JoAnn, Linda & Evy
In the season of Paul's post-Jane and pre-Linda period, Linda, JoAnn and Evy (always in that order when speaking about them, don't know why) had been traveling to England and hanging with the original Apple Scruffs. They met Paul several times at both Abbey Road and his house in St. John's Wood, and it got to the point where he would recognize them in a crowd and single them out for conversation. Remember, these were the days when Paul hung out with the fans, sometimes for hours, just talking and enjoying their company. These young women were "respectful" fans, who asked permission before taking pictures of him and spoke to Paul like a regular guy, not a Beatle. He very much appreciated that and was often willing to stay and talk. They continued to see him through the next few years whenever he was in New York or they were in London. In 1970, when Paul and Linda spent six months in NY recording RAM at Columbia Studios and living at the Stanhope Hotel, this threesome saw them almost every day. The girls were there the night that P&L went out trick-or-treating in disguise, and here's the pic that Linda (his Linda, not mine) took inside Suite 1101 at the Stanhope wearing their masks. In fact, while the girls were waiting at the hotel for him to come out, he snuck up behind them and scared them - for Halloween.
The dynamic of this trio was quite distinctive as well. Evy was very independent, living on her own in Queens, and moved from place to place and job to job. As a freelance typist, she had an assortment of assignments, but her time was her own and working this way allowed her much freedom. Linda and JoAnn worked in more steady positions, the former for an import/export company in the PanAm building, the latter for Chemical Bank near Wall St. They were the closest of friends, practically joined at the hip. Where one was, the other was. When the women’s fashion of maxi coats made a splash in the early to mid-70's (a winter coat that almost swept the floor), they both had one - Linda's a tweed, JoAnn's a solid chocolate brown. When the street vendors sold wool hats and scarves and gloves that all matched, they each had a set in the same style, but different patterns. The routine was that Linda would meet JoAnn after work on Friday night to ride two hours and three subway trains with her back to the house JoAnn shared with her mother in Far Rockaway. Linda would stay overnight Friday and Saturday, and then go home to her parent's house in South Ozone Park on Sunday to start another week of work and do it all again the next weekend. The two of them would journey into Manhattan every Saturday morning together, and during these particular days, they were coming into the City every weekend to see Jane and Victor on Broadway.
So now, cut back to the stage door. The sticker on my coat was all it took for the girls to start a conversation with me in the way that Beatle people do with each other, and soon we were fast friends meeting at the theatre every Saturday to see Jane and Victor arrive before the matinee.
When the show closed about a month later, the four of us continued to meet for brunch on those Saturdays at the Lexington Candy Shop, an old-fashioned luncheonette that Paul had frequented in the Stanhope neighborhood. After that, we'd go to a movie or a museum or something fun in the city just to hang out together. The more time I spent with them, the more Beatle adventure stories I heard. At the tender age of 12, I tried to imagine what it would be like to find myself standing in front of the love of my life and all time favorite famous person. Paul was someone I thought I'd never be face to face with, and the idea of breathing the same rarified air was....Wow.
And then there were the photographs.
They had pictures with Paul. Lots of them. At his home, at Abbey Road, in Scotland, in New York. I was stunned. These girls were superstars to me, and they assured me that the next time Paul was in NY, I would meet him. I couldn't believe it, but they seemed very confident that a "close encounter" of my own was in my future. It didn't happen until March of 1974, but true to their word, it did happen.
So now, cut back to the stage door. The sticker on my coat was all it took for the girls to start a conversation with me in the way that Beatle people do with each other, and soon we were fast friends meeting at the theatre every Saturday to see Jane and Victor arrive before the matinee.
When the show closed about a month later, the four of us continued to meet for brunch on those Saturdays at the Lexington Candy Shop, an old-fashioned luncheonette that Paul had frequented in the Stanhope neighborhood. After that, we'd go to a movie or a museum or something fun in the city just to hang out together. The more time I spent with them, the more Beatle adventure stories I heard. At the tender age of 12, I tried to imagine what it would be like to find myself standing in front of the love of my life and all time favorite famous person. Paul was someone I thought I'd never be face to face with, and the idea of breathing the same rarified air was....Wow.
And then there were the photographs.
They had pictures with Paul. Lots of them. At his home, at Abbey Road, in Scotland, in New York. I was stunned. These girls were superstars to me, and they assured me that the next time Paul was in NY, I would meet him. I couldn't believe it, but they seemed very confident that a "close encounter" of my own was in my future. It didn't happen until March of 1974, but true to their word, it did happen.
