The AFU and Urban Legend Archive
Songs
 john and paul on SNL




From carroll@tjc.com Sat Dec 7 17:53:37 1996 Date: Sat, 7 Dec 1996 14:35:03 -0800 (PST)
From: Terry Carroll <carroll@tjc.com>
Subject: Re: Beatles and SNL

On Fri, 6 Dec 1996, Vicki Robinson wrote:

> > On Saturday Night Live (back when it was *good*, circa '72 -- '78), Lorne
> > Michels, producer of the show, offered the Fab Four, yep, that's right, THE
> > Beatles, $1000 to re-group and appear on the show. (His pitch included an
> > idea on how to divvy up the money, "I don't care how you do it; maybe you
> > could give Ringo a little less than everybody else.")
> > Anyway the legend part is this: after that show aired, it was widely rumored
> > that the Beatles had, in fact, all been in New York City at the time and
> > *did* show up at the NBC studios but past the alloted run-time for the show.

>From the Playboy interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (Playboy,
January 1981, p. 84):

PLAYBOY: Aside from the millions you've been offered for a reunion concert, how did you feel about producer Lorne Michaels' generous offer of $3200 for appearing together on Saturday Night Live a few years ago?

LENNON: Oh, yeah. Paul and I were together watching that show. He was visiting us at our place at the Dakota. We were watching it and almost went down to the studio, just as a gag. We nearly got into a cab, but we were actually too tired.

PLAYBOY: How did you and Paul happen to be watching TV together?

LENNON: That was a period when Paul just kept turning up at our door with a guitar. I would let him in, but finally I said to him, "Please call before you come over. It's not 1956 and turning up at the door isn't the same anymore. You know, just give me a ring." He was upset by that, but I didn't mean it badly. I just meant that I was taking care of a baby all day and some guy turns up at the door. . . . But anyway, back on that night, he and Linda walked in and he and I were just sitting there, watching the show, and we went, "Ha-hah, wouldn't it be funny if we went down?" but we didn't.

-- 

Terry Carroll       | "In a professional sports league game played in the
Santa Clara, CA     | United States, the head referee ... shall ... in the
carroll@tjc.com     | event of conflicting calls, review instant replay to
Modell delenda est  | determine the correct call." - House Bill H.R. 3096




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