DM's Beatles forums
Beatles forums => News => Topic started by: oldbrownshoe on May 02, 2014, 04:42:28 PM
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I'm not sure how much the name Max Clifford means to anyone outside Britain but he was the go-to guy in this country if someone in a news story (or just about to be one) wanted to be represented or their side, invariably Max Clifford's side, of the story to be told.
The truth was that his job description was exceedingly murky and coincided almost to the day when the tabloid culture in this country got completely out of control.
Anyway Max has been sentenced to 8 years in prison today for a string of offences against women, one as young as 15, in the 1970s and beyond.
So why mention him on a Beatles website?
Well, in 2001, on the morning after George's death he came on Breakfast TV and, announced as 'The Beatles Manager' (that's.....'The Beatles Manager'), gave his twopenny worth on the subject. That's how seemingly untouchable he was. Someone, and it might have been Paul, mentioned the fact that George would have disowned many of the people who talked glowingly about him after his death, and I'm sure Clifford would have been top of that list.
Does anyone remember seeing it?
The irony is that Max, in the six weeks that his trail lasted, has proved to be the most media-unsavvy person of the last 50 years, his antics both inside and outside the court probably doubling his sentence.
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Can't say I've heard of him or that instance oldbrownshoe, despite UK tabloids being a favourite topic on Oz. What did he say about George?
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I'm not sure how much the name Max Clifford means to anyone outside Britain but he was the go-to guy in this country if someone in a news story (or just about to be one) wanted to be represented or their side, invariably Max Clifford's side, of the story to be told.
The truth was that his job description was exceedingly murky and coincided almost to the day when the tabloid culture in this country got completely out of control.
Anyway Max has been sentenced to 8 years in prison today for a string of offences against women, one as young as 15, in the 1970s and beyond.
So why mention him on a Beatles website?
Well, in 2001, on the morning after George's death he came on Breakfast TV and, announced as 'The Beatles Manager' (that's.....'The Beatles Manager'), gave his twopenny worth on the subject. That's how seemingly untouchable he was. Someone, and it might have been Paul, mentioned the fact that George would have disowned many of the people who talked glowingly about him after his death, and I'm sure Clifford would have been top of that list.
Does anyone remember seeing it?
The irony is that Max, in the six weeks that his trail lasted, has proved to be the most media-unsavvy person of the last 50 years, his antics both inside and outside the court probably doubling his sentence.
I record the UK Sky news every night on Sky news Oz channel and watch it next morning, (Kay Burley is sexy ;D) so I know of this guy and he is a complete mongrel.
I don't remember the George incident though.
The irony is that Max, in the six weeks that his trail lasted, has proved to be the most media-unsavvy person of the last 50 years, his antics both inside and outside the court probably doubling his sentence
sounds like ne needed Max Clifford ha2ha
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It wasn't what he said about George, it was the fact that he was billed as 'The Beatles Manager' and that he was asked at all. Any of us could probably list 1000 more suitable people to have commented.
Actually he didn't say anything confrontational, just that George was the quiet one, frustrated that his songs weren't being played by the group, was more successful initially after they split etc. etc.
Apparently on Clifford's website, his biography states that he worked at EMI just as The Beatles hit big, and he had to send out press releases on behalf of the group.
Hunter Davies was recently quoted as saying that, despite owning 500 books and 2,000 magazines on the group and written the first official biography, he had not encountered the name of Max Clifford in a Beatles context once!
But that was the nature of the man and his 'profession' and his power, if he said he was 'The Beatles Manager' who on earth going to query Max Clifford, and he probably thought the same when some very brave women came forward to the police with their stories.....
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It wasn't what he said about George, it was the fact that he was billed as 'The Beatles Manager' and that he was asked at all. Any of us could probably list 1000 more suitable people to have commented.
Actually he didn't say anything confrontational, just that George was the quiet one, frustrated that his songs weren't being played by the group, was more successful initially after they split etc. etc.
Apparently on Clifford's website, his biography states that he worked at EMI just as The Beatles hit big, and he had to send out press releases on behalf of the group.
Hunter Davies was recently quoted as saying that, despite owning 500 books and 2,000 magazines on the group and written the first official biography, he had not encountered the name of Max Clifford in a Beatles context once!
But that was the nature of the man and his 'profession' and his power, if he said he was 'The Beatles Manager' who on earth going to query Max Clifford, and he probably thought the same when some very brave women came forward to the police with their stories.....
It does seem bizarre that a news organisation would accept anyone simply self-billing themselves as The Beatles Manager. Doesn't say a lot for their critical faculties.
It's amazing the front some people have to push themselves into the eye of whatever storm with nothing more than a glib story. The part of the brain responsible for embarrassment must be extremely underdeveloped.
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The recent six weeks have been fascinating.
Clifford posed for photographs outside court every day (to the point when the usually baying photographers were actually saying 'We've got enough now, Max, go inside!'). He took about 6 minutes yesterday to reach the door from his car.....it's 50 yards, and this is the day of his sentence.
Even more bizarre is a clip of him (probably on youtube now) creeping up behind a Sky reporter and mimicking him while he was talking to camera outside the court. Fine if you're an actor on set, or a footballer on the training ground, but a guy being tried on cases that will eventually get you 8 years in prison? It even got mentioned by the Judge as evidence of Clifford's contempt for the whole thing.
The most incredible aspect is that his 'job' was to advise people on how to deal with the media, even dealing with the media himself rather than letting his inexperienced client have to do it. And yet when he needed to be media-savvy for his own really rather serious crisis, he proved to be completely ill-equipped for the task.