Conversation on the set of Let It Be

10 January 1969
Cameraman: Roll 109A, slate 201A.
[…]

Glyn Johns: To change the subject, you know you were talking about this phasing device that Alexis has built for guitars, have you actually tried it out?

George Harrison: He hasn’t … you see, the thing is, when he … he just comes across things, you know, as he’s designing, so he just designs it and then he says ‘Oh yeah, I’ve done this.’ But he hasn’t actually made it, because he’s busy building recording studios.

Michael Lindsay-Hogg: Where did you get Alexis from?

George: He just came to England.

Glyn: He worked for Pye Co. Television…

George: No, he was in England, and he was in the museum looking at the Greek things in a museum in England, and he met John Dunbar, or John Dunbar met him, and was talking to him. And then asked him if he’d … ‘cause Alex was only supposed to be here for a few days, they asked him if he’d stay and build a light machine for the Stones’ tour.

Michael: Yeah.

George: So he stayed, and did that, and then he stayed with Dunbar. Oh, then he met John, and then he met us. And he’s been there ever since.

Michael: Is that device he’s going to put on records going to work?

George: Yep.

Michael: Where you can’t tape it? Great idea.

Ringo: If it gets put on.

Michael: But surely, I mean, it’s in the interests of all the people who put out records to have it on.

Ringo: Yeah, but it’s…

Michael: Not in the interest of people who make tape machines.

Ringo: I mean, I, I think it should be on, but John thought it was ‘bad Beatles’. Stopping all the kids taping it.

George: Yeah, but the thing is the Beatles now, in America they have, you know, those cassette tapes. Well that means that uh, it’s easy. Somebody just gets, buys one, even. And then rolls off their own few million and sell it. And there’s, you know, everybody loses out on that, because people who bought it, and yet some cunt’s made all the money, for doing fuck all except thieving it.

Ringo: Did you hear it about, you know, the signal that they’re putting on, you could put adverts on it.

Michael: Yes, well the one Neil talked about is ‘this is Apple Records’.

George: Messages or talking anything, you know, like…

Michael: Yes, ‘please … please come home, all is forgiven’. It’s a great idea, I think. Because basically, if you’re rich enough to have a tape recorder, you’re rich enough to buy a record, really.