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Digger's interview with Sid Bernstein - The man who brought The Beatles to America and triggered the 'British Invasion'

Sid Bernstein is a mild-mannered gentleman from the old school. An impresario and promoter who struck some hugely influential deals without compromising his morals. Fortunately, in Brian Epstein, he 'met' a soul-mate who shared the same sort of business code. Sid and Brian agreed on details for the record-breaking Carnegie Hall and Shea Stadium Beatles' concerts over the phone. Showing a high regard for Sid's opinion in a quick phone call, Ed Sullivan decided to include The Beatles on his show and, lo, America joined in the mania that up until then had been a secret between Britain and Sid Bernstein! .............

A poster for the historic Beatles
Shea stadium concert

.....This caused a chain reaction which resulted in the so-called British Invasion, in which Sid was very instrumental, bringing over The Animals, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits  and many more. Sid has recently documented his memories in a book, Not Just The Beatles, which I review on my reviews page. Sid kindly agreed to talk to me. And from his apartment with a panoramic view of New York City this is the insightful interview he gave.

Sid With Sir Paul McCartney

Phone rings.........

Sid: Hello.

Digger: Hello, is that Sid Bernstein?

Sid: Speaking.

Digger: Hello, it's David in England.

Sid: How are you David?

Digger: I'm fine. How are you?

Sid: David the Digger, is that it?

Digger: It's Digger Barnes.

Sid: Some GREAT questions.
( Digger emailed them to Sid )

Digger: Oh, thank you very much!

Sid: Best I've had in years.

Digger: You're joking!

Sid: Could you hold one moment? I just want
to finish - it's not English - but it's jam on a
cracker and it's very good!

Digger: I thought you were talking about
THE Jam as in music!

Sid: Food is like music to me. I love my food and my
music. They're BOTH music to me.

Digger: I know about your love for food and
I share that with you as well.

Sid: How do you know about my love for food?

Digger: Just from the book.

Sid: Oh, I see. You read the book?

Digger: Oh yeah. In record time. Four days
commuting back and forth to London.

Sid: Can I just finish my cracker?

Digger: Go ahead.......

Sid:..... Thanks.

Digger: No problem. Important business that was!
Where do you get your jam from?

Sid: Oh, New York or possibly Philadelphia.

Digger: Do you ever get any from Fortnums?

Sid: Fortnums is great. Not in a little while.

Digger: I went on business to Japan about ten years ago
and I bought the guy over there some jams and tea from
Fortnum and Mason and he LOVED it.

Sid: My favourite is Crosse and Blackwell. It's gotta be
British. It's the same with Thornton's candies.
They beat anything that America makes.

Digger: We call them 'sweets' over here, Sid.

Sid: Are you familiar with Thorntons?

Digger: Yes, they're very big over here now, they've really
taken off and are all over the country now.

Sid: Very big in Liverpool. People used to make fun of me
( laughs ) 'cos every interview I did whether it was print,
TV or radio I'd work Thornton's into it and
I was like a press agency.

Digger: You weren't getting any commission?

Sid: Not at all, not even a sample.

Digger: Did they not send you a couple of boxes
as a 'thank you'?

Sid: I don't think they knew. I was a good
customer at that store.

Digger: Oh dear. We'll have to do something about that.
I'll get onto their website and let them know.

Sid: Okay!

Digger: So how are you today, Sid? Is it okay to call
you Sid, rather than Mr. Bernstein?

Sid: Sid is right. I'm just nursing a BAD cold.

Digger: The same as me then?
It's travelled 3,000 miles.

Sid: I think I've been living with it for about four
days now. A nurse came to look after me and she dipped
a swab in medicine and it went down my throat. "Say agh"
she said so I sang 'Agh'. Lovely lady.

Digger: 'Sid sings like Tony Bennett'..... Your PR
lady Ida - she is a sweetheart.

Sid: She's lovely - you've not met her?

Digger: Unfortunately, no.

Sid: I met her when she was a kid fifteen, eighteen
years ago. She had the best curves but what really
got me was that she was a good, hardworking girl in this
big office and I chose her to be my friend in the office.
And when she went out on her own, I recommended her to
a few people. And now she's been just wonderful for
the book and I. You've not met her?

Digger: No, but if I get over there I will. Have you had
a chance to see my review of your book?
I guess you're too busy a man.

Sid: I didn't see it.

Digger: Are you on the Internet there?

Sid: I'm not into these contraptions. I've got a fax
machine and that' as far as I'll go. I'm pretty stupid
about Internet sites and all that stuff.

Digger: It's good for those who like it but you can live
without it. Even I have managed when the computer's
gone down for a few days.

Sid: Where do you live David?

Digger: About 40 miles north of London,
just near Bedford.

Sid: Towards Liverpool?

Digger: That direction but not that far.

Sid: I fell in love with Liverpool, I LOVE the people
there. London is my favourite city in the world.
One day I'm going to migrate to London.

Digger: Why not have two places?
The best of both worlds.

Sid: Er, it sounds like Sid Bernstein's got a load
of dough ( laughs ) but I don't.

Digger: Well, you SHOULD have, that's all I can say.

Sid: I should have. I'm more into having fun and
eating than piling up those dollars!

Digger: That's one BIG meal! ( laughs ) So what's your
favourite food at the moment?

Sid: Italian, very big on Italian. Some great
Italian restaurants in New York.

Digger: And do they look after you?

Sid: Yes, I'm nice to the waiters, although most don't
even know who I am. THE Sid Bernstein, you know!
But I'm nice to waiters. I like working people, you know?
I respect them and I get it back.

Digger: In my review of your book - I'm doing it now, 
I end up with Jewish mannerisms and calling people
mensch! It's infectious.

Sid: 'Mensch' has become like 'chutzpah' - and has turned into
an English word. We Jews aren't ALL mensches, thankfully
some of us are! Where do you work?

Digger: I work in Baker Street in London.

Sid: Ah! When I think of Baker Street I think of my cap
I bought in Bond Street. It's much like a Sherlock Holmes,
so when I do Baker Street I put on my cap and I'm SURE
they know I'm an American you know!

Digger: They probably guess, yes! ( laughs ). There are two
Beatles connections in Baker Street. There's a Beatles shop
and there's the site of the original Apple boutique.

Sid: A Beatles shop? They should be selling my book then?
We're getting calls from - you know Barnes & Noble,
they just asked for a quantity.

Digger: Excellent.

Sid: Borders ordered some. And there was a store in
Manchester. We're extending our reach now. I'm not into
the business side of this operation, Arthur Aaron is the
guy who got me to sit down and write the book. He's a
good businessman and the very chair I'm sitting in talking
to you is the one he sat in for days on end reading my wife's
scrapbook and reminding me of things I'd long forgotten.

Digger: 'Cos that's the thing. When you read that book you
wonder how do you remember SO MUCH detail?

Sid: I'm good at remembering detail.

Digger: But it's conversational detail. Or did you just go
for the gist of the conversation?

Sid: It was pretty good because some of these things were
SO memorable that I didn't want to forget them.

Digger: Did you know, did you have a gut feeling that
some of this was historical stuff?

Sid: No, I was hoping, I didn't know. I don't have a crystal
ball. I admit that to everyone. And if people say I'm a genius,
I say right away I'm not a genius - I just happened to
make the right phone call. That's all it was, a phone call.
I hadn't heard the music, are you aware of that? ( laughs )
A year in advance without hearing a record! I was reading
The Guardian, which is my favourite newspaper by the way.

Digger: Did you know that they sometimes call that
'The Grauniad', did you know that story?

Sid: No.

Digger: Some time ago they were renowned for doing
misprints in those days and one time they produced a
whole edition of the paper with the title 'The Grauniad'
instead of 'The Guardian'.

Sid: Oh really? I didn't know that. But I like that newspaper
very much. That, and The Independent.

Digger: You're not keen on The Sun then? ( laughs )

Sid: No!

Digger: Good for you.

Sid: I try to be very moral, you know.
And I find that sinful.

Digger: I hate all that tabloid stuff, I really do. Don't you?

Sid: I haven't picked up The Sun or The National Enquirer
here for as long as I can remember.
That was the first of the filth sheets.

Digger: Who cares about who's doing what to whom?

Sid: You're right. And it's rubbed off on my children.
They're just really nice people, my kids,
and I have six of 'em.

Digger: And what about THEIR children?

Sid: None yet. I'm a frustrated non-grandfather.
No-ones even close. I married a very attractive woman.

Digger: Yes, I noticed that.

Sid: And luckily they resemble their mother more than
they do their father. Six attractive children and
no-one close to having kids.

Digger: How old are they now?

Sid: There's a year and a half spread between them.
I wanted children as I come from an orphan background.
So I wanted them in a hurry, so every year and a half
we had one, six times in nine years.

Digger: ( Laughs ) Regular as clockwork!

Sid: And they run from the youngest 29 to the oldest 36.

Digger: And they haven't had children yet?
What are they doing to you Sid?

Sid: They're torturing me! I don't know. They've got their
boyfriends and girlfriends. My two daughters have male
friends, I have four good-looking boys - I call them 'hunks'.
Have you heard that expression over there?

Digger: No.

Sid: Over here we say 'hunks'. It means a real
macho good-looking guy.

Digger: Oh hunks! Yes, sorry, it's me not tuning-in to
your accent! I thought you said 'honks'.

Sid: It's the Bronx accent.

Digger: I love it. Tony Curtis!

Sid: Pardon?

Digger: Tony Curtis, that's who you sound like.

Sid: Yeah, yeah. And you know what? Before I knew of
him, and I don't know him, I noticed this good-looking
kid in my neighbourhood. He didn't live far from where
I lived. You HAD to notice him, he was so good-looking.

Digger: Bernie Schwartz.

Sid: RIGHT. I didn't know his name and then I saw him
once on Broadway or in a movie and I said "Oh my God,
that's the guy from the Bronx that I used to
notice all the time".

Digger: So, if you hadn't done what you did with
The Beatles,  you could have been his manager or agent?

Sid: No. I'm not interested in actors
really, only music.

Digger: I'm having a look at your family photo here.
I don't know when this was taken.

Sid: Etienne is the youngest, he's just turned 29,
Adam is the oldest just turned 36.

Digger: No, you're right. They are all 'lookers'.
Tell them to get a move on!

Sid: When I walk with my kids in the street, I gotta tell
you Dave. I WISH those looks were directed at me!
We're very close-knit and when one of the boys says
"Dad, I may be coming home" oh I just LOVE that.
Sid: Me too! My boys get SUCH looks.

Digger: How do you want to do this? Do you just
want to go through the questions in order?

Sid: Whatever you like. How long do you think it will be?
Just so I can work out when I'm going back to bed with
this cold. And I got back very late last night, it's only
3 in the afternoon here. But I'm so 'wacko'.
I read a lot last night.

Digger: Oh, so you weren't out on the tiles, then?

Sid: On the what?

Digger: You weren't out on the tiles.

Sid: I don't know that one.

Digger: We say it when people have been out partying -
I guess the tiles would refer to the dance floor.

Sid: Oh, I see. No, I was at home but the cold
was bothering me a bit.

Digger: Are you in a New York apartment?

Sid: Yes. A high level New York apartment, six kids.

Digger: Good view?

Sid: Yes, I look at the Empire State building.
And I have a little terrace which I call
my country home.

Digger: Spring bulbs coming out?

Sid: Not yet. We're a couple of days away from that,
I think. They're just starting to sprout in Central Park.
My wife has a green thumb and she does the flowers.
You come to New York, you gotta visit us.

Digger: LOVELY. Thanks, I'll take you up on that
( laughs ). You'll be getting a knock on your door some
time next week. Only joking.

Sid: I like that.

Digger: Question number one! Is an entrepreneurial
spirit still possible in the music and entertainment
business or do accountants and lawyers now prevail?

Sid: No, not the way it used to be. It's so blocked up.
It's almost, I can't think of a softer word, it's almost
monopolistic. It gets tighter and tighter and belongs
more to fewer people with each year.

Digger: Do you think it will ever turn round again?

Sid: Well, if we practise anti-trust laws. It's very,
very corporate and very, very powerful.

Digger: So there aren't guys and gals like you were
running around the New York 'village' as I call it....

Sid: Not a chance.

Digger: It's been stifled..........   You seem to be
a firm believer in fate.........

Sid: Not at all. I thank the good Lord that fate
played a part.  No, I'm not a believer in fate.
I have FAITH. But not so much fate,
I think we make our own destinies.

Digger: What about this theory that if you went back
in time and all you did was kill a butterfly then
you'd change the whole of history?

Sid: I didn't change it, I had the tiniest effect.
Just one good phone call to a gentleman
up in Liverpool.

Digger: If you hadn't got through, if he hadn't
been there, if he had been in a bad mood.....

Sid: Then my life would have been different - it wouldn't
have been with The Beatles.

Digger: But they might not have got to America.

Sid: My HUNCH is - I was the only guy reading about
them at the time and he told me I was the first caller
from America and that's how I got to him. And I'd been
reading English newspapers ever since I was a soldier
in Grantham. And where else was I? ........
Bournemouth. It was great.

Digger: Have you been there since?

Sid: No. Is it still nice?

Digger: Bournemouth is one of the prettiest sea-side
areas, with rhododendrons and azaleas growing wild
everywhere. Do you remember Christchurch?

Sid: Yeah. Is it still beautiful? I was
stationed in Grantham.

Digger: Grantham is in Lincolnshire. It's
Maggie Thatcher country.

Sid: Right. Somebody told me that. I fell in love with
England and the English newspapers. I always was a
reader of newspapers - what's happened in the world
today, has it blown itself up yet?

Digger: This was for your political course?

Sid: Not so much political. I'm not a politician, let's say
'government'.  I got along beautifully with both the
Liberal guys in my frequent visits to Liverpool.
Ten in one year.

Digger: Are you still coming over?

Sid: Not recently but I plan to start again in May.
It looks like the book is gonna make me some money.

Digger: Sid, you've got to visit here.

Sid: Okay. It will be done.

Digger: My wife's a good cook.

Sid: My wife says I'm so particular about food which
means she may not be a bad cook but I'm so fussy.

Digger: Does it have to be kosher?

Sid: No, no. I'm not married to a Jewish girl and I'm a
citizen of the world. Anyway, I try not to do home
dinners. I like to order what I really like
eating from the menu.

Digger: Alright, I'll tell you what. You come to our place
and we'll take you to a Spanish restaurant we like. It's
an old school house in an old Victorian village
and the chef is wonderful.

Sid: What time tomorrow shall I be there?
Food will get anybody anywhere with me.

Digger: I'd like to take you there.

Sid: It's that good huh? I'm going to the
travel bureau right now.

Digger: So back to the questions........ who are your
favourite recording artists and songwriters?

Sid: If I've a single favourite it would be Lennon. And then
McCartney and then Jacques Brel.




Sid outside of the theatre showing
the Lennon stageshow

Digger: What about the Leiber and Stoller's and
Goffin and Kings of this world?

Sid: Don't tell them, they're friends of mine! It doesn't do
a thing for me. They can't write a song like Imagine.
They write, you know 'La di da di da' but to be great
you've gotta write in that vein. Like Imagine.
The most beautiful song in the world.

Digger: From the soul. Not to a formula.

Sid: Yes, don't tell 'em when you see 'em!

Digger: I'm not sure what sort of a chance there is of
me meeting those two. I'd love to talk to them.

Sid: Easy to talk to. They're very nice people.

Digger: Are they still in New York?

Sid: No, they're in California and have been
for a long time now.

Digger: Do you see them much?

Sid: No, I used to run into them all the time.

Digger: Do you think that Lennon improved,
stayed the same, deteriorated after the break
up of The Beatles?

Sid: I think his BEST work was his last work.
Beautiful Boy - I have four beautiful sons.
That's a very important song to me. My two
best songs are that and Imagine.

Digger: What makes a star in your view?

Sid: A number of things. Honesty, feeling, charisma
and knowing his craft and loving it.

Digger: So Tony Bennett would be a star?

Sid: Yup. He's for real.

Digger: He sounded like a nice guy from what
came out in the book.

Sid: A very nice guy. And still is.

Digger: Isn't that a very over-used word
though, these days, 'star'?

Sid: Yeah.

Digger: Are you nostalgic about the stars
of the old days?

Sid: Yes, very much.

Digger: Do you think we've lost that as well?

Sid: Yes, where are the 'Cliff Richards' in your
country anymore? They're gone, they're gone.

Digger: I don't know.

Sid: They're gone.

Digger: I've been trying to give Robbie Williams
'a chance' - he could be in that league.

Sid: I've heard about him and read about him.

Digger: Well that's it with you, Sid. You read about
them for a year and then you book them!

Sid: Is he big over there?

Digger: He's huge here, well he's HUGE
everywhere apart from the States apparently.

Sid: I've not heard his music though.

Digger: He could be the next James Bond too.

Sid: You're kidding?

Digger: No.

Sid: A good looking guy is he?

Digger: A good looker.

Sid: How old?

Digger: About 26 or 27.

Sid: Is that all he is? Well, he's got a future!

Digger: I thought he was a bit of a big head but I think it's
all part of the act but anyway he's very talented.

Sid: Where's he from?

Digger: Manchester.

Sid: Oh really?

Digger: He started in the boy band Take That and
everyone thought "He's just a pretty face that can dance"
but he's proved them wrong - he's written some really
great songs. I'm making myself a note here to send you
a Robbie Williams CD.............. How would you describe the
relationship between Britain and the United States?

Sid: Not close enough. Good but not good
enough, should be better.

Digger: In what way would you like to see it change?

Sid: Civility, the art of courtesy, good manners. We're a
little behind you there. And the language of course.

Digger: Somebody said that we were two countries
separated by a common language. We speak the same
words but there's a cultural difference.

Sid: The English accent is prettier.

Digger: That's a matter of opinion. It sounds nice to you.
But I was thinking more of the fact that you grow up
with English nursery rhymes and stories but yet you
are a very multi-cultural society, and we are going that
way, but these days we seem to be much closer to Europe.

Sid: No, stay closer to Europe for culture. There's not
enough culture here, Europe has more culture.

Digger: Your culture comes out of the performing arts, it
comes out of film and music. That's a big contribution that
America has made to the world.  Would you not agree?

Sid: I don't really see it that way.

Digger: We gave the world Shakespeare and you gave
us Singing In The Rain, Gone With The Wind, rock
and roll and all those classics ........

Sid: I guess we did okay!

Digger: Which deals didn't work out that you would have
loved to have succeeded and which shows would you like
to have promoted that didn't go your way?

Sid: Let me think........ I think Laura Branigan, remember
her? I managed her and thought she was going to be
a megastar. Somehow it didn't work that way.
She got a little greedy and her husband expected more
from me than I could possibly give. We later found out
that he wanted to manage her. He died about a year
or two ago, but he had no feeling for talent. Just
didn't have the right background.

Digger: So she didn't become an international name.

Sid: He should have remained a lawyer.
I think he wrecked her career.

Digger: What a shame. Are there any other big shows
that you would like to have been involved with?

Sid: Yeah, Grease. I mention that in the book.
Dick Clark heard about Grease in Chicago the same
time as I did. And we both made 'an overture' to get
involved and when Dick found out I was interested he
phoned me - he's an old friend. He said "Sid, rather
than competing with each other why don't we do
something together?" I thought that was a great idea,
I liked him. Somehow, during the conversation we both
got mixed up and I didn't know if HE was gonna make
the trip from L.A. to Chicago or if I was supposed to go
from New York - we both got mixed up and neither one of
us went 'cos I thought he was going and he thought I was
going. So two other people stepped in and they
made millions and millions.

Digger: You were still talking to each other
afterwards, were you?

Sid: Yeah, he jokes about it.

Digger: Frankie Valli did the theme,
did you know Frankie?

Sid: Yeah, a good friend.

Digger: Is he from New York?

Sid: Jersey.

Digger: ........ You love your food, but can you cook?

Sid: No, don't cook at all. Never tried. Hot dogs,
baked beans come out of a tin.

Digger: And jam on crackers.

Sid: Not too often, that's just what I was
doing when you called.

Digger: Please describe each of these in a sentence......
are you alright there Sid, you're not too tired?

Sid: No. Let's do it.

Digger: ....... Brian Epstein.

Sid: Trustworthy, unbelievable. We made three historic
agreements on the phone. No contracts. Never changed
a dot over the 'i' or a cross over the 't' and these were
very important deals. And with this agreement he made
with me I found him totally trustworthy.

Digger: What a lovely man.

Sid: He was. Queenie died a year or so ago and Clive
died while skiing. Clive had become a very close friend
of mine and unfortunately died while skiing with his
wife. Henry is the one I still keep in touch with,
that's Clive's son.

Digger: Is there any family resemblance there?

Sid: I didn't notice it. Maybe closer to
Brian than to his father.

Digger: It used to make me very cross when they
talked about Brian and his merchandising deals as I
thought it was a blinkered view. Because of all the
things he HAD achieved, critics always have to
latch on to something.

Sid: I thought Brian was utterly brilliant.

Digger: It was impossible to imagine the
pressures he was under.

Sid: He was courteous and bright.
I thoroughly liked him.

Digger: What about Andrew Loog Oldham?

Sid: I had one deal with him. That first deal when I
brought his boys over. Also at the Carnegie hall.
They were the second British group that I brought
over. A good man, a nice man.

Digger: You know where he is now?

Sid: I hear he's in south America.

Digger: He wished me luck with this interview via
email. He said "Good luck with the Sidfest!"

Sid: We hit it off nicely.

Digger: Any messages for him?

Sid: Just tell him I miss him. Tell him to
gimme another group!

Digger: ( Laughs ) It will probably be a
Colombian group.

Sid: Probably.

Digger: ....... John Lennon.

Sid: Delightful, brilliant, humorous, sad ...... Sad.

Digger: ....... Paul McCartney.

Sid: A beautiful man. Physically as well as
inside. Just a beautiful guy.

Digger: Are you still keeping in touch with Paul?

Sid: No, but on rare occasions we
have a word, very rare.

Digger: Did you get together, there was that thing in
the book where you and his family met in the street
and were supposed to meet up for a pizza?

Sid: He worked later than he was supposed to and
didn't get back to me in good time - he had a date
up in Boston. And we didn't do it.

Digger: ....... Tony Bennett.

Sid: Never changes. I met him forty years ago and he's
still a sweet, wonderful man. Honest, super artist.

Digger: ....... Mick Jagger.

Sid: Fascinating man, that's all I can say.

Digger: ....... Shirley Bassey.

Sid: She was like a reincarnation, when I brought her
in to Carnegie, of Judy Garland. That's how I thought
"This is the next Judy Garland".

Digger: Has she become as big in America as she
is elsewhere? I can't judge.

Sid: Not as big as she should be.

Digger: There's one thing I disagree with you about in
your book, when you talk about Abba. Obviously, I can't
argue with YOU but I think you must be looking at it from
an American point of view. You say they weren't big,
but to my mind they were huge internationally.

Sid: They weren't big in America, because they didn't
spend enough time here, that's the reason. Stig Anderson
wanted them to be The Beatles - wanted them to come in
with two to four number one records in a row. They never
got that, they got one possibly two. He kept them
away too long.

Digger: A very difficult nut to crack, but once
you've cracked it.....

Sid: But they were wonderful people. I just fell that
Stig made the wrong decision in keeping
them away too long.

Digger: ....... and can you describe Sid Bernstein?

Sid: Sid's another world. A decent chap.

Digger: That'll do! ....... If you could promote a concert
featuring in your view the best British and American acts,
living or dead, who would feature in that show?

Sid: Cliff Richard.

Digger: He's another one who didn't make it in America.

Sid: He should've.

Digger: Would you like to have promoted him?

Sid: Yeah, I'm still thinking about it.

Digger: Really?!

Sid: He's on my wish list.

Digger: Excellent. I can't understand why he
didn't make it over there.

Sid: He wasn't handled properly. They did one date here
in Manhattan and never heard of him again.

Digger: It's like Cilla Black, as well. She tried to make
it over there with Brian's help. 

Sid: I think Cliff had more to give.

Digger: Who else would you have in the 'mega concert'?

Sid: Judy Garland would represent the American side.
And during the war there was a great lady......
I can't remember her name.

Digger: American?

Sid: No, English.

Digger: Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields, Petula Clark?

Sid: No, Petula was another one I liked, very robust.

Digger: If you can't recall this lady, I'll have to do
some research and get back to you.

Sid: I remembered the name until yesterday.
I think of her often.

Digger: That's a shame.

Sid: You'll know her as soon as I say her. She might have
been of Jewish background.  And a little portly.

Digger: I am thinking of Alma Cogan, but she was later.
I thought of her as a kind of British Judy Garland.

Sid: Jack Buchanan I liked very much.
Was he big in England?

Digger: Not in the Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett way, no.
It all sounds good to me........ So what luxuries
could you not do without?

Sid: My candies! The cakes.

Digger: You love your food and you love your music.
Does a day go by when you don't have a treat
food-wise or listen to good music?

Sid: I don't think so.

Digger: Why can't more people be like that? They all
rush around and they don't take time to enjoy life.

Sid: They're all too busy making a buck.

Digger: What sort of music do you listen to these days?

Sid: Everything. Classic. Spanish music.

Digger: My goal is to get Sid Bernstein
into Robbie Williams.

Sid: Has he been here, I don't know?

Digger: If he has they didn't push it.

Sid: He needs me to help him.

Digger: Can you describe the buzz there was in
Britain, and then the U.S. in the sixties?

Sid: It was good in America but it wasn't until the
British came over. Then it got ENORMOUS.

Digger: That was understandable because you had
that tragedy in '63 and that must have
knocked America for six.

Sid: It came at the right time, the VERY
right time.

Digger: We caught them on the hop.




Sid Bernstein

Sid: We needed somebody like that........... I worry
much more about my girls than I do my boys.

Digger: The thing is you were a gentleman when you
were young. I'm not sure that there are
many of them left.

Sid: I had the greatest parents in the world.
That helps.

Digger: The New York you frequented doing your
wheeling and dealing was more like a little village
than a city. You knew all of the people and places and
it was a small community within a big metropolis.
Does that sort of community still exist?

Sid: It's gone. We're too impersonal. We're too busy
making bucks. We've lost sight of EVERYTHING
except the bucks.

Digger: Would you say you're a confirmed townie
or do you also like the country?

Sid: Both. When I get comfortable enough again, I'm
gonna have a lovely home, probably in The Pennines.
But I'd still have a piece of New York city. The scenery
between Manchester and Sheffield always knocks
me out when I drive up there.

Digger: It's strange, isn't it, because they're two very
industrial cities and then that beautiful
country around them.  

Sid: I fell in love with that.

Digger: Have you been to Austria?

Sid: Vienna only.

Digger: The countryside around Salzburg is
breathtaking - Sound Of Music country.

Sid: My wife was in that show. The play with
Mary Martin. She was a lovely lady and the
show ran for about three and a half years.

Digger:  That was romantic how you met. You brushed
shoulders with LEONARD Bernstein on your way up
to hear your future wife 'audition'. And coincidentally
she sang a song from West Side Story.

Sid: He was coming down the staircase when I was
going up to hear her! She sang 'I Feel Pretty'.

Digger: And you said she looked it as well! She
looks a cracker in the photo I've seen.

Sid: She was.

Digger: Are you nostalgic or do you prefer
to look forward?

Sid: More nostalgic.

Digger: How had Britain changed from the war years when
you were first there to when you returned in the 1960s?

Sid: It had got a bit too American taste!
I liked the old Britain.

Digger: We're still dominated by America.

Sid: Yeah.

Digger: Do talent and effort always make it or do they
need a bit of luck and a push in the right
direction from a helper?

Sid: All of those.

Digger: What do you think of the impact of technology
and the Internet on music and on our lives?

Sid: Too much of that.  Too much mechanical stuff.

Digger: Do you think we need to get back to basics?

Sid: Right. We've lost art. We've lost the real heart.
I don't like the over mechanisation. It takes away some
of the exercise our heads need.

Digger: It was quite a challenge you getting through
to a Liverpool number in 1963.

Sid: Got through real fast and his mother
answered the phone.

Digger: Asking you for a section from a newspaper.

Sid: They've got a great book review section
every Sunday.

Digger: Have they reviewed YOUR book?

Sid: No. They haven't.

Digger: That's criminal!

Sid: They did a big piece on me in the New York
Times last week.

Digger: Where's their sense of history,
for heaven's sake?!!

Sid: They did a piece that probably sold a lot of books.
It was a personal piece not about the book.

Digger: Do you do a lot of interviews?

Sid: Yup.

Digger: Do they end up asking the same old
questions all of the time?

Sid: Nothing as good as what you've done.

Digger: Oh, thank you!! That's lovely. Could you have coped
with the sort of fame where you're recognised everywhere
you go? Did the anonymity you had, such as being the
most influential person standing in the crowd at Shea
stadium and not being noticed, appeal to you?

Sid: I get a little bit of that recognition. And it's nice.

Digger: But you said you stood at Shea .......

Sid: And nobody knew me!

Digger: Exactly. Did you get a buzz?

Sid: I scratched my head, I couldn't understand it!!

Digger: Wasn't there a little bit of you saying "Oi! If
it wasn't for me you wouldn't be standing here"!!

Sid: I might have thought that. It's only natural. You're one
of the huge crowd of thousands. But I'm no movie star!!

Digger: ( Laughs ) And now you think, what was it 55,000
people and that could have been 5 million and still
you could have sold more tickets.

Sid: Right.

Digger: Have you kept much memorabilia?

Sid: Not really. It was too early in the game. We didn't
really know the value of it. Or I would have had Brian
sign a contract. That could have made $100,000
at Sotheby's, easily.

Digger: I've seen a Shea Poster on Ebay which claimed
to have been signed by you. Have you done anything
like that or is that a forgery?

Sid: I don't think it was a forgery - it's possible.
I may have signed for fans.

Digger: What advice would you give to promoters or
performers starting out in the business today?

Sid: Work hard, harder. Be honest. And it will happen.

Digger: But it's so much harder these days.

Sid: Too many adventurers.  None of the people who
REALLY care about the art form.

Digger: It all seems to be short term these days.

Sid: Quick returns.

Digger: What would you say were the most important events
in the entertainment and music sphere in the 20th century?

Sid: That's a hard one!

Digger: Shall I tell you what I came up with and you
can say whether or not you agree?

Sid: Yes.

Digger: The Ed Sullivan Beatles show.

Sid: Right.

Digger: Woodstock.

Sid: Right.

Digger: The Shea stadium.

Sid: Yes.

Digger: The release of Sergeant Pepper.

Sid: Wow, yes.

Digger: The Live Aid concert.

Sid: Yes.

Digger: I bet you would have liked to have
been behind that!

Sid: I would like to have participated.

Digger: Jailhouse Rock and Elvis.

Sid: I think I would have passed on that.

Digger: Bill Haley.

Sid: I'd pass easily on that too. Now that's a coincidence.
I played a little part in the lives of some kids from
Liverpool. The week before last I went up to - I don't
call it Woodstock, I call it Bethel, because that's the town
where it took place, are you aware of that?

Digger: Yes, I knew that it wasn't at Woodstock,
it was at Max Yasgur's farm.

Sid: Max Yasgur's farm in the town of Bethel. I did
the 25th anniversary of...... again, I hate mentioning the
word 'Woodstock' and I called it the 25th anniversary
of an event that happened in the town of Bethel. I rarely
use the word 'Woodstock'. I went up to do a book
signing the week before last in the town of Bethel.
I did this in '94 and I haven't been back in over seven
years - half the town turned out to greet me, autographs
for my book, autographs on whatever piece of paper
they gave me and it made the front page of the local
newspaper. The young editor-in-chief of the paper did
an interview with me. Oh my God, it's amazing you should
mention these two events. On the front page is an interview
with me and a picture of me and one of the guys who came
to 'Woodstock' in '69 and stayed there. Quite a few people
did stay behind there actually. There's a picture of me
talking to Dave Devlin during a recent book signing at
the Bethel Woodstock museum and it quotes me as saying
"You KNOW I'll be back"!!!! And I'm gonna come back.
And I'm gonna try and bring Cliff Richard with me.

Digger: It would be nice to do something in
THIS century wouldn't it?

Sid: Right. And I'd like to bring Cliff Richard because
I don't think he was dealt with fairly.

Digger: His career has been going for six decades now!

Sid: And he's still great. I only saw him once when he
was here, in a small theatre, and I thought
he was MAGNIFICENT.

Digger: Let's see what you can do!

Sid: I'd like to bring Gerry back, Gerry Marsden,
who became a buddy of mine during my ten trips.

Digger: Ah, that's nice. He's remained very
loyal to his roots.....

Sid: He stays there in Liverpool still.....

Digger: Yeah. Just like he said in that song.

Sid: He used to come and visit me at the Moat
House. We became quite friendly.

Digger What would you say were your biggest achievements
and your biggest disappointments?:

Sid: Biggest achievement was my six kids and the biggest
disappointment was that I didn't have eight.
I really wanted some more!

Digger: There's still time!

Sid: And equal to that is that they
STILL HAVEN'T GIVEN ME ANY GRANDCHILDREN.

Digger: ( Laughs ) All that wheeling and dealing and you've
still got your priorities straight....... Can you try to work
out, tongue in cheek this is, how much the British
government owes you on the basis that in 1963 there
was only one country that generated popular music and
that was America and from that year onwards, due largely
to your efforts, we have been on a par with you guys.

Sid: I don't think they owe me anything. I owe them. I was
just another guy from The Bronx.

Digger: You opened the floodgates. You spoke to Ed Sullivan
and told him what was going on. Because he trusted you
he decided that he was going to put them onto the show.

Sid: Brian told him that an American promoter was presenting
them on February 12th 1964 and he later told me he had
asked Brian "Who was that?" Brian said "Sid Bernstein"
and Ed says "I know Sid" and Ed called  me up and
said "Sid what do you think of them" and at that point I'd
not heard their music and I said "Ed - they're
a phenomenon" ( laughs )

Digger: ( Laughs ) That's a word you can use but
it doesn't say anything.

Sid: EXACTLY!!! I said that also to the lady who booked
the attractions at Carnegie Hall. Her background was
symphony and classical music. I came to get a date from
her, she was the booker, and she said "Tell me something
  about these four men" and again I said "They're a phenomenon".
She later told me she thought it was a string ensemble!

Digger: ( Laughs ) Is that why you needed the extra
300 seats on the stage! So they were closer to the sound?

Sid: No actually, I needed those seats because we
didn't consider the press would want to come. And
Abe Margolies, once he stopped being ashamed that
he lent me the 500 bucks to do the date!! ..... He printed
in the 'Jewelry Weekly' - he was in the jewellery
business - that he was a partner with Sid Bernstein
and the Beatles Carnegie Hall show and Abe says "Sid,
you've gotta help me with some tickets! They won't leave
me alone" So we got the stage-hands to put another 300
seats on the stage. A few of them had asked can their kids
come in. Of course I said "Yes".

Digger: How would you sum-up your career so far?

Sid: Exciting. Interesting and more to come.

Digger: Yes, you've got the Cliff Richard
thing to sort out.

Sid: I'm going back to Liverpool. I'll start
something up there.

Digger: What else have you got lined-up.
What are your future plans?

Sid: Well, again, to do something back at Bethel.

Digger: Do you want it to be a nostalgic thing
or groups from then and now?

Sid: Well, in England I want it to be a world music
festival if I do get it on and raise the money. In Liverpool,
at Aintree. I've already been there, spoken with the
officials two years ago to create a relationship.

Digger: So I can mention this, then?

Sid: Yes, of course. That's where I'd LOVE to do
it and raise a TON of money.

Digger: What sort of artists would you hope
to have performing there?

Sid: Artists from all over the world. Different,
styles, eras and nationalities.

Digger: Hmm. Do you think you'll have Bjorn and
Benny coming over with the girls?

Sid: Well, the girls won't. They're not together but Bjorn
and Benny are still my friends and I'd like them to come.
Maybe they'll read about it on your site.

Digger: Well, you know what the Beatles grapevine is like.
Like when you spoke to some kids in Central Park and the
news of the concert spread all over the world?

Sid: Yeah.

Digger: Well, I'm going to post some messages on the
Beatles forums and site on the internet
to drum up some interest.

Sid: By all means, do it. Good. And tell Robbie
Williams he's definitely invited.

Digger: Well, Sid, it's been really wonderful talking to
you, you're just how I hoped you would be! And I'm
sorry you're feeling so rough. Having to put up
with my questions as well.

Sid: I love building these dream castles as we have
been doing. That's what nurtures me.

Digger: You get some sleep and look after yourself.

Sid: Say hello to your girls! Tell them I'll see
them in the Spanish restaurant.

Digger: And thanks for your time.

Sid: Thanks for your time.

Digger: And keep in touch.

Sid: Keep well my friend.

Digger: Bye.

Sid: Bye.

Many thanks to Sid Bernstein and Ida Langsam
for the interview. Digger, April 2001.


   

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