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Home , Allan Williams, Alun Owen, Eric Griffiths, Fifth Beatle, Glyn Johns, Magic Alex

THE FIFTH

Outline for a Documentary Written by David Johnston

“ are the most famous rock group that has ever existed or ever will exist. They are, in fact, the second-most-famous four- human collective within any context whatsoever (the four Gospel writers are No. 1; Notre Dame’s 1924 “Four Horsemen” backfield rank a distant third). Moreover, the Beatles are the only band whose population is central to their iconography: John, Paul, George and Ringo shall always be the Fab Four. And because that number is so important, pop historians have spent decades trying to decide who deserves classification as Beatle No. 5.”

Chuck Klosterman, obituary of Quarryman and “Tenth Beatle” in The New York Times Magazine, December 25th, 2005

Many have aspired to it, some have claimed it for themselves, a rare few have had it bestowed upon them, but to date no one person has established an uncontested claim to the title of . The Fifth will take up and examine the debate and trace the growth of this unique pop cultural phenomenon.

A handful of the Beatles’ fellow travellers hold a legitimate claim to Fifth Beatle status – early members such as bass player/fashion maven Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer , manager and impresario , producer/arranger and , the only musician to share a writing credit with (on “”) and who was asked by to join the band shortly before its breakup. But it doesn’t stop there. , Linda Eastman, tour managers and , Jimmy Nichol (the drummer who replaced Ringo for several weeks on tour in 1964), deejay Murray the K (who coined the term Fifth Beatle), and crazed mentor are among the usual suspects.

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The more you delve into the phenomenon, the more the contenders pop up. , Ravi Shankar, , , Timothy Leary, even the Goons. The degree to which the concept of the Fifth Beatle has permeated the zeitgeist is further underlined by comedy sketches on Saturday Night Live (sax player Eddie Murphy is kicked out the band for stealing John and Paul’s thunder), (Apu claims to be the Fifth Beatle before guest voices Paul and Linda McCartney pull the rug out from under him) and the BBC (a comedy sketch where Kevin Eldon claims to be the Tenth Beatle, even though he was born in 1972, more than two years after the band broke up).

Perhaps the enduring need to answer the question of which of their fellow travelers most warrants canonization as the Fifth Beatle lies with us, the fans, and our desire to be a part of their legend. If Larry Kane or – not to mention or Charles Manson – can be seriously considered, then why not us. In a very real sense we are all Fifth Beatles. We connected with their personae and their celebrity with an innocent passion that our post-modern cynicism will never again allow. Over a generation after their breakup, we keep the Beatles near the top of the charts and continue to analyze their myth and music. As long as the debate continues, we can all lay a small claim to being the Fifth Beatle.

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The Fifth will present a delightfully skewed take on the Beatles, their satellites, their influences, their collaborators and celebrity in general while mixing the wild energy of “The Aristocrats” with the pop cultural smarts of directors Ron Mann and Albert Nerenberg. Our film will incorporate our own interviews with surviving Fifth Beatles along with archival footage of these subjects and those who are no longer with us. We’ll visit , , Carnaby Street and to meet the fans and pop historians who fuel the debate, and scores of the famous, not-so-famous and just plain obscure pretenders. Wherever possible, performance footage will be shot– both Pete Best and several members of have been touring in recent years and George Martin, (who subbed on guitar for John on the Anthology sessions) and might be enlisted to accompany their interviews on piano and guitar.

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The Fifth Beatles

A List-in –progress

Mohammed Ali Mal Evans The Greatest Roadie Neil Aspinall Buddy Holly Tour manager/Apple CEO Influence George Best Nicky Hopkins Soccer star pianist Pete Best Michael Jackson Drummer Catalogue owner Peter Blake Sgt.Pepper’s cover artist Catalogue owner Patti Boyd Glyn Johns spouse Engineer Wilfrid Brambell grandad Rolling Stone/Rishikesh Tony Bramwell Murray the K Publicist Deejay Peter Brown Larry Kane Publicist Broadcaster Tara Browne Blew his mind out in a car Photographer William Campbell Allan Klein Dead Paul replacement Manager Norman Chapman Timothy Leary Strip club drummer LSD guru Eric Clapton Guitar god “Jude” Maureen Cleave Richard Lester scribe Director (Hard Day’s Night, Help) Chuck Berry Michael Lindsay-Hogg Influence Director () Meta David Little Richard Meter Maid influence Hunter Davis Mike Biographer Beach Boy/Rishikesh Lonnie Donegan Jeff Lynne skifflemeister Guitarist/Travelling Willbury Leitch Magic Alexis Folkie/Rishikesh Electronics whiz Bob Dylan Marahishi Mahesh Yogi Marijuana/Travelling Willbury Transcendental Meditation Guru Linda Eastman Charles Manson Spouse/Wings Cult killer George Martin Engineer Producer Brian Epstein Giles Martin Manager Remixer 4

Roger McGuinn Stuart Sutcliffe Sitar/electric 12-string adopter Bassplayer/fashionista Spike Milligan Goon Host/Starmaker drummer Publicist Jimmy Nichol Chris Thomas Drummer producer Yoko Ono Klaus Voorman Spouse/Plastic Ono Band Bassplayer/cover artist Roy Orbison Bob Whitaker Headliner/Travelling Wilbury “Butcher” cover photographer Joe Orton Playwright Drummer on Please Please Me Alun Owen screenwriter “gave away the Beatles” (Todd Rundgren/ Joseph Papp) Adapted Orton’s Beatles script Beach Boy/competitor Sitar? Alan Parsons Producer priveleged groupies Carl Perkins influence Quarry Men: The King Eric Griffiths Billy Preston Colin Hauton Keyboard player Rod Davis Ken Scott Len Garry engineer Peter Sellers Magic Christian Yellow Submarine voice talent: Ravi Shankar Paul Angelis (Ringo) Sitar god Peter Batten (George) William Shatner John Clive (John) not the 5th Beatle (Paul) Tony Sheridan Mad musical mentor * * * * * Norman Smith engineer Eddie Murphy Tommy Smothers Saturday Night Live comic Phil Hartman Albert Goldman Fifth Beatle sketch writer On SNL Producer The Simpsons Victor Spinetti Kevin Eldon Film actor BBC 10th Beatle Maureen Starkey Spouse