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"I hadn't the heart to tell him that the Beatles in my script have been caught in-flagrante, become involved in dubious political activity, dressed as women, committed murder, been put in prison and committed adultery. And the script isn't finished yet."THE JOE ORTON DIARIES, 11th February 1967. Referring to Beatles film producer, Walter Shenson.Before 1985, I had never directed a play in my life. Or written a stage soundtrack. In fact, I haven't since. Maybe that was a good thing, in both instances. But the effect of working on Up Against It, it's World Premier in fact, was both exhilarating and liberating for all of us and anyone who was lucky enough to see it.
The first time I'd ever heard of Up Against It was in a MALCOLM McLAREN NME interview, sometime in '79. He was referring to it as the script he wished the SEX PISTOLS had made. It had just been published for the first time, just as Malcolm and Julian Temple were halfway through what was known as Who Killed Bambi? THE GREAT ROCK N ROLL SWINDLEs' working title.
Up Against It. Published 1979.I finally got hold of a copy in ’82 and thought it was throwaway Orton genius - in as far as Orton himself considered it disposable. In the hands of Malcolm McLaren it would've been dynamite. But it would've been Armageddon Time if THE BEATLES had given it a chance.
The synopses of Up Against It in no less than 56 words … The Beatles, cast as three boys and a girl – in a future Britain run by a woman Prime Minister and the country torn by a gender civil war – dress as women, infiltrate a party conference and assassinate her!
This written in 1967! Quite apart from the civil disobedience of it all, the adultery, the murder and political activity, The idea of a woman Prime minister in Britain was laughable. Visionary or what!?
Allegedly, the Beatles turned it down for being too cynical. Too cynical for JOHN LENNON!?! If they'd realised it was the only script for them, that LINDSAY ANDERSON was the only director for it, Donald Cammell's PERFORMANCE with Mick Jagger would've been mere follow-through. In fact, on a much larger scale, they would've been initiating world political revolution, considered emissaries from hell (and duly murdered) and would've been emblematic of change, instead of merely reacting to it as they did the year after - 1968.
Back in '82, I had some extraordinarily deluded notion that I wanted to make a film of it too. I mentioned the idea to future Hollywood film director SIMON WEST (Tomb Raider franchise and the proposed THE PRISONER film in the late 90s) and Nick Morris, who at the time were making I Helped Patrick Mcgoohan Escape!, THE TIMES video.
I wrote a title song and put it on the ….Patrick McGoohan escape, 1983 mini LP and waited for nothing to happen.
Meanwhile, my dear friend TONY CONWAY of psyche band Mood Six was contemplating a stage production of it with a soundtrack at the LOST theatre, the London Oratory School Theatre – quite coincidentally my old school. Aware of my great interest in it, Tony asked me to join him as Co-director, which I accepted immediately.
While the production was just beginning its run, I bumped into JOE STRUMMER (who I'd never met) in Mayfair. He stopped me in fact, because of the t-shirt I was wearing – Joe Orton’s Up Against It for the Beatles – the show we were World Premiering at the time in Fulham. Strummer was dead excited and asked for tickets.
The rest of the soundtrack fell into place around this time … trying to write songs pretending LENNON & McCartney were composing them from beyond the grave, via board tapping sessions. Not so easy when one of them is still alive … and it’s the "See you in court"–crazy one that’s still breathing.
And because it was a World Premiere it got national press coverage, THE TIMES NEWSPAPER in particular giving it an unbelievable review. After packing houses every night, we took it to the EDINBURGH FRINGE and a further run in Islington, but that elusive film never got made. The Up Against It soundtrack by the Times came out in 1986.
The Times, June 27th 1985.Even in ’99 when I met Malcolm McLaren through ALAN McGee he was still burning to do it, this time with OASIS as the Fabs. Lovely!
EDWARD THE IMPOSSIBLE March 2007