Promoter Sid Bernstein places New York Times ad for a Beatles reunion

SEP 9 1979 – A BEATLES REUNION ? Promoter SID BERNSTEIN placed full-page ad in the New York Times. “An appeal to John, Paul, George & Ringo” ! The pitch ? The Beatles would perform on 3 days for a worthy cause; in Cairo, Jerusalem & New York. Thanks Sid for trying.

From When the Beatles Received a $230 Million Reunion Offer (ultimateclassicrock.com):

Even though the Beatles had only disbanded a mere six years earlier, the public demand for them to “get back” was peaking in 1976, leading to a mammoth $230 million reunion offer – which they turned down.

The man who made the offer, promoter Sid Bernstein, was no stranger to the Fab Four, having promoted their early tours of America. But on Sept. 19, 1976, he decided to lay his wallet on the table, publicly offering the unprecedented sum for a one-time-only charity concert by taking out an ad in the New York Times. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr all politely declined the offer, although McCartney later admitted they considered it. […]

ATMP:  Are you continuing in your effort to reunite the Beatles?

Sid:  Well, let me say this…That last ad in September 1979 cost $18,000 to place in the New York Times.  So it’s not easy to do this kind of thing all the time.  However, I felt this was the only effective way to get the guys to consider getting together one more time.  Whether they did it collectively or individually, doing their own thing on stage, but all of them in one place at one time.   I didn’t hear from Ringo, didn’t hear from George, didn’t hear from Paul, but I did hear from John Lennon.  Lennon called and asked for more details of my plan.  I gave it to him on the phone and he said, “Sid, why don’t you write it all down in great length and send it to me.”  This was about two weeks after the ad appeared around October first of last year.  I then wrote all the details down.  It took a lot of time but it gave a complete picture of what it could accomplish in terms of saving lives, particularly young peoples’ lives, the kids who were on the boats at that time, who had no homes and couldn’t find a haven:  the boat people.  It centered on the children of the boat people.  I delivered the letter personally, because I wanted to be sure that it didn’t have to go through a messenger, and I would have to worry whether the messenger gave it to the right doorman.  So I delivered it personally to the Dakota on 72^nd Street, which is just a few blocks from here.  That is where John and Yoko live.  I waited for an answer but I never received one, so it seems almost hopeless.  My first two attempted go get them together for humanity have been fruitless.  However, when I have the mans and the ability I will try it again, because I think it’s worth a number of tries for the slim chance that they might get together, because of the good the four guys can do for a lot of kids who are not as fortunate as the kids we know.

ATMP:  Can you give our readers some of the details of your plan?

Sid:  I believe it can raise a half a billion dollars.  I think it could clothe, feed and educate for their lifetime one hundred thousand children, if they were to get together and do this benefit appearance.

ATMP:  Which of the Beatles do you  think are responsible for preventing a reunion?

Sid:  It’s my feeling that if Paul and John were convinced, then the other two might join in.  That’s my feeling—I have no real knowledge of their problems.  I can only guess at their problems.  When I ran my first ad in 1976, I didn’t get a response from anyone.  However, three months after the ad appeared, at the end of ’76 or the beginning of ’77, Paul was asked about the ad in Venice, where he was doing a benefit to save the city of Venice from sinking.  He was asked by a reporter from the Paris Herald-Tribune, which is a daily English newspaper that goes throughout Europe, “What do you think of Sid Bernstein’s plan for you four to get together?”  Paul’s reply appeared in the paper three months later.  He said, “Sid places too heavy a responsibility on our shoulders.  We can’t save the world.”

ATMP:  Have you ever tried to call them directly?

Sid:  Yes.  It’s hopeless.  There were no results.  You can’t get at them, and what’s why the ad appeared.  I figured they would read the ad, which they did. […]

ATMP:  Obviously if the Beatles reunited it would be a huge financial success.  But do you think it would succeed musically and socially?  Do you think they’d put aside their differences and not embarrass themselves on stage?

Sid:  I don’t know whether it would succeed musically, because their voices have changed, and they haven’t played together.  They’ve also gone in different directions  musically.  But it would be successful historically, it also would be socially successful.  The fact that they’re together again and the world sees four guys who have had some deep differences forget about them for a day and do a thing for humanity.  They might teach the world a lesson; that people who’ve had deep differences can put them aside and band together to do something important.  Economically, it would be tremendously successful.  The whole world would tune in, the whole world who likes music and who likes the Beatles and thinks about the Beatles, especially the new world which never had a chance to see them will tune in.  they probably wouldn’t even play together.  John might recite poetry or introduce the others.  Since Paul is still actively playing and George and Ringo occasionally play, they might play together or do their own thing with their own friends.  But the whole world might tune in to see the four guys at the end of the program put their arms around each other and give whatever message they have to give, explaining why they are doing the benefit concert.

ATMP:  On final note for our American Beatle fans.  Under your plan would they play in the U.S. or some neutral spot, like Geneva?

Sid:  If it were my choice, but the ad doesn’t say I have to do the concert, it’s just that someone should do it.  But if the choice were mine, I would say America,  probably somewhere in the Middle East, and somewhere in Africa.  I would like to do three days and perform wherever people are in the most trouble.  It is in those areas that I would like to see the concerts done.

Interview of Sid Bernstein for All Things must pass fanzine  August 1980 – From Meet the Beatles for Real: Interview with Sid Bernstein

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