The Twelfth Night I spent with the Beatles

The Beatles played together for the last time when my son was not born, and neither was I. I have heard so much about them that, at times, it is as if they are one of those stories that are passed from parents to children, from grandparents to grandchildren. They have always been there, like a great fable, and it is impossible to know what was true and what was a lie. On this Twelfth Night different from all the others, I would simply like not to feel so alone. The pandemic never ends and, suddenly, like so many, I have been removed from what matters most to me. A Twelfth Night without Kings, like a broken promise. At least, on this January 5, I have the Beatles. His documentary

(Disney +). Days ago, I had already seen it spacing it in different viewings and driven by the article by friend Ricardo de Querol, but tonight, with nothing to do but curse Christmas and bad luck, I'm going to see it all at once. Seven hours with the Beatles. Confined to the Beatles. Maybe I can't hold out.

In recent times, the world always seems polarized, a rude place in which every child of a neighbor positions himself for or against anything. For or against masks, for or against more restrictions, for or against abortion, for or against Almodóvar's latest film, for or against Ana Iris Simón, for or against the draw for the Champions ... Only death is the only issue on which everyone seems to be against, although surely the deniers and brothers-in-law have changed their minds. And, until this year, I thought the Beatles might be the only song on this broken planet that everyone could support, but this Peter Jackson documentary has proven not. You also have to be for or against. Okay. Well, I can only be in favorI already feel sorry for Carlos Boyero and Sergio del Molino, whom I read and admire, but I am even more so on this night in which the fabulous four from Liverpool are my only company.

In favor

of the Beatles

. One thing is clear: if you are a musician and you are against this documentary, then, my friend, you are not a musician. You are something else, even a tweeter wanting controversy. I'm sorry for you. With just one viewing, you already realize that

is a gift for anyone who has ever tried to express themselves with chords. From beginning to end, although especially in the first two episodes of the three that make up this document. That the Beatles had this gift stored in a magic trunk that we open now, half a century later, is a fantasy for music. It's Twelfth Night and I need to believe in the fantasies. It may be that too, but I already believed it the first time I saw it.

Now, while it rains outside and I have the tree lights on in the living room to remind me to try to be positive in the new year, even if the previous year and the other have splattered shit on us, I want to believe that I have sneaked in with the Beatles and all those people at Twickenham Studios. In fact, I sneaked in. It's easy to feel like that when you see every detail of their faces: smiles, looks, raised eyebrows, chewed words ... Can you be cooler than they are wearing? I say no, with those fur coats and those

that are now more modern than all of us in the 21st century.

And at the same time I ask: can you have dirtier hair than the Beatles?

I also say no.

Anyway, it's the Beatles.

I am here with them and I only seek to remain as long as my body can endure.

kitchen

could be tedious for many mortals, but who thinks of mortality when he hears, sees or talks about the Beatles?

I do not.

I learned that a long time ago.

Paul McCartney plays 'Get Back'.

It is no coincidence that the documentary is called

.

It's a tribute to Paul.

It has to be from Peter Jackson.

The moment when Paul, in his yellow sweater, pulls out the

, with Lennon "running late", Harrison yawning, Ringo scowling and others doing their thing, it's a great moment seen up close, lived in real time. Undoubtedly. It is like having the key to the extraordinary laboratory of the Beatles. Exclusively. It is a moment that also illustrates that Paul McCartney was the capital figure of the Beatles in 1969, when the group was the greatest musical peak of world pop. He is the true leader of the band and, even with everything, it was of no use. One of the first reasons for this famous separation was the death of Brian Epstein, the group's manager. The documentary starts there, without Epstein already. It starts, therefore, announcing the end. For this reason, in the middle of the cracks, Paul later claims in television studios "a father figure." The Beatles needed that figure, like a gang of kids,like a great creative enterprise balanced by a parent. Without father,

Children are lost. That, I claim, was much more definitive than Yoko Ono's appearance.

Yoko Ono appears and disappears like a ghost. I think Peter Jackson wanted to screw a bit with the famous stunt that "Yoko Ono is to blame for everything." Any

knows that is not true. The group was already divided by many more factors, including the lack of Brian Epstein. The director could have staged this first part in a way that did not show so much that Yoko was like a specter appearing on a whim, but he didn't want to. He wants us to see it. In a matter of half a minute, it's as if Yoko were saying, “Once I'm next to John, again I'm not. Now, I appear reading the newspaper, but, plas, I disappear instantly ”. Let's be clear:

As a historical document, it is only valuable now because it clearly shows us what Yoko's presence in a cracked Beatles meant. A being that clings to her fiancé like a barnacle to a rock. We knew that Yoko had been in the group, but we had never seen him. And it is much more beast than we could imagine: it was John's barnacle, drinking tea, reading the newspaper, drawing or looking at the shrews only inches from the fiancé! An all-round barnacle. Inside the core, without compassion, without rest. Yoko La Barnacle with John La Roca, immovable in his decision to bring his fiancee into the hubbub. The rest of the couples in the group don't think of doing Yoko's thing. Neither Linda Eastman nor Maureen Starkey, who sometimes swarm around without hitting anyone. But nevertheless,the rest of the couples did not have John La Roca as a partner. That was the problem.

Yoko Ono, right, with John Lennon, the rest of the Beatles and Billy Preston in the recording studio during a scene from 'Get Back'.

It is clear that John was annoying the rest and, above all, Paul with this decision. What was the point? I could be in love with Yoko, but love, the perfect device for acting like an asshole, has nothing to do with playing two-handed flats to the rest of your friends. It's clear: John doesn't care about the Beatles like he used to. Paul knows it and says it: "If John has to choose between the Beatles and Yoko, he will choose Yoko." He calls them "lovebirds" when they are both late for rehearsal, again. “This is going to be incredibly funny 50 years from now: they broke up because Yoko was sitting at the amp. There were only two left, "says McCartney. And, wow, Paul, it's funny! I'm watching. I am seeing how you are separating, I observe your despair and Ringo, shortly before,saying he doesn't like the Hare Krishna that George has brought. Who the heck likes a Hare Krishna ?! I imagine that, at the end of the seventies, they were fashionable and made sense with that hippie roll of the summer of love and drugs even in the colacao, but neither then nor ever could I like a heavy one of those - imagine a troop - in the nucleus. In the center of gravity. In the sacred: work and creation, the union of the four to make songs. The Hare Krishna of George Harrison and Yoko the Barnacle next to John The Late Rock as elements that I see to confirm that things were pretty bad between them. I understand Paul when he says: "When you are close something grows, when not, it does not."They were in fashion and they made sense with that hippie roll of the summer of love and drugs even in the colacao, but neither then nor ever could I like a heavy one of those - imagine a troop - in the nucleus. In the center of gravity. In the sacred: work and creation, the union of the four to make songs. The Hare Krishna of George Harrison and Yoko the Barnacle next to John The Late Rock as elements that I see to confirm that things were pretty bad between them. I understand Paul when he says: "When you are close something grows, when not, it does not."They were in fashion and they made sense with that hippie roll of the summer of love and drugs even in the colacao, but neither then nor ever could I like a heavy one of those - imagine a troop - in the nucleus. In the center of gravity. In the sacred: work and creation, the union of the four to make songs. The Hare Krishna of George Harrison and Yoko the Barnacle next to John The Late Rock as elements that I see to confirm that things were pretty bad between them. I understand Paul when he says: "When you are close something grows, when not, it does not."The Hare Krishna of George Harrison and Yoko the Barnacle next to John The Late Rock as elements that I see to confirm that things were pretty bad between them. I understand Paul when he says: "When you are close something grows, when not, it does not."The Hare Krishna of George Harrison and Yoko the Barnacle next to John The Late Rock as elements that I see to confirm that things were pretty bad between them. I understand Paul when he says: "When you are close something grows, when not, it does not."

The Beatles, those four Liverpool lads turned into the biggest artistic stars of their time, weren't as close as they used to be. Therefore, they no longer grew. They were doomed to decline.

It shows us in great detail how the biggest band in history dwindled. The cracks that led to the demolition. Lennon was always late for rehearsals and is not there when it comes to buying song catalogs with Apple Corps, the band's company. Even on this lonely night, I dare say that in the early days at Twickenham Studios I was high. Quite high on some marijuana or whatever. He hardly speaks, seems absent, is absent and is an addition rather than an engine. His pasotismo is enormous. But that's not as final as seeing and hearing George. After two hours of footage, George gets angry and everyone gets tense, except Yoko, who always seems to be in his particular galaxy. (What will Yoko think? It could be the name of another experimental documentary that says nothing, but seems momentous.)Prior to that time, there had been obvious friction between Paul, George and Lennon over guitars. George blurts it out: "Maybe you need Eric Clapton." Reproach to the song of the third

to numbers 1 and 2. Clapton, a huge guitarist, is confirmed to be the most obnoxious character of that time.

He never held out in a group, but his name also served to destabilize the rest of the bands.

For guitarists, "Clapton is coming" was like saying "the wolf is coming."

It happened on the Beatles, but it also happened on the Rolling Stones.

“Find a substitute.

Put an ad in NME (

, British magazine), ”says George defiantly.

And it goes away.

Leave the rehearsals.

And he does it in a glorious way: "See you at the clubs!"

Phrase now for eternity.

I promise to release her sometime in my life before I die: "See you at the clubs,

!"

Ringo Starr, in a frame from 'Get Back'.

The second episode is also very illustrative, beyond what Paul slices about John and Yoko and the immense moment of the microphone hidden in the vase during the conversation in the restaurant between John and Paul to treat George's “pissed off”. It is from the first seconds in which Ringo appears just entering the studio. Ain't nobody gonna wave this man He is a professional like the crown of a pine tree. Faced with the outsize talent of Paul, John and George, he brings professionalism. One of those guys who, if the Beatles were Real Madrid, a coach would make him play every minute of every game while occasionally feeling the stars, so self-centered. An essential type. Sitting on the drums, somewhat higher than the rest, he seems to observe everything from a privileged position. Fourth

the last to join the band replacing drummer Pete Best, always looks at the other three without opening his mouth. It contributes little, but it always complies. Sometimes her face seems to say, "What the hell is wrong now ?!" Or just smile with your imperial mustache as if to continue to give continuity to the good vibes among others. Ringo Starr, the glue, or the heart of the group, as the other three called him. Ringo, going to the back room of the room when George's anger threatens to bring down the entire project of recording the album and the concert and asking for "a couple of amphetamines" to wait. If the Titanic sinks, at least Ringo will see the glaciers burning!

I don't have a

favorite

. I can't have it. Much less tonight. It reminds me of when as a child I was asked to choose a Wizard King. I refuse. Having a favorite

is like forcing myself to shoot myself in the foot. I don't want to shoot. Ditch the guns and enjoy the Beatles! Union make force! They want us divided and separated, see! On top of that, you also have to choose a

! Why? Who Said It? God? God does not exist and, if he does exist, the Beatles are greater than him. And that Jesus Christ, of course I do, John. It's been several hours now and it seems like I've been with them for half my life. I think I've already loved each of the four separately, but I've also hated them. Like life itself. Like God, if he were a believer. I know that they are going to separate and I want to be able to talk (and not be a specter like Yoko) and to be heard yelling at them: "Don't screw it up!" Please don't screw her ... But I can't. I can only continue to be with them and listen and see.

They are the Beatles and I love how they play with the songs. If you love music, this documentary is a constant surprise. It is so cool to see how they warm up with the songs of others ... It is one of the great wonders of this document: there is always good vibes when they start to recover songs from their beginnings as musicians. Those compositions that they learned with the illusion of becoming real musicians. Songs from the best African-American heritage sound. I take out paper and pen and point, if only to make my own

:

… Vibrant, innocent, passionate music. They look at each other, they laugh, they search for each other with the instruments… Damn, they are the Beatles in their purest form! Perhaps the most interesting reading of this documentary is to see the friction of the group in real time, but not for me. Not this Twelfth Night. On this cold night, the best is fun with music. That is the key. Little has been said about what they have fun about. There are tensions, discrepancies and a future about to come to an end, but they are still having fun. There is something extraordinary that connects them with music. Something very extraordinary. I bet you put cameras in thousands of bands that have been around the same time and that had or have much less pressure and success and you don't find such good vibes when they play. Bands behaving much more cretin among themselves, with more silences,tension and confrontations. Less friendly. They touch

and they scoff at the first day Ringo played drums and only noticed so many women in the crowd. They are friends loving and hating each other, as I am them. Friends who are just tired of your great story. Of themselves perhaps. Friends from whom everything is expected and they scoff at everything, reading the press and laughing at their significance, their impact, being the Beatles.

They play with the idea of ​​being something other than the Beatles. "I can ask Dylan to join the Beatles," George says in the second episode. "It will". Dylan would never say yes. Or not. Dylan was also already tired of being Dylan. They separated and Dylan disappeared for a season. Had it really been possible? Is Mars habitable? Is there intelligent life beyond the Milky Way? Who knows. Not even God could predict what would have happened from that union. They are also shuffling to include Billy Preston as the official fifth

. Billy is a machine, an exquisite pianist and a formidable nerve. He appears in those recordings and brings his touch, the black touch that no

it can contribute, even if they admire it with all their soul.

The Beatles, white children of the islands, arrived with the black heritage to the top.

They did what African Americans couldn't do in their own country: be national, even world, stars.

But, one thing is certain, no white stars, not even the Beatles, have that

black leprechaun or

Hence, the key presence of Billy Preston.

Shortly after, George, who also talks about releasing a record on his own, says, "We could be the Lonely Hearts band."

And Lennon adds: "Beatles and co."

The Beatles on the roof in the third part of the documentary 'Get Back'.efe

In the end, they are simply the Beatles. And we already know how the story ends: like a story. Their last concert is on the rooftop of the Apple Corps recording studios building. It's all improvised. I see how it happens, how Paul refuses, but ends up accepting. I also see how people wonder what is happening on the street. It is something that I had already seen before, years ago, about this concert, but had not seen some of the comments on the street. That lady who says she doesn't like the Beatles because they woke her up from a nap playing there live, at the top of the building. His face is less friendly than Ebenezer Scrooge's at the beginning

. Glorious. That other guy who says he's not cool with the Beatles anymore because they've "totally" changed. He is a proto snobbish spectacle claiming all haughty the early days of the Beatles because that one, man, it was cool! More glorious still. But the most glorious thing that I hadn't seen before are those two police officers who went to the roof with the aim of stopping the concert. All the Apple Corps employees taunt them with cameras up their noses. They are crazy, they take time to respond, they look for someone who never comes ... and, meanwhile, the Beatles are giving their last performance on a rooftop in London. Full blast music. New songs for the end of the dream. Opposing the faces of Billy Preston and that of the policemen in a double shot is magnificent.The guy who is enjoying himself like a savage and knowing that he is making history with the Beatles up there and the other two condemned suffering because they are the two biggest ashes in history. The lucky and the unlucky. But it is also that the unfortunate are especially cretins, with those misplaced helmets and those nervous and quick glances at the camera. There is no script that would have surpassed what I see. Once again, the reality of the Beatles is more than fiction.the reality of the Beatles is more than fiction.the reality of the Beatles is more than fiction.

It is dawning. A little over seven hours have passed. Exactly 468 minutes. I'm still in the living room. They say that the Three Wise Men are the parents, although they may not. Today, tonight, the Three Wise Men have been the Beatles. I'm going to miss them. In fact, I'm already missing them. Paul, John, George and Ringo and that group of people trying in the television studios, in the recording studios and on the rooftop that their story is perfect. It has been. It was. What remains. I keep thinking of the four of them, when knowing that they were about to say goodbye and they weren't talking about it, they started to play and it was like seeing a group of friends playing for the first time. It was. I don't remember when was the last time I saw a group of friends perform for the first time, but it is a powerful feeling.I could say it has a lot in common with that Twelfth Night feeling for a kid. Expect the magic. Believe in magic. And what is magic? It may be trusting that there are no lies that destroy the good that can be asked of life and, then, the good happens, despite the lies.

The Beatles played together for the last time when my son was not born, and neither was I.

However, they have happened tonight in my living room.

I've been with them on a night when I felt like the only thing I passionately cared about was where I couldn't be, but at least I can say I've been with the Beatles.

Tomorrow I will tell my son and I am convinced that he will believe me.

After all, that gift awaits me.