October 8, 1961
Paul and John are in Paris where
they run into Jurgen Vollmer, and are just taking it easy for a change.
It is hard to overestimate how important their German friends are the
to the development of the Beatles. While the music is central to the
Beatles appeal, their lifestyle and personal charisma are just as
important and those things are heavily influenced by the Germans and
their continental outlook.
Why does it seem that everything that happens to the
Beatles seems to be part of some preordained script? They work their
butts off, playing long stretches in Germany and schlepping equipment
all over the Liverpool area, almost never missing a gig. Honing and
polishing the music and unifying the Beatles sound into an ever better
and better live presentation. And then something whispers to John,
"It's time to sag off work for a couple of weeks and take in a bit of
the good life in Paris." (Interesting side note: Cynthia Lennon says
in her book "John"
that he is beginning to wonder how long this music lark will last and
what he will do when it's over. You can't go on playing rock and roll
to ballrooms full of teenagers when you're 30, can you?)
While he and Paul are in Paris, they must be taking in the fashions
prevalent there which will later become part of their personnas (via
Brian Epstein), fashions which are so out of step with their own
cultural milieu of working class northern England. Jurgen Vollmer, one
of their very oldest German friends, is a very big influence. There are
lots of pictures taken by him here (including John's favorite of him standing in a Hamburg doorway).
This is a very important time for them, indeed.
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