Fact #52382

However much The Beatles were adored by the great mass of the British people, nothing threw the chasm that still existed between the classes into stark relief as sharply as the announcement, on 12 June 1965, that the Fab Four were to join the exalted ranks of those favoured by The Queen in her Birthday Honours List with the award of MBEs.

"I learnt about the MBEs shortly beforehand from Brian Epstein who wanted to discuss the PR aspects of it," said Beatles' PR man Tony Barrow some years later. "John Lennon was the least impressed of the four. To him this was on a par with the Fry's Shooting Star Award or whatever. It was just a piece of metal to be picked up, a pop world trophy."

Lennon immediately went public, revealing his ambivalence about the award with a typically sarcastic quip, "I thought you had to drive tanks and win wars to get the MBE." McCartney, on the other hand, smiled obligingly and declared, "I think it's marvellous."

So did the legions of fans, but the backlash set in overnight as outraged RAF squadron leaders, former Canadian MPs and deputy headmasters raced to be the first to hand back their gongs. They were, said the quality broadsheets, 'disgusted' and they felt that 'the whole thing has become debased'. These were the people for whom prime minister Harold Wilson's reforming Labour government, which had put forward these particular MBE's to the Queen, represented the destruction of their way of life as surely as did long hair on boys, mini-skirts on girls and the abolition of public floggings on otherwise dull weekdays.

Intriguingly though, it was their favoured newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, which ran a leader column asking why The Beatles were placed so low in the honours rankings, pointing out that sculptress Dame Barbara Hepworth had been awarded "the second class of the Order of the British Empire; The Beatles are ranked three classes lower. How is the grading calculated? The placing of the four young men seems to depend on the reason for honouring them. Is it economic? If so, they have earned more foreign currency for the nation than many of those more generously honoured for export achievements in recent years, and the MBE would seem a meagre acknowledgement."

The arcane logic used for selecting MBE winners remained a mystery to the general public, but Lennon had a fair idea of why they had been chosen. "I reckon we got it for exports, and the citation should have said that. Look, if someone had got an award for exporting millions of dollars worth of fertiliser or machine tools, everyone would have applauded. So why should they knock us?"

Lennon's logic was impeccable, but it begged another question. If the award was about economic clout, why didn't the architect of The Beatles' international success get one? "Brian was over the moon about the MBEs," pointed out Tony Barrow, "but he was disappointed that he didn't get one himself. His contribution to the national economy should have made him first in line." Well aware of their manager's hurt feelings, George Harrison made a point of telling the press that MBE could also stand for Mr Brian Epstein.

Whatever their reservations, on 26 October 1965, The Beatles were driven to Buckingham Palace where they immediately repaired to the seclusion of the royal loos to soothe their jittery nerves with a calming spliff. According to Lennon, "I took it as a joke. A priori we wanted to laugh. When that happens to you, when you're being decorated, you don't laugh any more. Even so, we were bursting like mad because we'd just been having a joint in the Buckingham Palace toilets. We were so nervous…"

Moments later, they gritted their teeth, pulled themselves together, faced Her Majesty and meekly toed the establishment line. "The whole thing was so funny," said Lennon. "We knew in our hearts that The Queen was just some woman, yet we went through with it."

It wasn't until 25 November 1969, that Lennon finally did what he'd really wanted to do all along. His MBE by this time was occupying pride of place atop the tv set in Aunt Mimi's new home in Bournemouth but, declaring himself outraged by horrific news stories about Biafra and Vietnam, Lennon sent chauffeur Les Anthony to claim it back. "If I knew what John wanted it for," declared Mimi later, "I never would have given it to him."

As soon as it was in his possession again, Lennon sent his MBE back to the Queen, with a note that read, "Your Majesty, I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag."
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Maggie Hands (fan) : On 26 October, 1965, I left the house as normal as if I were going to school. But I actually went with a friend to Buckingham Palace to see The Beatles pick up their MBEs. There were thousands of fans there and all I saw of the band was a Rolls-Royce flashing past.

When I arrived home, I was asked if I'd had a good day at school. 'Yes,' was my reply. My mum then chased me upstairs with the evening paper. When I opened it, there I was, large as life, with my head on top of a policeman's arm in a photograph taken outside the palace. It had been such pandemonium that I hadn't noticed anyone taking a picture.

Tony Bramwell (Beatles' aide) : There was a big party afterwards at the Savile Theatre, and it was obvious that John was dead chuffed with his MBE. It wasn't until about a year later that he learned it had been a totally cynical political ploy by Harold Wilson, to give MBEs to The Beatles and thereby boost his popularity with the young voters. That's when John started to feel he'd been used by the system, and turned against the MBE.

During the whole period up to the MBE's, I don't think Lennon changed much at all. He started out as a rebel and he remained a rebel. In his heart he was still a closet teddy boy. It wasn't until around 1966, when he embraced the whole flower power thing, that he really started to take on a new persona.