The Beatles, Mick Jagger, The Maharishi & A Chinese Restaurant
Today (8/25) in ’67, The Beatles and their significant others, as well as Mick Jagger & Marianne Faithfull jumped on a train bound for Bangor, Wales to attend a 10 day conference on Transcendental Meditation that was being held by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Hear the story of their interesting accomodations and what happened when the bill came during an evening meal at a local Chinese restaurant.
The Beatles were attending the conference based on a personal invitation from the Maharishi. The Beatles (without Ringo) had attended a speech he was giving earlier that week and after the speech, they met him and were personally invited to attend his conference. The Fab Four and Mick Jagger jumped at the chance to learn more about his teachings.
When the group arrived in Bangor, they were told to go to their dorm room (complete with bunk beds) and were informed that meals would be served in the cafeteria.
Paul McCartney admitted that the band had gotten quite used to the plush accomodations that they typically received, so between their dorm style sleeping arrangements and the rigors of learning a new skill (meditation), the band were a bit on edge.
The Beatles and their party decided to take a break from the cafeteria food and conference and go to Bangor’s only late night Chinese restaurant. After their meal, they realized that no one had any money. They weren’t used to paying for meals so they rarely carried any cash. No one in the restaurant recognized any of the famous musicians. Things got to a point where the restaurant workers may have thought the band was going to run out without paying. Luckily, George Harrison remembered that he kept a 20 lb note hidden in his sandle and they paid for their meal.
Here are some quotes from the band members about their experience.
