Green Apple

Photo of John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Paul’s girlfriend, Maggie McGivern.

The inspiration behind the Beatles’ Apple Corps was this painting by René Magritte. This 1967 photo of John Lennon, Mick Jagger and a woman in Paul’s living room in Cavendish Avenue, is the first time I’ve seen the painting in colour. It confirms that the Apple is green, that the table is somewhat nut coloured and the background is brownish. Something like this:

B/W photo colourised

The photo was taken with Lizzie Bravo‘s camera. Here’s the story from Lizzie: “(I) was outside waiting for John, as usual. That’s Mick Jagger, and there’s a young lady there too. Terry Doran was there also, and George arrived as Stu (Kendell) was leaving. Terry took the photos of Stuart and the three guys (John, Paul and Mick), but Stu only has one, which he gave me in high definition. His whole story, beautifully told to me in detail several times, is in my book.”

Lizzie Bravo’s book has yet to be published.

Here’s the only photo I had previously seen:

Martha, Paul and the painting

Paul still owns the painting. Here’s the accompanying photo of Paul from the same occasion in 1967:

Put them together and you get the full scene. Note the abandoned first design of the Sgt. Pepper drum skin on Paul’s wall, John kept the one they actually used:

Composite