Free Cher by Mark Bego

album, All I Really Want to Do . In the lyrics of the song she sings, “I’m going to the Hilton, and I know I won’t get in.” They may not have let them in, but thanks to the Hilton incident, everyone in England instantly knew who they were.
    While they were in London, Sonny & Cher performed at the 100 Club on Oxford Street and appeared in every magazine and newspaper in town, and their single “I Got You Babe” began a two-week run at the top of the British music charts. Their stay in London caused a huge splash of media attention, and overnight success. In a week they had gone from total unknowns to instant celebrities who were hanging out with the “who’s who” of mid-1960s London.
    According to Charlie Greene,
When we went to England with them, Sonny got upset with John Lennon. We were in a London club when Lennon sent his bodyguard over to ask Cher to join him. We all went over. Paul McCartney was there with a beautiful model. Sonny wanted to talk business, but Lennon and Cher were talking to each other, and Sonny didn’t like it. You could see he was annoyed. There were other times on that concert tour of England when Sonny got angry because Cher was flirting with Roger Daltry, and she had an eye for Rod Stewart. Sonny wouldn’t be a tourist with Cher, but she did have her sister Georganne along for the trip. Sonny preferred for Cher to stay at home at night and read magazines and watch TV (41).
    One of the things that Sonny and Cher enjoyed the most about their trip to London was the trendy shopping. They shopped at the chic store Anello and David, where the Beatles were known to buy their distinctive-looking boots. And they shopped at Granny Takes a Trip, where Sonny stocked up on fashionable Carnaby Street–style shirts and pants, and Cher purchased her first-ever fur coat—a double-breasted rabbit pelt garment.
    Greene also revealed of Sonny during this era,
He liked to see other women. When we stayed at hotels, Sonny would take an extra suite, and when Cher was asleep, he’d go there and call out for hookers. Sonny would show them a big wad of bills, maybe $20,000, and he’d peel off $500 and give it to them. He would just talk to them—about himself. But he did have some unusual hobbies. He had a telescope and would peer into windows with it. The funny part was that although Sonny was so interested in women, we were always denying rumors he was gay. He had long hair, and he wore those flowered pants, and people asked questions (41).
    In September of 1965, Sonny & Cher’s debut album, Look at Us , was certified Gold by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) for over 500,000 copies sold. It peaked at Number 2, remaining in that position on the Billboard album charts for eight weeks.
    Meanwhile, Cher’s first solo album, All I Really Want to Do , peaked at Number 16 in America, and Number 7 in England. In November of 1965 another single from the LP, “Where Do You Go,” written by Sonny, was released as a single. It peaked at Number 25 in the United States. In September of 1965, Sonny’s “Laugh at Me” hit Number 10 in the United States, and Number 11 in England. Sonny, Cher, or Sonny & Cher were all over the airwaves throughout 1965. They were on the first ascension up the roller-coaster ride that was to be the nature of their professional careers and their personal lives.
    The story of “Laugh at Me” is entirely autobiographical, and has to do with Sonny being expelled from a chic Los Angeles restaurant.
Thanks to Martoni’s. What happened, when we dressed like we did, and my hair was almost like it is now, and Cher’s [long straight] hair, and the way we dressed. . . . we used to go into Martoni’s all the time. They were friends of ours. But, to dress like that in ’64, ’65, it was a real conservative era. People would think you’re strange or gay or weird or freaky or whatever, and it was a real threat to people. We knew it caused a reaction and that’s why we