The story behind the John Lennon & Chris Montez brawl of 1963! Burt Kearns delivers another exclusive on PleaseKillMe.com

Our man Burt Kearns has gotten to the bottom of a fifty-five year-old rock ’n’ roll urban legend with an eyewitness account of the brawl between John Lennon and  Chris Montez in March 1963.

That story is Burt's latest exclusive on the literary rock website PleaseKillMe.com.  The story focuses on an incident tduring a British concert tour on which Chris and Tommy Roe headlined with the Beatles as their opening act! It includes testimony from Chris and Tommy, and a cameo from Andrew Loog Oldham, who was a publicist on the tour and went on to produce The Rolling Stones.

The story is culled from Burt's long-in-the-works documentary project, El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: the Chris Montez Stoy, and includes exclusive video!

Click here to read it  (and learn the secret to the opening of The Beatles’ I Saw Her Standing There!)

And click here to buy the 20th anniversary edition of Please Kill Me, the definitive oral history of punk by Legs McNeil and Gilliam McCain, and the inspiration for the website.

Chris Montez & Brian Wilson’s 50-year reunion: A clip from Burt Kearns’ Montez documentary is his latest exclusive on PleaseKillMe.com

A piece of rock ’n' roll history has been revealed this week, as music legends Brian Wilson and Chris Montez talk about their days at Hawthorne High in their first meeting in fifty years!

The story and video come from Burt Kearns, who's been better known for his documentary and television work the past two decades, but who recently has been exhibiting his writing chops on PleaseKillMe.com, his old pal Legs McNeil’s literary and pop culture website (in March, Burt and Jeff Abraham cooked up a much-lauded piece on sixties comedy album star and sexual revolutionary Rusty Warren).

The reunion took place during the filming of El Viaje Musicial de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story, the documentary that has shown up in a “preview form” at film festivals around the country.  The story on PleaseKillMe.com tells the story of the still-in-progress film work, what led to the reunion -- and even includes a cameo from Gary Busey.

Most impressive however, is the reunion film clip.

You can click here to see it on the Please Kill Me site.

(By the way,  'Please Kill Me’ is the name of the punk oral history written by Legs and Gillian McCain, which was recently released in a 20th anniversary edition and has been recognized and awarded as a modern literary classic.

Brian Wilson (second from left) onstage at Hawthorne High

Chris Montez returns to Hawthorne High with a film crew

The more they saw Chris Montez at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago, the more they wanted to call him and say "Let's dance!"

The Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans is winding down tonight-- if "winding down" is the right description for an all-star rock 'n'roll blowout capping a weekend that starred the likes of Ronnie Spector, Earl Slick and two of The Hudson Brothers, among others with longstanding Beatles connections.


As thousands of fans passed through the O'Hare Hyatt Regency Hotel on the most humid day of the summer, the name most talked about as a future Fab Fest fave was that of Chris Montez, featured in a preview of Frozen Pictures's new project, El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story, that opened the Fest on Saturday with a grand screening in the Grand Ballroom and created more buzz this afternoon with a more intimate encore showing followed by a lively Q&A with producer/writer/director Burt Kearns and producer Brett Hudson.


Montez' winning personality, guileless honesty and brilliant talent as a singer and musician were equalled by the surprising story of his experiences headlining over the Beatles on the UK tour that coincided with the release of their first album and the first stirrings of Beatlemania.

Q&A

The duo promised the film will debut at a Fest for Beatles Fans in 2010, and there's already talk of Chris Montez appearing along with it.

Beatles Fan Fest goes wild for Chris Montez

There were cheers, laughs and even gasps as the preview of the new film, El Viaje de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story, was unspooled this afternoon at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago.


Director Burt Kearns and fellow producer Brett Hudson took the stage in the Grand Ballroom of the O'Hare Hyatt Regency Hotel to introduce the work-in-progress about the influential singer and musician who headlined a UK tour in 1963 with the Beatles as his opening act. Co-headliner Tommy Roe was another fan favorite as he and Montez revealed behind-the-scenes nuggets, breaking news and making history with untold stories (hence the gasps) before hundreds of Beatles fans.

Directors Kearns and Hudson introduce the film
(Fellow producer and Director of Photography Joachim Blunck remained in LA)

"This was the audience we were most nervous about," said Kearns after the credits rolled. "They know the history. They know the Beatles story. If we could tell them something new, we were on the right track."

"And we did," added Hudson. "It went over really well."

Hudson and Kearns, who've brought the Frozen Pictures flick The Seventh Python to two past Beatle fan fests, say the final work will encompass all of Montez' career and influence. They hope to bring it to a Beatle fest in the Spring.

Before the 34-minute preview was shown, fans were stunned by the trailer for an upcoming Frozen Pictures production, Apple Pie Heroes, which chronicles a reunion of The Hudson Brothers.

The Fest for Beatles Fans hosts a second screening of both works tomorrow at 1:30, followed by a Q&A with our pals from Frozen Pictures.

"Surprises" promised as Chris Montez movie gets Saturday morning preview at Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans

Our pals at Frozen Pictures tell us they've just left the F&F Digital Post facilities in Los Angeles with copies of their special Beatlecentric preview of their new nonfiction film project, El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story.

Next stop is Chicago for special screenings of the half-hour teaser of a musical documentary about the Mexican-American rock and pop legend. The film is the first in-depth look at Montez's career, which has spanned almost fifty years, developing alongside artists like Ritchie Valens, The Beach Boys, Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Beatles and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, with an influence that extends from punk rock to roots rock to lounge and easy listening.

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The big screening will take place at 11 am Saturday morning in the Grand Ballroom of the Chicago's O'Hare Hyatt Regency Hotel, as the "Early Bird Special" before doors open for the latest Fest for Beatles Fans. Screenings of Frozen Pictures' Neil Innes film, The Seventh Python, drew upwards of a thousand people and standing ovation at past Beatlefests. The film will also be screened Sunday afternoon, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers.


"We've got all kinds of surprises in store," says director Burt Kearns, who produced the film along with Brett Hudson. "Beatles fans will be arguing on the way out the door-- and they'll have a lot more to look forward to."

The Chris Montez project, described by Hudson as "an only-in-American tale," was produced by Hudson, Kearns and Joachim Blunck, who's also Director of Photography. Filming continues after the crew returns from Chicago, where they're also showing The Seventh Python Friday night at the nearby Comedy Shrine club.

Chris Montez movie-in-the-making gets a sneak preview August 15th at the Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans

Lucky participants at the Chicago Fest for Beatles Fans are about to become a very select film audience on the morning of Saturday, August 15th, when they get the first sneak preview of El Viaje Musical de Ezekiel Montanez: The Chris Montez Story.

And of course, it's a got a Beatles twist.

Tommy Roe and Chris Montez, who headlined a UK tour in 1963.
The Beatles were their opening act.

We've been hearing about the Chris Montez film bio project since last summer, when it was announced by our pals at Frozen Pictures. While the guys have spent the past twelve months running their Neil Innes biopic, The Seventh Python, through film festivals and special screenings around the country and the world, they've also been shooting the definitive work about the influential and diverse rock and pop musician who went to school with the Beach Boys, launched the lounge movement, and is hailed as the successor to the first Mexican-American rock star, Ritchie Valens.

Chris Montez at the site of the Wilson brothers' childhood home
(a California Registered Historical Landmark),
where he'd jam with the future Beach Boys

We caught up with them earlier this month at the Grammy Museum, where Chris was participating in a tribute to Ritchie Valens, and their crew has been filming around Chris' hometown, Hawthorne, California.

In March 1963, Chris headlined a tour of England with Tommy Roe. The opening act was a group called The Beatles. That month will be the focus of the preview shown in the ballroom of The Hyatt Regency O'Hare on Saturday morning, August 15th.

"We're looking forward to the fans at the Beatles Fest," says director Burt Kearns. "We got a great reception when we screened The Seventh Python and now we're able to give a little back with some Beatles history. Chris' Beatles tour took place at the cusp of Beatlemania. Their first album was released midway through, the fans were wild-- the audience will be very surprised at the revelations."

"Including the truth about Chris' fist fight with John Lennon. It's been forty-seven years, and no one's gotten the story right until now," says producer Brett Hudson, who will also be performing at the Fest with Mark Hudson-- another third of The Hudson Brothers.

The Seventh Python-- the hit of last year's Chicago Beatles Fest-- won't be forgotten. The film is being screened at the world-renowned Comedy Shrine club in neighboring Naperville on Friday, August 14th.

Frozen Pictures begins shooting the Chris Montez film biography

We've just gotten word that the team at Frozen Pictures has gotten started on a musical documentary film to follow up their acclaimed, hilarious and heartfelt Neil Innes biopic, The Seventh Python.

The Chris Montez Film Bio Project shines the spotlight on the rock 'n' roller-turned-lounge music prince who, as the Frozen site says: "forged an incredible and incredibly influential journey through modern pop music, from rock ‘n’ roll to lounge, Latin pop to jazz.

"Artists as diverse as Sam Cooke, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and The Ramones have worked with, played with or taken a cue from the Mexican-American kid from Hawthorne, California who went to school with The Beach Boys and was still a teen when was hailed as the successor to his hero, Ritchie Valens."

We know Chris from songs like Let's Dance and Call Me. The Frozen boys are set to reveal what we don't know-- like getting him to spill the real story of what went on during that UK tour of March 1963 when the Beatles opened for him, and he and John Lennon got into a fistfight (Paul broke it up). Not to mention going to school with the Beach Boys and jamming in the Wilson brothers' living room under the watchful eye (he only had one) of crazy dad Murry.


Principal photography got underway late last week. They shot at the Deerwood Studio in Simi Valley, where Chris and producer Vic Germano are laying tracks for three Montez albums-- jazz, Tejano and a rock 'n' roll one with Joe Brown's band, The Bruvvers. (Another Beatles and Neil Innes connection. Look it up and report back!)

The shoot will be international. That's got to be expected, as Montez is no relic but in demand around the world. In fact, his manager tells us that right now he's on his way to perform in Belgium. And with fans on the oldies circuit, among the rock and roll crowd, the lounge movement and millions of Latinos, this film is bound to have w-i-i-i-de appeal.

Exclusive photos abound here.