And I don't care if I'm good anymore.

Well, that's a funny old interview that happened.

I mean, that was when Ringo got back from Rishikesh in India, where obviously the Beatles had famously gone to study meditation with the Maharishi.

And Ringo lasted two weeks.

But, you know, people often say, oh, well, he went there because, you know, he'd run out of the baked beans that he'd taken in his suitcase and stuff like that.

But I mean, the thing that was interesting was that Ringo did tell me that he, I mean, he still meditates every day.

And he uses the mantra that the Maharishi gave him.

tom what was your favorite chapter in the book to write

I think if you look deep into any family history in Wexford, there's farming somewhere along the line, isn't there?

There's no doubt that farming is connected to a huge amount of families in Wexford.

Obviously those who are directly farmed, but even a lot of people who may not be currently farming have close connections with farming.

And just as Jason said, we are highlighting the whole issue of farm safety, specifically this week, but obviously it's a year-round job.

We're very conscious of the fact that there's a lot of injuries happening on the farm now.

Fortunately, so far this year, the situation hasn't been as bad as other years, but that's one debt less, one debt too many, and we are very anxious that people... would make every effort and always consider the safety of what they're doing before they do it because, as I said, one debt is too many, but there's also a huge amount of injuries which can cause havoc on farms too.

They may not make the headlines as much, but they can absolutely destroy a family and a whole farming set up if the main person involved in it is seriously injured and can put him back to work.

safety,

Yeah

...

but for a comedian.

[laughs] But the, um ...

So he claims that it was him that said it.

He was like, "No, no, no, no, I said that," right? Um, and there's a, a YouTuber, a Beatles YouTuber in Britain, right, called Andrew Dixon, who's great.

I mean, people should check him out, actually.

[laughs]

Tell that story.

Oh, well, this is, it's a mad story really.

Basically, this is when they're all, well, it's really getting to the end, and they're trying to schedule a release date for Let It Be.

All right? So the band's basically, they're gone, right? And McCartney's done this album in secret at his home and studios away from Abbey Road and stuff, which is the McCartney album, and there's a relea- release date clash.

And basically John and George, so John writes this letter saying, "Luke, we've decided to move your album," and it's, it's actually quite a, a decent letter or whatever.

Um, but it's obviously a power play as well.

And then George signs it at the bottom, you know, and he's a bit more snide and all this sort of stuff.

Sure.

[laughs]

It's so ungracious, right? But it's, you know, what he is really is he's quite bluff and matter of fact.

And, you know, so he'll not go, "Oh, well, you know, may- I did feel sorry for him a bit." No.

He'll just say, "No, I didn't," right? Because he was a better drummer.

Anyway, so, uh, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes get over to Hamburg, where all the bands are going, and The Beatles had, uh, obviously been there for a bit.

But then Rory, uh, Storm and the Hurricanes, and The Beatles, they end up sort of, you know, they're playing more than four hours a day.

They're al- alternating sets in this, in the Kaiserkeller.

Y- you mentioned that when he launched this tour in '81 he literally went through the phone book?

And did you, during your career as a journalist and writer, have you ever met the Beatles, their entourage, or seen them live?

Well, yes.

I mean, where do I start? I mean, I've been in a very fortunate position.

I mean, I think, you know, before I met anybody involved with it, I went to Abbey Road Studio 2 a few times, like in the late 80s and into the 90s and stuff.

And it's funny, I mean, like, you know, the 80s, the Beatles were kind of forgotten, weren't they? And I remember I watched it smash hits at the time, and it would have been 1989 when we were told that McCartney was doing a lunchtime gig, right? And we went down.

I mean, but that was the thing.

It was like, oh, well, we'll go and check it out.

Oh, cheers,