Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[2 of 3]

I'm not sure how much of this story is true, but I found this interesting.

In 1969 the Stones were broke. They had earned $17million in the previous three years but had seen only a fraction of it due to the shady dealings of American manager Allen Klein. Needing cash desperately, they announced a first US tour in three years – but there was an outcry over ticket prices.

It makes me wonder why John and Yoko(and then George and Ringo) were so keen on this guy.

Anyway....link here:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3750676/The-dark-truth-Jagger-Altamont.html

[Greg]

That was interesting.  Klein was a good con man as one aspect of his business career.  John had to have been the perfect target for him too.  John liked to go all in for questionable people...Maharishi, Klein, Yoko, Magic Alex, John Green.


I dont know if John, Ringo and George knew of his bad side.  He really played up to Yoko in their initial meetings, and that pretty much sealed the deal.


Do you think George went along with it, in part, just to oppose Paul and his in-laws?  I imagine the other part is that he went with John because that was kind of tradition in that group.

[2 of 3]

Yeah, I think George did it cuz it annoyed Paul. And also, it didn't really affect him much. It was the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team that would take most of the hit. I think.

[kylenz]

I think of it like Trump used to be an admirer of the Clintons - he was totally unaware of the criminal and treasonous dealings going on, funneling billions of govt dollars and special interest contracts into their charitable foundation. No doubt he would've seen the likes of documentaries such as Clinton Cash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LYRUOd_QoM and couple this with the email scandal, Benghazi, and the 'Clinton Hit List' and his eyes would've been immediately widened open.

Just like the Clintons spent decades ripping the people of the USA off with their racketeering tag team act, Klein did exactly the same to the Beatles and the Stones.

Sometimes the worst criminals get away with their crimes because they can get away with it before everybody's eyes - including those closest to them. Remember when the Lostprophets lead singer Ian Watkins was convicted for child rape and a host of disgusting offences - his fellow band members were completely unaware of his secret life.

Jimi Hendrix is another interesting case. His manager Michael Jeffery was a very dodgy character and had just signed a life insurance deal where he became the sole beneficiary of a $2 million policy in the event of Jimi's death. Reports say that Hendrix was onto him and trying to cut him loose, and when Hendrix died he was found to have more wine in his stomach than his gullet could naturally ingest - in other words, someone 'drowned' him by forcing wine down his throat while another person held him down, and then made it look like an overdose. Karma came for Jeffery though as he was killed in a plane crash just a couple of years later.

History is littered with dodgy corrupt characters - the sad thing is, history often writes them as heroes and fine upstanding citizens. 

[Mervap]

A lot of rock artists of the early years were broke, usually due to having no idea how the business worked. Even though it seems that Brian Epstein had the Beatles' best interest at heart, he was taken advantage of by the showbiz machine. As a result, while the Lads had material things, they had very little in the way of liquid assets.

[2 of 3]

There was also that POS Stan Polley who screwed over Badfinger. Jeesh. I wonder who the good ones are? 

[2 of 3]

hmm...sounds like another one?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/aug/21/backstreet-boys-founder-lou-pearlman-dies-in-prison-aged-62

[Greg]

Agreed on all.  I think CCRs manager was just as bad.


Side note:  One of my biggest gripes against B Clinton.  He is highly regarded in much of the African-Am community.  That 3 strikes law he introduced did more harm to black people in the US than many realize.  The US had a 3 strikes law that applied to a legal system that treated black unfairly.  The effects of that combination will be felt in the black community for decades.

[Mervap]

A note about your side note, Greg...a three strikes law was put into effect to punish three-times convicted felons. That law, by itself, was certainly not aimed at African-Americans, right? Could it be that law enforcement is leaning on that community more?

P.S.- STAN POLLEY SUX!

[Greg]

Was it aimed at African Americans?  I hope that was a rhetorical question.

Of course it was put into effect to convict 3-time convicted felons, and that sounds really nice.  What group of people gets convicted of 3 felonies more than any other group percentage-wise. 


Clinton was either ignorant of the fact that the justice system was "leaning on that community more", or he was aware that the justice system was "leaning on that community more".  I dont know which is worse.


(My post was based in many many conversations with African Americans during the past 20 years or so.)

[2 of 3]

Wasn't the biggest problem with the 3 strike system that it didn't matter what the crime was?  I know you shouldn't believe what you read on the internet, but I recall people were getting 20 years when the 3rd strike was stealing a loaf of bread. (yes I know, stealing is stealing..but my brain says we should be considering why someone would steal food)

[Greg]

The "biggest problem" is what an individual considers to be the "biggest problem".  What that law did to black people is the "biggest problem" for me...and possibly many black people.  ( Im not black so I dont know.)

[Mervap]

What I meant by my last post is that laws of all kinds have (seemingly) unintentional consequences....I can recall when 'mandatory sentencing' was a buzzword in political campaigns. Judges had no recourse but to enforce them. My oldest friend has only just gotten out of prison after 10 years....first offense. I won't bore you all with the details, but it was essentially a "he said/ she said" case and my buddy couldn't afford good counsel. It blew a ten year hole in his life......and he is not African-American. He was just poor.

I am not blind to the fact that law enforcement targets individuals of other races disproportionally. However, I think the issue is also socio-economic.

And don't open the can of worms about drugs and the for-profit prison system....or perhaps we should? I'd love to hear yall's takes on that.

[2 of 3]

I think I read the other day about the Gov getting out of the private jail business. That is good news for sure.