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Above: Some items from my Beatles collection.
The Fifth Beatle, By George!
In 1983, Russell and I were spending a lot of time in Los Angeles. If we weren't at the Westwood Marquis, we were staying at Don Arden's house in Beverly Hills. At that time, Don was our manager and had two bungalows adjoining his house. Russell and I each stayed in one for quite some time.
It was extremely convenient, as we were doing a lot of TV shows, both in Los Angeles and New York. It was also very comfortable, private and, since Don had a gatekeeper 24 hours a day, safe. I think the security was for Don, not us, as he had a reputation for being a tough cookie.
At that time, we had a press company called Laura Gross Public Relations handle all the interviews. Laura become a good friend of ours and learned we were huge Beatles fans. Since another client and friend of hers was George Martin, one day she asked us if we would like to meet him to perhaps have lunch. Of course we jumped at the chance, and Laura arranged a meeting when we were all in town and free. We were so nervous to meet George, even days before meeting. I mean, he was the most famous producer in the world - he was the fifth Beatle！
We arrived on time, as we always did, at a restaurant on Sunset in Hollywood, and George arrived at the same time. We were introduced and surprised that George knew our names already as well as a lot our songs. Laura was there, too, but she quickly said, "I'm going to leave you guys alone for a while," and left us at the table with instructions to call her when we were finished.
George made us feel so comfortable straightaway, and we talked about his hometown, his family, his cars, the Queen of England, just about everything but the Beatles, which, of course, we were dying to ask about. We just felt awkward asking, as surely everyone did that already.
We had our lunch and never stopped talking. I kept saying to myself the whole time that we were having lunch with George Martin - it was surreal! I made a special effort to eat correctly and not put my elbows on the table, as I had been taught. My parents would have been proud.
After two hours, we were still talking away and the check came. The time flew by. George picked up the check, but I can't remember who paid it in the end. I thought to myself, "Wow, I left it too late, being so polite." Then George asks Russell and me, "Aren't you going to asked me about the Beatles?" Of course, that was it. Then we explored George's vast library of Beatle knowledge: what really happened in the studio, what they were all like, all about the songs, etc. We were in heaven! Without meeting them personally, this was as close as you could get.
It was certainly one of my favorite lunches ever. We did take a photograph, but that was lost years ago. The memory, however, will always be there.
中文译文：
1983年，Russell和我在洛杉矶待了很长时间。假如我们那时候没有在Westwood Marquis，那我们将会住在Don Arden在贝弗利山的别墅里。那时，Don是我们的经纪人，他在他的别墅旁边有两间连接在一起的单层小屋。Russell和我各住在其中一间很长时间。
那真是太方便了，我们做了很多档电视节目，不是在洛杉矶就是在纽约。而这样的生活环境也很舒适，私密，因为Don有一天24小时的管家，相当安全。我想这样的安保是为了Don，而并不是我们，因为他的硬气已经声名狼藉。
那时，我们有一家新闻发布公司叫Laura Gross Public Relations来处理我们的所有的采访工作。Laura成为了我们的好朋友，也得知了我们都是超级披头士粉丝 。因为George Martin是她的另一个客户也是她的好朋友，有一天她问我们是否想见见他，并且和他共进午餐。当然，我们迫不及待的答应了，Laura在我们空闲的时候安排了这次见面。我们对于见到George都感到很紧张，甚至就在前一天。我的意思是，他是世界上最著名的制作人 - 他是第五个披头士！
我们准时到了，就像往常一样，就在好莱坞的日落餐厅，George在差不多的时间也到了。我们被介绍给了George，并且惊讶得得知他也已经知道了我们的名字还有一些我们的歌。Laura也在那里，她很快的说道，"我要离开一会儿，把你们单独留在这里。" 然后让我们结束时候打电话给她。
George让我们觉得很自然舒服，我们谈论了他的家乡，他的家庭，他的汽车，英格兰女王，当然还有我们渴望得知的所有关于Beatles的一切。就如同每个人一样，我们觉得这样问很尴尬。
我们共进了午餐，谈话一直在继续。我一直对我自己说，我们正在和George Martin共进午餐 - 太不真实了！我尝试着有礼貌，试着不把我的手肘放在桌子上，我父母一定会为我自豪的。
2小时过后，我们还在聊天，账单来了。时间飞梭。Geroge迅速拿起了账单，但是我不记得究竟最后是谁付了钱。我心里对自己说，"哇，我太晚了，真实太客气了。" 然后George问Russell和我，"难道你不准备问我关于Beatles的事情了吗？" 当然。然后，我们就打开了George的Beatles知识库：在录音师究竟发生了什么啊，他们到底是什么样的，关于歌，等等，我们简直在天堂！不和Beatles见面，就能如此接近的了解他们。
这当然是我最爱的饭局。我们合影了，但是几年前不小心丢失了。但是记忆却永远在心里。
原图下载：
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发表于 2018-9-16 07:27
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