Beatles Fiendish Thingy's and Other Great Stuff!

Playboy Interview Part 2~ Beatles Released!!

PLAYBOY: "How much were you earning then?"

JOHN: "For that particular night, 20 dollars."

PLAYBOY: "Apiece?"

JOHN: "For the group! Hell, we used to work for less than that."

PAUL: "We used to work for about three or four dollars a night."

RINGO: "Plus all the Coke we could drink. And we drank alot."

PLAYBOY: "Do you remember the first journalist who came to see you and said, 'I want to write about you'?"

RINGO "We went 'round to them at first, didn't we?"

JOHN: "We went and said, 'We're a group and we've got this record out. Will you...'"

GEORGE: "And the door would slam."

PLAYBOY: "We've heard it said that when you first went to America you were doubtful that you'd make it over there."

JOHN: "That's true. We didn't think we were going to make it at all. It was only Brian telling us we were gonna make it. Brian Epstein our manager, and George Harrison."

GEORGE: "I knew we had a good chance... because of the record sales over there."

JOHN: "The thing is, in America it just seemed ridiculous... I mean, the idea of having a hit record over there. It was just, you know, something you could never do. That's what I thought anyhow. But then I realized that it's just the same as here, that kids everywhere all go for the same stuff. And seeing we'd done it in England and all, there's no reason why we couldn't do it in America, too. But the American disc jockeys didn't know about British records; they didn't play them; nobody promoted them, and so you didn't have hits."

GEORGE: "Well, there were one or two doing it as a novelty."

JOHN: "But it wasn't until 'Time' and "Life' and "Newsweek' came over and wrote articles and created an interest in us that American disc jockeys started playing our records. And Capitol said, 'Well, can we have their records?' You know, they had been offered our records years ago, and they didn't want them. But when they heard we were big over here they said, 'Can we have 'em now?' So we said, 'As long as you promote them.' So Capitol promoted, and with them and all these articles on us, the records just took off."

PLAYBOY: "There's been some dispute among your fans and critics, about whether you're primarily entertainers or musicians... or perhaps neither. What's your own opinion?"

JOHN: "We're money-makers first; then we're entertainers."

RINGO: "No, we're not."

JOHN: "What are we, then?"

RINGO: "Dunno. Entertainers first."

JOHN: "OK."

RINGO: "'Cuz we were entertainers before we were money-makers."

JOHN: "That's right, of course. It's just that the press drivels it into you, so you say it 'cuz they like to hear it, you know."

PAUL: "Still, we'd be idiots to say that it isn't a constant inspiration to be making alot of money. It always is, to anyone. I mean, why do big business tycoons stay big business tycoons? It's not because they're inspired at the greatness of big business; they're in it because they're making alot of money at it. We'd be idiots if we pretended we were in it solely for kicks. In the beginning we were, but at the same time we were hoping to make a bit of cash. it's a switch around now, though, from what it used to be. We used to be doing it mainly for kicks and not making alot of money, and now we're making alot of money without too many kicks... except that we happen to like the money we're making. But we still enjoy making records, going on-stage, making films, and all that business."