1995 Interview

Page 9: Scott McKenzie

JOHNSON: That helps. We have a clip of you performing on The Beat Club.

McKENZIE: Yeah. [Laughs] One of my many live performances. [Laughs]

JOHNSON: Have you seen that recently?

McKENZIE: I’ve never seen it.

JOHNSON: We’ll have to show it to you.

McKENZIE: I swear.

PHILLIPS: Which?

JOHNSON: His Beat Club performance.

McKENZIE: They did some kind of - I remembered doing it, believe it or not. I was sitting down, right?

JOHNSON: Right. On the steps.

McKENZIE: I couldn’t stand up. It was in Germany. I remember that. I couldn’t - I was so loaded. They took me and they sat me down on the stage and I lip synched it. It was very embarrassing. I wasn’t in very good shape.

PHILLIPS: We were at the George V Hotel in France, in Paris, and there were five thousand kids outside going, "Scott McKenzie! Scott McKenzie!" And pelting the hotel with flowers and things like that. So I said, "Scott, I have this great idea. Put on a white robe and we’ll walk to Rome. By the time we get there we’ll have thousands and thousands of people following us." And I couldn’t find him, and finally I opened a closet door and there was Scott, huddled - "I’ll never forgive you for this. I’ll never forgive you for this." He was really thrilled about being a star.

JOHNSON: It didn’t work for you, huh?

McKENZIE: No. [Laughs]

PHILLIPS: [Laughs]

McKENZIE: No, it didn’t.

PHILLIPS: Now we tour Germany and they run the bus off the road to get his autograph. And they say, "I would never know you’re the real Scott McKenzie."

McKENZIE: That’s true.