John Lennon is filmed with Bob Dylan – 27 May 1966
Friday 27 May 1966 | Film and video, John Lennon
On 27 May 1966, John Lennon and Bob Dylan were filmed together in a limousine being driven from Kenwood — Lennon's home in Weybridge, Surrey — to the May Fair Hotel on Stratton Street in London, where Dylan was staying. The footage was shot by director DA Pennebaker, who had been hired to make a documentary on Dylan's 1966 UK tour, with sound operator Bobby Neuwirth also present. The film, titled Eat The Document, was later shelved after the US TV network ABC, which had funded the shoot, rejected a rough cut.
May Fair Hotel, Stratton Street, London — Bob Dylan's base during his 1966 UK tour, and the destination of the limousine journey filmed on 27 May 1966.
Background
The Beatles had first met Bob Dylan in August 1964 in New York, during their first American tour. Dylan introduced The Beatles to cannabis; The Beatles introduced Dylan to a mass pop audience. They met again in 1965, and again during Dylan's 1966 UK tour.
Dylan's 1966 tour was one of the most controversial in rock history. Having abandoned his folk roots and adopted electric instruments in 1965, he was backed on this tour by The Hawks (later The Band). Audiences were divided — many jeering and protesting at his new direction. He was scheduled to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 26 and 27 May 1966.
Dylan invited The Beatles to his shows. John Lennon and George Harrison attended the second Royal Albert Hall show on 27 May. All four Beatles also spent time with Dylan in London nightclubs and at his hotel during this period.
Following his 26 May concert, Dylan had visited Kenwood, Lennon's home in Weybridge. The following day — 27 May — the pair were filmed in the limousine being driven back to Dylan's hotel. Two 10-minute film reels were filled during the journey. Lennon and Dylan were evidently recovering from the after-effects of drug-taking, and both wore sunglasses and smoked cigarettes.
In the first reel the pair discussed contemporary musical acts, including the Mamas and the Papas, Barry McGuire, The Silkie, and Johnny Cash. At the beginning of the second reel Dylan complained of illness, leaning forward with his head in his hands, telling driver Tom Keylock to hurry to the hotel. Pennebaker later revealed that he and Lennon had to help Dylan to his hotel room on arrival.
In the final cut of Eat The Document, only a few minutes of the footage was included. The film was screened at the New York Academy of Music on 8 February 1971, and again in 1998, but has rarely been seen since. An alternative edit, titled You Know Something Is Happening, was made by Pennebaker for private use, containing more footage of the limousine encounter, but also remains unreleased. Footage from the journey has long circulated among bootleg collectors.
Following the evening concert, Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Aspinall, and The Rolling Stones all visited Dolly's nightclub on Jermyn Street, London.
Transcript: Reel One
Bob Dylan: (peering out of a rainy window as the car rumbles down the road) There's the mighty Thames. That's what held Hitler back, the mighty Thames. Winston Churchill said that. Tom, ain't that right? Ain't that right, Tom? Tom, I think I'm gonna turn you into Tyrone Power.
John Lennon: Say that again, will you Bob?
Dylan: Tom, I think I'm gonna turn you into Ronald Coleman.
Lennon: That's better. That's very much better.
Dylan: Reginald Young. Peetie Wheatstraw. Or Sleepy John Estes, man. Or Robert Johnson. Go to medical school like J. Carroll Nash…
Lennon: Johnny Cash, or all the rest of them.
Dylan: I have Johnny Cash in my film. Are you gonna s**t yourself when you see it. You won't believe it.
Lennon: Hey! John's gonna s**t again!
Dylan: He doesn't know. You know what he looks like, right, Johnny Cash? Have you spent much time around him? He moves great. He moves like that. You gotta cut that part of the film, man, 'cos I really like him. He moves like all good people. Like prize fighters. Johnny!
Lennon: Johnny! Big River, Big River!
Pennebaker: That's for Johnny, too!
Dylan: Yeah, he's on film too. He's incredible.
Lennon: Quite a guy, huh?
Dylan: Quite a guy, John. Oh man, you shoulda been around last night, John. Today's a drag.
Lennon: Oh really, Bob?
Dylan: Haha! I wish I could talk English, man.
Lennon: Me too, Bobby.
Dylan: (Pointing to Lennon) He can talk American. (To Tom) Hey, Tom, you've heard me talk in English haven't you? But I can't never do it around John though because (behind back of hand) John's such a great actor, man, that…
Lennon: …you can't believe that it's me.
Dylan: Is this the mighty Thames, still, Tom? [To Lennon] Remember when I played you those tapes? Do you remember what you said to me? I played you a song and you said… what's the name of your song publishing company?
Lennon: Dick James.
Dylan: Naw, naw. Is that the name of it? That wasn't the name I heard.
Lennon: Northern Songs?
Dylan: Right, that was it. I said, What's Northern Songs? And I was never told, man. I had to go and find out.
Lennon: Didn't they tell you?
Dylan: No, man, they didn't tell me. Someone said, You wanna be on Northern Songs and you laughed and Paul McCartney looked the other way and talked to Ringo…
Lennon: …and Mick Jagger…
Dylan: …blew s**t from his nose…
Lennon: …and Rob Roy leapt into the room with a big kilt on and said, Hey, Bobby, have you heard this one?
Dylan: Haha! You haven't lived in Texas, man. I read in the paper that George Harrison spends a lot of time in the States. You've learned a lot from George.
Lennon: Tell me about The Mamas and Papas, Bob. I believe you're backing them bigly.
Dylan: I knew it would get to that. I knew it would get to that. Naw. You're just interested in the big chick, right? She's got hold of you too. She's got a hold of everybody I know. Everybody asks me the same thing. You're terrible, man.
Lennon: Do you know Ralph Donner? He's another great one.
Dylan: No, I only know the lesser known ones.
Lennon: Barry McGuire's a great war hero.
Dylan: Barry McGuire? He's a good friend of yours, John, I understand.
Lennon: He met me through you, Bob, remember that. He's a great buddy, Sergeant Barry.
Dylan: Ha ha! Tell me about The Silkies.
Lennon: Naw. We've missed all the good 'uns.
Dylan: Tell me about this pain in my side.
Lennon: Why don't you take something?
Dylan: I've taken a few milligrams of Silkie once. Barry McGuire tells me he's a great friend of yours.
Lennon: Well, I hate to say this about Barry, Bobby, but I don't know him at all personally, but I did have a letter from his manager saying he was very close to you, being on the bosom of the current folk-a-rock-a boom.
Dylan: Yes, yes.
Lennon: That's the first thing I did hear about Barry himself.
Dylan: But you've never really exchanged correspondence… You never did, as one of your friends would wish you, you never did meet the chap. Ha ha!
Transcript: Reel Two
Dylan: I wanna go back home. I wanna go back home, man, see a baseball game, all-night TV. I come from a land of paradise, man.
Lennon: Sounds great.
Dylan: Well, I could make it sound so great that you wouldn't have the capacity to speak. Hey, I'm very sick, man. I'll be glad when this is over, 'cause I'm getting very sick here.
Lennon: With the tremors?
Dylan: Are you getting sick here? Is it pouring yet? Hey, that's a good shot, but why don't you bring it back in 'cause it's cold. Aw! How far are we from the hotel, Tom?
Tom: Five minutes.
Dylan: Oh, wow.
Lennon: Permission to land, Tom.
Dylan: Oh God, I don't wanna get sick here. What if I vomit into the camera? I've done just about everything else into that camera, man, I might just vomit into it.
Pennebaker: It'd make a nice ending, wouldn't it? Cooking With Dylan we'll call it.
Dylan: But I never throw up. So tell me John, how long have you had a partnership with Macy's?
Lennon: The Macy Brothers themselves, we've had a partnership of 13, 14 years I guess.
Dylan: And you're a new cat, a new youngster, from Canada, right?
Lennon: Canada, yes, rootin' tootin' Quebec, you know.
Dylan: Aw, I'm very sick. How far are we out of town?
Tom: About 10 minutes.
Dylan: Awww!
Tom: Do you want to head back?
Dylan: Yeah! Hurry!
Bobby Neuwirth: In approximately 15 seconds from now BBC2 going on the air, in approximately 15 seconds from now, an interview with Mr Dylan… Mr Dylan, you must remember me from the Jamaicas, I went to school with Bobby Babwebba Babbabably Bawebbly…
Dylan: Aw, don't do it to me, man.
Bobby Neuwirth: All the soul brothers from the BBC will be there. The BBC good guys are at the airport. The BBC bad guys are waiting downtown for you when you get there.
Lennon: Do you suffer from sore eyes, groovy forehead, or curly hair? Take Zoomdon!
Dylan: Aw, no, man.
Lennon: Come, come, boy, it's only a film. Come, come, pull yourself together. Another few dollars, eh? That'll get your head up. Come on, come on, money, money!
Dylan: Haha! Huh! Where are you, Tom?
Bobby Neuwirth: We're in Sherwood forest, Rob. Friar Tuck.
Dylan: (Pleading, about to vomit into camera) Please go back to the hotel.
Tom: I'm on the way back now.
Bobby Neuwirth: What's the altitude in here?
Tom: Two thousand feet.
Eat The Document
Eat The Document was DA Pennebaker's documentary of Dylan's 1966 UK tour, funded by ABC. ABC rejected the rough cut and the film was shelved. It was screened at the New York Academy of Music on 8 February 1971 and again in 1998, but has rarely been seen publicly since. An alternative edit titled You Know Something Is Happening was made by Pennebaker for private use but also remains unreleased. Footage from the journey has long circulated among bootleg collectors. Pennebaker had previously made Don't Look Back (1967), his celebrated documentary of Dylan's 1965 UK acoustic tour.
Key Facts: 27 May 1966
- Event: John Lennon and Bob Dylan filmed in limousine for Eat The Document
- Route: Kenwood, Weybridge → May Fair Hotel, Stratton Street, London
- Director: DA Pennebaker
- Sound: Bobby Neuwirth
- Driver: Tom Keylock
- Film reels: Two (approx. 10 minutes each)
- Film status: Shelved; screened 8 February 1971 and 1998
- Also that evening: Dylan, McCartney, Neil Aspinall, and The Rolling Stones at Dolly's nightclub, Jermyn Street
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Eat The Document?
A documentary of Bob Dylan's 1966 UK tour, directed by DA Pennebaker and funded by ABC. The network rejected the rough cut and the film was shelved. It has been screened publicly only twice — in 1971 and 1998.
When did The Beatles first meet Bob Dylan?
August 1964, in New York during The Beatles' first American tour. Dylan introduced The Beatles to cannabis; The Beatles introduced Dylan to a mass pop audience.
What were Lennon and Dylan talking about in the limousine?
In reel one they discussed Johnny Cash, the Mamas and the Papas, Barry McGuire, The Silkie, and Northern Songs. In reel two Dylan was increasingly unwell and focused on getting back to his hotel.
Who was Tom Keylock?
The driver of the limousine. Keylock was a well-known figure in the British rock world of the 1960s, serving as driver and fixer for The Rolling Stones and other artists.
What happened after the limousine journey?
Pennebaker and Lennon helped Dylan to his hotel room. That evening Dylan, McCartney, Neil Aspinall, and The Rolling Stones visited Dolly's nightclub on Jermyn Street, London.
→ Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr fly to London from the Virgin Islands – 27 May 1964
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