Interviews: London Airport

David Coleman: George, how do you like being described as the Prime Minister’s secret weapon?

George Harrison: It’s great, yeah. The thing is, I didn’t get the bit where they said, ‘Earning all these dollars for Britain.’ Like, are we sharing it out or something?

DC: But we’re told that you’ve come back from America millionaires.

Paul McCartney: No, you’re kidding.

John Lennon: Next time.

DC: Now what about Miami? I mean, you were in the millionaire’s playground.

Ringo Starr: Oh, that was marvelous, Miami!

DC: You lived well, did you?

Paul: Yeah. Well, we borrowed these houses, you see. These people rang up and said, ‘Do you want our house, lad?’ So we said, ‘By gum, we do!’

Paul: And we went across there, and we all water-skied, and fishing.

Ringo: He caught a monster!

DC: How did it compare with New Brighton?

Paul: With New Brighton? It wasn’t as sunny, of course, as New Brighton.

Ringo: Of course, we missed the docks.

John: And the people didn’t have as much money.

George: And there was more oil on the sand in Miami.

DC: We’d like to hear what you thought about Mr [Cassius] Clay.

John: Very tall.

Ringo: Oh, he’s a big lad.

Paul: He’s a great laugh, more than anything. He’s a big lad.

George: He’s gonna get Sonny Liston in three.

John: He said.

Ringo: So he said.

Paul: That’s what he said. I don’t think he will, though.

DC: I hear you were creeping up to Harry Carpenter in the training camp, Paul, and whispering things to him.

Paul: Yeah. Well you see, the only thing was, he asked me who was going to win. And I would have told him out that I thought Liston was gonna win.

John: You coward!

Paul: I’m a coward! And it was in Clay’s camp, you see, and there was all these big fellas around. I had to whisper, you know.

John, singing: Liston, do you want to know a secret?

Ringo: Plugging, you know. We’re still trying to sell!

DC: How did Clay compare with you?

Ringo: He’s bigger than all of us put together.

DC: We’re told that he was acting in a way that even the Beatles couldn’t match.

Paul: Yeah. He was, actually.

Ringo: He was good.

John: He was saying, ‘I’s beautiful, and you’s beautiful, too!’

Paul: Yeah, he’s a showman.

Ringo: Oh, definitely.

DC: Well now that you’re back, you’re out of the top 10 for the first time for a long time. What about it?

Paul: Er, I don’t know.

John: What do you suggest?

DC: Have you got anything on the way?

John: We could go straight, couldn’t we?

George: I’m going to try tap dancing.

Paul: And Ringo’s doing comedy on the high wire.