The operator of a 900-number for fans to vote for a Beatles reunion says it's for real. Well, sort of. He won't get that specific.
"They're being evasive now, but when they hit, they're going to hit hard," he mysteriously says of his company's unnamed employers, the promoters of the possible reunion. The ad from J.P.G.R. Inc. -- a sly evocation of John, Paul, George and Ringo -- appears in the Feb. 9 issue of Rolling Stone under this header: "BEATLES TOUR IN 1995."
"Would you like to see the Beatles Get Back together for a 1995 world tour? Your vote counts -- Call Now!" the classified announcement reads. Call for $2, that is.
But why would the Beatles need to advertise?
Kevin, who wouldn't give his last name, said in a phone call from his Spring Hill, Fla., office that his backers weren't sure the faithful would come running down Penny Lane again. "A lot of people have the instinct that the Beatles were the Beatles with John, Paul, George and Ringo," he says. ". . . The promoters who are involved with this are very iffy about the whole thing. . . . [Some feel] it's not the Beatles anymore."
Kevin hinted that John Lennon's replacement might be someone close to the lost Beatle. Son Julian Lennon, perhaps? "Could be. . . . I would say that's a very good guess," Kevin says.
He says someone in the group was looking at a New Jersey site for a pay-per-view reunion special -- "somebody who walks barefoot and wears masks" and is left-handed (Paul McCartney, one assumes); someone who was motivated by "the second guitarist" (George Harrison, one again assumes) to get the reunion effort under way.
Kevin had a lot of vague hints and clues to offer, but was shy about revealing more since his bosses got wind of a Toronto Sun article, in which even the Beatles' record company, EMI, claimed no knowledge of the ad.
Well, Kevin says, even EMI isn't going to say anything until the Big Boys tell it to. He says to expect more sneaky promotions, under headers less obvious than "BEATLES TOUR."
Jennifer Gass, who takes classifieds at Rolling Stone, would say only that she hadn't received any complaints about the ad. The 900-call is certainly low-tech: You don't even get catchy Beatles music in the background as you press "1" for a reunion or "2" if you're against. After nearly a thousand calls, Kevin says, "Basically, the vote is, people want the Beatles back." Surprise!
But what about the $2 charge? Could this ad just be a cynical attempt to make money? "The company [J.P.G.R.] is being paid this way. . . . It's basically to cover just the expenses to cover it," Kevin says. "Even the Beatles don't do things for nothing."