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LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, Paul, Ringo, Yoko, Olivia, next on LARRY KING
LIVE. What a night! We're at The Mirage Hotel. We're in The Revolutionary -- The Revolution Lounge, an incredible, even
historic night for LARRY KING LIVE, as we meet the Beatles -- the two living Beatles and the widows of the two who departed.
It's the one year anniversary of The Beatles Love, this unprecedented Cirque du Soleil production embracing the musical legacy
and spirit and passion of The Beatles. We begin with Yoko Ono Lennon, the artist and activist, the widow of the former Beatle,
John Lennon, who was killed on December 8, 1980. My God, 27 years already. John Lennon's solo song book is the centerpiece
for the benefit album "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign To Save Darfur." The proceeds go to support Amnesty
International. And there you see its cover. And Olivia Harrison, the widow of the former Beatle, George Harrison, who succumbed
to cancer on November 29, 2001. She's executive producer of the reissue of the Traveling Wilburys collection. That debuted
number nine on the Billboard 200 list. The Traveling Wilburys group was made up of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison,
Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.
What's this night like for you, Yoko?
YOKO ONO LENNON, JOHN LENNON'S WIDOW: Well, it's
very emotional, actually. And I was thinking that after a year or so that the show might just go down a little. But, no. It's
much, much more exciting now. I was so surprised that they made it into such an incredibly exciting show now.
KING:
This was -- was this your baby, Olivia?
OLIVIA HARRISON, GEORGE HARRISON'S WIDOW: Actually, it was George's vision.
George and Guy Laliberte had a friendship and they had this creative spark of a moment and, you know, George was around just
long enough to transmit that to all of us. And through everyone's effort it came through. I think it's been seven years --
seven years.
KING: What do you think George would have thought of it?
HARRISON: I think he would have loved
it. I just know he would have. I know that he -- he loved Cirque. You know, Cirque is a very romantic thing. He was a very
romantic person. And I know he would have enjoyed it.
KING: What would John have thought, Yoko?
ONO: Well, I
think that, now, in the beginning I was a little bit worried about what John would have thought. And now I really know that
John would be very happy with this, yes.
KING: Do you feel their presence?
You never remarried, right?
ONO:
Well, we were talking about that. Yes, we feel so strongly about our husbands that sometimes it's hard for us, isn't it?
HARRISON:
It is hard, you know. I mean their presence is very powerful and very strong. But the incredible thing about them is that
they -- everything they left the world and left us is uplifting and joyful.
ONO: That's true.
HARRISON: There
wasn't anything that they left that was negative or, you know -- ideas that made you think and love and great melodies. So
that's pretty unique.
KING: Earlier today, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko and Olivia had a ceremony honoring John
and George, and we wanted to share some of the sights and sounds of that event. It happened about an hour-and-a-half ago.
Watch.
[video clip from earlier that day plays]
HARRISON:
I don't think George would be surprised at the success of this collaboration. He knew it was going to be good in so many ways
and I'm just thankful to be a part of it.
Happy anniversary.
KING: Do you feel, Yoko, that The Beatles have kind
of surrounded you, that you're forever identified as a Beatle?
ONO: Well, it's a family. It's a family. The Beatle family is a very,
very strong family and we were part of it, I feel, yes.
KING: Even though there were breakups and ups and downs?
ONO:
Well, most families do have some breakups and arguments, don't you think?
KING: Yes. Olivia, how do you handle this?
They see you, they think Beatle.
HARRISON: Yes, well, I mean, it's a real privilege, isn't it, you know, I mean to
be involved, you know, with such a great legacy. It's a real privilege.
KING: So you don't look at it in any way as
it -- there's a down to it?
HARRISON: No, I don't. There isn't any -- any down side to it. And, you know, they've been
a great support. They're great friends. Our kids are all friends. It really is an extended family.
KING: When
we come back, more talk with Yoko and Olivia, who loved and lost John and George.
[back from commerical break]
KING: One of the
great songs of all time. Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison remain with us. We're joined now by the genius, Guy Laliberte.
He is the founder of Cirque du Soleil. What does that song mean to you, Olivia, by the way?
HARRISON: Well, it's just an expression of love really, isn't it?
KING:
It's one of the great love songs.
HARRISON: It is. Yes, it is.
KING: Beautiful melody and lyrics. Did every
one of The Beatles like that song, Yoko?
ONO: Oh, yes, definitely, especially John loved it. And he was saying that
that has to be a single.
KING: It worked out, too?
ONO: Yes. Yes.
HARRISON: Really?
KING: You
didn't know that?
HARRISON: No, I didn't know that.
ONO: Oh, really? I can't believe it.
HARRISON:
No.
ONO: He's the one who told Allan that, you know, it has to be a single.
KING: All right, Guy, how did this
all come together?
GUY LALIBERTE, CIRQUE DU SOLEIL FOUNDER: Oh, my God. Actually, through a special night in Montreal
in the month of June 2000. George and I share, I guess, some -- a lot of things, one in common. We are passionate of racing.
So for many years, we -- we met each other at racing tracks, Formula One. But one year he came into Montreal and we organized
a party there. And I play golf, so I invite all my businesspeople, friends, on a special night, on a Sunday night. And it
goes on all night. And George was invited by our common friend that we had. And he arrived in the place we were in and it
was my magical garden. And he was supposed to come only for 30 minutes, say hello, pay a polite visit to us. And, in the end,
he stayed with us all night. He jammed with the musicians there.
KING: And did he come up with this idea?
LALIBERTE:
Well, actually when he left, he said -- he said, "I would like to talk to you again." And I said, "Listen, I just want to
be very careful about not engaging too much conversation. Then we had a conversation over the phone. And he said, "Listen,
I really enjoyed it. And that feeling I had at your place made me -- it reminds me of my own magical garden, which was your
house."
KING: Did the process begin there...
LALIBERTE: Yes.
KING: ... And was it underway when George
passed away?
LALIBERTE: Yes, totally. Totally. You know, there was two moments -- first, when he came to visit my house
and then he invited me to visit his house. And he showed me, remember that day?
HARRISON: Um-hmm.
LALIBERTE:
I spent an entire day visiting. He showed me all his property. And there, what happened, basically, is we dreamed together.
It was not about having a precise vision of the show. It was about defining an emotion that we were looking to -- to maybe
achieve in the encounter of Cirque du Soleil and The Beatles. And this what has been the driving force since the beginning.
KING:
Yoko, you had to sign off on this, didn't you?
ONO: Yes, of course. But I was nervous first and then I thought, well,
it's a good idea anyway, so.
KING: Did you have any questions?
ONO: Well, you know, the thing...
KING:
He says yes.
ONO: Well, yes. OK. Well, I was a little bit
LALIBERTE: enjoyed it. Yoko was bringing us, you
know, it was so important for us to have the collaboration and the input of everybody...
ONO: Sure.
LALIBERTE:
... Because for us, it was the dream of George was to -- to at least, once again, having that creative force working together
and contribute to a creative project, at least one more time before And this is what really happened.
ONO: And I just
have to protect John, as well, of course, you know. So, John's songs are very important for me and -- and I just have to say
a few things.
KING: What was it like, Olivia, the first time you saw it done?
HARRISON: Oh, well, I think the
first time we went to rehearsals in Montreal we were stunned. I mean that would have done it for us at that time. But, you
know, being part of the brainstorming and -- and visiting and seeing the costumes and then we were in the studio together
with George and Giles Martin. The whole creative process was just so uplifting and energetic and such a great exchange.
KING:
Were they easy to work with, Guy? The truth.
LALIBERTE: The truth -- the truth is -- is creatively, yes, because,
you know, everybody there had the history, their heart put in it, the will to make it a success. But there was a lot of nervosity
and emotion, especially coming from Yoko and Olivia.
KING: Well, let me tell you the audience, it pays off. If you're
in Vegas you must see Love. I mean it's incredible. You're all going to see it again tonight after the show.
[after the commerical break, Paul and Ringo joined Larry
King Live; after their segment, Yoko, Olivia, and Guy returned to join Paul and Ringo with Larry King]
KING:
You know, this is historic. They are all together. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison and Guy Laliberte,
the founder of Cirque du Soleil. A couple of questions as we swing around for each. Is it hard, Olivia, to look at George?
HARRISON: Well, it's, you know, the nature of duality. It's great to look at him, and, of course, it's, you know,
it's very emotional, too.
KING: So it's -- mixed emotions?
HARRISON: Yes, I was trying to avoid that word
bittersweet, you know, but it is like that.
KING: Yoko, what's it like to look at John?
ONO: Well, ditto.
I mean, it's just -- it's very difficult sometimes. I feel that I got used to sort of just watch these movies and all that,
but when I saw the stage, at one point suddenly I just got choked up. I don't know why.
KING: Do you get nervous about
every performance, Guy?
LALIBERTE: No.
KING: You've got, what, how many Cirque du Soleils going now?
LALIBERTE:
I have 13, over 1,000 artist.
KING: I mean, like you sit up at night and think, oh, he's going to fall?
LALIBERTE:
We know where things are risky more than in other place, and of course there's always a little moment of tension, but I have
great confidence in people working for me.
KING: Ringo, do you have to play drums a lot? Do you have to keep in shape?
STARR: No.
MCCARTNEY: In a word.
STARR: I've never been able to, like, sit around on my own and play
drums. You know, like practice in the bathroom. Never been able to. I've always played with other musicians.
ONO:
That's unique, isn't it?
STARR: That's how I play. There's no joy for me just to be on my own, bashing away. I need
a bass player, piano, guitar, whatever, and now I can play.
KING: And when you're drumming...
STARR: That's
right.
KING: ... do you know how good they are singing?
STARR: Well, I play with the singer. If you listen
to the Beatles songs, the tracks...
KING: You played for the singer?
STARR: I played for the singer, because
if he's singing, there's no good in me boogeying all over the kit, you know what I mean? So it's just stay out, hold the time.
If it needs to be raised, you raise it, bring it down. You know, and in the band we're talking about, we had a lot of good
singing.
KING: What made the Beatles, Paul, musically special? What did they do that people weren't doing?
MCCARTNEY:
That's a good question. I don't really think I know. We were just very good. I think individually, we were kind of talented
people, but when we came together, something special happened. When I started writing with John, it was sort of a magical
thing that grew. We developed. Not everyone developed quite as much as we did.
KING: You can't plan that, though,
can you?
MCCARTNEY: No, not really. We were also very sure of ourselves. I wouldn't call it conceited, but we just
knew we were good, and we knew we were going to do very well. We didn't know how it was going to happen, but we knew -- people
would say to me at the time, do you think your stuff is going to be standards, you know, like Sinatra stuff? And I would go
yes, and they would say, ah. And I would say, no, it's true. You just felt it.
KING: Guy, is it -- was it difficult
to stage to that music?
LALIBERTE: Listen, the pressure is enormous.
KING: I bet.
LALIBERTE: We were
just a bunch of little of kids from Quebec, Montreal, you know, achieving...
KING: With a bunch of little kids from
England.
LALIBERTE: Well, exactly, and I think this is where...
HARRISON: From Liverpool.
LALIBERTE:
... we -- this is where we connect, because at the end, we share the same values. We believe in a better world, and we are
love carriers. And they did that with their songs and music; we're doing that with our show, and this is where we connect.
MCCARTNEY: That's the big key to it all. The show is called "Love." I think one of the things that we're probably
proudest of -- I certainly am -- is that the message was always love, in any form we portrayed it. And that's something to
be really proud of.
KING: Did George miss the group?
HARRISON: Yes, I think he did, you know. All of them
had their own time apart, but, yes, I think he did. I think he always liked to have -- he used to say to me sometimes, you
know, I wish you played the saxophone, or, you know, or I wish you were a drummer.
KING: Did John miss it?
ONO:
Well, you know, I must say that the first time I met them, so to speak, I was really surprised that they had a sense of humor.
And that was a big thing, because, you know, all the composers that I used to meet, meet up or do things together, they were
very serious people. Composers were serious.
KING: These guys weren't.
ONO: And these guys were hey, you know.
There was a fun element.
KING: We're running close on time, because we have a big finale coming up here. Oh, we have
got a production -- a production finale. We're all going to go out, we're going to be next to the theater, the show is going
to begin. By the way, we had a quick vote on our Web site, CNN.com/larryking. We asked you to pick your favorite Beatles album.
What won?
MCCARTNEY: What won?
KING: "Abbey Road" won, followed by "Sergeant Pepper," and "The White Album"
came in third. The whole crew and I are heading for the theater. Don't go away.
[commerical break]
KING: All right. Well, we're
back stage. The whole crew is here. Right? Cirque du Soleil and the Beatles love show. And what we're going to do now
is -- oh, my gosh. It's almost showtime. We're going to walk into the theater. I'll -- I'll sort of lead the way. And is that
it? We'll all go in together. Come. Come on. Join in. OK. Folks. What can I tell you? Cirque du Soleil and the Beatles have
combined on love. The show is a year old tonight. We're in this fantastic theater, where this audience is about to see this
incredible show. Hope you'll all enjoy it, too. My little boys are here. The wife, the (inaudible), the gathering of friends.
McCartney, Ringo, the whole crew. Everybody here. What a night.
And now it's showtime in Las Vegas.
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