Robert represented to me freedom, freedom of speech, of view. [x]

Paul visited Robert’s gallery and would often drop by his flat to see who was there and what was happening. Robert was a superb host; he always mixed the latest drinks, had the best drugs, and a room full of interesting people.Through Robert, Paul entered the world of art; he met Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton and, in the course of listening to their conversations, he learned a great deal about art appreciation.Paul: ‘The most formative influence for me was Robert Fraser. Obviously the other Beatles were very important but the most formative art influence was Robert. I expect people to die so I don’t feel a loss but there’s a vacuum where he used to be.’ [x]

Actually I remember one of the most touching conversations we had was about his mum and dad. I said, ‘My mum died when I was young but I think my dad’s great. He’s a real fine man and I’ve got a lot of respect for him and I’m not ashamed to admit it.’ Feeling slight peer pressure as I did admit it. And he said, ‘Well uh uh uhg. I feel the same way about my mother. I love my parents!’ and we had a little moment where we both admitted we loved our parents, which then was not the kind of thing you did. I don’t think I ever had it with the Beatles, it certainly was not a common thing. [x]

Paul saw a lot of Robert during 1966 and in the period leading up to the release of Sgt. Pepper in 1967.PAUL: The way Robert lived, which became the way I lived for a couple of years and which I now figure for a rather aristocratic way of life, would be that he’d ring early in the day and say, ‘What are we doing for dinner tonight?’ It all hinged round dinner. Once he’d had dinner fixed, then he could fill in the rest of the day. It all worked around the event. Robert generally liked to eat down Chelsea: King’s Road, Fulham Road area. The San Lorenzo, the Trattoria.As well as dinner or hanging out at Mount Street, Paul would often put in an appearance at the gallery. ‘Once I got to know Robert, a nice thing would be going to the gallery and helping install an exhibition. Just sit around and smoke a bit of pot while somebody else was installing the exhibition. Helping. Play a little music for him.’  [x]

In my garden at Cavendish Avenue, which was a 100-year-old house I’d bought, Robert was a frequent visitor.One day he got a hold of a Magritte he thought I’d love. Being Robert, he would just get it and bring it.  I was out in the garden with some friends. I think I was filming Mary Hopkin with a film crew, just getting her to sing live in the garden, with bees and flies buzzing around, high summer. We were in the long grass, very beautiful, very country-like. We were out in the garden and Robert didn’t want to interrupt so when we went back in the big door from the garden to the living room, there on the table he’d just propped up this little Magritte. It was of a green apple. That became the basis of the Apple logo. Across the painting Magritte had written in that beautiful handwriting of his ‘Au Revoir’. And Robert had split.I thought that was the coolest thing anyone’s ever done with me. When I saw it, I just thought: ‘Robert.’ Nobody else could have done that. [x]  

So, some time early in 1966, Paul and Robert flew to Paris. They checked into the Plaza Athenee on the Avenue Montaigne in the heart of haute-couture Paris, one of the most fashionable and snobbish hotels in France. Going on a trip with Robert caused a few comments from Paul’s friends. PAUL: “Because he was gay, it raised a few small-minded eyebrows and funnily enough, one or two of them were from within the Beatles: ‘Hey, man, he’s gay, what you going off to Paris with him for? They’re gonna talk, you know. Tongues are going to wag.’ I said, ‘I know tongues are going to wag, but tough shit.’” [x]

There were many good times in Robert’s flat. Through my Beatle connections I’d hire a 16mm projector for the evening […] and I started off with Wizard of Oz.Robert got into this, wow, and he’d get some art movies. We got a lot of Bruce Connors, showed a lot of that. It was a very exciting period. [x]

Robert’s flat was like a second gallery. He had a lot of Dubuffet around that he was trying to sell. I wasn’t too interested in him. He had a lot of stuff by Paolozzi, and I bought a big chrome sculpture which was called Solo, which was in the big Pop Art exhibition they had about two years ago at the Tate. I just said, ‘What is that, Robert?’ Fantastic. He said, ‘What is it? I don’t know. It’s a mantelpiece, a bit of a car, who knows?’I was very happy with that attitude, not too academic. There was no dour art talk. It was much more razzy, loose, lively discussion with him. [x]

They [Paul and Robert] happened to come to the studio one night and were just on a trip, you know, they were seeing things that weren’t there–seeing colours and seeing things that simply weren’t there. [x]

Robert could play the academic game quite easily, he was very knowledgeable, but I think he found it a bit boring. It wasn’t our scene, being academic. I’ve heard him hold his own with academics, but that wasn’t the buzz. The buzz was more of a mixture, a cross-over with musicians, etc.He turned me on to quite a few things, quite a few artists. We went down once on an impulse to see Takis, the great sculptor who did things with tank aerials with little lights on the end. That sort of thing was great.We’d just turn up at someone’s studio, smoke a bit of pot, sit around and just chat art. [x]