The Beatles’ Travels in Greece and the Dream of an Island Utopia

In the summertime of 1967, the Beatles agreed to bargain a radical of islands successful Greece wherever they intended to unrecorded and enactment with household and friends. Credit: Iberia Airlines/CC BY 2.0

Almost 60 years ago, the Beatles travelled to Greece with the purpose of buying an island. 

By Jonathan Knott

In July 1967, the Beatles were ascending caller heights of fame and originative capacity. They had precocious released the groundbreaking medium Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to wide acclaim and had go figureheads for the hippie question that was past reaching its zenith with the Summer of Love.

But the radical were besides feeling restless. Frustrated with the constraints of unrecorded touring and their manufactured nationalist personas, they were exploring caller horizons – not infrequently nether the power of LSD. Among the assorted outlandish ideas they came up with astatine this clip was to buy a Greek island wherever they could “drop out” (in George Harrison’s words), instrumentality drugs, and marque euphony distant from the nationalist gaze.

The Beatles’ obscure imagination of owning an land successful Greece

As it turned out, this imaginativeness was not simply an idle dream. It came amazingly adjacent to being realized. The Beatles did so – unneurotic with their partners and a fewer adjacent members of their interior ellipse – sojourn Greece that summertime with the purpose of acquiring an island. They identified 1 they wanted and began to wide the assorted authoritative hurdles to buying it. Due to fiscal rules astatine the time, this included obtaining support from the British authorities and purchasing a peculiar spot currency. A fewer months later, however, the radical abandoned the plans.

No 1 disputes the basal outline of these events. They’re discussed successful a fig of books astir the Beatles, and determination are assorted photos and video clips astir showing glimpses of the radical successful Greece. However, galore details astir what happened, specified arsenic wherever precisely the radical went, oregon which land they wanted, stay obscure. I’ve been fascinated by assorted puzzling aspects of this communicative ever since I archetypal heard much than 10 years ago. In my Substack newsletter, Follow the Sun, I’ve been sharing what I’ve been capable to observe astir it.

Last year, I came crossed immoderate articles from July 1967 successful the Greek paper To Vima, containing regular reports astir the group’s movements. Together, these suggest a elaborate and plausible way for the group’s cruise successful Greece, including a fig of circumstantial locations, which I’ve ne'er antecedently seen discussed.

Arrival successful Athens

According to these reports, the archetypal of the radical to get successful Greece were George Harrison and Ringo Starr. On July 21st, the paper reported that the brace had been spotted successful Athens the erstwhile day, noting the former’s outfit of orangish trousers, a flowery shirt, and a striking bluish jacket. The adjacent day, different nonfiction says the 2 Beatles travelled successful a Mercedes to Vouliagmeni formation connected the outskirts of the city, wherever for astir 3 hours “they swam, ate effect and sunbathed.”

On July 23rd, To Vima’s sum of the Beatles became much prominent, with an exclusive nonfiction connected leafage 4 headlined “In the Beatles’ bolthole.” The nonfiction reports that John Lennon and Paul McCartney had arrived successful Athens the erstwhile afternoon. The erstwhile is described arsenic wearing “smart glasses, a garment decorated with reddish and yellowish flowers, and corduroy trousers,” and the second a agelong ‘Nehru’ jacket. The 2 were greeted astatine the airdrome by a young blond antheral with a moustache and dressed successful “super-modern attire.” This surely refers to Alexis Mardas, the Beatles’ Greek person who had helped to put their travel and whose household was hosting the radical successful Athens.

The nonfiction besides features comments from Ringo and George relaxing astatine an “elegant villa” – presumably belonging to the Mardas family, which To Vima had located successful an Athenian suburb (named successful a aboriginal nonfiction arsenic Papagou) pursuing a five-hour search. The 2 Beatles were spending carefree hours “lying comfortably successful the coolness of the veranda, among the flowers of the villa’s garde.” According to the article, they told the newspaper: “It is existent that we are reasoning of buying a crippled of onshore connected an land and gathering villas. But we person not reached a last determination yet.”

This nonfiction is bylined “L. Tsirigotakis,” presumably referring to Labis Tsirigotakis, who was astatine that clip a newsman for To Vima, and who would aboriginal go a well-known London-based analogous for Greece’s authorities broadcaster ERT. Two days later, the paper published different nonfiction by Tsirigotakis connected a time travel northbound of Athens by the Beatles and their companions connected Sunday, July 23rd.

The study says that the group’s enactment archetypal visited the upland colony of Arachova, wherever they danced connected a rooftop with section people, accompanied by an ensemble of accepted Greek instruments. After being fixed an array of gifts, successful the aboriginal evening, the radical visited the adjacent formation astatine Itea earlier aboriginal heading to Delphi, the past ineffable tract with an amphitheater. They had been owed to spot a play there, but the “exhausted” radical scrapped these plans and returned to their Athens base.

The Beatles cruise the Greek islands

After their enactment successful Athens, the radical began their cruise astir islands. This was besides reported connected by To Vima. While a fig of articles and books screen the Beatles’ time travel connected July 23rd, To Vima’s reports are the lone root I’m alert of that supply details of the way of the cruise itself. Most of these articles are bylined either “L. Tsirigotakis” oregon “L.T.,” suggesting that Labis Tsirigotakis was again astir apt the author. They bespeak that the radical took a way northbound up the Evian Gulf earlier aboriginal heading to the Sporades islands and backmost to Athens.

According to To Vima, the Beatles embarked connected their cruise connected Monday, July 24th without Ringo Starr, who was returning to London to beryllium with his large wife. By July 26th, the radical and their companions had reportedly reached the bluish extremity of the Evian Gulf, an country affluent with thermal mineral springs. The paper says the radical bathed astatine Kamena Vourla connected the mainland, and ate astatine “a secluded place” connected the different broadside of the gulf astatine Edipsos connected Evia.

The nonfiction does not archer america whether the Beatles besides took immoderate clip to bathe successful the steaming springs astatine Edipsos, wherever the sulphurous h2o colors the rocks yellow. If they did, they would person been joining a agelong enactment of distinguished travellers since past times from Roman Emperors to Winston Churchill and Greta Garbo.

Edipsos connected Evia. Courtesy: Jonathan Knott

The Beatles’ imaginable cruise way successful 1967

What we are told is that connected Thursday, July 27th, the radical visited the pine-covered land of Skiathos conscionable northbound of Evia. The country is blessed with an array of picturesque beaches. But this halt did not spell to plan, arsenic the radical recovered themselves incapable to support their anonymity. They archetypal visited the island’s jewel – the agelong curve of aureate soil astatine Koukounaries.

But nary sooner had they stepped disconnected their hired yacht, the Beatles were recognized, and onlookers soon began to clap and cheer “in the acquainted hysterical way.” Thus, Alexis Mardas drove them to an isolated beach, wherever they played successful the soil and swam earlier going backmost to the vessel to eat. Despite this setback, the paper says that Skiathos peculiarly appealed to John Lennon and his wife, Cynthia. They planned to instrumentality the pursuing year.

Koukounaries formation connected Skiathos. Credit: Marko Verch / CC BY 2.0

The pursuing day, To Vima says the Beatles visited different islands adjacent Skiathos and “passed adjacent to the land that was projected to them to buy.” They stopped astatine each the main islands successful the Sporades group, spending hours connected some Alonissos, wherever they ate lunch, and Skyros, wherever they went for walks passim the full land and bought souvenirs and presents. They besides visited Skopelos, which they “enjoyed…a lot.”

The yacht that the Beatles were travelling connected arrived backmost successful Athens’ Tourkolimano (today called Mikrolimano) harbor successful the day of Saturday, July 29th, according to the newspaper, with the Beatles owed to alert backmost to London connected July 30th oregon 31st. We are told successful different accounts that astir of the enactment returned connected the latter.

Which land did the Beatles want?

Knowing the evident way of the Beatles’ cruise gives america immoderate clues astir which island, oregon islands, the radical whitethorn person been funny in. In fact, the travel arsenic reported by To Vima could easy person included 3 abstracted islands that tin beryllium plausibly connected to the group.

The Greek land astir often linked to the Beatles is Agia Triada (Holy Trinity), which sits successful the Evian Gulf adjacent to the municipality of Eretria connected Evia. It is not mentioned successful immoderate of To Vima’s reports, but would person been an casual stop-off connected the way northbound up the Evian Gulf towards Kamena Vourla and Edipsos. A subordinate of the household that owns the land told maine that the Beatles did so sojourn Agia Triada successful the mid-sixties, but portion they whitethorn person been interested, it was not for sale.

Another plausible campaigner for the group’s involvement is Tsougria, a small, greenish land adjacent to Skiathos. Tsougria is mentioned successful a study connected the Beatles’ travel successful a antithetic Greek paper (Makedonia) with Paul McCartney reportedly stating that portion the radical “wanted to buy” the islet, “they are nary longer selling it to us.”

It besides seems apt that Tsougria was the land adjacent Skiathos “proposed to [the group] to buy” mentioned by To Vima. But the Makedonia nonfiction is wide that the land would not beryllium sold. We are told this was due to the fact that the Greek Ministry of Agriculture stepped successful to forestall this from happening.

Hence, if the Beatles were so funny successful either Agia Triada oregon Tsougria, it seems to person rapidly go wide that neither was available. In addition, neither of these islands lucifer descriptions we person of the 1 the Beatles wanted. A fig of accounts successful books accidental the radical were funny successful an land astir eighty acres large, surrounded by respective smaller islands.

The Lichadonisia islands

The Beatles’ exertion to the British authorities for support to bargain the island, held successful the UK’s National Archives, is broadly successful enactment with these. Though it does not authorities an wide size, it says the land had 3 100 1000 quadrate metres (seventy-four acres) of arable onshore and it besides refers to 5 smaller offshore islands.

Monolia island. Courtesy: Jonathan Knott

While these details bash not intimately lucifer either Agia Triada oregon Tsougria (which are 12 and 290 acres ample respectively), they bash lucifer the Lichadonisia archipelago disconnected the bluish extremity of Evia. The largest land successful this group, Monolia, is astir 85 acres big, and precise adjacent to a fig of smaller islands. Monolia besides has different features mentioned successful immoderate descriptions, specified arsenic respective houses, olive groves, and a mildly curving bay.

What’s more, the 1995 documentary The Beatles Anthology includes images of an land that looks precise akin to Monolia. And having visited the Lichadonisia myself, I tin spot however they mightiness punctual rapturous reactions specified arsenic those provided successful immoderate accounts (the Beatles’ ‘Mr Fixit’ Alistair Taylor described the chosen islands’ determination arsenic “paradise”). While easy accessible from mainland Greece, the archipelago has a distant and other-worldly feel.

Finally, the Lichadonisia are adjacent to 2 places that, according to To Vima, the Beatles decidedly went to: Edipsos and Kamena Vourla. They are a fifteen-minute vessel travel from the latter.

The Lichadonisia islands. Credit: Public domain

Plans autumn through

The timing of the negotiations implicit the merchantability is different important factor. The archive correspondence indicates that the Beatles’ archetypal exertion for support was not made until July 25th, erstwhile the Beatles were already successful Greece, and officials were not informed that the plans had fallen done until the extremity of October 1967. A enactment connected October 30th from a Bank of England authoritative says that portion negotiations did proceed, the radical was “advised of definite ineligible difficulties and of further sums required” and truthful decided “not to spell up with the purchase.”

It is surely plausible that the Beatles were astatine 1 constituent funny successful either Agia Triada oregon Tsougria, oregon both. But if so, these prospects were seemingly quashed portion the radical were inactive successful Greece. Where was the spot, then, that was seemingly the taxable of important consequent negotiations? In my opinion, the grounds points towards the Lichadonisia.

Jonathan Knott is simply a writer and question writer based successful London. He writes the Substack newsletter Follow the Sun, astir the Beatles’ Greek land plans and their humanities context.