“Around two years after I had joined Manfred Mann and we had just released Ha Ha Said The Clown, [c.1968] two music papers, Disc and Music Echo were both running a competition called ‘Win a Mike D'Abo Siamese kitten’ because I simply love cats. It was a good bit of publicity for the record, for me and also for Disc and Music Echo. I don’t know how he got hold of my number but George Harrison called me and said “Hello Mike, it’s George here. Have you got any kittens left?”. I told him that I had and he said that he wanted to buy one for Pattie’s birthday and asked if he could over and buy one from me.
“He came over and climbed up the four flights of stairs to my flat in Knightsbridge and there he was, George Harrison was standing at my door wanting to buy a kitten. I invited him in and showed him all of the kittens and he chose the one that had climbed right to the top of the curtains saying “that one looks like an individual; I think I’ll have him”. George insisted on writing me a cheque for £10 and of course I kept that cheque for ever and ever in my wallet to show off with (laughter). However, one day when I was low on funds and really needed to use that £10 I cashed George’s cheque only to get a letter back from the bank a month later to say that the account was closed and they never returned my lovely George Harrison cheque. So I never saw it again.”
[Mike D’Abo, Nottingham Post, 2nd March 2017]
I thought that the Siamese cats, Jossstick and Rupert had come as a pair, but apparently not. I wonder if George got two or if one of them came later…?
