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| From | "Jaimie Vernon" <bullseyecanada@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: Klaatu |
| Date | Sun, 21 Nov 2004 21:38:03 -0500 |
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At Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2004 23:40:29 Andrew Hickey wrote:
> > However, the similarity in "Sub Rosa" to all things Beatles led
>Providence
> > Rhode Island journalist Steve Smith to speculate that the band was
>either
> > working under a pseudonym or it was several members of the Beatles
>working
> > in tandem....OR a band who really nailed the feel for the Psychedelic
>era
> > Beatles. Truth be told, the rumour had some validity only in that the
> > Beatles deal with Capitol had expired -- the four solo Beatles having to
> > renogiate the very month that the Klaatu album hit big.
>
>What added to the rumours was that one of Ringo's solo albums around
>then had a still from The Day The Earth Stood Still on the cover,
>IIRC...
And the accompanying sticker for the album said "Klaatu Barada Nikto".
Something that fans of the movie would be familiar with, but pointing
directly to Klaatu themselves in a musical context.
There were dozens of little incidental asides pointing from Klaatu to The
Beatles:
In the song "Doctor Marvello" (which sounds like The Turtles "You SHOWED
Me", not *USED Me* as mentioned in a previous email) there's the line "....a
sentimental journey" which was another reference to a Ringo solo work.
The Morse Code in the coda of Klaatu's "Sub Rosa Subway" was
misinterpretated to say "from the starship Apple". A more accurate reading
had it still skewed with the lines "From London to New York" [i.e. The Big
Apple]. Better still was the part of the song lyric that opined "It's
Alfred". When spun backwards on your turntable it (allegedly says) "It's Us.
It's Us. It's The Beeeeeatles".
There's a famous misquote that was fed to the press by a fan of the band and
taken as truth that alleges Paul McCartney finished a concert on the '76
Wings tour with "See you when the Earth Stands Still". However, McCartney
*did* have a segment of that tour's stage backdrop decked out with old
Marvel Comic book covers to emphasize the Venus & Mars track "Magneto And
Titanium Man" -- including the one with The Incredible Hulk Vs. KLAATU.
I have been given access to the band's entire paper and tape archive which
includes, among other things, incriminating internal memos from Capitol
Records chiefs ordering Capitol staff to dig up as many *clues* connecting
Klaatu to The Beatles as possible. Australia was the most guilty of this
with prizes going to staff members who could think up the most clever
"tie-in" as possible. The best one from this "find Waldo" stupidity was a
connection between the sun image on George Harrison's solo work at the time
("33 1/3", I believe) and the sun image on the Klaatu album '3:47 EST'.
It makes you wonder whether Capitol themselves weren't culpable in the
original "Paul Is Dead" scandal. It seems more than plausible after
witnessing the hysteria -- and 2 million copies in Klaatu sales that
followed this stunt.
And just to clarify for all concerned. Klaatu neither denied nor admitted to
being The Beatles because they were in England recording their follow-up
album at the time and were oblivious to the actual effect occurring under
their noses. They didn't find out about the rumour until March of
1977....nearly 5 weeks after it hit the headlines in Billboard (which is
where they heard about it first). Management hadn't filled them in until
album sales started showing up on the charts.
Years later, Klaatu member Dee Long was working for George Martin at AIR
Studios and had a good laugh about the whole thing with McCartney himself --
who hadn't heard the story until it was explained to him by Long and Martin
in 1984 while recording vocal tracks for "Give My Regards To Broadstreet".
Jaimie Vernon,
President, Bullseye Records
"Not Suing Our Customers Since 1985!!"
http://www.bullseyecanada.com
Author, Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia
http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusicPopEncycloPages
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