Impresario Yoshito Yamazaki knows a story or two about some of the world’s biggest acts to have graced stages in Japan over the past half century, and finally he’s willing to spill some secrets.

The music promoter is the president of Kyodo Tokyo Inc., which engineered the landmark tour by the Beatles in 1966 that saw the group perform at the Nippon Budokan hall, a venue in the capital that until then was reserved for martial arts.

As Yamazaki was mainly involved in bookings and coordinating shows, he accumulated loads of behind-the-scenes stories that put a new light on such famous faces as Paul McCartney, members of the Rolling Stones and composer John Williams.

JOHN WILLIAMS

Williams, 90, who is also a conductor, created scores for many acclaimed films, among them “Star Wars” and the “Harry Potter” series, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park” and the “Indiana Jones” series.

Yamazaki was in charge of negotiating for his first Japan tour in 1987.

Because orchestras are booked several years in advance, Yamazaki often found himself traveling to the United States over a three- or four-year period to continue negotiations.

“He never says no, but he also never says when he will visit,” Yamazaki said.

Even though he managed to successfully conclude that round of negotiations, Yamazaki then faced the difficulty of reaping a profit from an orchestra performing film scores and pop music.

“It is common to see a big difference in ticket prices for the Boston Symphony Orchestra performing classical music in Japan, which can sell for 25,000 yen ($206), and 12,000 yen for pop music, partly due to a difference in market size,” Yamazaki said. “I struggled to figure out how to make it work as a business because we were paying the same fees.”

Williams, who suffers from chronic lower back pain, insisted on a seat that could fold out while traveling in Japan so he lie down as much as possible.

Because such seating is not available on Shinkansen bullet trains, Yamazaki negotiated with a train conductor to spread a blanket on the floor of the large baggage compartment for Williams to lie down in during his ride.

Yamazaki even gave the composer a piggyback ride down the stairs at a station once.

“At the time, the barrier between classic and pop music was much higher than it is today,” he added.

Yamazaki described Williams as having a strong rebellious spirit, which allowed him to create music that convinced and impressed classical music traditionalists. He noted that the U.S. composer proved to be exceptionally dedicated and uncompromising in everything he did.

SPIELBERG’S UNIQUE INTRODUCTION

Yamazaki also recalled the time he attended a John Williams concert in the United States and Steven Spielberg, many of whose films feature scores by the composer, presented a video message.

The director said he wanted to illustrate that his movies would be boring and far less exciting without dramatic scores, and showed part of a film without music.

The audience was left baffled for about three minutes before the director said he was adding music by the maestro to the footage.

“That moment, the greatness created by the combination of imagery and music stood out,” Yamazaki said. “We take it for granted that movies come with music, but it made me realize how movies could be so boring without music.”

MACCA’S UNACCOUNTED VISIT

Yamazaki also helped organize concerts for Paul McCartney and his band after the Beatles broke up in 1970, eight years after the release of their first single.

Making his first visit to Japan for the first time in 11 years in 2013, McCartney returned in 2015, 2017 and 2018 for more gigs.

Yamazaki noted it was unusual for McCartney to keep coming back as he prefers to play in places he has never visited. Macca’s fans around the world couldn’t understand why he kept returning to Japan.

In an unusual departure, it was decided to bring McCartney and his band over in May 2014 even though only six months had passed since he previously performed in November.

Plans were made to perform before construction work began to replace the former National Stadium in the capital’s Shinjuku Ward. Yamazaki came up with a grand plan for McCartney to perform at the old stadium and open the new stadium, and had been negotiating with the musician.

The first show was slated to open at 5:30 p.m.

Usually, McCartney shows up at a venue no later than three hours prior to curtain time for a one-hour rehearsal.

Although Yamazaki and his team made security arrangements and other preparations to welcome the star, they were left waiting for a call to inform them when he left the hotel.

As they waited anxiously, word arrived that the star couldn’t leave the hotel because he wasn’t feeling well, prompting the concert manager to rush to his hotel.

The promoter decided to cancel the concert, and both sides rushed out a press release to make the announcement.

With no time to waste, the McCartney side wanted to say that the concert was “postponed,” otherwise a cancellation fee would be levied.

But Kyodo Tokyo and other organizers wanted to say it was “canceled” on grounds they couldn’t say it was postponed when they were unable to announce an alternate date.

Eventually, just before the venue opened, it was announced that the show was “canceled” in Japanese, while the English-language website said it was “postponed.”

McCartney was admitted to a Tokyo hospital recommended by the British Embassy to undergo an operation and returned home without performing.

Although the organizers had taken out cancellation insurance for the concert, they ran into difficulties in negotiations with the insurance company over whether they would receive coverage.

They couldn’t provide the insurance company with the name of the ailment that resulted in McCartney’s hospitalization as the reason for the cancellation because it was kept from them.

In the event, coverage was approved and 90 percent of the concert expenses were covered by the insurance, Yamazaki said.

“It was so troublesome, but when we pulled off the makeup concert the following year (in 2015), Paul seemed as if he were saying, ‘We did it!’” 

RIDING BY BICYCLE TO BUDOKAN

Once off-stage, McCartney comes across as unpretentious and friendly.

“He casually took a stroll to Mitsukoshi (department store) in the Ginza district,” Yamazaki said.

The former Beatle asked shop clerks whether they knew who he was when he paid for items he wanted, and was amused to learn that they didn’t, Yamazaki added.

The Kyodo Tokyo president noted that McCartney also liked riding a bicycle.

The musician rode a bicycle to Nippon Budokan to take pictures of the indoor arena the day after he performed at the venue in 2015.

McCartney always comes to Japan with an entourage of about 120 staff members.

Being a vegetarian, his band goes on tour with a chef.

But he sometimes visits vegetarian and Chinese restaurants.

A well-known anecdote concerns the time McCartney scoffed down a bowl of soba noodles at Mount Takaosan on the outskirts of Tokyo during one of his visits.

Yamazaki also cherishes the memory of watching the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament together with the rock star in Fukuoka when he came to Japan in 2013.

They entered the venue early at McCartney’s request, only to see sumo wrestlers competing in the second-tier juryo division.

But contrary to what Yamazaki expected, McCartney stayed until the last bout.

Intrigued by the “kenshoki” banners with the names of sponsors parading around the dohyo ring before each bout, the rocker said he wanted to sponsor a match.

Yamazaki told him that sponsors must apply for banners two weeks prior to each tournament and must sponsor at least 15 bouts, which would take time to sort out, given the elaborate embroidery required.

But McCartney was adamant, asking for help to make it happen.

The Japan Sumo Association granted him a special favor, allowing paper banners bearing his name to appear on the ring.

McCartney was pleased by the arrangement.

He seemed to have developed a particular fondness for sumo, and mentioned the sport often. On stage, McCartney was fond of making the “shiko” foot stamping movement when he performed in Japan.

MICK JAGGER’S DISCIPLINED STYLE

Kyodo Tokyo also handled the Rolling Stones’ 2014 Japan tour.

“Each member was supported by many staff, and it felt like they were a group of four big stars,” Yamazaki recalled, adding that frontman Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were in a totally different class.

Unlike McCartney, each band member was surrounded by staff members well-versed in Japanese customs and how to run things. And because they took control of the shows, Kyodo Tokyo members had little chance to communicate with the Stones.

Yamazaki was left with the impression that Richards and Charlie Watts were good-natured and quiet.

Although Jagger is generally seen as disciplined and edgy, the singer was never seen giving directions or complaining about something in public.

However, his disciplined style was obvious in his contract, which required a training room backstage.

A dressing room equipped with a treadmill and weight-lifting machines was set up at Tokyo Dome on the day of the concert.

Jagger did some core training and other exercises with an instructor after a rehearsal, according to Yamazaki.

“I think the public used to think of the Beatles as role models and the Rolling Stones as delinquents, and it is true that Paul is humble and friendly and indeed gives the impression of being a role model,” Yamazaki said. “But the Stones retain a feel of juvenile delinquents. There is a saying that goes, ‘The child is the father of the man,’ and I couldn’t help but feel that humans are interesting creatures.”