on Disney+ now. You can read the ECHO’s review here.
