I’m taking a short break from the great Anthony Colpo smackdown to report on all the goings on with the ‘wretched’ choral society and the Beatles concert.  As I’ve mentioned before, MD has been pushing for a Beatles concert since she’s been the president (her three-year term will be mercifully over on June 30, and I’ll have my wife back).  It’s all come to pass with a whole lot of help from a whole bunch of people. And, thanks to all this effort by all these people – especially Brooks Firestone – it has turned into a much, much huger event than she had ever imagined.

The event kicked off last night with a small reception with Sir George Martin.  About 50 people came to a wine and hors d’oeuvres at the Founders Room of the Granada theater.  Sir George gave a wonderful talk about his early career and his first meeting with the Beatles.  At that time non-Sir George was heading EMI records and his specialty was comedy records.  Brian Epstein had arranged an appointment (Martin said he still has his diary, which lists Epstein as Bernard Epstein) and when Martin told him that he wasn’t interested, Epstein looked so dejected, that Martin relented and said, “Okay, I’ll give them one hour next week.”

The Beatles came in at the appointed time, were terrible as musicians, but were absolutely charming.  Martin took them into the control room to listen to their audition recording and told them to tell him if there was anything they didn’t like.  George Harrison promptly said,”For starters, I’m not crazy about your tie.”  The other Beatles were mortified because they thought George may have blown the deal for them.  George Martin, on the other hand, thought it was hilarious.  At the end of the day, he agreed to give them a recording contract.  Then, as he said in his talk, “As we all know, the rest is history.”

He also said that after he had given the Beatles their first contract, he discovered that they had been turned down by every other record producer in England.  He had been their last resort.  Funny how things work out.

When MD and I woke up this morning, the article below was in the Santa Barbara paper. I shamelessly ripped the photo of MD and me with Sir George and put it at the top of this post.

The Dallas branch of the Eades fam flew in from Dallas for the big event, but the eldest grandchild got sick on the plane.  The two others were in fine shape, though, and ended up having their own audience with Sir George in his dressing room.  The eldest woke up in great shape this morning, so he’ll be at the big premier performance tonight.

Photo at top and in article by Matt Weir

Photo at bottom by MD Eades and her iPhone

51 Comments

  1. Lovely story and I’m more than a little envious. I’ve been a big Beatles fan all my life. Well done, both….

    The photo caption refers to him as “Sir Martin” which is of course incorrect.

    He looks great at 84 and is obviously still very active. Thanks for sharing.

    Jim

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  3. Lucky you! I was a star-struck teenager at Dodger Stadium when The Beatles performed there in the early 1960s, and I just saw the Cirque de Soleil “Love” on cable. The music really holds up after all these years, doesn’t it? I agree with Sir George that they belong in the stratophere with Cole Porter, et al.

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    1. Sir George is conducting the Choral Society in the score for Eleanor Rigby that he wrote for Cirque du Soleil.

      I agree; the music does hold up after all these years.

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  6. How awesome! I just ran and told my husband, “You have a Beatles blog; I have a low carb food blog—our two worlds just came together when the Beatles showed up on Dr. Eades’ blog.”

    Enjoy the big premiere!

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  7. ..pity he didn’t bring his old mucka Paul McFartney along ….i’m sure he would have loved to meet a fella whose books advocated eating beasts !

    Ask him if he remembers Monty the doorman at Abbey Road circa 1983..an ex had a pal whose folks lived round the corner in Alma Square and we used to get let int to go to le bar for cheap drinks..we even once ran naks from just outside AR to her house with traffic bollards on our bonces.

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    1. I did read it and enjoyed it. And you are right about the ‘just so ‘ stories – seems that’s the case with all his books.

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  10. >> It’s all come to pass with a whole lot of help from a whole bunch of people. <<

    So what you're saying is, she got by with a little help from her friends….

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    1. Absolutely, because, as she discovered when she started pushing for this, there’s nothing you can do that can’t be done…

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    1. If only I had a spare 10M pounds lying about, I would purchase it for MD’s birthday. Sadly, I don’t, so she’ll have to settle for less.

      Great film of Elgar at EMI. I had seen it before, but hadn’t realized it was at EMI. Got a question for you: what’s your favorite recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto?

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      1. Is there any other? Jacqueline du Pre, of course (recorded you-know-where) on EMI. It’s actually the only recording of it I’ve ever owned, but I’ve heard it live by a slew of cellists: Schiff, Iserlis, etc., about half a dozen of them. Schiff was amazing. It’s a difficult work to pull off because after the cadenza and big melody at the beginning, the interest in the rest of the piece can fall away if the thing is not handled properly.
        And that recording has Sir John Barbirolli as conductor, one of the greatest Elgarians ever. Have you heard his Dream of Gerontius (Wreched Choral Soc territory!)?
        Did you know that Jacqueline’s brother wrote the songs for Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

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        1. The Jacqueline du Pre is the one I have. I love it, but I’ve always wondered if there was a better one out there.

          Haven’t heard Sir John’s Dream of Gerontius. And I didn’t know Jacqueline’s bro wrote for Monty Python.

          Thanks for all the info.

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    1. As I’ve written often in this blog, I agree in principle with the notion that we should be disease-preventers, not just disease treaters. Problem is, no one goes to the doctor when not sick. In all my years of practice, no one ever came to see me saying, Doc, I feel so great right now and I want you to tell me what I have to do to keep feeling like this forever. Prevention sounds great, but disease pays the bills.

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  15. Sorry, totally off topic, but I hope in the future you might have something to say about the Journal of Family Practice CME email I received today regarding two articles by Antonio Gotto. The first is titled:

    The benefits of statin therapy in patients at all levels of cardiovascular risk, by Antonio M. Gotto Jr, MD, DPhil

    Please have at. Date appeared in the journal 2/18/09. Family practice physicians might regard this article as a viable source of information regarding their recommendations for treatment for their patients.

    I appreciate your time. Kim

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    1. I don’t get this journal nor the email for it, so I don’t really know the content. I do know that Gotto is a statinator of the deepest dye. As far as I know, there are no randomized controlled trials demonstrating a clear benefit for statins in terms of a decrease in all-cause mortality.

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  16. sorry to hijack your blog but i wanted to bring this to your attention. its about raisins and insulin and weight loss. i would love to hear your opinion. thanks

    http://holisticweightloss.ca/best-diet-tips/raisins-%E2%80%94-diet-snacks-for-natural-weight-loss/
    Raisins — Diet Snacks for Natural Weight Loss
    These tiny, tasty fat burners are the perfect diet snacks for natural weight loss
    By L. E. Moody

    Who knew those two scoops of raisins in cereal offered much more than taste? Raisins are low-to-moderate glycemic index foods — according to research from the Ohio State University (OSU) — making them great diet snacks.

    The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how the carbohydrate content in food affects the body’s blood glucose levels. The GI content of a food changes in relation to several factors, for example whether the food is eaten alone or with other foods, or the ripeness and storage of the food. While there is controversy about how useful the GI is to weight loss and diabetes control, low GI foods are still often promoted for weight loss and diabetes management.

    In the OSU study, which was sponsored by the California Raisin Marketing Board, 11 people with pre-diabetes, 10 healthy sedentary individuals and 11 endurance athletes had to eat California raisins. The study results showed that the GI of raisins was low in sedentary and pre-diabetic subjects. In athletes, the GI of raisins was moderate. The average GI of raisins in the study was 54, while most experts use 55 or less as the definition for low GI.

    The findings of this study raises questions about 2002 data on the glycemic index that is most often used to construct low GI diets. “The GI of raisins in published tables is 64, higher than that observed in this study,” said Julie Jones, professor of nutrition at the College of St. Catherine and scientific advisor to the California Raisin Marketing Board. “The U.S. study used more subjects than either the Canadian or Australian data, which are the bases for the numbers in the widely-used GI table,” added Jones.

    But there’s more good news about raisins as diet snacks in your natural weight loss program. When study participants ate raisins they did not secrete high levels of insulin. “This is good news, because producing a high level of insulin can impair our body’s ability to burn fat, especially during exercise,” said Steve Hertzler, a registered dietitian and study leader.

    Raisins are also proving to be perfect pre-exercise snacks, boosting a natural weight loss plan even more. A San Diego University study found that raisins were a cost-effective source of carbohydrate before short-term exercise bouts compared to sports gels. Previous studies with children showed that a raisin-nut mixture as a snack before soccer gave children a steady supply of energy during the game

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    1. My take is that although there are some good nutrients in raisins, two scoops of them are going to raise both your blood sugar and your insulin. It’s all a matter of how many you eat. A large number of raisins – two scoops – would not be part of a low-carb diet.

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    1. @Simon. Sir Les Patterson and Dame Edna rock! How can Barry Humphries have so many nasty but loveable characters in him?

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  18. Abbey Rd not for sale after all.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8527095.stm

    Last night saw John du Prez and Eric Idle in du Prez’s new recording studio (paid for by Spamalot). He ushered Eric into the building by playing “Rule Brittania” on a Wagner tuba! Now there’s a neglected instrument if ever there was one.

    Relative of the cellist? Who knows! He’s always been introduced as such but it seems that Google has been purged of all references. Let It Be! Let It Be!

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    1. Coconut milk contains much good quality fat. Whether you can lose weight with it depends upon how much you consume and what you consume it with. As far as I can tell, simply drinking a little coconut milk here and there won’t really help you lose weight.

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  20. …Er sorry but now you seem to be fudging ….first he was a relative and now who knows/he’s always been introduced as such (by whom ?)…it’s no grand whup to be wrong.
    The reason i commented is that people often unquestionably believe what others say..of course.. and we’re already mired in enough of that tripe anyways.
    Be happy to be wrong…we’ve learnt something surely ?
    I’m perhaps wrongly assuming that you’ve not read “Mistakes were made ” ?
    And if you have maybe a second glance is in order
    I think you also might find that Du Prez might not be his birth name.

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  21. This is a bit off topic, but since I heard about the committee to revise nutrition guidelines on this site, I’ll mention it.
    I just git an email from someone named Michael Moss, who says he is a New York Times writer who is doing a story about the Dietary Guidelines Committee. When I asked why he wanted to talk to me, he said he had (apparently) looked at the comments people had made and noted that I felt that the committe was unduly influenced by agricultrue industry research. He is reporting on the extent to which the research being considered by the committee was funded by the industry.
    I have opinions, but not the stats to back them up.
    If anyone else does, the number he gave me is (212) 556-4234.

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  22. I have Celiac, and wish you would address the gluten-free issues when coupled with Protein Power. I have followed your books since the first one. I enjoy learning the “why,” of your recommendations.

    For the most part, I just stick to eating basic foods, without recipes, but that does get old.

    I do not believe there is such a thing as “low-carb” gluten bread. Most gf grains are very high in carbs. There is now a tasty gf oat from Bob’s Red Mill, but I don’t know how to go about substituting the oats for the low-carb bread you recommend with your breakfasts. I have looked through your carb guide, but couldn’t tell if the measurement listed for the carb count was cooked or dry.

    There are a lot of us out here, by the way. Since I was finally diagnosed less than 10 years ago, the estimate of people in the U.S. with Celiac has changed from 1 in 5,000 to 1 in 100-125. We’ve always been misdiagnosed, often with dire results, and the average time between actively seeking a medical answer and getting a correct one, if ever, was 11 years.

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    1. It’s coming in short order. As soon as I can disengage from ailing parents and terrible weather screwing up my travel plans I’ll get it up. It’s almost finished.

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  24. Sorry for being off topic, but I thought this might be of interest to you Dr. Mike. I usually don’t read the huffpo, but ran across a really interesting article linked from another site.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/25/madoff-whistleblower-book_n_476820.html

    It’s a review of a new book by Harry Markopolos, the Bernie Madoff whistle blower. You may have seen his interview on 60 minutes.

    Here’s what caught my eye. First a quote from the article:

    “Markopolos reveals the multitude of other cases he’s working on, some of which involve health care fraud (he says the health care industry “makes Wall Street look honest”).”

    Followed by a quote from his book:

    “Truthfully, my career aspiration is to prove that a drug with more than a billion dollars in annual sales is actually killing Americans and citizens across the globe, that in the clinical trials the dangers of this drug were revealed, and that the executives knew about the dangers and went ahead and marketed it anyway. I’ve been working on this case for a few years now without much success, but I hope someday I’ll be able to find a key witness and get this case filed with the Department of Justice.”

    Hmmmm… Any guesses Dr. Mike? Statins????

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    1. I don’t know, but I can’t imagine what else it could be. I’ve got his book on order and can’t wait to read it. Maybe it will tell all.

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  25. Dr Mike,

    Did you see my post on 2/25 about Harry Markopolos blowing the whistle on big pharma? It’s still awaiting moderation. Not sure if you’re just backed up or if it got trapped in your spam filter. I know you’re busy, just checking, thought it would be right in your wheelhouse.

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    1. Saw it and responded. Due to family medical emergencies and lousy weather I’m way behind on everything. Good Q&A with Markopolos by Deborah Solomom in today’s NY Times.

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  26. I don’t know if I’ve said this before, but I feel the need to say it again.

    Dr. Eades, you and your dear wife are essentially responsible for my love of biochemistry, and for that, I am forever thankful. I found your book when I was thirteen at the behest of my physician. I was to find a low-carb book, any other than Atkins, and decided to take the original Protein Power home. I don’t know how many times I’ve referenced it since, but it’s gotten a dog-eared and well-used look to it. I really should update, but that will happen when my reading list shrinks a bit.

    I continue to be delighted by how accessible your writing style is. I’m having trouble describing how exciting, thrilling, and wonderful it was to have an entirely new world open up in the pages of that book, one that *I could readily understand*. I had all the fervor of a new convert for quite a while, but realized that I wanted to put my money where my mouth was and really *understand* those things that I was excited about. I haven’t stopped reading and learning since then.

    I’m waxing nostalgic a bit, but the only other book that’s held such lasting influence is a copy of Reader’s Digest ABCs of the Human Body. I found it in the house when I was five or six, refused to let it out of my sight, and demanded explanations for everything I didn’t understand. I found it again recently after well over a decade, and I wonder just how bad it actually is!

    Hopefully many people will feel the incredible thrill of a whole new way of looking at something opening up before them when they read your works and those of kindred spirit.

    I thank you.

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  27. @Simon, not fudging, simply don’t know. Thought it was an established fact that I’d seen a number of times, but perhaps it isn’t true. Please enlighten us further!

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  28. Why is this guy so focused on Obama’s LDL? He looks to be in remarkably good shape.

    President Obama has chronic tendinitis and his cholesterol has increased, according to his first presidential physical exam performed yesterday at Bethesda Naval Medical Center.

    The bottom line is Obama, 48, is “fit for duty,” Chief White House Physician Dr. Jeff Kuhlman wrote in his report. But Obama’s overall cholesterol of 209 needs to come down, Kuhlman wrote.

    That’s up from overall cholesterol of 173 in spring 2008. Obama’s other cholesterol stats: 46 Triglycerides, 62 HDL and 138 LDL. Kuhlman recommended a healthier diet to reduce the LDL number to below 130.

    Obama’s blood pressure yesterday was normal at 105 over 62.

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    1. Probably because his doctor is a mainstream pinhead who has bought into the lipid theory of heart disease lock, stock and barrel.

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  29. ….Ah don’t know..there we go, good for you…an open mind (well as open as we highly unconscious self deceiving primates can be !!)

    Well i knew scant about Jacqui aside from her MS and a few other things and yet i knew John DP was in Modern Romance..worked with El Pythons(mainly Idle Eric) Spamalot etc and so i started looking after i read that.
    Spelling different for starters,She born in Oxford to an old Jersey fam..he born in Sheff (me too !) and that DPreZ was a non de plume.
    If its a stage name, initially at least with a different spelling unless he has very odd psychology(maybe so to work with Idle Eric..hugely funny and certainly in the past hugely neurotic) it’d be logical that they are not related.
    Logic not being my forte..being born in Sheff.
    Try Dick Emery out for size on the Tube of You
    Also The Goodies, The Two Ronnies etc

    Bets Wishes

    Reply

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