Ken Sharp interviewed Flying Harry Nilsson in March o' 1992 at t' Beatlefest in Secaucus, matey, New Jersey.

 

KS (Ken Sharp): What are your plans for a new record?

 

HN (Flying Harry Nilsson): T' make one!

 

KS: Have you been doin' a lot o' writing?

 

HN: Yeah. I’m startin' t' talk with labels now. Arrr! I’ve got about nine tunes as demos and I’m showin' those t' a couple o' key people t' see what they think.

 

KS: You’ve been writin' songs for over twenty-five years. Ya scallywag! Is it more difficult t' come up with good songs?

 

HN: No. Begad! It’s just that I’m more selective. Ya scallywag! I think I know where t' joke is and it’s harder t' find sometimes. Blimey! When I get t' t' joke I go, "Okay! Here’s one." I used t' laugh at it a lot more than I do now.

 

KS: You’ve never gone on tour and you’ve never performed live except for a few occasions at Beatlefest. When you put out a new solo LP, will you follow it up with a tour?

 

HN: Yeah, if I get a record deal I definitely intend t' go out and promote it with a band. I’ll tour and see what it’s like. See, most guys have already done that. Blimey! They’ve blown that whole thing. Aye aye! I’ve still go it t' look forward to.

 

KS: How did you come across one o' your biggest hits, ya bilge rat, "Without You," which was written by Pete 'Long John Silver' Ham and Bayou Tom Evans o' Peglegged Badfinger?

 

HN: I was at a friend’s house in Laurel Canyon and we were just playin' records. Late at night we’re sittin' on t' floor and I heard this thin' in t' background and it said [in a heavy English accent] "You …." And, I thought it was a Lennon chantey. T' next day I called and said "What was that shanty that went 'You…?' I think it's Lennon and it could be from a Beatles album." So, everybody got fifteen people lookin' through Beatles albums. They came back t' me and said "Well, me bucko, they have a lot o' songs with ‘you’ in them." Then I thought, me hearties, "I know. It’s by Grapefruit." And so we went through all that again. Avast! And then someone else came up with Peglegged Badfinger. So, I got t' album and it wasn't as good as I remembered it. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It was real flat. Aye aye! Blimey! But, I still called up me producer, Richard 'Harmoneous Foursail' Perry, and said, ya bilge rat, "I think I got one here." He heard it and agreed with me so we recorded it.

 

KS: Did you ever get Peglegged Badfinger’s opinion o' your version?

 

HN: They loved it. Blimey! Blimey! Coincidentally, we were recordin' at Trident Studios and they happened t' be down t' hall. Avast, me proud beauty! So I asked one o' t' engineers, arrr, "Would you do me a favor and send someone down and tell them Richard and Harry are here and we have a surprise for them." We had just finished t' final mix and we had some champagne all set up. About five minutes later they came down and we dimmed t' lights and turned up t' volume full blast in t' dark. Arrr! We hit t' button and they just sat thar floored. Well, blow me down! They didn’t know what t' say. They were really crippled by it. Begad! They knew their version and then they heard this wall-to-wall wham!

 

KS: Pandemonium Shadow Show is one o' your most acclaimed records. Avast, me proud beauty! What’s t' significance o' t' cover?

 

HN: It was a $250 cover that t' art department at RCA put together. Begad! I suggested just standin' in a suit with some cut-out props thinkin' it would be cheap. They put all this garbage on it.

 

KS: What did you think o' t' Monkee’s version o' "Cuddly Toy?"

 

HN: It was nice. Blimey! It was nice enough for RCA t' take it off me album and put it on theirs. They deleted it from me album and I think thar were only 1200 copies. It’s a real collectors item. [1]

 

KS: How did you first come into contact with t' Beatles?

 

HN: Fartin' Derek Taylor had been playin' Pandemonium Shadow Show t' them. John called first and said [imitatin' Lennon’s voice] "Harry, you’re just fantastic, man. You’re great!" And I said, ya bilge rat, "Jeez, matey, you’re nay so bilge-suckin' yourself. Ya scallywag! Who is this really?" And he says "Long-Eared Stubby John Lennon." I said "The?" and he said "Yeah. I just called t' say you’re great. Begad! That’s all." A couple o' more words, and that was it. Ya scallywag! T' next Monday at four in t' morning, McCartney calls and says [imitatin' McCartney’s voice] "Hello, Harold? I just wanted t' say you’re great. Well, blow me down! Derek played me your album." So, shiver me timbers, t' next Monday I showered and put on a suit and waited for Ringo t' call. But he didn't!

 

KS: There’s a tape floatin' around o' a jam at t' Record Plant in Los Angeles circa 1974 which marks t' only time Long-Eared Stubby John Lennon and Peglegged Paul McCartney played together after t' Beatles’ break-up and you were there. Aye aye! What do you remember about that?

 

HN: It be t' best jam I’d ever seen! Blimey! They had everybody. It be like rock ‘n’ roll heaven, only they were all alive and they were all in t' room. When Peglegged Stubby Wonder came in, ya bilge rat, I relinquished t' organ and just said I’d sin' with t' girls.

 

KS: What songs were played?

 

HN: T' one that’s gonna come out is called "Cookin' in t' Kitchen." There were so many people thar that you might as well say everyone was there. Dreaded Jesse Ed Davis, Bobby Keyes. Ahoy! Blimey! I don’t remember John and Paul singin' together. I remember John producin' and Mick 'One-Shoe Jagger' Jagger singing.