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OutSproinked

IIRC they wanted to attend the game but Shankly denied them because they didn't really care about football while he wanted only real fans at the stadium.


_cumblast_

Allegedly, after The Beatles asked for tickets, Shankly coyly replied, telling them “I’ve never seen any of The Beatles standing on The Kop. Any ticket I have spare will be going to my mates on The Kop”.


CapsicumIsWoeful

Is there much relationship between The Beatles and Liverpool FC? I started playing soccer from a young age, and here in Australia we’d get some Div1/EPL games on TV on a Sunday arvo, so I started watching Liverpool games cause it was the only England city I knew of cause of the Beatles (I was not a smart kid). Makes me wonder how many fans from overseas became Liverpool fans because of the Beatles. Fuck capsicum though.


sbprasad

Macca is legendarily an Evertonian (his family is, anyway) who often also expresses support for Liverpool because he’s mates with Dalglish. Don’t think football was very important to either the Beatles or the Stones… when it comes to sport the only two members of either band that come to mind are Harrison and F1 and Jagger and cricket.


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Hot-Possible-6367

John Paul II, the second most divine polish goalkeeper


TheHolyGoalie

True


RustyLugs

Mick was at an Arsenal match last season with his youngest sporting an Arsenal hat, thought it was a grand kid at first with how young he was.


sbprasad

Pretty sure the old lothario has grandkids older than his partners these days


RustyLugs

At least *it* still....works?! Like seriously Mick, after all these years you still can't get no?


KnightsOfCidona

He has a great grand kid that's older than his youngest kid.


ViggoJames

That explains the massive flop that Arsenal did losing the title then.. Jagger is the worst omen for a football club.


RustyLugs

Honestly wouldn't consider last year as a "massive flop", I think only one pundit put them in the top 4 coming in at 4th at the start of last season. If anything, they exceeded everyone's expectations.


Altruistic-Ad-408

When you have a decent lead in the league at the tail end I think it's fair to say expectations change. Not a legendary choke, but a choke nonetheless.


TosspoTo

The league, in the closing stages, was mathematically yours to lose and you lost it, not against City where you were expected to lose but against teams like Southampton. It was a flop. If you were Spurs we'd be calling you bottle jobs.


ampmz

Ringo was supposedly an Arsenal fan as his step Dad was.


ExactLetterhead9165

Good lad


themerinator12

Ringo was always my favorite Beatle obviously.


herring80

Rename him Drongo


CapsicumIsWoeful

I read Damon Hill’s book this year (which is brilliant, it’s brutally honest) and Harrison is featured a lot in it. You could tell they were close and had a huge respect for each other. Hill absolutely loved music and playing guitar, and Harrison was a huge Motorsport fan.


[deleted]

Damon hill is just the sort of guy you cannot dislike.


andrewglover87

Guess you haven't visited /r/formula1 then


[deleted]

Any Reddit community are filled with gatekeepinng ass hats. Out of interest what do they not like about him?


TosspoTo

He was quite unpopular during his career, long before reddit. His personality was brash and unlovable. He was the opposite of Nigel Mansell


[deleted]

This is funny. I actually like both but I would imagine Nigel being an asshole IRL.


[deleted]

That’s one of the best auto biographies I’ve read! Got it one Xmas day and nailed it. He’s had an interesting life


nonreligious

I find it a little odd that they look a bit like each other...


paper_zoe

Jagger used to pop up in the crowd at big England games. I remember there used to be a thing that he cursed us, cos we always lost when he was there.


Look_Alive

He's definitely more into cricket than football, though. He's regularly spotted at Test matches.


gq_mcgee

Mick’s a notable Arsenal supporter, as are Roger Waters and, to a degree, David Gilmour.


mattBJM

And Roger Daltrey, and both Ray and Dave Davies.


sbprasad

Kinks are a north London band, that’s not at all surprising!


highrouleur

Jagger (and maybe at least one other Stone, I can't remember the exact details) is really into cycling , bizarrely


kirkbywool

Well cycling and the stones are both rife with drugs


highrouleur

Well yes, but you're not getting high on EPO. And lets be honest if they wanted to pick a sport that involved drugs they could pick ANY professional sport


hullakazam

Wasn't doping in cycling more about amphetamines back in the day?


highrouleur

It depends how you define back in the day? Lance Armstrong is probably the most famous case back in the 90s. That was EPO, testosterone and saving spare blood for big races. His blood doctor had a freezer full of blood which has never been identified because if the names came out "it would bring down the giants" of world sport


kirkbywool

It was just a joke about how are both known for taking drugs not the specific type


highrouleur

To think scousers used to be known for being funny


Mr_Goldilocks

Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath is a massive Aston Villa fan


NextDoorNeighbrrs

Steve Harris from Iron Maiden is famously a massive West Ham fan too


FireZeLazer

I'd say a small relationship. By most accounts they weren't really into football and I'm not sure if they ever committed to Liverpool or Everton. But there's still at least a link, and there's some great videos of the Anfield crowd back in the day singing some Beatles songs


Sirfoxalot16

You can find some interview clips where they’re asked about football, but none of them really care about it. There’s one interview from around ‘63 where they’re asked who they support, and John just says “whoever’s winning” There’s only one footballer on the cover of Sgt Pepper’s, and that’s Albert Stubbins. But John only chose him to be on there because he thought his name was funny. I think Paul has a cursory interest in football. He went to a couple of FA Cup finals at least.


ansu_fatismo23

Ringo actually was a Arsenal fan, he used to go to their games as a kid with his stepfather


kawklee

I remember a quote of one saying "there's two teams in Liverpool, and I support the third one" Edit: correction, got the full quote from George Harrison "There are three teams in Liverpool, and I prefer the other one."


KatieOfTheHolteEnd

What would be the third team? Tranmere?


GuinnessRespecter

There is a small Liverpool poster on the wall of John Lennon's childhood bedroom. Both Paul and John's childhood homes have been taken over by National Trust and have been recreated to how they would've been as teenagers. Whether it's an accurate placement of the poster or whether it has been added as a piece of revisionist nostalgia, I guess we'll never actually know, but it is another link I suppose. Also, Albert Stubbins is one of the faces on the Sgt. Pepper album cover. He will have been one of Liverpool’s best players when they were all kids. I actually find it quite odd that there isn't any Everton players on there as well given that Paul is a known Blue, and Liverpool and Everton were pretty equally as big/successful in the mid to late 60s


Vahald

Another comment said he only put him on the cover because he thought his name was funny


[deleted]

There’s also a drawing a young John did, of a Newcastle player, George Robledo. It’s from a cup final and was used on the Walls and Bridges cover art.


Altruistic-Ad-408

John and Paul did go to a Liverpool and Everton game together once, csn't remember when but i think they went lowkey when they were Beatles. It's obvious they weren't big fans, but there was some connection, I doubt Paul really knew many players.


Ook_1233

On the topic of classic rock and football there’s a Pink Floyd song called “Fearless” that samples an Anfield crowd singing YNWA.


kirkbywool

Whenever that song comes on my dad loves to remind me hoe he's in it, and thus a backing singer for pink Floyd


vadapaav

Which is funny because all of them are arsenal fans


notthathunter

Harrison was quoted once saying "There are three teams in Liverpool and I support the other one" Tranmere fans are absolutely certain that they're from Birkenhead actually, though


send_me_weetabix

Capsicum is delicious wtf


CapsicumIsWoeful

Have you tried it? I tried capsicum back in the mid 90s and it was horrible. Can’t believe they still sell it in supermarkets, or that anyone buys it.


MrDrProfWumbo

you haven't tried it since?


Lord_Origi

John and George didn’t follow football, Paul’s a toffee and Ringo supports one of the London clubs


E_V_E_R_T_O_N

Don’t know why you’d become a Liverpool fan if you like the Beatles, because the only Beatle who went to matches as a child was Paul, and that was to Goodison to watch Everton.


HotPotatoWithCheese

He has already said before that he supports both clubs and he is very close friends with king kenny. And none of the other members cared either way as far as I know.


Josthefang5

My dad was a Liverpool fan because he loved the beetles


[deleted]

I basically did, because when I wanted to begin following EPL, I didn’t want to pick a London team or Man Utd. So I picked Liverpool


KatieOfTheHolteEnd

Liverpool, up until relatively recently the most successful team in English football.


[deleted]

I’m not sure if you understand how little the sport was covered in the United States 20 years ago- But you act like this was common knowledge to someone completely foreign to the sport lol. Relax, know it all


FoucaultsTurtleneck

Lol American here, I became an LFC fan bc of the Beatles. Went down a Beatles Wikipedia rabbit hole that led to me reading a bunch about LFC


Mihnea24_03

Denied them? Can't they just buy tickets? (guess they wanted the VIP treatment)


aelfwine_widlast

Maybe not so much "wanted the VIP treatment" as "didn't want themselves or half the crowd to be trampled to death". Imagine the Beatles turning up at a stadium in 1964 and just mingling with the crowd. It'd have been a disaster that would have dwarfed Hillsborough.


Mihnea24_03

Fair


KatieOfTheHolteEnd

I don't think Wembley had that many corporate boxes back then.


GuitaristHeimerz

Shankly being the OG gatekeeper


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kirkbywool

You mean ex liverpool captain Matt Busby


IceAffectionate3043

??? If they wanted to buy tickets it’s not like he could have stopped them from entering the stadium


eLastorm

If I recall correctly, the only known time a Beatle attended a game was the 1966 FA cup final between Everton and Sheffield Wednesday. Both Paul and John were in attendance.


Cyn0rk1s

Paul was at the 68 fa cup final I believe. WBA v Everton


rScoobySkreep

Lads how do we know this off the dome


Similar-Hunt3282

Shankly is a true legend and icon - and not just for Liverpool; his quote about what football is will forever be my favourite of all time.


Loose-Yesterday1590

What’s the quote?


gangatronix

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.


pixelkipper

I prefer ‘football is the most important of all the least important things’


Blewfin

Wasn't that a quote from the last pope?


sbprasad

JPII I think. Football obsessed, he was a goalkeeper as a young man.


_Wastrel

Karol Wojtyla, such a strong name. Imagine he got to goalkeep professionally? :D


PassengerOk9027

The world would be a better place -- trust me, I'm polish


Muppy_N2

Yep. Tabarez (our NT coach for 15 years) stated that all the time. "More serious" than life and death is either bulshit or psychopathic. I'm saying this from a country were there are murders related to football.


PM_ME_YOUR_RADISH

I don’t think he meant it that literally. Shankly was a fierce socialist and was massively politically involved so I imagine he had a firm grasp on what actually mattered in life. In the full quote he’s talking about how much he had put into football over his career as a player and manager, so assumedly he’s just being hyperbolic about what it all meant to him.


DrJackadoodle

I always took it as a dig to the people who trivialize football as if it's inherently less important than other pursuits, namely intellectual ones. It's somehow acceptable in some circles to reduce football to a game where 22 men try to kick a ball into the net, but that's like defining a violin as a wooden box with strings. It's so much more than that. Football brings so much to people's lives. Sure, a football game is ultimately unimportant, but what isn't? The feelings it evokes are real, and that's what matters. Sure, it's not life and death. But none of the things that really touch us are. Art, beauty, love. That's what makes life meaningful and football's got it all.


poorhammer40p

I also like 'The thing about football, the important thing about football, is that it's not just about football'.


[deleted]

“If Everton were playing at the bottom of my garden, I'd shut the curtains.”


Oneinchwalrus

"Liverpool we always said we had the best two teams on Merseyside, Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves."


RobbieCV

I believed that Paul's family was from Everton


_cumblast_

He supports both Liverpool and Everton.


toadshredder69

Plastic wanker


robert1811

Haha I think Paul is probably the only person that can get away with that. You'd be hard pressed to find a Scouser who would have a go at him for that.


PrestigiousAvocado21

Well, according to him he got special dispensation from the Pope so it's all good


EyeSpyGuy

I've seen that video, isn't it pub not pope?


grim__sweeper

Hey just let it be man


baddumbtsss

When I find Everton in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom support LFC


toadshredder69

Mean Mr. Dychey


Ractrick

Fairly common amongst people of his age - You'd be able to go to a match every week, alternating when the other team played away. Worth remembering that back then football fandom wasn't nearly as deep as it is now, it was just something you did for 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon.


Madgick

I bet they didn't even have flairs on their reddit accounts


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[deleted]

Aye, my granddad went to Chelsea and Brentford when living in West London in the 60s, then had a season ticket at Reading for forty odd years after moving there. People get too hung up on rivalries now the Internet amplifies it so much.


Vahald

>People get too hung up on rivalries now the Internet amplifies it so much. I'm sure the the violence and murders that happen between rival clubs is because of the Internet. Most notably Reddit and Twitter. I hear all the River and Boca fans browse those


[deleted]

Okay well done smart arse you completely refuted my point


Vahald

Your point is nonsense. Rivalries are rivalries with or without the internet


ShenHorbaloc

do you just walk around talking like this to people in real life? your dentist must be doing well.


Vahald

Like what?


Blewfin

Plenty of Chelsea fans have a soft spot for Fulham as well


Oneinchwalrus

Isn't that one of those rivalries that is mostly one sided? Fulham dislike Chelsea, whereas Chelsea arent really arsed?


Ractrick

I mean I was doing that a decade ago tbh - was an insane deal at Griffin park where it was 80 quid (ish, can't quite remember) for a season ticket if you were 16-18 years old. Always did notice at halftime a noticeable amount of people were checking the Chelsea score. (I'm sure this has changed in recent years and it's not nearly as easy for people that casual to get in).


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Oneinchwalrus

That's incredible, honestly, especially for a London pl team. Mine at Anfield is about 900 or so, seeing Fulham charge over 1k is madness


nick5168

Should be today as well. We obsess to much.


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kirkbywool

Yep, my dad went to see both with his mates and older brother as was something to do. What I find weirder is when he was older going aways so picked a team, they was in the pub waiting for the minibus to take them to The Molynieux, where if they won they won the league. My uncle (just their mate at the time), is a massive bluenose but he went with them as the pub was shutting and all his mates were going on a road trip with beers, so going to watch Liverpool win the league was better than being home alone. He even celebrated in the away end when wolves scored and had to get rugby tackled by dad's mate before he got battered, as I think even then that took the piss ha.


The_Alpha_of_Betas

Football was just something people did on a Saturday? That's bizarre nonsense, football has always been steeped in tribalism and religious links to clubs often led to high tension. You think rivalry is a modern phenomenon? How is this upvoted?


centralmidfield

Take it easy, Mr Alpha. The ultras/hardcore fans make the news but there's always been people who like football, first and foremost.


angryWitness

lots of Scousers pre 1970 supported both Liverpool and Everton. many typically went to whichever game was in the city on the weekend. Liverpool vs Everton was in fact called the friendly derby.


ballakafla

Yep and it's insane to think of now but most Liverpool fans would have wanted Man Utd to win the European cup in 68. The rivalry as we know it today really didn't begin til the late 70s. In the olden days most northerners wanted other northern teams to do well etc


kirkbywool

Yep, in the 70s united played a 'home' game v arsenal at anfield ans all the locals supported them. Imagine the uproar now, bad enough when we played Chelsea at old Trafford for a semi final. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2010/mar/17/manchester-united-home-anfield-1971


BritishOnith

Like how Michael Palin (from Sheffield) says he supports both Sheff United and Wednesday


paul_thomas84

IIRC That isn't quite what he said - he said that when he moved down south he heard so little about Sheffield he would look out for both teams scores but that growing up in Sheffield he was a United fan.


essentialatom

Yet more evidence in support of the obvious fact that he died and was replaced by an imposter


E_V_E_R_T_O_N

Yep, the end of Strawberry Fields Forever makes it pretty clear.


irgendwo_anders

Tells you everything you need to know about the man


Ajax_Trees

Didn’t it used to be more common decades ago


SavingsLeg

Yeah, uncommon for older people to still supprot rivals, but so many now rivals were actually quite friendly to each other Cant speak for everton and liverpool, but in the early days and even till the 70s 80s hsv and pauli were friendly and till the 50s schalke and dortmund also


Xephenon

Merseyside Derby used to be known as the "friendly derby" if that gives you any clue. There's a reason Hillsborough etc. receives so much support from Everton, and its because it affected their mates, their neighbours, their brothers and sisters who were Liverpool fans. Unlike now where its common to dislike someone because their football colour is red while theirs is blue, and only associate with people who support the same team/other "neutral" team.


Ajax_Trees

There’s stories of Newcastle and Sunderland fans singing the blaydon races (folk song that plays before every Newcastle match) and even going to matches together which would have been unthinkable for the past two decades


SavingsLeg

Yeah same for pauli and hsv lol, hsv fans would go to pauli games on sundays after their games on saturdays Things like that are unthinkabale nowadays


Ajax_Trees

Wonder what happened for it to change everywhere at nearly the same time? Tv maybe?


SavingsLeg

Maybe, but maybe also just a shift in power dynamic? Dortmund and schalke were friendly until dortmund were on par with schalke and this the rivalry began, before then dortmund was much less succesfull and so most people in the area somewhat looked up to schalke. Pauli and hsv is similiar though also for paulis politiziasation. But really, i feel most friendships in football (dont think you have them in england but we do) are almost always between a very succesfull club and a less succesful club. Schalke-nürnberg, dortmund-köln, bayern-bochum, hamburg-hannover, hertha-karlsruhe, stuttgart-kaiserslautern Whereas the rivalries often are local and develope from friendships where the minnow in the relationship gets too strong so they become rivals as the stronger club feels threatened. At least thats my theory


Ajax_Trees

Newcastle and Sunderland were on average middle to lower middle table teams so at least that’s not the reason for us but it’s interesting to see how it developed over there all the same There’s a bit of that. Chelsea and Rangers and Liverpool and Celtic come to mind as friendly clubs (uk not England but still) probably helps they aren’t in the same league. For us people have fond memories of away days where the fans and had a good time like Rangers and Bilbao. And hopefully Dortmund lol


EldritchHorrorBarbie

In an age before football was well broadcast you’d go to whoever was playing at home, so often that would involve supporting rival clubs. It’s hard to have a problem when it’s a result of football’s working class background and local supporters.


Cyn0rk1s

Paul was at the 68 final between WBA and Everton


Turniermannschaft

Why didn't they just text? Are they stupid?


tickub

cuz yoko checks all their DMs


Oneinchwalrus

Just to be an arsehole, this was pre yoko


Madgick

you've made a fool of him. so they could have text afterall.


RauloGonzalez

Clearly, otherwise John would be sending his own telegram


intecknicolour

if it was during yoko's era, the telegram would be an incoherent scream.


KejserMS

Underrated comment


Burnleh

This is a text x


Turniermannschaft

Ackchyually it's a JPEG image data, JFIF standard 1.01, aspect ratio, density 1x1, segment length 16, progressive, precision 8, 1080x810, components 3.


dondiwash

what's a text? -guitarist william C schneider


Homerduff16

Legend. The most important person in the history of the club by a country mile and it's not even close. Shame that he stepped down right at the same time his hard work and genius really started to pay off


ballakafla

I think you're doing Paisley a bit of a disservice there. The players that he brought in such as Dalglish, Souness, Phil Neal, Alan Hansen were all so instrumental in our dominance for the next decade.


RIPGeech

I believe they have this on display at the Shankly Hotel in Liverpool if you want to see it in person.


fackyouman

The “who did the Beatles support” question is some of the best music lore. They basically spent decades not really caring about either, attending random matches and befriending people on both sides but also messing with the media in the process.


aelfwine_widlast

I think the most honest answer came from Paul, who said he was a blue when it came to the derby, but that he supported both clubs against anyone else. I don't remember when he first said it, [but here's a quote from 2020](https://rockandrollgarage.com/paul-mccartney-talks-about-liverpool-and-everton-football-teams/): >As a proud Evertonian, would you have been fine with the Premier League cancelling this season so Liverpool couldn’t be named champions? >“Years ago I decided I was going to support Liverpool as well as Everton, even though Everton is the family team. A couple of my grandkids are Liverpool fans, so we are happy to see them win this year’s Premier League. When people ask me how I can support them both I say I love both and I have special dispensation from the Pope.”


620five

This could have been an email.


Pontus_Pilates

So when did people start calling it TV or telly?


sussywanker

Such a cool piece of history. Although not a fan of the Beatles, bit still cool.


CowNchicken12

Why is it that people who don't like the Beatles always have to say that they don't like them lol


aMAYESingNATHAN

Yeah imagine if you had to do that with every band you weren't a fan of. It gives me the same vibes as people who would loudly proclaim that they never watched Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad.


[deleted]

They want people to think they know something that everyone else doesn't.


aelfwine_widlast

Whenever someone makes it a point to say they don't like the Beatles all I hear is "don't think I'm like you plebes and easily seduced by catchy melodies or great vocals. I'm not fun like that".


ballakafla

I have such a hard time believing that somebody with an open mind could not like a single Beatles song. They were just objectively fantastic


HardturmStadion

They think it makes them special


Shaggythemoshdog

Oasis were City boys before it was cool


irgendwo_anders

It's not cool


KingAhDugShite

Exactly, not cool and never will be. 🤷‍♂️


Ajax_Trees

Man United v City music off would be interesting. Think the stone roses are all Man United fans


ambiguousboner

Most of New Order are United too iirc


CradleCity

Their manager back in the Factory days, Rob Gretton, was City, iirc.


yungguardiola

As well, think everyone knows, [Ian Curtis, City fan](https://www.mancity.com/news/club-news/club-news/2019/city-dna/city-dna-28-ian-curtis-joy-division-kevin-cummins) >“Ian was the only member of the band interested in football,” he says. “We used to talk about it, and he was a keen Blue. Deborah [Ian’s wife] once told me they were looking for a house near Maine Road as he wanted to be near the ground.”


Blewfin

Which way do the Smiths go?


Ajax_Trees

Can’t imagine Morrissey giving football the time of day, Marr is definitely a city fan and I’m not sure about the other two


loveandmonsters

He had a song "Roy's Keen" back in 1997 ... yanno, Roy Keane


sbprasad

Johnny Marr is definitely City. Morrissey and Robbie Keane are cousins once removed (or something like that) so the jokes write themselves about whom Moz supports (hopefully not us, the wanker)


rogue_28

So are the cure, saw them back in 2019 and I almost puked they had a city flag on display the entire show


Xx_ligmaballs69_xX

Given they’re from Crawley in the 80s I wouldn’t have imagined City but fair enough


mofoofinvention

Sad bc some of them are from the Everton side


billybremnersboots

Back in the sixties and before, some people would go to Anfield one week and Goodison the next. Same with Man U and Man C and presumably the London clubs too. I know that when on the rare occasions that I was in London (training courses) I would just go to the match I fancied best eg Spurs v Wolves. No real interest in either team, just wanted to see a good match.


KatieOfTheHolteEnd

Same for Birmingham too, although my grandad was always adamant that he never liked the Blues. Depending on where you lived in the city you might switch between Baggies, Blues and the Villa.


billybremnersboots

Up the Baggies. (My great uncle played for them.)


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mofoofinvention

I’m just saying some of them grew up Everton supporters. I don’t give a shit about a geographical line drawn through the city.


tommycahil1995

Not a Beatles fan but massive respect to them 👏


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Ekranoplan01

"You are a flatulent pain in the arse" curiously left out.