Mick
IE: But somehow, you wound up in France,
working as a session guitarist in the ‘60s,
too? Working with Francoise Hardy,
amplifier and my guitar, and the curtains
came down on top of me and knocked me
to the ground. And my guitar fell on the
ground, and it was my prized possession.
So I went, “Oh, fuck! Shit!” And John
Lennon walked up behind me after hear-
ing me swearing in English and said,
“Hey, lad – we didn’t know you were
English! Come up and have a bevy with
the lads!” And I couldn’t believe it – he’d
invited me up to their dressing room. And
from then on, I spent after-show time with
them, and every night we’d go out to
clubs. And I got to play with George at one
point a few years later, and I still see Ringo
08•2017
Sylvia Vartan and Johnny Hallyday?
What an amazing time to be in Paris.
MJ: Yeah. There’s a famous theater in Paris
called the Olympia, and The Beatles were
booked to play there, and it was just before
their first trip to America. And we were on
the bill – me with Sylvia Vartan’s band.
And suddenly, there’s The Beatles, and we
were in the Olympia, rehearsing. The
Beatles walk in, and there was hysteria in
the streets, and I was frozen when I saw
them, because I really was a superfan. So
we were in the middle spot of this show,
and in those days they had a curtain that
dropped, like a lot of theaters used to
have. And I was coming off, carrying my
pretty regularly. I was secretly hoping that
they’d take me as the fifth Beatle, but it
never happened.
IE: But France itself must have been awe-
some.
MJ: Oh, yeah. It was the Yi Yi period, and
Nero and the Gladiators had been offered
this summer tour, backing a French singer
called Dick Rivers. So we decided to do it
– come over to France from England and
tour in France with Dick Rivers. And on
one of the first few days, there was a very
beautiful young lady traveling with us,
and I quickly fell in love with her the
moment I saw her. Plus, French was my
10 illinoisentertainer.com august 2017
August 11
5 Billion In Diamonds 5 Billion In Diamonds
David Rawlings Poor David's Almanack
Kesha Rainbow
Mark Bryan Songs Of The Fortnight
Paul Kelly Life Is Fine
The Cribs 24-7 Rock Star Shit
August 18
Everything Everything Fever Dream
Ghostpoet Dark Days & Canapés
Grizzly Bear Painted Ruins
Mozzy 1 Up Top Ahk
Phora Yours Truly Forever
Ray Wylie Hubbard Tell The Devil I'm Gettin' There...
Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer Not Dark Yet
UNKLE The Road Part 1
Motorhead
August 25
Angelo De Augustine Swim Inside The Moon
Cymbals Light In Your Mind
EMA Exile In The Outer Ring
Filthy Friends Invitation
Gogol Bordello Seekers And Finders
Iron & Wine Beast Epic
Nadine Shah Holiday Destination
Queens of the Stone Age Villains
Savoy Brown Witchy Feelin'
The War on Drugs A Deeper Understanding
Walter Trout We’re All In This Together
September 1
Joan Osborne Songs Of Bob Dylan
Mogwai Every Country's Sun
Motörhead Under Cover
Orchestral Manoeuvres i