Dust and guitars

INT: I would imagine it was an adjustment personally, but did you feel lost musically?

RINGO: Well, I'd never played with a better band, you see, so I think that's the loss I felt.

INT: Where does one go from the best?

RINGO: It's not even just the best. A lot of it was telepathy. We all felt so close. We knew each other so well that we'd know when any of us would make a move up or down within the music, and we'd all make it. No one would say anything or look at each other; we'd just know. The easiest word is telepathy. The band worked so well, and we were four good friends a lot of the time. But like any four friends, we had rows and shouted and disliked each other for a moment.

Then it ended, and I started playing sessions and had a really good time, but I was just playing. You can play with any band, but that band was something special to me, and it's never been like that again. I've had great sessions, great tracks, but it's never been like that, and you can't expect that if you walk into a studio and play someone's session. You're strangers.

We had all lived together so close; we knew each other so well that it crossed over into the music. We knew exactly what the other was doing. That's even the wrong way to explain it. We just knew that the chemistry worked! The excitement! If things were just jogging along and one of us felt, “I'm going to lift it here,” it was just a feeling that went through the four of us and everyone lifted it, or everyone lowered it, or what-ever. It was just telepathy. When I do sessions now, I'm playing the best I can, and some sessions are really great. But I've never played on anyone's album all the way through, because I always felt it was boring, so I'd do three or four tracks.

Kurt Cobain at William and Mary Hall, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, US 🇺🇸

“I’ve never known two people that love each other so much, and don’t even realize it.” – Eric Clapton

“ I believe Paul missed George as much as — if not more than — anybody.” – Eric clapton

“I got married in 1966 and Paul was my best man. He cancelled his holiday to do it. Then he got drunk and put a bow-and-arrow through the car window. But until then it was great.” – George

“I just know that whatever we’ve been through, there’s always been something there to tie us together” – George

‘The last time I met him, he was very sick and I held his hand for four hours. As I was doing it I was thinking “I’ve never held his hand before, ever. This is not what two Liverpool fellas do, no matter how well you know each other.” I kept thinking, “he’s going to smack me here.” But he didn’t. He just stroked my hand with his thumb and I thought “Ah, this is OK, this is life. It’s tough but it’s lovely. That’s how it is.” I knew George before I knew any of the others and I loved that man. I’m so proud to have known him.” - Paul

“Underneath it all, I believe that Paul sincerely loved George; and at some level George loved Paul as well. ” – Peter Dogett

“George told me once that I smelt like home. I got all paranoid, you know, thinking I smelt of fish and chip shops or dirty bars or something. But he said no, I just always smelt of home.” - Paul

“Paul is very protective of George.” – Bob Smeaton

“George was always known as the quiet one, but he had a wicked sense of humour. He and Paul tricked two fans into thinking that they were really brothers and George signed his name “George McCartney” for them.” - Denise Theophilus

““They used to jump on me. George used to wake me up by tickling my feet.” – Paul

“There was this guy called Ritter who was in our group at school, and George was in the younger group, and I remember we’d been standing around at playground and I’d tried to introduce George to Ritter, introduce him into my peer group. And being a year younger it was kind of difficult. I said, ‘Hey, this is George Harrison. He’s a mate of mine. We get on the same bus together.’ And we’d been sitting around, and George suddenly head-butted this friend of mine.When asked for the reason for the headbutt, George replied: ‘He wasn’t worthy of your friendship.” – Paul

Interviewer: Is matrimony in the immediate future for the two unmarried members of your group? Paul: Matrimony is not in the immediate future. George: Paul won’t have me.

“God, my mate George, isn’t he a good-looking boy!” - Paul

“Thing is, there’s a lot about me and George that the public don’t know about, and I like it better that way. That night was very personal, and very special to me. It’s one of my favourite memories.” – Paul

“I knew George long before the others. We were good chums despite his tender years as it seemed to me then. We were always together.” – Paul McCartney

“It used to be PaulnGeorge… as one word. They were the kids from the grammar school. That’s how we referred to them. For ages we didn’t even know George really, he was just ‘Paul’s mate’.” – Len Garry

“In Liverpool, Paul would come round my house and we’d play in the living room. Paul knocked me out with his singing especially, although I remember him being a little embarrassed to really sing out, seeing as we were stuck right in the middle of my parents place with my whole family walking about. He said he felt funny singing about love and stuff around my dad.” — George

 I think we have now grown old enough to realize that we’re both pretty damn cute!” - George