- From Faith Current: “The Sacred Ordinary: St. Peter’s Church Hall” - May 1, 2023
- A brief (?) hiatus - April 22, 2023
- Something Happened - March 6, 2023
Paul in “A Hard Day’s Night,” foreshadowing the Beatles’ hirsute future.
In an example of Beatle fandom amped to a truly Dullbloggian intensity, I offer “The Beatles Mustache Index.”
Can you spot any mistakes? I think I found one: the picture of Ringo with Geoff Emerick says that “[Ringo] shaves everything off and starts fresh before the “Hey Bulldog” recording sessions, but otherwise he has a moustache from 1966-thru 1970 and beyond.” And then, not two pictures later, we see Ringo clean-shaven (July 8, 1968).”
So did he shave directly prior to February 11, 1968, and then again directly prior to July 8th? What goes on, indeed!
Perhaps there are some clues hidden in the LPs…?
Share your favorite Beatles facial hair in the comments, if you wish.
Related posts:
The Beatles and Fantasy Football?
McCartney’s mullet
Cilla Black Sings Alfie
The Beatles on Stella Street
Wanna Live-Tweet Something?
Miley Cyrus’ Boobs Made Paul McCartney Uncomfortable
London researchers say Beatles not revolutionary
It happened in Toronto
Michael Caine Impressions
Do female Beatles fans understand John and Paul better?
Thank God for Abbey Road
Recent Comments
Michael, you’re a card. 🙂
My favourite hairy Beatle of all time is McBeardy, circa 1970. The man could rock a hairy face.
Favorite pic, please @Karen.
The photos of Paul on his farm with his sheep, looking like a stud. (Sighs dreamily)
To wit: the ram photos. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/418834834065651394/
my favorite Beatle pic is a still from HELP!, the scene where they’re in disguise. Lennon looks like the cover of Abbey Road! Talk about foreshadowing…
–
Extra points for the scene itself; Lennon scolding Ringo about money: “It won’t buy you happiness, my son.”
My mistake. My memory is faulty. I just watched the HELP! disguise scene, and Ringo asks “Where are we going?” Lennon scolds him: “Never you mind!”
–
But it’s amazing how Lennon and Harrison look like their Hey Jude selves in that scene, with all the fake facial hair.. Lennon even wears granny glasses.
Lennon’s “Yellow Submarine” era sideburns are not his friend. I’m no fan of the Hairy Lennon look in general.
As for McCartney, in his “beardy” phase he reminds me of Lear’s limerick:
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, ‘It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!’
Paul could definitely be offering refuge to some endangered Scottish species in that thing. See these pics:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/98/0e/f4/980ef47231623e66fb6ee61ccef4d791.jpg
http://41.media.tumblr.com/9c0b2939f8255eefb0d1f3941ab9f82b/tumblr_mh9zghBXAQ1rlv9cho1_500.jpg
He also looks stoned out of his mind in that second picture.
There’s a “Beard of Sorrow” trope on the TV Tropes and Idioms page: Evidently Paul’s “Let it Be”-era facial hair qualifies.
Do you have a link, @Ruth? I’ll put it in your comment.
Found this: about “beard of sorrow” generally, and this (scroll down the page) about McCartney’s beard of sorrow in particular.
Thanks, Ruth! Confirms what I’ve always felt about Paul’s beard at this period.
Thanks for posting the link, Nancy. I remembered the “Beard of Sorrow” trope, but couldn’t find it when I skimmed the Beatles page again. I’d forgotten it was actually on Paul’s page.
Interesting factoid (which @Ruth you may know): the ancient Roman custom was to grow a beard as a sign of mourning. As Augustus did, famously, after the battle of the Teutoburg Forest.