Isn’t that a lyric from a Beatles song? Lennon and McCartney must have been on holiday in Spain when they wrote it. The point is this: when you pass a neighbour in the street in the UK, you say ‘Hello’, or ‘Morning’ to each other. In the same situation the Spanish will usually say ‘Hasta Luego’, or ‘Adios’ (See you later/Bye…) to each other as they pass.
Plus, it is a common to say ‘Buenas Noches’ (Good Night) when you walk into a house/bar/restaurant at night, a phrase I would only use just before heading for bed. I wonder if that tells us anything about the two cultures…
Gripweed
31 May 06 at 3:00 am
Let Me Take You Down To Almería (Spain)
Why?
Because John Lennon wrote Strawberry Fields Forever in this southeastern city of Spain. He got inspiration for the song in 1966, during the six weeks he spent filming How I won the war. Furthermore, John came back from Almeria with his forever present “granny” glasses. Besides, Ringo and George visited him and Ringo would come back in 1971 to film “Blindman”.
Where?
Almería is located in the southeastern corner of Spain. This province is well known among other things, for being the location for films such as “Lawrence of Arabia”, “Patton” or Sergio Leone’s dollar trilogy. There are daily air flights from Madrid and Barcelona, although it can be easily reached by car or train. The main places to visit are:
Santa Isabel
A large house where John Lennon recorded the first demos of Strawberry Fields Forever. It had a wild garden and a fence. It was abandoned for 30 years until journalist Adolfo Iglesias and the association “John Lennon Almeria Forever” discovered its story. Nowadays is being restored by Almeria Town Council and it will soon become a public cultural centre.
Santa Isabel is cited by several sources (including Mark Lewisohn’s “Chronicle” and The Beatles Monthly Book). Nevertheless in Almeria is better known as the Romero’s Villa. Cynthia Lennon wrote about it in her biography “A twist of Lennon”, describing it as a hounted house. It also appears cited in the bootleg “It’s not too bad” of Pegboy-Vigotone, where under the name “Santa Isabel demos” are included the seven takes of Strawberry Fields Forever Lennon made in Almería (a very similar, although improved, version can be heard on the Anthology 2 from the Kenwood demos).
El Delfín Verde and the Playa del Zapillo
El Zapillo is the beach of the city of Almería. John Lennon was lodged in a small apartment called “El delfín verde” (the green dolphin) near the seafront during his first weeks there. It was here where Douglas Kirkland took the photo of John on the bed with a guitar and a casette recorder. John begun writing the song here but without the main verse. When Ringo came for John’s 26th birthday, Cynthia decided to move to a larger place, Santa Isabel, where the song was completed.
“El Manzanilla” was a restaurant located a few metres from the Delfín Verde. Lennon and his friends used to have dinner here, and it was the place where they celebrated his 26th birthday. Today is ruined and abandoned
Carboneras, Cabo de Gata and Tabernas
The main locations out the city of the shooting of “How I won the war”. Lennon used to attend every day, even if he was not to appear on the scenes shot that day. The photos taken by John Howard, César Lucas, Douglas Kirkland and others connect Lennon and these pleces for the Beatles fans.
How I won the war was directed in 1967 by Richard Lester (who also directed A Hard Day’s Night and Help) and starred Michael Crawford and John Lennon in the lead roles. Lennon played private Gripweed in the movie.
What you should know
John’s Rolls broke down during the filming and he and Cynthia used a taxi for several days. Years after, the taxi driver had no memories whatsoever of his famous passengers.
Like many English visitors, John got sunburnt during the first days in Spain. This can be clearly appreciated in some of the pictures taken during the filming.
Very few Spaniards asked John for an autograph. But a group of chlidren from the Zapillo neirbourghood did it four times. Ringo was the mediator.
Michael Crawford would later appear in Hello Dolly!, and gained fame playing the lead role in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Phantom of the Opera”. Richard Lester would direct, among many others, parts 2 and 3 of “Superman”.
In some pictures, John appears with a “chupa-chups” (lollypop), considered as one of the greatest Spanish inventions of the 20th century.
JOHN LENNON ALMERIA FOREVER http://www.almeriaforever.com
Ben
31 May 06 at 3:26 pm
wow, thanks for the info!
Gripweed
25 Jul 06 at 8:22 pm
http://www.lennonalmeria.com