34 Montagu Square is the address of
a London ground floor and basement flat once leased by Ringo Starr during
the mid-1960s. Its location is 1.3 miles (2.09 km) from the Abbey Road
Studios, where The Beatles recorded. Many rich and titled people have lived
at the address, including a British Member of Parliament, Richard-Hanbury
Gurney, and the daughter of the Marquess of Sligo, Lady Emily Charlotte
Browne. The square was named after Elizabeth Montagu, who was highly
regarded by London society in the late 18th century.
Paul McCartney recorded demo songs there, such as "I'm Looking Through You",
and worked on various compositions, including "Eleanor Rigby". With the help
of Ian Sommerville he converted the flat to a studio for Apple Corps'
avant-garde Zapple label, recording William S. Burroughs for spoken-word
Zapple albums. Jimi Hendrix and his manager, Chas Chandler, later lived
there with their girlfriends. Whilst living there, Hendrix composed "The
Wind Cries Mary".
For three months, John Lennon and Yoko Ono rented the flat, taking a
photograph that would become the cover of their Two Virgins album. After the
police raided the flat looking for drugs, the landlord of the property
sought an injunction against Starr to prevent it from being used for
anything untoward or illegal. Starr sold the lease in February 1969. In
2010, Ono unveiled a blue marker plaque at the site, making it an English
Heritage "building of historical interest".
Joseph T. Parkinson designed and built the houses in Montagu Square as part
of the Portman Estate, between 1810 and 1815. It was named after the
Yorkshire-born Elizabeth Montagu: a social reformer, patron of the arts,
salonist, literary critic, and writer. She had lived nearby, in Montagu
House, Portman Square, until her death on 25 August 1800. The square is an
example of Regency terrace residential architecture that was popular in the
19th century, with a communal garden located in the centre; surrounded by
iron railings and padlocked so its use would be limited to residents. No. 34
was built as one of the square's many tall buildings which were originally
intended for use as whole family homes instead of apartments. A Victorian
writer was especially caustic when talking about the architecture: "Montagu
Square and Bryanston Square are twin deformities, [which were built by]
economical modern builders ... [to] dispose of with profit to those who wish
to live near the great".
Richard-Hanbury Gurney, a banker and M.P. for Norwich, lived at No. 34 in
1830. He was the father of Hudson Gurney, who became an M.P. for Newtown,
Isle of Wight in 1816. In the book, A local index to the list of proprietors
of East India stock, John White was cited as living there in 1848, and
according to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's journals, one Thomas
Hopkins, a pharmacist, was living in the house in 1849. Aged 86, Lady Emily
Charlotte Browne died at the address on 14 March 1916. She was the 5th
daughter of Peter Howe, the Marquess of Sligo, and of royal blood. The
English model and actress, Chrissie Shrimpton (Mick Jagger's girlfriend from
1963 to 1966), lived close to No. 34 in the 1960s.
Starr leased Flat 1 in 1965, shortly before his marriage to Maureen Cox. It
consisted of the ground floor and lower-ground floor (the cellar/basement in
the original house), and entrance was gained by walking down the steps
leading to the lower-ground floor door, or the front door at ground level.
The ground floor had an en-suite bathroom (with a pink bath sunk into the
floor) a bedroom and a sitting room. Downstairs was a kitchen, a bathroom
and a bedroom/sitting room, which had its original fireplace. A resident of
the square, Lord Mancroft, welcomed Starr, saying to a journalist, "We're a
very distinguished square, and I'm sure we'll welcome such a distinguished
gentleman and his lady."
The Swiss Embassy was, and is, located at the back of the house at 16-18
Montagu Place, but in August 1965, an embassy spokesperson complained that
Beatles' fans were defacing their back wall (in Bryanston Mews), with
messages meant for Starr: "Our back wall is now very unsightly and we shall
have to redecorate. Our chauffeur, who is French and took part in the first
World War, says the language some of these young people use is worse than
anything he ever heard in the trenches".
The Starrs lived there until Epstein's accountant suggested that the group
members should move to houses near his, in Esher. On 24 July 1965, Starr
bought Sunny Heights for £30,000 ($72,000), on South Road, St George's Hill,
but retained the lease on the flat. He rented the flat to The Fool, who were
employed by Apple for various endeavours, such as painting the Apple
Boutique in Baker Street, London, and designing psychedelic clothes for all
four Beatles, as well as The Hollies, Marianne Faithfull, Procol Harum,
Donovan, and Cream.
McCartney rented the flat from Starr in 1965, and asked Sommerville to
install recording equipment (including two Revox reel-to-reel tape
machines); planning to use it as a demo studio, and for recordings of
spoken-word albums. The house was not far from the Abbey Road studio where
The Beatles recorded, and Jane Asher's parents' house at 57 Wimpole Street,
London, where McCartney was living at the time. He recorded a demo version
of "I'm Looking Through You" at Montagu Square in late March 1965, and
worked on the composition of "Eleanor Rigby". Sommerville moved into the
flat, even though it was supposed to only be used as a studio, but defended
the move by stating that he had to be "on call at all times". Sommerville
recorded Burroughs there, for Apple's Zapple label off-shoot, but
discouraged other people who were interested, believing he was working for
McCartney exclusively. During the time Sommerville was recording Burroughs,
a friend of McCartney, Barry Miles, visited the apartment:
"Ian [Sommerville] was in the strange position of playing host in Ringo's
expensive apartment, fixing everyone drinks, fussing about, cautioning
everyone not to lean against the green watermarked silk wallpaper in the
sitting room".
McCartney later gave up the flat, and it remained empty until Starr sub-let
it to Hendrix with Kathy Etchingham, and Chandler with Lotta Null, in
December 1966, for £30 ($63) a month (£265.12—$453.28 today). Hendrix and
Echingham lived on the lower-ground floor, and Hendrix composed "The Wind
Cries Mary" there, after an argument with Echingham about her cooking
skills. For three months, between 1966–67, Hendrix shared the apartment with
Gordon Haskell, a bassist who played with the psychedelic band Les Fleur de
Lys. Unfortunately, when Hendrix was under the effects of LSD, he threw
whitewash over the walls, forcing Starr to evict him. Starr also lent the
flat to other pop stars and friends over the next few years, when they
needed a place to stay in London. Lennon's mother-in-law, Lillian Powell,
stayed at Montagu Square rather than at the Lennons' home, Kenwood, in
Weybridge, when she visited her daughter, Cynthia Lennon.
When Lennon started a relationship with Ono in 1968, his wife and son moved
into the flat on 21 June 1968, living there for three months, before
returning to Kenwood, as Lennon and Ono preferred to live at Montagu Square,
rather than in isolated Weybridge. The two lived in the Montagu Square flat
for several months, as the White Album was being recorded. Visitors
remembered that the flat was in a state of squalor, with dirty plates, cups,
clothes, newspapers and magazines littering the floor, with the couple
living on "a diet of champagne, caviar, and heroin". Lennon and Ono's
experimental Two Virgins album had been recorded at Kenwood, but its
notorious nude cover photos were taken at 34 Montagu Square. An Apple
employee, Tony Bramwell, set up the camera so Lennon could take the
photograph after Bramwell had left. Ono was pregnant during their stay, and
they were also in the throes of heroin addiction.
At 11:30 am on 18 October 1968, the flat was raided by Sgt. Norman Pilcher,
of Scotland Yard's Drugs Squad. In 1974, Lennon remembered that Ono answered
the front door as a female voice had said (over the intercom), that there
was a message from the Apple office. Ono opened the door and saw the female
with five men, who were all dressed in plain-clothes. She panicked and
closed the door, thinking they were Beatles' fans. Meanwhile, at the back
window, another person was banging on the window and holding up a search
warrant for Lennon to read. As Lennon was also panicking—not knowing at that
point that they were all police officers—the raid consisted of seven police
officers and two police dogs—he played for time and refused to open the
window. Because of this, Pilcher later accused Lennon of obstruction of
justice, which was a crime. Inside the flat, the police searched every room
thoroughly, even though Lennon was supposed to accompany them whilst they
did so, according to the law. Pilcher then summoned Lennon and pointed to a
binocular case on a mantelpiece, asking him, "Is this yours?" Lennon replied
in the affirmative, and was then shown 219 grams of hashish, which was in
the case.
Lennon:
"Don Shorter [a Daily Express reporter] had told us, 'They're coming to get
you', three weeks before. So, believe me, I'd cleaned the house out, because
Jimi Hendrix had lived there in the apartment, and I'm not stupid. I went
through the whole damn house".
Both were arrested, with Lennon pleading guilty to hashish possession,
absolving Ono, who miscarried not long after. Lennon was fined £150 ($360).
Note: in November 1973, Pilcher was arrested for conspiracy to pervert the
course of justice after it was alleged he had committed perjury. He was
convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment. After the raid, the
landlord sought an injunction against Starr on 19 February 1969, forbidding
anyone but Starr or his family to live there, and allowing no music or
instruments to be played. Starr appealed, and a compromise was offered; only
Starr or a family member would live in the flat. To finally settle the case,
Starr sold the lease on 28 February 1969.
A music label owner, Reynold D’Silva, bought the flat for £550,000 in 2002,
beating a rival bid from Noel Gallagher. D’Silva considered opening it as a
music museum, but decided to rent it instead, for £795 per week. Author
Miles contended that 34 Montagu Square "clearly qualifies as a candidate for
one of the blue marker plaques that the City of Westminster fixes to
buildings of historical interest". On Saturday 23 October 2010, in front of
100 people, Ono unveiled a Blue Plaque at 34 Montagu Square:
"John Lennon, 1940–1980, Musician and songwriter, lived here in 1968".
Beatles' biographer, Hunter Davies, started the unveiling ceremony, with Rod
Davis, from Lennon's first group, The Quarrymen, in the gathering. Ono said:
"I am very honoured to unveil this blue plaque and thank English Heritage
for honouring John in this way. This particular flat has many memories for
me and is a very interesting part of our history. In what would have been
John's 70th year, I am grateful to you all for commemorating John and this
particular part of his London life, one which spawned so much of his great
music and great art".
Davis also commented:
"He [Lennon] would think it highly amusing that they've put up a plaque
here, considering what happened here. If only they'd mentioned the drugs
bust on the bottom of the plaque. Wherever he is, he would have a great
chuckle about this one".