How the Beatles came to Greece to buy a Greek island in the shape of a guitar

It was July 1967 when the Fab Four visited Greece and even wanted to stay here because the musicians had “fallen in love” with an island called Agia Triada off Eretria.

The Beatles visited Arachova and Delphi and were fascinated by the life of the outskirts of Greece, nature and people, took pictures with them, wore woven leather sandals and relaxed at lavishly laid tables in taverns.

So it was July 1967 when John Lennon called on the rest of the Beatles to buy a guitar-shaped island from Eretria. Their original desire for this island was its guitar-like shape.

“They will live there with their families, but also work,” was the plan. The island is called Agia Triada, and scattered around it are four smaller islets on which each member of the legendary group could build their own villa. And since it was the Beatles, there had to be a recording studio and a club.

Those

“We’ll live there forever”
Lennon said: “We will all live there, maybe forever, and come home only to visit. Or it could be only six months of the year. They will be fantastic… we will be all alone on this island. There will be some small houses that we will make and build together and live in a community.”

The Beatles, without Ringo Starr, made it to Greece and then to the islands south of Athens. They made an impressive trip around the islands, swimming and sunbathing, enjoying the psychedelic substances of the 60s.

George Harrison recalls: “Someone said we should invest some money in Greece, so we thought, ‘Well, let’s buy an island. We will go there and take root forever.”

In constant hallucinations
“It was a great trip. John and I were on LSD all the time, sitting in the bow of the ship and playing the ukulele. The sun was shining and we sang Hare Krishna for hours. We eventually landed on a small beach with a village, but how just as we got off the ship, it started to rain heavily. A sudden storm with a lot of lightning. The only building on the island was a small fisherman’s house, so we all went inside: “Excuse us, sir. Do you mind if we stay at your place?” George Harrison continues his story.

“The island was covered with large pebbles, but Alex (Alexis – Magical Alex – Mardas) said: “It does not matter. We’ll send an army, collect these stones and take them away from here. However, we returned to the boat and sailed away, and never thought about this island again.

The Beatles enjoyed the ride, but decided “once was enough”. Soul Confusion only lasted as long as they sailed the sea, and disappeared when the adventure was over.

moment of light
As Paul McCartney writes in his autobiography:We went to the boat and plunged into our psychedelic illusions. It was a lot of fun, but there were also a lot of nervous moments. For me, the pace was a little tiring. It’s good to be together, but it’s also difficult. We didn’t really need an island. After we got through this storm, I don’t think we needed to go back. Probably the best way not to buy a Greek island is to just go there for a while and live.“.

He added: “Fortunately, we didn’t, because anyone who tried these ideas understood that in the end there will always be arguments, there will always be constant grumbling about who should do the dishes and whose turn it is to clean the toilets. I don’t think any of us thought that.”

However, NEMS employee Alistair Taylor organized the purchase and even received permission from the Greek government. But at that moment, the Beatles were no longer interested in this. However, they still made some profit from the exchange rate.

Harrison later added that “it was the only time the Beatles ever made money from a commercial venture. To make a purchase, we exchanged money for dollars or another currency. Then when we changed the money back, the exchange rate changed, so we made something like twenty cents.”

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