Teens Listened to 'Helter Skelter' Before Killing

Fox News .com ^ | 6/18/03 | AP

[mr. mojo risin]

PHILADELPHIA — Four teenagers charged with beating a 16-year-old boy to death plotted the killing for weeks and listened to the Beatles song "Helter Skelter" (search) several dozen times before the murder, according to an alleged confession read in court.

[mr. mojo risin]

Sir Paul; "I wanted to write the most evil song (Helter Skelter) ever recorded...

Hope he hears about this.

Perhaps the family should seek some of his...

from 2002... McCartney has been declared Britain's first-ever pop billionaire in a survey of that country's 300 wealthiest people, according to wire service AFP.

McCartney's fortune was pegged by the Sunday Express at 1.1 billion pounds.

[Sir Gawain]

If someone plays it backwards, will they go around saving people?

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

what's McCartney got to do with this?

[glock rocks]

When I get to the bottom
I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again
Do you, don't you want me to love you
I'm coming down fast but I'm miles above you
Tell me, tell me, tell me
Come on tell me the answer
You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer
Helter skelter, helter skelter, helter skelter
Will you, won't you want me to make you
I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you
Tell me, tell me, tell me
You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer
Look out
Helter skelter, helter skelter, helter skelter
Look out, cause here she comes
When I get to the bottom
I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride
And I get to the bottom and I see you again
Well do you, don't you want me to make you
Tell me, tell me, tell me
You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer
Look out
Helter skelter, helter skelter, helter skelter
Look out helter skelter
She's coming down fast
Yes she is
Yes she is.

[mr. mojo risin]

See your point.

Probably about as much as Remmington has to do with Columbine...

[b4its2late]

Does this mean the victims family can sue Yoko Ono?

[plain talk]

It's interesting how innocous these lyrics are. The song is totally tame except for the droning out-of-tune E string on the guitar which gives it that wild sound and possibly McCartney's raw sounding vocal. Even in 1968, the song was not that wild compared to Revolution No 9.

[SoDak]

About a 1 on the ol' evil meter.

[Ford Fairlane]

I could understand the music having something to do with it if they had listened to Motley Crue's version - it is pretty bad (the quality of the performance, I mean)

[sharkhawk]

In Britain, Helter Skelter was a large carnival slide. It was Charley Manson who believed that it had something to do with declaring a race war etc.

[rattrap]

on a scale to 100.

[gridlock]

Did the article fail to mention that Charles Manson is FREEPIN' INSANE!!!!!

[SoDak]

Exactly, but then I remember listing to Slayer in college, so my scale might be a bit warped.

[tuna_battle_slight_return]

This is sooooooo 1968.

[rattrap]

I have a few of the norwegian black metal bands in my collection, i'm sure my scale is warped.

[Cheapskate]

Ah the old Kink Diamond bit eh?

[Cheapskate]

Ah the old King Diamond bit eh?

[sharkhawk]

Oh yeah, there was no mention of that. Only that somehow it was Paul's fault for writing the song, so that some Herion addicted losers would listen to it then go kill.

[rattrap]

No, more like Emperor, Mayhem, Bathory, Dimmu Borgir, etc.

[Pagey]

hatchet, a hammer and a brick.

Hmmm, "Hatchet,Hammer,Brick" --- "Hatchet,Hammer,Brick" ---"Hatchet,Hammer,Brick". It's incidents like this,where I believe the penalty that should be levied upon people who intentionally commit such a heinous crime, should be that they must endure the same actions they inflicted, thereby giving up their own life. To live in such a world would be so much simpler.They are and will forever remain 'Scum Of The Earth',even if they are allowed to go free when they turn 21. (You can see why I couldn't become a politician)

[gubamyster]

the youths listened to "Helter Skelter" 42 times and had a "group hug" immediately after the killing.

It's clear to me. Group hugs are responsible for this murder.

[Im Your Huckleberry]

That's supposed to be the "most evil song ever written"?

Needs work.

[TLBSHOW]

Yoko is holding out......

Yoko Ono, the widow of the former Beatle John Lennon, is considering making public previously unreleased music by her late husband, she's told Germany's Stern magazine.

"I have to wait for the right moment," Ono, 70, told the magazine in its special Wednesday edition.

Lennon was shot and killed by a deranged fan in December 1980 outside his New York apartment 10 years after the Beatles disbanded amid artistic differences between the esoteric Lennon and more pop-conscious Paul McCartney.

Ono, the jealous guardian of his legacy, said the taped material should not be released in its current condition.

"He was a songwriter and he wanted the songs to be presented correctly. I have to think about it," she said.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/18/1055828356588.html

[Salman]

It is a song inspired by a ride McCartney had on a roller-coaster. Manson was insane, that's all.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Helter Skelter strikes again. Send Scully and Mulder to investigate.

[Mr. Jeeves]

King Diamond and Mercyful Fate are from Denmark. I met them once, back in 1984, when they were touring with Motorhead. Seems like a long time ago...

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

what's McCartney got to do with this?

More importantly whats "Helter Skelter" Got to do with it? other than some dumbarse kids overplaying a song over and over?

I guess its an attempt once again to blame anyone but the partys responsable!

[Polonius]

Manson was crazy, the song was about a ride. Anyone who thinks a 30-year-old Beatles song caused these kids to kill should really try to be less gullible.

[Pahuanui]

Quite frankly, so what?

[miloklancy]

This has nothing to do with the Beatles song. You can't hold a songwriter responsible for the actions illegal or otherwise, that people take because they claim a song influenced them. "Helter Skelter" had really nothing to do with Manson either. The twisted and disfunctional world Manson was raised in definitely did, but ultimately he is accountable for his actions. Paul McCartney, even though he is one of the richest people in the U.K., is not responsible here and any attempt through litigation to extract funds from him is simply extortion. This sounds like the thought police and the PMRC all over again. It's enough to make me want to vommit.

[mommadooo3]

Hey Doc, ya still on Holliday?

These cretins need to realize that the 'song' that made them 'do it', have 'counter' songs, that tell what to DO with trash like them.

Mommy/Daddy/Govt/Society will piss and moan.

But I can't think of a single song that has 'p & m' in the title.

'William H. Public-Punk, you are NOT a god'.

[weegee]

I blame the media. The song has no connection to murders. Even Charles Manson said he wasn't a fan of the Beatles, that was another generation's music. I think he claimed to prefer Frank Sinatra.

These youths were probably into outlaw culture (peripherally) and considered serial killers "cool". The media made the association to the murders (because of the slogans on the walls) and keeps up the connection in coverage to this day.

Meanwhile other songs about serial killers and stalkers are considered completely harmless (Blondie's "One Way Or Another" and The Police's "Every Breath You Take").


Roy Brown recorded Butcher Pete back in 1950 and even it's more explicit:

Hey everybody, did the news get around, about a guy named Butcher Pete.
Ol' Pete just flew into this town, and he's choppin' up all the women's meat.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

Butcher Pete's got a long sharp knife, he starts choppin' and don't know when to stop.
All you fellows gotta watch your wifes, 'cause Pete don't care who's meat he chops.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

Ever since Peter flew into town, he's been havin' a ball.
Just cuttin' and choppin' for miles around,
single women, married women, old maids and all.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

Wakes up in the morning, half past five, chops from sunrise to sunset.
I don't see how he stays alive,
meat's gonna be the death of ole Pete yet.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

The police put Pete in jail, yes, he finally met his fate.
But when they came to pay his bail,
they found him choppin' up his cell mate.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

That Butcher Pete is a crazy man, tries to chop down the wind and the rain.
Just hacks on anything he can get,
say, turn this record over,
you ain't heard nothing yet.

Well, they let ol' Pete out of jail, he went back to his store.
All the women who payed his bail, were waitin' on Pete to chop some more.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

There's an old woman, who's ninety-two, lives down the street
She said, one thing more I wanna do, is find ol' Pete and let him chop my meat.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

Pete went to church one Sunday night, he gave the preacher a fit.
That crazy Pete started a fight, when he went hackin' on the pulpit.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

Well, they put him in jail again, they tried to give him life.
Pete beat the case, he pleaded insane, they gave him back his same ol' knife.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

Well, he got out of jail on Sunday night, Monday he tightened his grip.
He started to China to see the sites, went nuts again and chopped up the ship.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!

Brought ol' Pete back to town, to electrocute him there.
But Pete was crazy like a clown, he chopped down that electric chair.
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He's hackin' and whackin' and smackin'!
He just hacks, whacks, choppin' that meat!
He's a maniac! He don't do nothin' but whack!

[weegee]

I'm surprised that these teens have even heard of the Beatles.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

The song is totally tame except for the droning out-of-tune E string on the guitar which gives it that wild sound and possibly McCartney's raw sounding vocal.

Exactly. It's a harmless rock song. These kids had warped minds to begin with.