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What a show!
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Chatting her up on a train
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I am not sure who this young lady is, but I do know that she is not Jane Asher as one new book says. I believe she is one of the fans that was on the train to Washington D.C.
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Ringo and Linda
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Pictured here with Ringo is 9 year old Linda Binns who was from Richmond, Virginia. She was returning on the train home. from New York with her parents. She spotted the Beatles on the train and decided that she wanted to get their autographs. She needed Ringo's autograph and since she was a cute kid, the the press allowed her and her brother into the Beatles car. She got to sit and chat with Ringo When it was time for her to leave, she gave Ringo a kiss on the cheek because it was a polite thing to do! You can read all of Linda's story in Garry Berman's great book, We're Going to See the Beatles!
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Beatles Day at JFK
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I don't wanna spoil the party, so I'll go
Oh the British Embassy Party that the Beatles attended and hated every second of. I can't let the 50th anniversary of THAT go by without a mention, now can I? This would also be a good time to re-visit the story of the girl that snipped Ringo's hair at this party.
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And the world turned into color
This might sound just plain stupid, but you typically see the Beatles from 1964 in black and white. All of the video footage was shot in black and white and the majority of photographs were in black and white. So when the odd color photograph, like this one of the Washington D.C. concert appears, it makes you step back and think, "oh yeah...the people who saw this in person got to see it in true color." And that reminds me of the quote I heard recently where someone said that when the Beatles came to America it was like everything that was once black and white had turned into color.
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Fans at the first American concert
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These girls (and guys) have the honor of being the first fans to have seen a full Beatles concert in America. Jude Kessler has cleared up the rumor and yes Cynthia Lennon and Louise Harrison were at this show.
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Winner Winner!
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest with the scrambled words to win the 8 x 10 print of the Beatles at LAX in 1964 provided by Vincent Vigil! It was a really fun way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles. For those of you playing along at home, here are the correct answers.
1. interviews
2. paul
3. peppermint
4. coliseum
5. buddy
6. carnegie
7. plaza
8. cynthia
9. george
10. ringo
11. screaming
12. airport
13, beach
14. john
15. maysles
16. beatles
17. miami
18. train
19. concerts
20. sullivan (this one seemed to have been the one most missed)
21. transistor
22. deauville
23. beatlemania
There were 34 contestants and 26 of them got all 23 answers correct! Of the 23 corrects, I assigned everyone a number and the winner number given to me by the random number generator were 8, 9, 10, 16, 17
Here are the Beatles pulling out winning raffle tickets at the British Embassy 50 years ago tonight.
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1. interviews
2. paul
3. peppermint
4. coliseum
5. buddy
6. carnegie
7. plaza
8. cynthia
9. george
10. ringo
11. screaming
12. airport
13, beach
14. john
15. maysles
16. beatles
17. miami
18. train
19. concerts
20. sullivan (this one seemed to have been the one most missed)
21. transistor
22. deauville
23. beatlemania
There were 34 contestants and 26 of them got all 23 answers correct! Of the 23 corrects, I assigned everyone a number and the winner number given to me by the random number generator were 8, 9, 10, 16, 17
Here are the Beatles pulling out winning raffle tickets at the British Embassy 50 years ago tonight.
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The five lucky winners of the contest are:
Gary
longwith4
Rebecca K.
Shannon
Jeanne
If you are one of the winners, please email me at Starshyne9@yahoo.com with your mailing address.
Thank you again to everyone who entered this contest and to Vincent Vigil for supplying such an awesome prize! Be on the lookout for another contest very soon to celebrate 5 years of Meet the Beatles...for Real!
If you are one of the winner, please email me your address. Starshyne9@yahoo.com
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How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Some fan taken photos of the Carnegie Hall performance that was 50 years ago today.
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The Plaza frenzy
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Ed Rudy story part 3
Ed Rudy part 3
On Tuesday, February 11th, the Beatle boys headed for Washington D.C. and their engagement at the Washington Coliseum. They had originally planned to fly down to Washington. However, a snowstorm developed and it was decided that the Beatles would go to Washington via train. The Pennsylvania Railroad made arrangements to add on a special coach to their daily “Congressman Express” train.
The Beatles made their way to Pennsylvania station, and with the help of a regiment of policemen, reached their special coach which was already full with newspapermen and radio interviewers. Thousands of teenagers were on hand at Pennsylvania station. The noise of everyone screaming an hollering, at the top of their voices was deafening. As the train moved out of Pennsylvania station, all the members of the Beatle party breathed a sigh of relief for they had not been protected by the police and all had been terribly shaken up, pushed and shoved. It was in the station that our broadcast line had been broken by the crowd…during a live broadcast and we were cut off the air.
Throughout the run to Washington, there were interviews upon interviews, picture sessions upon picture sessions. The Beatle Boys enjoyed every minute on the train and were amazed at how different they are from English trains—not having small and separate compartments. When the train arrived in Washington, so many Beatle fans showed up that the police was unable to control the crowds. A big 20 foot “Welcome to Washington” sign was held up by some of the fans. It was torn down by other Beatle fans trying to get closer to the Beatles. The police formed a flying “V” wedge to help the Beatles to their limousines. When they finally made it to their cars, they headed directly for the Washington Coliseum where a press conference was arranged prior to the booked stage performance.
At this time, we interviewed the Beatles. We asked them, “Aren’t the screams a little embarrassing to you?” John Lennon replied, “The screams are wonderful. It’s the teenager’s way of showing appreciation. During a show, it helps to swing the show into a wonderful success.”
Another member of the press asked them when they expected to take their holiday (vacation) to which Ringo replied, “This was supposed to be our holiday until we were booked for America and came here!”
The Washington Coliseum set up a center stage in the middle of the auditorium. The audience viewed Beatles from all directions and the Beatle Boys moving around on stage to give everyone a chance to see them. Ringo Starr, mounted on a revolving platform pounded away on the skins as he was slowly turned around.
The reception in Washington was real fab. The screams and shouts deafening, the applause vibrating the rafters as all 9,000 Beatle fans made the Beatle Boys at home in the U.S.A. capitol. The Beatles perspired under the hot lights of the stage and dodging showers of jellybeans, put on one of the greatest shows for their fans. They rewarded their fans with a real gear session. New York WINS deejay, Murray the K had a direct line to the Coliseum and broadcast from backstage.
As the Beatles waited to leave their Coliseum engagement, and while arrangements were being made to sneak them out, the boys sat around in the office of show promoter Harry Lynn. When the go sign was received, the boys were led on a sneaky route, more complicated than any smuggler’s route ever devised during the days of the Civil War.
The Beatles headed for a special reception and costume ball at the British Embassy. An English Major-general attached to the British Embassy was there all decked out with a Beatle wig and a mask. Frank Mitchel, Embassy Press Attaché, of the staid British Embassy was asked about the Beatles. Said Mitchel, “I think they’re fine…a riot!” Then continued Mitchel, “the Beatles have given me more work to do than at any other time since the Queen of England was here sever years ago.” A diplomatic curve was thrown to Attaché Frank Mitchel; one wit said that “the Beatles were the British payment for the Sky Bolt. Do you think there is any validly in this? “ Mitchel said, “No I wouldn’t say they’re the payment for the Sky Bolt. No…let’s say they’re the British payment for all that Spam you sent us during the war.”
At one time, we were able to corner Ringo. We asked him the following question. “Ringo, you are often referred to as the sex symbol of the Beatles. So tell me: do you consider yourself so?” Replied Ringo, “I’ve never heard this one before. No, you can see me, you can see I’m no sex symbol. You can see my face.” We asked Ringo if he anticipated the fabulous reception that he received in America to which he replied, “We never expected anything like this at all. It’s even great than some of our English engagements. The least reaction we had was in France were 78% of our audience was made of boys. But here in America, it’s real gear.”
The Beatles were then introduced to Ambassador and Lady Onmsly-gore along with others in a receiving line at the British Embassy. In the excitement, Sir David Onmsby-Gore mixed up the boys with their names. The boys, in addition, made it all the more confusing by referring to John as George, to Ringo as Fred and to Paul as Charlie.
The Beatles Boys enjoyed their evening with the social elite of Washington even though they were jostled, pushed and shoved in all directions by everyone. One gal snipped off a bit of Ringo’s hair from behind his left ear with a small manicure scissors. Ringo’s statement cannot be printed here, but you can imagine what he said.
At the stroke of midnight, the Beatle boys made like Cinderella and headed back for the Shoreham Hotel and a much needed rest. This day was a real hectic day in the life of each Beatle. The pace had been killing. As I headed back to my own hotel room, I wondered, “What nice glory?”
On Wednesday, February 12th, the Beatle Boys headed back to New York. Again it was a train journey and the Beatles crowds were everywhere. Enroute on the train, the boys were rested, and in a fun making mood. Ringo kidded around with reporters, donned a woman’s fur coat complete with white Astrakhan hat. John kidded around on his hands and knees crawling under the swivel seats of the train. George, on the other hand, dressed up as a waiter and with napkin over arm, had fun serving the train’s passengers. Ringo off in the corner of the special coach was trying to get a few more winks of sleep. Many photographs loaded him down with cameras while others were ringed around him taking pictures.
Since nobody had thought about this day being Lincoln’s birthday, more confusing and chaos was added to the expected bedlam. This was because, it being a holiday, schools were closed everywhere. Naturally, thousands upon thousands of additional Beatle fans, who would normally be attending school, had now made their way to Pennsylvania Station to welcome this Beatles back. Pennsylvania Station was packed with fans and never in the history of the railroad station was confusion so rampant.
Many other trains had to extend their departure time because passengers couldn’t get to the gates to get on the trains. It was really a fab day for the Beatles. As at the Washington Coliseum, again the Beatle boys were smuggled out of the railroad station and to their Plaza Hotel accommodations. Beatles fans, at the hotel were everywhere. Crowds extended for blocks all around.
When the Beatles arrived at the Plaza hotel, they were hemmed in by fans everywhere. Mounted policemen were called in to make an opening with their horses. Finally, the Beatles were rushed into the hotel.
The chaos and havoc created by the Beatles must have been of some concern to the New York city police department. They sent one of their top police aides to meet with the Beatles. He appeared white-faced and nervous as he tried to establish order out of confusion. George whispered to Ringo, “It looks like he’s cracking up!”
During the police conference, it was agreed that the boys would leave by a back freight elevator and through the Plaza Hotel kitchen, and then out through a secret door of the hotel in order to go to the late afternoon and evening shows that were scheduled at Carnegie hall. This proved to be a good way of getting the Beatles out of the hotel and over to Carnegie Hall without too much confusion although heartbreaking for the fans waiting in front of the hotel.
Carnegie Hall, known as the venerable shrine of classical music, echoed to a resounding wave of Beatlemania. Approximately 3,000 fans jammed packed their way into Carnegie Hall paying form $1.65 to $5.50 per squashing.
Each of the performances lasted about 2 hours. New York’s deejay, Murray Kaufman and B. Mitchell Reed, acted as emcees. Each performance was pure bedlam and those tucked away in the balcony and rafters heard nothing of the Beatles, saw the Beatle’ lips moving, but in the din of the shouts, whistles, screams and hysterical squeals overpowered the Beatle sound.
Beatle fans rocked and reeled back and forth in their seats to the temp of the music set by the Beatles. Jellybeans pelted the famed Beatles throughout their performance. When the history of Carnegie Hall is written, the double-header performance of the Beatles will surely by highlighted as one of the most spectacular performance to ever emanate from this staid concert hall. At the end of the evening performance, the boys sneaked around back to their Plaza Hotel suite and were early to bed for a night of restful bliss. Beatlemania in America was firmly entrenched and the British had finally established a Beatle front in the United States.
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Ticket to Ride
Another story from issue 415 of Rolling Stone magazine from Feb 16, 1984. This one is about Carol Gallagher, who was the flight attendant on the flight from New York to Miami in 1964. She is the girl who is seen holding a huge box of chocolates in a heart box.
It was driving my car home from the beach. I heard on the radio that The Beatles would be coming to Miami on National Airlines Flight 11, and I said, "Oh my God, that's my flight!"
I went bananas because I was madly in love with them. I say MADLY in love with them. I was 22 years old, a normal Beatles freak. The flight was two weeks away at that point. It was the roughest two weeks of my life. I was worried sick about my hair -- Is my hair fixed? Typical fan reactions. The day before the flight, my supervisor called me and said they would definitely be on the flight and did I think I could handle it?
The day of the flight got very calm, my hair turned out good, my face didn't break out. At Kennedy, we went down to the gate lounge. We waited and waited and all of a sudden, there they were. They floated in with a million reporters. I was just stunned. They were just the most gorgeous, fabulous men I'd seen in my life. They didn't call them the Fab Four for nothing.
The public relations people propped me on the pane steps with a big box of candy and took all these pictures. Somehow, we managed to get everybody on board. It was a two hour flight. They were very, very excited except for John who was very quiet. Sat in the last row with Cynthia. The rest of the Beatles spent most of the flight autographing stacks and stacks of photographs. They weren't impressed with themselves. I remember Paul asking me, "Do you think anyone will be in Miami to meet us?"
As we approached Miami, Ringo insisted on putting on a life jacket and looking out for sharks.
When the Beatles deplaned, they just popped into a few limos and left. There were thousands of people there. The poor fans didn't get to see much. I went home. It took me about three days to simmer down. I was very excited about it for a long, long time.
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Miami Peppermint club
Interesting fact that I learned this weekend at the Fest about when the Beatles went to Miami. When the Beatles arrived in Miami, they did not have any "summer" clothes. So they went shopping at the Deuville Hotel and spent $6,000. John got the idea to charge it all to Brian's room without him knowing about it.
In this photo the Beatles are visiting the Miami version of the Peppermint club.
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A couple of millionaire's houses....
Here is Bernadette Castro...the daughter of the millionaire who's villa the Beatles used in Miami.
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Beauty contest winners
When the Beatles arrived in Miami, they were greeted by some beauty contest winners in their bathing suits. Oh the life of a Beatle!
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Beatle boys invade Miami Beach (Ed Rudy part 4)
On Thursday, February 13th, the Beatle Boys departed from the Plaza Hotel to the enjoyment of the hotel management, but not their New York Beatle fans. They had had a hectic visit from the Beatles that will long be remembered. Even though this was a school day, thousands of Beatle fans were everywhere to wish them a fond farewell and a safe flight to Miami, the land of sunshine, and their scheduled show emanating from the Florida City. Their National Airlines Flight left the Kennedy airport at 1:30 pm as thousands of Beatle fans waved their final goodbyes.
The flight of the Beatle boys had been booked for first-class seats but somebody had played a joke on them and had changed their seats over for the budget tourist class. As a result, the Beatles were jam packed, with their entourage of newspapermen and photographers into narrow seats. However, the four Beatles enjoyed the 3 ½ hour flight to Miami by joking with all the members of the press and other passengers making the flight. We took time out to tape an interview during this flight with each of the Beatle boys. Each was excited over the prospect of visiting a warm and bright Miami after hearing so much about this city.
Around 4:00 in the afternoon, the National Airline’s jet plane safely touched down at Miami airport then taxied to the arrival strip. As we looked out the jet’s windows we could see thousands of fans everywhere. For a moment, we thought we were back at the Kennedy airport except for the beautiful blue clear sky and the bright sun.
As the plane’s door was opened, we could hear the screeching and screaming of Beatle fans and we wondered how each of the Beatle boys felt being welcomed everywhere in America by their wonderful fans. To seasoned newspapermen and broadcasters, this was an unusual sight indeed. Never before, anywhere, had any member of the press ever viewed such chaos and confusion and we have all travelled with some pretty big world leaders. Now, here were four English lads setting records for welcoming groups wherever they were expected to appear. It was fantastic, absolutely amazing and actually unbelievable. Yet, it was happening, right in front of our eyes all along the Beatles route.
As we emerged from the air-conditioned interior of the jet plane into the sunny and warm climate that Miami is famous for, we noted that the Miami International airport was jam packed with fans. Here was another glorious day that the four Beatles will long remember and we of the press will too.
As the Beatles entourage stepped off the plane, the Beatle boys leading the way, the din of the “oohs” and “aahs”, the screams and the whistles were deafening. Screeching, squirming, pushing and shoving Beatle fans came from every direction. The police held back many hundred but true Beatle fans have a way of coming out of the woodwork using ingenious methods. Up popped a trunk top, on a luggage wagon used for loading suitcases on planes and two Beatle girls sprang out like jack in the boxes. One headed for the boys, with pen and autograph book in hand while the other was so shocked by seeing the Beatles so close by, that she was frozen stiff.
Beatle fans wreaked havoc with the jalousie-type windows at the airport. The windows were dirty, from not having been cleaned for a long time, so the fans punched them out, breaking them with their fists, to get a clear view of the boys. Many stood on chairs, so many on some chairs that they collapsed from the weight. Solid doors, leading to the field, were bend and hinges broken as fans tried to get close to their idols. It was the most wild, most indescribable scene I ever witnessed more gear than eve at New York’s Kennedy Airport.
The Beatle boys posed for photographers as police sweated and fought the Beatle crowd, trying to hold them back. The boys had to fight their way into the limousines brought onto the field near the plane. As policemen walked in front of the limousines, forcing the crowd back, we slowly inched our way out of the crowd. At the edge of the airport, we picked up our motorcycle escort and headed for Miami Beach. The airport is located in Miami and the beach portion (actually a separate city from Miami) is separated from the city and many miles away.
Miami Beach is a narrow strip of land, running parallel with the main body of land that is Florida. The strip, known as Miami Beach, has more luxurious hotels per square foot than in any other place in the world. We were headed for the Deauville Hotel, an ultra-swank edifice that is a city itself. With sirens screaming, we made the approximate 8 miles in about 8 minutes. The Miami and Miami Beach police really welcomed the Beatles to the land of sunshine. As we crossed the bridge that separates the two cities, the Miami motorcycle policemen waved goodbye and at the other end the Miami Beach motorcycle policemen were waiting to greet us and lead us the rest of the way right to the Deauville’s Hotel doorstep.
At the Deauville, thousands more Beatles fans milled around the block waving and shouting their welcome greetings. The Beatle boys were quickly taken into the hotel hurried though the lobby, past the registration desk without registering and whisked up the elevator to their hotel suites. Each Beatle boy had a large suite to himself. Each suite faced the ocean and the boys spent quite a little time out on his private balcony, looking out toward the sea and enjoying the warmth of the Florida climate, while below looking up at them from the beach, the cabanas, the pool and the park, were thousands of spectators enjoying every moment of it too.
WINS Murray the K, New York deejay, had accompanied the boys with the Beatle party. He took them on a private tour of the city a few hours later. So, after a tasty dinner, and a shower and a shave, the boys went out on the town.
Their first stop was at the Peppermint Lounge on the 79thCauseway where they met Hank Ballard and surprised the hundreds of teenagers who were there a-twisting and a-turning. From the Peppermint Lounge, the boys then visited the Record Bar where they spent a pleasant hour.
While we were talking to the manager, the Beatles sneaked off and we lost them for the rest of the night. Where they went and how they got away from me, I’ll never know. Anyway, it was late so I went back to the Deauville to get much needed rest. I was beat. I had had a hectic Beatle day and a nice shower and a soft bed was a wonderful thing to look forward to. This would be the one night that I would close my eyes and rally enjoy a night of restful slumber.
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Eight Days a Week
Here is the first of two stories from 1984 told by Buddy Dresner about his time with the Beatles in Miami in 1964. This one came from the Feb 16, 1984 (issue 415) of Rolling Stone. Buddy retired as a lieutenant of the Miami Police in 1980 and worked in construction. After Buddy's death some of his Beatles memorabilia was auction off and bought by the Hard Rock Cafe and can be found at various restaurants around the world.
I was working nights. Someone was pounding on my door at 11. A North Miami Beach policeman said, "Get down to the station." There they handed me an envelope. The note said, "You will go to the Deauville Hotel and take charge of the Beatles' security."
I went up to their room, and we became friends. I told them we would have a good time, and if they paid attention, there wouldn't by any trouble. I told them it would be my responsibility if something happened to them.
We used to watch T.V. We were watching a show called The Outer Limits and I said, "If I had one of those guns, I could zap all the criminals."
Paul said, "What did you say?"
"Zap?" I said. They never heard that word before. I heard they put that word in one of their songs.
I also taught 'em how to fish. They wouldn't put the bait on the wouldn't take the fish off the hook, but they liked fishing. There was a private home on Star Island owned by a policeman's wife and we hung out there.
I took 'em to the first drive-movie they went to. Gave them their first grilled cheese sandwich. I had 'em over here for supper. They drank Scotch with warm Coke. Paul would eat dessert before the main meal. I said, "You can't do that in America. You gotta eat the salad first then hit the steak and potatoes."
The fans tried everything in the world to get into the hotel. I had to set up booby traps. Exit doors would open into the hallways. I put chairs behind the doors. Once, forty kids charged. I was standing outside the door, all by myself. I said, "Hold it there. You're all under arrest. Just stop right there. Wait for the car. They turned and ran. I was more scared than they were!"
The Beatles had good times. We went to the Deauville nightclub. At night I did bed checks. Would you believe? I had about 23 or 24 policemen working for me. I said, "Whoever lets 'em out, I have to answer to the chief."
I would leave for home at 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. then set my alarm for 6. It wore me out after a couple days, so I said, "Hey George, you got a roommate?" He said, "I was wondering why you didn't stay." I moved in.
Once I told them, "You guys better save your money. I don't think you're gonna make it." They would needle me saying, "Why don't you go out and get a real job?" I said, "I'll get you jobs as taxi drivers."
There were no women in the rooms, no drugs--no way, shape or form. Only Scotch and Coke. That's a fact. These were the straightest, cleanest kids. I swear on it. It was like taking care of a younger brother.
After they went back, they send me some snapshots. Then I was supposed to go see 'em in Jacksonville when they came back later, but I had to work.
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Remembering Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
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| Painting from the Beatles hotel room signed for Buddy |
This is the 2nd magazine story Buddy gave in 1984 for the 20th Anniversary of the Beatles in America. This one was with Life Magazine for their February 1984 issue. Buddy was an important influence on the Beatles. They spoke about him in numerous interviews over the years and the line in "She Came in through the bathroom window" that says, "So I quit the police department, got myself a steady job" could have been about Buddy (especially when you listen to the tapes and hear John yell out the name of Buddy when Paul sings those lines.) Thanks Buddy for keeping our Beatles safe in Miami 50 years ago. You can join Buddy and the Beatles on facebook!
He is retired now from the Miami Police force and owns a construction business, but in 1964, Sgt. Buddy Dresner was put in charge of the Beatles' security during their stay in Florida. Dresner introduced them to grilled cheese sandwiches, gefilte fish, water-skiing and such early television standbys as Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason and The Outer Limits. Under Dresner's watchful eye, the four quickly warmed to all things American, especially those in short supply back home, like long sandy beaches and hot sun. "They went in that ocean and just acted like kids," he recalls. When he took them on their first fishing trip, Dresner found them a bit queasy at the idea of putting bait on their hooks and taking the live catch off. It was a successful expedition, and for several hours Dresner hooked bait and unhooked fish in response to cries of "Boody, Boody!" After a couple of days of bunking with the group in their hotel, Dresner took them home for a roast beef dinner. He remembers that Ringo, who was sitting next to his six year old son, Barry, cut up the boy's baked potato for him. Everywhere they went during their first American tour, the Beatles left behind warm memories of their gentleness, courtesy and "a sense of devilish fun," Dresner recalls. When the policeman forgot to send his wife a Valentine gift and told the Beatles he was in trouble, they called Dorthy Dresner and then sent her a spectacular bouquet ("as big as me," says Buddy's daughter Andrea, then eight). Andrea's favorite memento of the visit is a tape of an interview the Beatles gave after they left Miami. "We'd all love to see Buddy again," they chorused, "because he's the greatest guy in the world."
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When the Beatles came To Washington
This nice little story and terrific photo came from the Washingtonian paper this week.
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“We always tried to get out of those crap things, but that time we got caught,” George Harrison recalled, referring to the Beatles’ visit to the British Embassy after their first US concert, held at the old Washington Coliseum on February 11, 1964. Accustomed, after a year of Beatlemania in Britain, to the crush of official events, the Fab Four were dreading it. Then they caught a slight, if short-lived, break.
Earlier that night, Donna Constantinople, née Marshall, the daughter of a prominent DC businessman, had been whisked by official limousine to the concert with three friends—the daughter of the undersecretary of the Navy, the niece of the French ambassador, and another friend from her high school. Sometime past midnight, the girls found themselves in the British ambassador’s private living room on the top floor of the residence with ambassador David Ormsby-Gore, his wife, and Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Then it happened. “A door opened,” Constantinople recalls. “They came in, and no one else came in. It was an overwhelming feeling. No one was speaking at all. It was pregnant.”
A half hour of quiet drinks later, the Beatles ventured downstairs and immediately hundreds of diplomats and their wives swarmed them, demanding autographs. “It was horrifying. They were swept down into all this screaming and yelling, the flash of bulbs,” says Constantinople, a 66-year-old resident of DC’s Wesley Heights. “We were just numb.”
Later that night, a young woman who had crashed the party—later identified as 18-year-old National Institutes of Health worker Beverly Rubin—produced a pair of nail scissors and cut off a lock of Ringo Starr’s hair, near his collar. When she and her deejay date were evicted, Rubin wasn’t disappointed: She had already obtained the Beatles’ autographs.
The band was livid, and after dispensing with their “duty”—presenting charity raffle winners with signed copies of the album Meet the Beatles!—John, Paul, George, and Ringo stormed the exits. Lady Ormsby-Gore apologized: “I’m sorry about all that down there. It can’t have been much fun for you.”
“And what do you do?” Ringo shot back.
Six years later, in his landmark Rolling Stone interview, John Lennon would angrily remember being “touched and pawed like Hard Day’s Night, only a million more times, like at the . . . British Embassy in Washington . . . when some bloody animal cut Ringo’s hair. I walked out of that, swearing at all of them.”
Evidence of the quieter moment has been preserved in the above photograph. Constantinople is saving the whole story—and other photos—of the evening for a planned memoir of her life in Washington, but 50 years on, the sensation of Paul McCartney’s arm around her waist is palpable. “The physical closeness,” she says, “was lovely.”
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| The niece of French ambassador Hervé Alphand; John Lennon; Donna Marshall; Darcy Fay; George Harrison; Kathy Fay, daughter of Navy under-secretary Paul Fay (no relation to Darcy). Photograph courtesy of Donna Constantinople |
When the Beatles Came to Washington
The band had an unpleasant visit to a party at the British Embassy.
By James Rosen
“We always tried to get out of those crap things, but that time we got caught,” George Harrison recalled, referring to the Beatles’ visit to the British Embassy after their first US concert, held at the old Washington Coliseum on February 11, 1964. Accustomed, after a year of Beatlemania in Britain, to the crush of official events, the Fab Four were dreading it. Then they caught a slight, if short-lived, break.
Earlier that night, Donna Constantinople, née Marshall, the daughter of a prominent DC businessman, had been whisked by official limousine to the concert with three friends—the daughter of the undersecretary of the Navy, the niece of the French ambassador, and another friend from her high school. Sometime past midnight, the girls found themselves in the British ambassador’s private living room on the top floor of the residence with ambassador David Ormsby-Gore, his wife, and Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Then it happened. “A door opened,” Constantinople recalls. “They came in, and no one else came in. It was an overwhelming feeling. No one was speaking at all. It was pregnant.”
A half hour of quiet drinks later, the Beatles ventured downstairs and immediately hundreds of diplomats and their wives swarmed them, demanding autographs. “It was horrifying. They were swept down into all this screaming and yelling, the flash of bulbs,” says Constantinople, a 66-year-old resident of DC’s Wesley Heights. “We were just numb.”
Later that night, a young woman who had crashed the party—later identified as 18-year-old National Institutes of Health worker Beverly Rubin—produced a pair of nail scissors and cut off a lock of Ringo Starr’s hair, near his collar. When she and her deejay date were evicted, Rubin wasn’t disappointed: She had already obtained the Beatles’ autographs.
The band was livid, and after dispensing with their “duty”—presenting charity raffle winners with signed copies of the album Meet the Beatles!—John, Paul, George, and Ringo stormed the exits. Lady Ormsby-Gore apologized: “I’m sorry about all that down there. It can’t have been much fun for you.”
“And what do you do?” Ringo shot back.
Six years later, in his landmark Rolling Stone interview, John Lennon would angrily remember being “touched and pawed like Hard Day’s Night, only a million more times, like at the . . . British Embassy in Washington . . . when some bloody animal cut Ringo’s hair. I walked out of that, swearing at all of them.”
Evidence of the quieter moment has been preserved in the above photograph. Constantinople is saving the whole story—and other photos—of the evening for a planned memoir of her life in Washington, but 50 years on, the sensation of Paul McCartney’s arm around her waist is palpable. “The physical closeness,” she says, “was lovely.”
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Walking through the hotel
I love this photo! Look at those girls in the background trying to get to the Beatles. Why is John carrying his own guitar? Where is Mal to do that for him? Everything about this photo is awesomeness.
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