Donovan's still mellow after all these years

Aug 11 2006 Liverpool Daily Post

SIXTIES superstar Donovan tells Philip Key about his links with Liverpool and the Beatles

"And of course, Lennon and McCartney are Irish names. So there was this similarity in backgrounds.

"We also shared an interest in meditation and yoga and lyrics of social conscience, trying to use pop music as a vehicle to sing to a generation of some sanity in a mad, mad, nuclear bomb world.

"We also found each other's humour quite similar and I buddied up quite closely with George over the years because we both celebrated our philosophies in spiritual songs."

It was a friendship, says Donovan, that extended far beyond the usual mateyness of fellow performers.

"There was so much fame and superfame around in that era that a group of us - the Beatles included - found ourselves in an ivory tower protected from the fans. It stopped the Beatles touring and after a while we socially clanned together - when we went to India we were separated totally from the West and that was an extraordinary experience."

That trip to the ashram of the Maharishi turned out to be a life-changing experience, not only for the Beatles but for Donovan. Also on hand during those extraordinary few weeks were Beach Boy Mike Love, actress

Mia Farrow and Farrow's sister, Prudence, the inspiration behind Lennon's song Dear Prudence.

"We went there to learn meditation and we certainly did," says Donovan. "What I did not realise was that we would also be sitting around for six weeks with acoustic guitars writing songs. That was a great bonus. "We were healthy, eating vegetarian food and we weren't drinking or taking drugs. Ringo called it a holiday but I learned a lot on that trip about myself, meditation and music. We shared a lot."

Donovan was able to teach Lennon and McCartney various guitar playing styles and the music of both The Beatles and Donovan was heavily influenced by the six weeks.

It still influences him, Donovan admits,. "Everything that happens when one is young and exploring new avenues can be an influence. I am still singing songs of peace and brotherhood just as dear John would have been doing if he was still here. His death was a great shock and loss and then we lost George, too. But the music lives on and George would be the first to say, don't worry abut my body, listen to the music. George was always very clear on that: the music is the message. I will be telling all the fans in Liverpool the things George, Paul and John told me."