On Jan.1, 1962, The Beatles arrived in London for their very first recording session. John wanted Sandi to go with him, but Sandi had come down with a terrible case of the flu and couldn’t make it.
John was excited as were the other 3 about this recording deal. “We’re gonna make it, kitten, we’re on our way!!” John told Sandi.
Sandi was happy. She wanted The Beatles to succeed as much as the boys themselves wanted it.
Sandi was beginning to see a little bit less of John. As The Beatles began to grow more popular, they begin to get more and more gigs, taking them farther and farther away from home. Sandi would accompany John on these trips whenever she could, but more often that not, she was unable to go due to work and school.
While all these new developments were happening, Sandi moved out and got her own apartment closer to her college. It was a small, one bedroom apartment, but it was hers. John spent nights with Sandi at her apartment. Finally they had a place where they could be totally alone and not have to worry about Mimi or Sandi’s dad walking in on them. John eventually moved in with Sandi, much to her father’s distress, “He’ll never marry you now,” Mr. Walsh told her, “why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? I do hope you are using protection” were his exact words. That was the only time Mr. Walsh had ever protested about Sandi and John’s relationship.
Months had passed by and still no word from Decca. Brian tried to get word about it, were The Beatles in or out?
After much pestering by Brian, Dick Rowe, who was the head of Decca Records, informed Brian that The Beatles were OUT.
Brian tried several other labels, but nobody was interested.
John was getting frustrated. “We’ll probably wind up on the Woolworth label,” he joked.
Other things were not going well either. One day, in April,
Sandi went to get the mail and she had a letter from Astrid.
Sandi and Astrid had been keeping in touch all this time.
The contents of this letter contained a somber messsage:
Stu had died from a cerebral hemmorage.
Sandi sat on her sofa and cried. Stu was such a lovely
person. Why is it always the good ones who have to
die?
John came home to find Sandi sobbing, holding the note from Astrid.
“What’s wrong, kitten?” John asked Sandi gently, taking her in his arms.
“Oh, Winston,” Sandi sobbed, “I’m so sorry to tell you, but Stu passed away.”
John was speechless for the longest time. He just sat on the sofa with Sandi, holding her and rocking her back and forth. Then John began to tremble and sob his heart out. The two of them spent the whole night like that, sobbing and holding each other.
A week after Stu died, the boys had to make another trip to Hamburg, only for a month this time. Sandi really wanted to go with John, she had wanted to visit Astrid and pay her condolences in person, but unfortunately she couldn’t. She had to prepare a term paper that was half her grade and it was due the following week.
“Give Astrid this card for me ok?” Sandi asked John when she sent him off for Germany.
Sandi was getting worried about Brian and about John. Both of them were becoming increasingly moody and frustrated. John accused Brian of being “soft”. John and Brian would argue regularly, putting Sandi right in the middle of it. John would get angry, sometimes taking it out on Sandi. Sandi in turn would get angry, then a fight would start between the two. Sandi and John even spilt up for a bit, things were just getting too tense between them, but that was short-lived. After a two-week separation, John and Sandi got back together. John was miserable without his “Kitten.” The couple had a long talk and patched things up, then they had an all-night session of “making up.”
Now that Sandi had the old John back, Brian was next. Sandi was on the verge of quitting NEMS. Brian was tempermental. He’d yell at Sandi for the tiniest things.
One day, after another one of Brian’s rampages, Sandi finally had enough, she yelled at him:
“Look, I can’t take this anymore! I am sick of you taking out all your frustrations on me! You and John have been putting me in the middle of your arguments and I’m tired of it! I want the old Brian back or I’m quitting today!”
“Sandi, I am sorry,” Brian said, on the verge of tears. “Please don’t quit. It’s just the boys are counting on me to get them a recording deal and nobody gives a damn. I don’t know what to do. John and the boys are getting impatient with me, saying I’m too green. I have tried every record company I can think of; I don’t know where to turn.”
“Brian, the shop is pretty slow now. Why don’t you go back down to London and give it another try? You give up too easy, that’s part of your problem right there. Go back to London and don’t take no for an answer! Show those record company jackasses what you’re made of!”
Brian thought about this for a moment, then he finally said, “Yeah, I’ll head down to London and give it another try! I’ll get the boys a recording deal before they get back from Hamburg!” Brian exclaimed, his resolve renewed.
“Knock ’em dead, Eppy, go get ’em!” Sandi yelped.
Brian took the train to London the next day.
Written by Sandi. This is original copyrighted work and
may not be reproduced without the permission of the
author. Permission may be obtained by e-mail.