Phil Everly

It was Easter, and I got a call from Pye Records that Phil Everly was in town for a few days and they needed a photo of him for a sleeve. Easter in the 70's was singularly Holy time. Nothing stirred but church services. The next day, being Good Friday was treated like a Sunday, and it made London like a ghost town. However being the true pro that I was, I used this to my advantage. I picked Phil up in my yellow mini traveller from his hotel. The car was as far from a Boss Mustang as it could be. It had a mini front end and a van like back end with wooden surrounds. (See picture), but it flew like shit of a shovel. I drove down to Shepherds Bush market, Marble Arch to the Bush in 5 mins flat. All the lights were green and not a soul about. I stopped in front of a shuttered shop front. It was painted red and hadn't seen a paint brush in years. Just the arty farty background I needed for the shot.

I wanted to use him as a small figure with this shutter behind him, but alas the marketing men got at it and and it ended up cropped to head and shoulders. It may as well have been a passport photo, it had as much charisma. Phil asked me what was there to do in this one horse town.
'Not much at Easter but pray. But he could come to my flat on Sunday for a traditional Sunday roast dinner.' And I could show him the delights of the Kings Road on Saturday, just a spit from my place on the Fulham Road.
All through this time he kept saying that we have met before in L.A. and that he knew my face. As at that time I had a bright red moustache that covered most of the bottom half of my face, and hair down to my shoulders, I probably resembled half the hippies in California. We finished the shoot in about an hour and I dropped him off at the hotel soon after as he had to be in the studio that afternoon. I gave him my contact details, and he promised to turn up at the flat when he was done.
Sandy, my wife, was quite a fan of the Everly Bothers and started planning the meal, who would come, who would sit where.
We always had quite a few to lunch on a Sunday. I told her not to go to much trouble as he would probably not turn up. Of course I was right, but he did call and ask me to visit him in L.A.
I never did make that trip.