Did Allen Klein Take Bangla Desh Money?
Meggs, however, corrected only minorpoints, and he wrote: “Neither I nor anyone else at Capitol is privy to information regarding the disposition of Bangla Desh album receipts by Apple/Klein, and…we have no basis for drawing, nor do any of us attempt to draw, any inferences whatever regarding the disposition of those receipts.” New York Magazine said it would also correct an error. Capitol’s contract is with Apple Records, not ABKCo, as McCabe wrote.
Otherwise, McCabe said, “New York Magazine is very calm. At his press conference, Klein said that Sheldon Zalaznick [executive editor] had told him this was the most inaccurate article he had ever run across in the history of journalism. Sheldon refuted it in the New York Times and he’ll refute it to anyone who asks.”
Zalaznick, who edited the article, nodded. “Absolutely. There were three or four things I gathered that he attributed to me that were flatly not so.” The article appeared Wednesday, February 23rd, he said, “and Spector called Thursday to say Klein was upset, so on Thursday night we had a two and a half hour meeting.” During the course of the talk, Zalaznick said he commented, “If everything Klein said were true, then this would be a world record of sorts for inaccuracy. Klein also said at the press conference that I’d told him ‘New York Magazine had been had.’ What I said was, ‘If we’ve been had, I’m truly distressed.'” Zalaznick said he was always sure of the soundness of McCabe’s article, and that he offered Klein space for a reply. But Klein has reportedly insisted on having a reporter to write his side of the story.
At the press conference, Klein’s album cost-recital was almost shouted down by a mouthing, jawing match between Phil Spector the producer and A. J. Weberman the scavenger. Weberman began challenging Klein’s figures as “inflated” and called him a “rip-off.” Spector, co-producer of the Bangla Desh album, told Weberman to “go sell hot dogs in front of Dylan’s house”–Klein kept up his own litany, Spector kept shouting and got into a shoving match with a radio newsman, and finally, the conference over, moved in on Weberman and had to be pulled away.
The anger continued down the hall, A.J. and Phil exchanging fighting poses, and out to the streets, where Weberman finally backed off with a “Let’s be friends.”
“Fuck you,” said Spector.
At the height of the fuss over Bangla Desh, another rock liberator, Life Magazine’s Albert Goldman, was connected to Spector, at least by rumor. Goldman, it is said, tried to visit Spector in Wally Heider’s mobile recording truck outside Madison Square Garden. Phil reportedly threw him out, and Goldman then printed the first rumor about Dylan getting 25 cents per album, while all other artists were donating their services (including record and publishing royalties) to the refugee fund. Newsweek picked up the story, and from there it spread to the trade magazines…and into McCabe’s article, where he reported Columbia calling the fee a “use royalty” for Dylan.
Columbia President Clive Davis issued a vehement denial. “The money has nothing to do with Dylan,” he said. Davis said he was always willing to release Dylan for the Bangla Desh album, although Capitol sources (including Menon) point to Davis as a factor in slowing down negotiations while a joint distributing agreement had to be hammered out. Davis described it: “The distribution terms proposed to both Capitol and Columbia gave Capitol first choice of either distribution of the records or distribution of tapes plus 25 cents.” With tapes, Davis said, the price margin is not enough to cover mailing and other costs–especially on tapes’ smaller volume of business.
The 25 cents are taken out of Capitol’s $1.865 per album, which barely covers its distribution expenses and overhead. Thus, the squeeze and the screams, while Klein quietly boasts about what he’s done for his “special client,” the starving children. He expects to sell three million albums to raise $15 million. The film of the concert, and its proceeds, are yet to come. And, sure enough, Klein announced that if he wins the lawsuit, and money he gets will go right into the refugee fund.
Right after the immensely successful Madison Square Garden concert, Klein began planning another concert, in England. It was to be a benefit for Shelter, a well-established charity there. We pick up McCabe, chatting with Klein shortly before the plans collapsed. Klein is quoted, in New York Magazine:
“You know what’s happening at Wembley? George will announce he’s gonna do a concert, right? About two weeks before, Ringo will say, ‘Hey, I’ll play too.’ Then, John says he’s gonna be there. Everyone will wanna know where Paul is. He’ll think I’m tryin’ to embarrass him. You betcha. I’ll roast his fucking ass.” The ‘Concert for Bangla Desh’ album accounting as advertised by Allen Klein’s office Klein: His figures have, unfortunately for him, only added to the confusion
