I collect vintage Beatles
magazines in my spare time, and in doing so, I came across a particular story which I'd like
to share. I'm not sure if this is actually true, (as those teeny-bopper mags had a tendency
to stretch the truth to a breaking point), but true or not, it certainly is funny.
It was late afternoon. Just the time of day when the sky is sort-of pinkish grey...when the sun has gone down but it's still light.
John was driving along a winding country road in England.
He explained to us, "I had to do a show that night. But I'd gotten permission to take a drive and 'loosen up' a little."
John was planning to drive around for an hour or two and then go back to his hotel to change and go to the theater. But as he drove, he began to lose track of time.
John said, "I saw a lake on the side of the road. It looked so inviting, I couldn't resist, I stopped the car and got out."
John was feeling in just the right mood for a quick dip. Since the area was quite deserted (and he had no bathing suit anyway), he decided to swim "in the raw".
He took off his clothes and laid them down at the base of one of the big trees.
Then he dived in. He felt one sudden icy chill as the cold water hit his body. Then he was warm again. He swam back and forth, floated on his back, made little "porpoise dives" in and out of the water.
"It was great," he told us. "I hadn't done anything like that since I was a kid. And it felt good to be swimming around like that.
I'm not quite sure how long I was in the lake, but it was quite awhile. Because before I realized it, it was getting dark!"
John scrambled out of the water and ran to the tree where he'd put his clothes. He smiled as he told us, "Then it hit me. My pants were gone! I had everything else--but no trousers!"
John didn't know quite what to do. It was already too late to go home to his hotel to change. Besides, he couldn't exactly saunter into a public hotel without his pants! And he couldn't turn up at the theater that way either! So he just stood there (wearing his jacket, of course) hoping it was all a bad dream.
Then John heard a noise. It was sort-of a laugh, but not quite. It was more like a "titter."
John continued, "I walked over to where the sound was coming from. And there, hidden in the bushes, was a group of boys, about ten or eleven years old."
The boys, as it turned out, belonged to a local club. And they'd gone on a hike. They'd been resting not far from the lake when they'd seen John drive up. When they saw what was happening,
they decided to play a little trick on him. So they'd taken his pants while he was swimming!
"May I have my pants back?" John asked the boys.
"You're John Lennon, aren't you?" one of the boys wanted to know.
"Yes, I am," John told them. "Now can I have my pants back?"
The boys were willing to give them back--provided John pay a "ransom." John listened to their "deal" and agreed to it.
"I just hope my mates thought of bringing my show clothes to the theater," he told the boys.
Not too long afterwards, John arrived at the theater. As he walked through the stage entrance, he was followed by twelve boys, two by two, in a double line behind him.
"What's this?" the stage manager wanted to know.
"Don't ask," John told him. "Just give these boys seats in the wings. And treat them right! They're friends of mine!"
That's why, if you were lucky enough to be in the audience that night, you saw twelve boys in short khaki pants sitting in the wings and cheering the loudest of everyone!
And although John usually doesn't talk about it, that's why he has an honorary membership in that special, friendly boys' club!
This story appeared in an August, 1965 issue of Teen World magazine, and it went a little something like this:
John - "I Lost My Pants!"
It was late afternoon. Just the time of day when the sky is sort-of pinkish grey...when the sun has gone down but it's still light.
John was driving along a winding country road in England.He explained to us, "I had to do a show that night. But I'd gotten permission to take a drive and 'loosen up' a little."John was planning to drive around for an hour or two and then go back to his hotel to change and go to the theater. But as he drove, he began to lose track of time.John said, "I saw a lake on the side of the road. It looked so inviting, I couldn't resist, I stopped the car and got out."John was feeling in just the right mood for a quick dip. Since the area was quite deserted (and he had no bathing suit anyway), he decided to swim "in the raw".He took off his clothes and laid them down at the base of one of the big trees. Then he dived in. He felt one sudden icy chill as the cold water hit his body. Then he was warm again. He swam back and forth, floated on his back, made little "porpoise dives" in and out of the water."It was great," he told us. "I hadn't done anything like that since I was a kid. And it felt good to be swimming around like that.
I'm not quite sure how long I was in the lake, but it was quite awhile. Because before I realized it, it was getting dark!"John scrambled out of the water and ran to the tree where he'd put his clothes. He smiled as he told us, "Then it hit me. My pants were gone! I had everything else--but no trousers!"John didn't know quite what to do. It was already too late to go home to his hotel to change. Besides, he couldn't exactly saunter into a public hotel without his pants! And he couldn't turn up at the theater that way either! So he just stood there (wearing his jacket, of course) hoping it was all a bad dream.Then John heard a noise. It was sort-of a laugh, but not quite. It was more like a "titter."John continued, "I walked over to where the sound was coming from. And there, hidden in the bushes, was a group of boys, about ten or eleven years old."The boys, as it turned out, belonged to a local club. And they'd gone on a hike. They'd been resting not far from the lake when they'd seen John drive up. When they saw what was happening,
they decided to play a little trick on him. So they'd taken his pants while he was swimming!"May I have my pants back?" John asked the boys."You're John Lennon, aren't you?" one of the boys wanted to know."Yes, I am," John told them. "Now can I have my pants back?"The boys were willing to give them back--provided John pay a "ransom." John listened to their "deal" and agreed to it."I just hope my mates thought of bringing my show clothes to the theater," he told the boys.Not too long afterwards, John arrived at the theater. As he walked through the stage entrance, he was followed by twelve boys, two by two, in a double line behind him."What's this?" the stage manager wanted to know."Don't ask," John told him. "Just give these boys seats in the wings. And treat them right! They're friends of mine!"That's why, if you were lucky enough to be in the audience that night, you saw twelve boys in short khaki pants sitting in the wings and cheering the loudest of everyone!
And although John usually doesn't talk about it, that's why he has an honorary membership in that special, friendly boys' club!