Lionel Bart

And remember at this point, they're turning down annual requests to appear on the Royal Variety Show.

So they're really not interested in this show-busy side of things, despite turning up for party parties at Lionel Bart's house.

Well, this feeds back into some of the stuff we mentioned in the Beatles in Ireland episode.

So they turned down the 64 Royal Variety Show to play Belfast.

I do not know where this was celebrated.

They were at a big party in Lionel Bart's house.

They had a separate celebration afterwards themselves, but they were in Lionel Bart's house because there was a Lionel Bart musical opening called Twang, which was one of his musicals that's not particularly well loved or remembered.

But Lionel Bart was pretty much, as I understand it, his house was a party house in the 60s.

Much like your own house.

No.

This isn't where Judy Garland turned up.

Was this a different party where she suddenly turns up? Well, that was at Epstein's house.

Um-

Yeah, because Lionel Bart's in there obviously.

Yeah.

Uh-

I remember...

What's his name? Lionel Bart.

Yeah.

He's no longer with us, is he? No one's alive anymore, are they? It's only me and you.

And also show tunes, you know, the soundtrack to Oliver.

I was a huge Lionel Barton fanatic.

And West Side Story and that kind of stuff.

So I think it was really a great education.

Why?

Lionel Bart.

From?

He wrote for Mush with Love, Lionel Bart.

Oh, I see.

Sorry.

News of Levy's blunder was the gossip of Denmark Street, London's Tin Pan Alley, where both Leeds and Duchess music companies had offices.

Supposedly, songwriter Lionel Bart overheard managing director James or Jimmy Phillips of Peter Morris Music speaking to London-born, New York-based Leeds Music executive John McKellen.

Bart understood that Levy was upset about missing out on Bob Dylan and hoping for better luck in the future.

Bart apparently mentioned this to Brian Epstein, who recognized that McKellen, Levy, and or Leeds and Duchess might be good contacts for his upcoming trip to New York.

Andrew told me that this anecdote about Lionel Bart was told to him by Michael Barlow, whose father knew Bart personally in the '60s.

Admittedly, this part of the history is still a bit murky.

For one thing, Bart was no longer a client of Peter Morris Music after they sued him in 1961 for signing the publishing of his musical Oliver away to comedian Max Bygraves' Lakeview Music.

Oliver!.

So, uh, yeah, the one man, his name is Lionel Bart, and, uh, he wrote Oliver!, the famous musical Oliver!.

Uh, and yeah, in, in 1970, he wrote another musical that wasn't doing very well, and he sold away all the rights to Oliver! for 350 pounds to finance this other thing in, in, like, a small theater.

And it, it, it, it was a decision that probably cost him tens of millions of dollars-

Uh, but final- uh, Cameron Mackintosh revived Oliver! in the '90s and has subsequently, there have been other productions, and saved him.

I mean, he literally was dying of alcohol and poverty, and it was just, it was sad that this man who created Oliver!, that's what happened to him.

Um, so yeah, it is Lionel Bart's Oliver!, and, um, there you go.

[lips smack] I, I was really, when I saw '68, I thought you were actually gonna get that.

Alice said that and Mitch did as well.

Lionel Bart says Leanne Minyip.

Yeah, he was a star.

Leanne of Minyam.