John & Yoko on Parkinson

[lpmoderator]

markt said:

Trust me - after 20 years researching archive for TV I know what a tele-recording looks like. And this was a very crappy one to begin with.
The BBC have a copy of it already that I gave to them so they can do what they like with it but for legal reasons I cannot go into, I cannot approach Yoko - and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be interested anyway.

I'm pretty sure that the NTSC U-matic was made from the poor telerecording print that the "Imagine " documentary team made from the original tape to us clips in their original version of "Imagine" which was shot on film, which is why they would have wanted a film of the Parky in the first place. I'm sure Yoko got a copy as the bits that are missing are the bits not in the doc.

But on an upbeat point, another thing I was able to return to the current ATV archive holders was a copy of this homepage.ntlworld.com/carousel/pob02.html - it was going to be shown at a "Missing , Believed Wiped" a couple of years back but they didn't get the permission from Yoko in time. Also, it had alot of clips of Beatles archive which would need clearing from Apple.

Thanks for the detailed reply regarding the telerecording, Mark. By the way, how much would you say is missing from the interview? Presumably it's just brief snippets? At least the footage exists, which is the main thing. I'm certain the DW team could do a notable restoration job on it though.

I was at that MBW myself, waiting for the Lennon footage to be shown, only to be told it couldn't be cleared in time! Hopefully it will get an airing eventually.

[Barry Hodge]

If I remember correctly, there was also footage in one of the many documentaries shooting from behind the BBC cameras. J&Y were certainly filming a lot that month for what became the Imagine promo/feature.

I suppose the documentary that recently fell through was the Classic Albums on JL/POB? Wondered why I hadn't seen a mention of it in a while...

[Deleted]

Yes, the doc on the making of the Imagine LP, How Do You Sleep, features behind the scenes footage of them waiting in the wings to be interviewed and also of them in the car arriving at TVC beforehand.

[SydV]

Perhaps the missing bits are just the title sequence / introduction / musical guest / end titles.
I'd love to see the Parky interview but I'm more desperate to see the Tony Cox home video's of Lennon in February 1970 (these tapes include footage of Lennon rehearsing "Instant Karma" in the TOTP studio's). I have been in contact with somebody who has a copy of all 9 hours of the Cox material but I was not in a position to make him an acceptable offer. A highlights documentary based on those tapes was produced and was scheduled for a screening in the US but it was blocked at the 11th hour.

[joewisbey]

I was at the Beatles story in Liverpool last week, and at the end of the tour, each Beatles recieves a small section, with rolling clips showing various solo footage. The Lennon one had what was almost certainly stuff from the Parky interview, and it was almost certainly different to the clip in Imagine(it was mute, so I couldn't be sure). I tried to hunt someone down in the musuem to ask them about this, but no one knew anything, as ever....
This would be a fascinating find, the transcript in Keith Badman's "After the Beatles" looks hilarious, with Lennon making Parky climb into a bag to ask question concerning the Beatles!!

[Deleted]

Here is that footage from Beatles story exhibition -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=geTEWPpOHIU

[Rich Cornock]

this clip looks in really good shape. i guess the sound is poor because it was filmed at the exhibition. i assume that the whole show exists somewhere

[Alan Turrell]

This clip was also on youtube.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IprHhzXyDlU

[Mark Tinkler]

It's very likely that Yoko let The Beatles Story have access to her master... it's interesting that the clip on the video there from Parky has mixes in it, something that the programme at that time would never had had (if you see what I mean). So it must be to avoid the bits that were missing - just to clarify and possibly repeating myself, the entire interview is on Yoko's tape but some sections are in B&W only, possibly because they were cut out of the original tele-recording for use in the original cut of the "Imagine" doc.
I also believe that Parky himself is using clips from the tape I sent him in his one-man show type thing he occasionally does nowadays.

[joewisbey]

A large chunk of this appears, albeit in pretty poor quality, in the Parkinson Collection dvd which came out monday.
How much parky was lost? This is the only interview on the dvd which is not in broadcast quality. There's a Shirley Maclaine interview on youtube whicg claims to be the "earliest surviving"...

[Deleted]

I don't have the Kal guide to hand but, from memory, it's the majority of the first series (1971) that is missing. Later series are pretty much unscathed. I remember a compilation a few years ago being shown that used a few first series clips from b/w t/rs so there is a certain amount of material from early on but not an awful lot.

How much roughly (time-wise) of the Lennon interview is featured on the DVD, Joe? It might be the decider for me as to whether I buy the set or not! Is Parky's introduction present too?

[joewisbey]

There's about 7 mins or so on the dvd, it's not on the main disc, it's on the extras disc, presumbly because it's not great quality, but it's not the sections in the Imagine film or at the Beatles story. Parkys introduction is not present. There's a few bits from 71 on the dvd, mainly the first Ali interview.
It's a great dvd, nicely balanced between the seventies and the noughties....
Although it doesn't contain an apparently sour encounter with Helen Mirren in 1975.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the info, Joe. Very helpful. Are all the interview segments roughly of a similar length?

[joewisbey]

Roughly yes, and all the interviews you'd want are present, with the possible exception of Peter Sellers.

[Paul Hayes]

BBC Archive have put out a clip of this today - I couldn't work out what it might have been sourced from, it looks like a colour film recording?