It was Friday. And man, I was excited..After a hard day's night at Nation Multimedia, putting out Myanmar Eleven, I was heading to an Irish pub in Bangkok, which just happened to feature the best Beatles cover band on the planet..This was gonna be fun. No expense spared. It was time to let loose and celebrate the end of another week of desking..There was no cover charge, just a glass donation jar. Four guys, with the same guitars as the Beatles and the same cool suits, playing the exact same songs to perfection and driving the crowd into a frenzy..This happened every Friday! And as an added bit of entertainment, the biggest drug lord in BK would show up with his entourage. Tables were reserved. Two smoking-hot Thai girls were dressed to the nines with expensive Italian handbags and gold jewelry, who looked like they had been pampered; just a bit..You know — just a bit..I didn’t know this old Asian guy at all until the Bangkok Post guys, who drank there often, clued me in..They just warned me — don’t make eye contact. This is a guy who can disappear people. Just stay out of his way..What they didn’t tell me, was that the guy, about in his 60s(?), was an incredible dancer. He would drag up one of his girls, dance with her until she gave up, then drag up the other girl, dancing her to exhaustion..Only then would he sit down..The guy was incredible and scary. A very scary dude..But I got to know one of his entourage. A friendly English fellow, who, I think was probably an accountant..We would chat sometimes, just about things going on in BK. The political situation, whatever..He would sometimes tell me what his boss was up to. Apparently, he went to Brazil a lot. I didn’t ask deep questions, of course..I didn’t want to 'fall off' a high-rise balcony. That seems to happen a lot to Farangs (foreigners) in BK..And the Beatles band? They would play a one-and-a-half-hour opening set, one song after another, afraid to stop, because the drug lord was dancing!.One night, I was on the lash. I mean, big-time on the lash. My bill, after buying drinks for me and others, was about 1,600 baht, plus tip. A fair chunk of change, considering I was not making N.A. wages at Nation Multimedia. I think they padded the bill, but I was in no shape to argue..Then, drunk as a skunk, I would get on the back of a motorcycle taxi, and head home on the Bang Na Chon Buri Expressway..No helmet, no nothing..We’d just bob and weave, through the night traffic, the cool night wind blowing my hair. It actually felt quite free and wonderful..One of my happiest moments, in that awful city..Then I would remember, I forgot to eat something and would try to find a street vendor still open, or an Asian soup place. Usually to no avail..Such was life for a wretched journalist, in 2014 Bangkok..So, why am I writing this?.The first record album I ever bought, back when I lived in Amherstburg, Ont., a small town in Essex county, was the Beatles’ Twist & Shout. Well actually, my parents bought it for me, but still, it was a big deal, a super big deal..Because the Beatles were the coolest thing ever. And I was on top of the world..The magic of the Beatles was something that you can’t really put in perspective today. Imagine Taylor Swift, multiplied many times over..And then some..And it’s all because, this week I was looking through my packed away collectibles (I moved to Sage Hill), and found this cool Beatles pin back button..I bought it at the local confectionary, Johnny’s on Wyandotte in ‘64, can’t remember how much I paid. Maybe $5? I came home feeling like a champ!.John, Paul, George and Ringo. Who were these amazing British fellows? They captured our imaginations. Took our mind off the Cold War with the Soviets..Something new and exciting!.Sixty years ago this month, the Beatles released four singles, three EPs, two albums, appeared on radio 49 times and on television 35 times and made 287 additional live appearances..Oh, and Paul McCartney turned just 21. You may or may not like the Beatles. But hell, they made the world a better place. And we need that today, more than ever..The world seems to be headed toward disaster on several fronts — China and the US over Taiwan, Europe threatened by a longer war in Ukraine and Iran on the edge of being a nuclear power, forcing Israel to act on its own..Maybe John Lennon was right after all, maybe we need peace more than another TV set..Whether you’re in Bangkok, or good ol’ Cowtown.
It was Friday. And man, I was excited..After a hard day's night at Nation Multimedia, putting out Myanmar Eleven, I was heading to an Irish pub in Bangkok, which just happened to feature the best Beatles cover band on the planet..This was gonna be fun. No expense spared. It was time to let loose and celebrate the end of another week of desking..There was no cover charge, just a glass donation jar. Four guys, with the same guitars as the Beatles and the same cool suits, playing the exact same songs to perfection and driving the crowd into a frenzy..This happened every Friday! And as an added bit of entertainment, the biggest drug lord in BK would show up with his entourage. Tables were reserved. Two smoking-hot Thai girls were dressed to the nines with expensive Italian handbags and gold jewelry, who looked like they had been pampered; just a bit..You know — just a bit..I didn’t know this old Asian guy at all until the Bangkok Post guys, who drank there often, clued me in..They just warned me — don’t make eye contact. This is a guy who can disappear people. Just stay out of his way..What they didn’t tell me, was that the guy, about in his 60s(?), was an incredible dancer. He would drag up one of his girls, dance with her until she gave up, then drag up the other girl, dancing her to exhaustion..Only then would he sit down..The guy was incredible and scary. A very scary dude..But I got to know one of his entourage. A friendly English fellow, who, I think was probably an accountant..We would chat sometimes, just about things going on in BK. The political situation, whatever..He would sometimes tell me what his boss was up to. Apparently, he went to Brazil a lot. I didn’t ask deep questions, of course..I didn’t want to 'fall off' a high-rise balcony. That seems to happen a lot to Farangs (foreigners) in BK..And the Beatles band? They would play a one-and-a-half-hour opening set, one song after another, afraid to stop, because the drug lord was dancing!.One night, I was on the lash. I mean, big-time on the lash. My bill, after buying drinks for me and others, was about 1,600 baht, plus tip. A fair chunk of change, considering I was not making N.A. wages at Nation Multimedia. I think they padded the bill, but I was in no shape to argue..Then, drunk as a skunk, I would get on the back of a motorcycle taxi, and head home on the Bang Na Chon Buri Expressway..No helmet, no nothing..We’d just bob and weave, through the night traffic, the cool night wind blowing my hair. It actually felt quite free and wonderful..One of my happiest moments, in that awful city..Then I would remember, I forgot to eat something and would try to find a street vendor still open, or an Asian soup place. Usually to no avail..Such was life for a wretched journalist, in 2014 Bangkok..So, why am I writing this?.The first record album I ever bought, back when I lived in Amherstburg, Ont., a small town in Essex county, was the Beatles’ Twist & Shout. Well actually, my parents bought it for me, but still, it was a big deal, a super big deal..Because the Beatles were the coolest thing ever. And I was on top of the world..The magic of the Beatles was something that you can’t really put in perspective today. Imagine Taylor Swift, multiplied many times over..And then some..And it’s all because, this week I was looking through my packed away collectibles (I moved to Sage Hill), and found this cool Beatles pin back button..I bought it at the local confectionary, Johnny’s on Wyandotte in ‘64, can’t remember how much I paid. Maybe $5? I came home feeling like a champ!.John, Paul, George and Ringo. Who were these amazing British fellows? They captured our imaginations. Took our mind off the Cold War with the Soviets..Something new and exciting!.Sixty years ago this month, the Beatles released four singles, three EPs, two albums, appeared on radio 49 times and on television 35 times and made 287 additional live appearances..Oh, and Paul McCartney turned just 21. You may or may not like the Beatles. But hell, they made the world a better place. And we need that today, more than ever..The world seems to be headed toward disaster on several fronts — China and the US over Taiwan, Europe threatened by a longer war in Ukraine and Iran on the edge of being a nuclear power, forcing Israel to act on its own..Maybe John Lennon was right after all, maybe we need peace more than another TV set..Whether you’re in Bangkok, or good ol’ Cowtown.
