The Beatles left Hamburg for Japan on a rainy day, which didn't stop any fans!
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Leaving in the Rain
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The Beatles in Alaska
The Beatles were not able to make it to Japan on June 27, 1966. According to a ground service agent at the Anchorage International Airport, the Beatles' plane was scheduled to land in Anchorage, Alaska at 1:45 p.m. for their plane to refuel. It wasn't a hurricane named Kit that stopped their plane from continuing, but a problem with the plane's hydraulics system. It wasn't a difficult repair, but the Beatles' plane couldn't take off again because it would have landed in Japan after the country's curfew. And so Brian Epstein had to figure out what to do while the Beatles sat on their plane for a few hours.
By that time, radio stations in Anchorage started to announce that the Beatles were at the airport. So by the time the Beatles' emerged, fans were at the airport ready to see them get on a chartered bus.
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A huge amount of fans started to follow the bus to the Anchorage Westward Hotel, where they would spend the rest of their time. The guys were a little ticked off and very bored. They ordered in hamburgers and George goofed off with a Polaroid camera.
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Meanwhile up to 500 fans were outside of the hotel singing "We love you Beatles" and other songs. Some tried to get very creative in their ways to get the Beatles' attention.
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Because it was during the time when it remains daylight for 24 hours in Alaska, the girls did not leave and the curfew was not strongly enforced because the fans weren't doing any damage.
By that time, radio stations in Anchorage started to announce that the Beatles were at the airport. So by the time the Beatles' emerged, fans were at the airport ready to see them get on a chartered bus.
A huge amount of fans started to follow the bus to the Anchorage Westward Hotel, where they would spend the rest of their time. The guys were a little ticked off and very bored. They ordered in hamburgers and George goofed off with a Polaroid camera.
Meanwhile up to 500 fans were outside of the hotel singing "We love you Beatles" and other songs. Some tried to get very creative in their ways to get the Beatles' attention.
Because it was during the time when it remains daylight for 24 hours in Alaska, the girls did not leave and the curfew was not strongly enforced because the fans weren't doing any damage.
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Flying
I always find dating the photos from the time the Beatles were in Japan to be a bit confusing because they lost a day due to the International Date Line. They left Alaska early in the morning on June 28, 1966 and basically lost that day and spent June 29, 1966 flying to Tokyo.
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the mixed feelings of the Japanese
The fans in Japan couldn't wait to have the Beatles come to their country for the first time. Tickets were hard to get and fans were scrambling to get them. This article from KRLA tells the story:
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On the other side of the fence was the "right," the people that did not want the Beatles to come to Japan. They did not approve of the influence of what they considered to be "American culture" being accepted by the youth in their country and felt like while the Beatles were British, they attributed to the change they were seeing in the teenagers. There was a group of extreme right Japanese men that had plans to kidnap the Beatles and cut off their hair! But most of the protests were because the Beatles were going to perform at the Budokan, which had only been open for two years and was reserved for wrestling and athletics and not for rock concerts. This upset thousands upon thousands of people and formal protests occurred. The Beatles weren't really accustomed to being protested. Sure, there had been little things here and there over the years, but this one was the first really big protest---and it sure wasn't the last!
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On the other side of the fence was the "right," the people that did not want the Beatles to come to Japan. They did not approve of the influence of what they considered to be "American culture" being accepted by the youth in their country and felt like while the Beatles were British, they attributed to the change they were seeing in the teenagers. There was a group of extreme right Japanese men that had plans to kidnap the Beatles and cut off their hair! But most of the protests were because the Beatles were going to perform at the Budokan, which had only been open for two years and was reserved for wrestling and athletics and not for rock concerts. This upset thousands upon thousands of people and formal protests occurred. The Beatles weren't really accustomed to being protested. Sure, there had been little things here and there over the years, but this one was the first really big protest---and it sure wasn't the last!
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We've arrived in Japan!
They finally made it! The Beatles laded in Japan on June 30, 1966 and waved to their fans.
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Driving away
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Adorable John
I think these photos of the Beatles in a car in Japan are from when they were heading to the press conference later in the day. Isn't John cute?
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Japanese Press conference
On June 30, 1966 the Beatles gave a press conference in Tokyo. I had this press conference on a cassette tape for a long time and I remember how tedious it was to listen to because you would have to hear the question asked in Japanese and then translated into English---the Beatles answered and then their answer was translated into Japanese. If it was tedious for me to listen to, I can't imagine what it was like to be there.
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The Beatles' dark suit concert
If you have been a Beatles fan for a long time, you will remember the concerts of the Beatles in Japan. They were often on homemade VHS and were faded in color. The first one was called "The black suits concert" and the second was called "the white suits concert." It was well known that the black suits looked better and the white suits sounded better. Of course as time went by, we learned that what we thought were black suits were really green! And the white ones had orange stripes!
Today I watched the "dark suit" show from 50 years ago. I wanted to see if the Beatles really sounded as bad as I remembered. And what I found is that George sang out of tune more than the others and Ringo has a terrible scowl on his face several times. I also discovered (which I had forgotten about) that the microphones used by Paul and John kept moving while they sang. They messed with those mics more than anything and it wasn't helping them perform.
Here are some photos from this iconic concert. Enjoy!
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Today I watched the "dark suit" show from 50 years ago. I wanted to see if the Beatles really sounded as bad as I remembered. And what I found is that George sang out of tune more than the others and Ringo has a terrible scowl on his face several times. I also discovered (which I had forgotten about) that the microphones used by Paul and John kept moving while they sang. They messed with those mics more than anything and it wasn't helping them perform.
Here are some photos from this iconic concert. Enjoy!
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Selling his wares
I thought this was interesting---it is a man selling unofficial Beatles stuff on the sidewalk before the Beatles concert. I know security was super tight in Japan---I wonder how this guy got away with it?
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Out there with Mal Evans
It was 50 years ago today that Paul McCartney and Mal Evans left the hotel room and saw some of Japan---for something like 6 entire minutes.
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Hanging out in the hotel -- Paul in Black kimono
There are a lot of great photos of the Beatles at the Tokyo Hilton during their short time in Japan. Because it is almost impossible to know what day the photos are from, I am going to share some over the next few days.
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In the hallway of the Hilton
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Beatles afternoon of July 1
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Beatles in the Evening of July 2
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Japanese Beatlemania
A lot has been said about the fans in Japan during the 1966 tour. Mostly that they were very quiet and reserved and did not express Beatlemania like fans in other countries. However, when I look at these photos, I see the same display of Beatlemania that we have seen in every other country when the Beatles tours. Crying, fainting, screaming, hand-made clothing, face glues to binoculars, etc. The only difference is that there was a HUGE police presence in these photographs that you just don't find elsewhere.
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The Budokon
I found these photos of the Budokon and the fans waiting to get inside to be very interesting.
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Spotting the Beatles at the Tokyo Hilton Hotel
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Beatles and the girls
Several girls were there to talk to the Beatles---mostly reporters from Music Life Magazine. They were the lucky few as we know that the Beatles were offered some special girls to come up to their room and they declined and asked for paints instead.
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More photos from inside the Hilton
I have spent well over a year collecting photo of the Beatles in Japan to share on this date. I was picking and choosing which ones to post and realize that I should just share them all! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!
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