Kenwood: August '67 re-ups.

Yo shorties etc. (I'm not going any further down that path.) Here a couple of pics that have been on before, but in the case of the above slightly cropped and lower res, and in the case of the below, in dreadful quality.
So this is it better, from the pages of odd French publication J2: John and Terry Doran (below, that is - the fellow above, whose photos these are, is now a politician I believe) caught on the step outside the dining room at Kenwood in August 1967, whilst one of the ubiquitous cats goes about its business. Plus a similar view from 2006:


Note how, amongst other things, a door has appeared where previously there was only a window. Now if only that internal sunroom shot, from the same day, would turn up in reasonable quality too.

Kenwood: summer, 1967 - part 2, interview.

Here, as promised, is Swedish schoolboy (that's him in the above pics) Richard Mühlrad's interview with John, at Kenwood, in the summer of 1967. John's answers were apparently captured on a tape recorder (manned by Richard), and then transcribed and translated into Swedish. As far as I am aware, this is the first time the interview has appeared in English. (It should probably also be noted that this is a re-translation out of Swedish and back into English; luckily, most of the language is simple enough, and it is likely, therefore, to be a pretty accurate representation.) No revelations, or anything, but another little slice of time and place, all the same:

RM: Are you tired of pop music?
JL: No, why do you ask?

RM: Well, the Beatles have changed their style.
JL: It's still pop music.

RM: What will you do when you quit playing music?
JL: I don't know. Many people have asked me that question. I guess I'll just stop playing.

RM: What are the Beatles doing this autumn and winter?
JL: We're making a new film.

RM: Will you be travelling abroad?
JL: We haven't decided yet.

RM: Is it fun or tiresome being idolized?
JL: It's both fun and tiresome.

RM: Are the Beatles coming to Sweden this or next year?
JL: I don't think so. We've stopped touring. We might come as tourists on holiday.

RM: For how long will the Beatles keep on playing?
JL: I don't know, hopefully forever.

RM: But the papers keep writing that you're breaking up.
JL: You should never believe what the big papers say.

RM: Do you like the Monkees?
JL: Yes, in fact I met them last night. (John is referring to a big party at the Beatles favourite club which pop stars like the Rolling Stones, Monkees, Jimi Hendrix and others attended.)

RM: When will the new film be finished?
JL: November.

RM: When is the next album due?
JL: Soon I think. We have been writing and recording new songs continuously after finishing Sgt Pepper, so a new album should probably be out by September.

RM: Do you think you will release more records in 1968 compared to 1967?
JL: Oh, I really don't know you know. Everybody asks us about that.

RM: Do you like opera?
JL: No I think it's horrible! The music is alright, it's the singers I can't stand listening to.

RM: Have the Beatles managed to travel abroad much without the press finding out about it?
JL: Sometimes. They always know when any of us travel somewhere, but they don't always know where to.

RM: Do you think pop will last another five years, and if so, do you see yourselves topping the charts at that time?
JL: Yes, we hope so. Pop music will only become better and more like fine art over the next five years.

RM: Do you still enjoy playing before big crowds?
JL: No. It's too tiring.

RM: Is that why you stopped touring, unlike the Monkees who carry on?
JL: Well, we've already done that. What the Monkees are doing now is what we did for five years. You can't just repeat yourself over and over. We can't stand on stage and sing "She Loves You" anymore, that would just bore us. If we were to tour again we would need a full orchestra, and then no-one would listen.

RM: Do you prefer short or long hair?
JL: Well it's short at the moment, but I prefer long hair.

RM: Do you think having short hair has lost you any fans?
JL: I don't know.

And neither do I. Many thanks again go to Bruno for unearthing the Swedish fan mag from whence it came, and to Lonedrone for the re-translation.

Kenwood: summer, 1967 - part 1.

Bruno Dupont has sent more pics and information regarding the visit of Swedish schoolboy Richard Mühlrad to Kenwood in the summer of 1967. The new material comes from an old Scandinavian fan mag, and whilst not of the greatest image-quality, the latest photos are, nevertheless, fascinating.
I've used one of the (admittedly imperfect) online translators to decode the original Swedish captions, and fairly amusing reading they make too.
In the above pic, you can just see John and Terry Doran sitting in front of the dining room window, John (on the left) with meisterwerk-in-progress on lap, drawing away. But what is that black shape in front of them? According to the original caption...
"John Lennon's house, typically English, in a suburb of London. Richard Mühlrad found the house while strolling around the town." (Oh really??) "He went in and knocked. No one answered. But John Lennon's cat strolled leisurely by. Richard followed - and found John sitting with his gardener, drawing."
His gardener? I must admit (assuming the translation is correct) that raised a chuckle round these parts. (Mind you, Terry Doran did pretty much everything else at Kenwood, so he might as well have done a spot of weeding too, I suppose.) Presumably, this misnomer was down to John, being "foony".
But getting back to the above photo, and yes, that does indeed look like a cat, leading the way round to where John and the green-fingered Mr Doran were sitting. As we've seen before, here's what Richard found:


The following pic, showing Richard and John, has also been on these pages before. According to the caption, it was taken by that trusty gardener:


This pic, however, is new - and very interesting it is too. A look over John's shoulder at what he was working on that day:


Note the Vogue tea-tray (at least, I think that's what it is). I've previously guessed that the drawing was probably the charity Christmas card that appeared at the end of 1967; but I can't see anything in the new pic which exactly matches. However, that doesn't neccesarily mean this is a different drawing: John worked on this quite complex piece over several days, and it seems to be at an early stage in the over the shoulder shot. You can see several faces; stylistically it is similar. So I'd say that it is probably the same picture, though re-worked considerably before completion. (Unless, o' course, anyone out there recognises it as something else...):


Finally, Richard got a quick look in the sunroom. The caption states that he didn't get to see any of the rest of the house, but that John didn't mind him taking a snap in here. Interestingly, the caption further identifies the guitar that can be seen (side on) as being John's "first". Hmmmm:


Now, all that is great enough. However, not only did Richard get the above photos, but John also agreed to an interview, which Bruno has found too. I'm going to have this properly translated by a Swedish friend of mine, and will post it when I've done so; it's not that long, but it does put words to these fantastic pics.
Huge thanks to Bruno yet again for uncovering and sharing this material.