When Elvis Met The Beatles

It was summer 1965, Beverly Hills, California, and The Beatles, halfway through their third tour of America, which I was covering for the New Musical Express, had agreed to spend an evening at Elvis's West Coast home. Elvis also expressed an interest in the meeting. "He wants to know what makes them tick", his manager Colonel Tom Parker told The Beatles' boss Brian Epstein as the three of us had lunch.

Pushing my case with Colonel Parker, I accompanied him to the Paramount Studios in Hollywood. He left me in a darkened room and when my eyes became accustomed to the darkness, I realised I was not alone. Elvis Presley sat opposite me. "The Colonel tells me you want me to meet The Beatles", he said. The shock of this sudden confrontation with the world's greatest superstar left me tongue-tied, but I did my best to answer his questions about them, and he agreed to meet the band.

So, on the night of Friday, 27th August 1965, we found ourselves in a limousine flanked by police outriders travelling to the Presley mansion at 565 Perugia Way on the Bel Air estate. John's moodiness was already creating tension - to be honest, I don't believe he ever wanted to go. But the others were keener. After all, it was Elvis who had inspired them.

As we arrived, John introduced himself to Elvis with a feeble Inspector Clouseau impression: "Oh, zere you are, ze famous Elvis." The singer looked non-plussed. When Priscilla Beaulieu held out her hand, John bent to kiss it in mock deference.

After everyone had been introduced, Elvis moved to the jukebox and put on a record. When it ended there was an uncomfortable silence. The red-shirted host did not seem happy but he made a suggestion that won some approval from his guests. "I thought we'd sit and talk about music and jam a little", Elvis murmured. "That would be great", enthused Paul.

Guitars were produced and after Elvis had apologised to Ringo for the absence of a drum kit ("That's okay, I'd rather play pool", was Ringo's response), they strummed a few chords. Elvis had prepared something for The Beatles' arrival -he'd learned the bass guitar introduction to one of their hits, "I Feel Fine". "This is what you guys gave me for my 30th birthday," he said referring to the song. "It made me sick" When John then asked: "Why have you dropped the old stuff? The rock? I loved the Sun recordings - [the King's 1950s rock 'n' roll numbers]," Elvis became visibly irritated. "Listen, just because I'm stuck with movie soundtracks doesn't mean I can't do rock 'n' roll any more. I must get around to cuttin' a few sides and knocking you off the top." He went on to tell them that he was making movies "at a million bucks a day and one of 'em took only 15 days to complete". John retorted: "Well, we've got an hour to spare. Let's make an epic."

Elvis faired better with George Harrison. The pair struck up a conversation about their favourite songs and performers. It was clear the sensitive George was Elvis's kind of man. Things were going smoothly and the 20 people in the room began to relax and enjoy the piece of music history being enacted in front of them. From the sofa, Paul picked out the chords to a record Elvis had been playing on his jukebox, Cilla Black's "You're My World". Meanwhile, Ringo enjoyed his game of pool with one of Elvis's top aides, Sonny West. The bond between Elvis and George grew stronger as the "quiet" Beatle impressed him with some fancy guitar playing. Colonel Parker had set up a roulette table and, with some relief; Epstein produced a fistful of dollars and moved in for a game. It looked as if the rest of the night would be plain sailing.

Alas, I had not taken into account John's liking for a pretty face. Clearly, he fancied Priscilla and when I mentioned this to her, she sounded alarmed: "That's a big mistake - Elvis is very jealous." As things turned out however, it was not Priscilla but an ornament that provided the flash point. In Elvis's den, was a covered wagon model adorned with the slogan "All the way with LBJ". It had been a gift from Colonel Parker, a friend of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. After Elvis showed it to John, the atmosphere changed. John hated the warmongering president and fiercely opposed America's campaign in Vietnam - and he told Elvis exactly what he thought of his precious president.

The former tank corps sergeant was taken aback by John's outburst. He turned his back on John and loudly addressed Sonny and fellow Memphis Mafia member Alan Fortas: "Someone ought to talk to the FBI about that sonovabitch." Everyone in the room started to polarise. Elvis moved away to talk to Colonel Parker and, while Paul tried his best to be the peacekeeper, the rest of The Beatles had already begun to collect their jackets. As The Beatles left, Elvis stood at the door of his mansion and shook their hands - except for John's.

When The Beatles got back into the limousine, Colonel Parker said to me: "Tell the fans it was a great meeting." John countered: "Tell them the truth, it was a load of rubbish," Later he said to me of Elvis, "I'm not sure who's the bigger b********** - him or me." Paul diplomatically called the encounter "nice", while George was touched by his rapport with Elvis. "I'd like to go again," he said. Sadly, none of them did.

Eventually, someone did speak to the FBI about that "sonovabitch" - Elvis. He went to discuss anti-American activities and the visit sparked renewed FBI interest in John (Elvis had told them the name should be spelled L-e-n-i-n) and the Beatle was subjected to continued harassment over his American visa renewal.

Years later I got to know Elvis better. He spoke of George (especially), Paul and Ringo in affectionate terms. "I would like to have worked with Harrison," he said "but you know the way the Colonel is about me working with other entertainers. It's a no no." Maybe, had Elvis been a free man, he might have performed with George instead of pouring his energy into a lifelong war with John.