↧
Backstage at Olympia
↧
Giving peace a chance
↧
↧
The bearded biker
↧
We have found the true 5th Beatle!
↧
Crowds around the car
↧
↧
John's blue hat makes a return appearance
 |
| photographer currently unknown |
I am just loving these photos of John and Yoko in 1976 in New York. I think it is so neat that John is wearing the blue hat that he wore so much in 1974. The top photo is new to this blog. (And it is a new addition to my Beatles photo collection).
↧
Three Germans at Kenwood
 |
| Photo taken by Richard Hall appeared in Bravo magazine |
 |
| Photo taken by Richard Hall |
First of all, a reader named Manuela from Germany was kind enough to translate the story from Bravo magazine: (a BIG thank you to Manuela for translating this for us! Let's hear it for Manuela! Hip hip hooray!)
"During my visit in England, there was that idea in my head, to meet John at his house in Weybridge. An it worked for me! Finding his house wasn't not really easy. Together with my friend, another girl, we finally found after an half hour later in an extensive park-like area. And then I spotted John. He stood in a room behind a curtain and shaved himself.But there was a problem, how to enter his house? It was a hard piece of work to persuade the housekeeper, letting us in.I was introduced as "Renate from Germany" to John.With a "How are you?" he shook my hand. With my eyes on his long uncombed hair I jokingly asked him, if he washed it sometimes.After that John answered: "I just washed my face!"My friend asked for a souvenir gift, whereupon John gave her a bronze statue as gift.In parting, he escorted us to the front door.For me it was an unforgettable meeting with that famous "mushroom head" (so the Germans called the Beatles ... mushroom heads, because of their hairstyles)
Then Beatlesneveroutofstyle posted that she actually met Maureen (the girl receiving the award) and her husband, Richard (who took the photos) in New York City and talked to them for 45 minutes! This is in part what she had to say about their memories:
The first story they told me, was how on this day when they knocked on the door, Julian was holding onto John’s leg. Maureen remembers how Julian was trying to push in front of John to see who he was talking too, and John was VERY protective of Julian and kept pushing Julian back behind him so he would be in front. They both remember very vividly of how fatherly John was. They also told me the whole time John had his eye on Julian and made sure he was okay…watching him very closely. They said they could tell he was a very loving father.
And lastly, I found the story again from our friends over at the Kenwood blog. I am sure Sean won't mind if I share a snippet of the story that he got directly from Richard Hall.
Maureen said to him "Would it be possible for me to have a souvenir of our visit please?". O.K. he said as he turned and went back into the house. I said to Maureen - You must be joking - The man has given us his time - what more could you want to remind you of this day? I won't forget today for as long as I live. You know, said Maureen - he might give me an ash tray, a tea cup, a saucer, an empty flower vase - something small just to remember him by. The Mind boggles was all I could say. John returned from the house holding a small bronze statuette which he gave to Maureen, saying 'Would you like this? As Maureen took the statuette from him I could clearly see the word
V E L L O inscribed around the base. Maureen let me hold the statue and I saw that the base had the inscription A N I V O R N O V E L L O A W A R D inscribed around it. There was a small metal plate with the inscription 'John Lennon' She's Leaving Home 1967' I held the statue out to him and said - Lennon - you can't give her this - you won this for your music - it's yours - you should keep it. He took the statue from me and gave it back to Maureen - 'Look, he said - it's only gathering dust inside the house and if she would like it - let her keep it" Maureen clasped the statue to her and there was no way she was going to part with it - it was hers. Thank you, Thank you John she said. I then took a photo of Maureen and John together with him handing the statue to Maureen.
↧
The Beatle North American Tour 1964
Let's take a trip back in time to 1964. A time when Beatles music was brand new and blasting out of every transistor radio. A time when the Beatles were on their first major tour of the United States. For the next 33 days I am going to take you through each stop on the Beatles whirlwind tour of North America. So if you are someone that does not like the Beatlemania years....come back next month and I will be back posting photos from other Beatle years, but right now I am going to be sharing stories and photos and memories of the summer of 1964.
![]()
I want to acknowledge the books that I have been using (and I will be adding to this list as I go along)
Some Fun Tonight Vol 1. by Chuck Gunderson (see the page at the top of this blog to get your copy!)
Birth of Beatlemania -- 1964 historic concert tour of America! by O'Brien publishing
Mania Days by Curt Gunther
Our Hearts Went Boom by Brian Kendall
The Beatles in Cleveland by Dave Schwensen
We're going to see the Beatles! by Garry Berman
Some Fun Tonight Vol 1. by Chuck Gunderson (see the page at the top of this blog to get your copy!)
Birth of Beatlemania -- 1964 historic concert tour of America! by O'Brien publishing
Mania Days by Curt Gunther
Our Hearts Went Boom by Brian Kendall
The Beatles in Cleveland by Dave Schwensen
We're going to see the Beatles! by Garry Berman
↧
First Stop---Winnipeg!
The information for this article came from this site.
The Beatles weren't supposed to say hello to fans in Winnipeg. They were supposed to just say on their plane from England on August 18, 1964 at around 2:00p.m for about 20 minutes while the plane refueled before they made their way to California for their first concert during the North American tour.
However, word spread through the Canadian town in Manitoba by radio that THE Beatles were coming to the Winnipeg International Airport and fans began to show up in the observation deck. Soon close to 1,000 teenagers packed into the airport to see the Beatles. And while the Beatles had planned to just sit happily inside of their airplane, Brian Epstein knew that it was important that they acknowledged their fans. Think about it---it was the first stop and there was no need to ruffle any feathers so soon in the tour.
So all four jet-lagged Beatles came out of the plane. Paul McCartney seemed to be in the best mood, as he was waving to the fans who had came to see them. A reporter named Bob Burns was the first person to interview the Beatles during the tour, as he stuck a microphone up towards the four and asked them typical questions for the times.
![]()
The Beatles had these type of stop-over waves at the steps events before and this one seemed to be very much like the others they had had around the world except for one person---Bruce Decker.
Bruce was with some friends in the car, on their way to enjoy a nice summer day at the beach when he heard on the radio that the Beatles were coming to town and they decided to go check it out.
Bruce said, "We couldn’t see anything from the observation platform so we sneaked down to the ramp." “It was fascinating to see the Beatles in person here in Winnipeg."
And then Decker decided to do something that only a few Beatle fans before him had attempted and succeeded, he was going to run onto the tarmac. Bruce Decker, dressed in his beach clothes made a crazy run for the plane, where the Beatles were ready to get back inside.
“Quick thinking, that’s all it was,” reflected Decker. “I just figured I could make it up those steps and I no sooner thought of it and I was gone. The crowd roared when they saw me go. I got right up the stairs before the Mounties grabbed me.”
His impulsive move amused the Beatles. “Just as they were wrestling with me I caught a glimpse of the Beatles through the door and they were chuckling.” Released by authorities, Decker became the object of instant adulation. “Kids crowded around me, touching me and screaming. Tears were streaming down their faces as they asked me: ‘What do they look like? Did they say anything?’ The girls thought there was some kind of magic about me just because I’d got so close to them.”
![]()
The Beatles weren't supposed to say hello to fans in Winnipeg. They were supposed to just say on their plane from England on August 18, 1964 at around 2:00p.m for about 20 minutes while the plane refueled before they made their way to California for their first concert during the North American tour.
However, word spread through the Canadian town in Manitoba by radio that THE Beatles were coming to the Winnipeg International Airport and fans began to show up in the observation deck. Soon close to 1,000 teenagers packed into the airport to see the Beatles. And while the Beatles had planned to just sit happily inside of their airplane, Brian Epstein knew that it was important that they acknowledged their fans. Think about it---it was the first stop and there was no need to ruffle any feathers so soon in the tour.
So all four jet-lagged Beatles came out of the plane. Paul McCartney seemed to be in the best mood, as he was waving to the fans who had came to see them. A reporter named Bob Burns was the first person to interview the Beatles during the tour, as he stuck a microphone up towards the four and asked them typical questions for the times.
The Beatles had these type of stop-over waves at the steps events before and this one seemed to be very much like the others they had had around the world except for one person---Bruce Decker.
Bruce was with some friends in the car, on their way to enjoy a nice summer day at the beach when he heard on the radio that the Beatles were coming to town and they decided to go check it out.
Bruce said, "We couldn’t see anything from the observation platform so we sneaked down to the ramp." “It was fascinating to see the Beatles in person here in Winnipeg."
And then Decker decided to do something that only a few Beatle fans before him had attempted and succeeded, he was going to run onto the tarmac. Bruce Decker, dressed in his beach clothes made a crazy run for the plane, where the Beatles were ready to get back inside.
“Quick thinking, that’s all it was,” reflected Decker. “I just figured I could make it up those steps and I no sooner thought of it and I was gone. The crowd roared when they saw me go. I got right up the stairs before the Mounties grabbed me.”
His impulsive move amused the Beatles. “Just as they were wrestling with me I caught a glimpse of the Beatles through the door and they were chuckling.” Released by authorities, Decker became the object of instant adulation. “Kids crowded around me, touching me and screaming. Tears were streaming down their faces as they asked me: ‘What do they look like? Did they say anything?’ The girls thought there was some kind of magic about me just because I’d got so close to them.”
↧
↧
Next up--LAX
Next the Beatles made it to the LAX airport where again, there were 500 fans waiting for them. The number of fans present may have been a little lower than other places, but apparently these fans were just as full of un-curable Beatlemania as everyone else.
![]()
Then the Beatles went inside of the airport and had a very cheeky press conference and signed some autographs for a few fans that were allowed to come inside.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
 |
| photo by Julian Wasser. |
↧
The story of Beatlesville
The idea behind Beatlesville is actually a good one. It was a special area on the tarmac of San Francisco Airport that was surrounded by a five-foot cyclone fence with 180 police officers around it. 100 "Beatle Bobbies" from the San Francisco Beatles fan club wore white arms bands and were trained to help keep the fans calm and the Beatles safe. (If you want to know more about the Beatle Bobbies, I have an article about the group from Baltimore here). The plan was that the Beatles would climb on the special platform that was in the center of "Beatlesville" and get introduced by local DJ and wave to their fans for a few minutes before getting into the car that would wisk them away to their hotel.
But this was a case of something that sounded like a good plan ended up not being such a great plan. Fans started showing up to see the Beatles at noon the day before their arrival. One girl said, "I actually SLEPT on the platform where THEY'RE going to be!" Fans came from all around California for this event, which caused a bit of a fight among the fans. There were three main groups of large Beatle fan clubs present: The San Francisco Club, The Oakland Club and the Peninsula Club. The San Francisco Club were the "Beatle Bobbies" and they were trying to keep order among the fans. So when the police told the Beatle Bobbies that everyone needed to move back from the square area where the Beatles would be, they began to shout out orders to the others. This did not go over well with the other fan clubs. They did not want to listen to someone their own age tell them what to do. A screaming and match broke out and girls were yelling at each other and things were starting to look vicious until the deputy stepped in and threatened to move the Beatles right into the car as soon as they departed the plane if the girls did not stop. So they did as they were told because they did not want to risk not seeing the Beatles.
But as you can imagine, tensions were still high. Some reports say that 10,000 fans were at the San Francisco airport waiting for the Beatles, although many historians believe that number was exaggerated. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 - 10,000 fans were there in Beatleville and the area disc jockeys were in the middle of it all, getting the crowd pumped up for the big event. They did Beatles cheers, sang Beatles songs and made announcements. Not only were tensions high but the girls were getting worked up into hysterics. And to top it off, the Beatles plane was delayed twice. All of these things made for a bad combination.
Finally at 6:42p.m. after some fans had been waiting over 30 hours to see the Fab 4, their plane touched down in San Fransisco! As Ringo began to come down the steps, the crowd went wild. As they made their way towards the Beatleville platform the crowd began to surge forward. Girls were pressed up against the fence and some were trying to jump over it. Mass hysteria was all around the Beatles. Girls were fainting, screaming, crying, and clawing over each other to reach their favorite band member. Before the four of them even reached the platform, they were taken quickly to their limo and sped off for the Hilton Hotel. It is a good thing too, because soon as they got into the limo, the Beatleville fence broke and fans were everywhere. And while the Beatles were gone, fans were left kissing the dirt they walked on and trying to save some of it as a souvenir. All of those hours of waiting for only 42 seconds of the Beatles presence. All that was left behind were thousands of homemade posters and love letters.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
From then on, the Beatles did not make the public appearances at the airport in a formal way. Thing had gotten far too out of hand and they could have gotten killed. What a welcome to the U.S.A.!
*Articles used for this story:
"A Giggling Gathering of the Frenetic Faithful" by Richard Thieriot San Francisco Chronicle. August 19, 1964
"The Beatles Come to Town" No writer listed. San Francisco Chronicle.
Some Fun Tonight volume 1 by Chuck Gunderson p. 36-37
 |
| This newspaper photo shows how Beatleville was set up 50 years ago today |
But this was a case of something that sounded like a good plan ended up not being such a great plan. Fans started showing up to see the Beatles at noon the day before their arrival. One girl said, "I actually SLEPT on the platform where THEY'RE going to be!" Fans came from all around California for this event, which caused a bit of a fight among the fans. There were three main groups of large Beatle fan clubs present: The San Francisco Club, The Oakland Club and the Peninsula Club. The San Francisco Club were the "Beatle Bobbies" and they were trying to keep order among the fans. So when the police told the Beatle Bobbies that everyone needed to move back from the square area where the Beatles would be, they began to shout out orders to the others. This did not go over well with the other fan clubs. They did not want to listen to someone their own age tell them what to do. A screaming and match broke out and girls were yelling at each other and things were starting to look vicious until the deputy stepped in and threatened to move the Beatles right into the car as soon as they departed the plane if the girls did not stop. So they did as they were told because they did not want to risk not seeing the Beatles.
 |
| One fan club group shows off their signs |
But as you can imagine, tensions were still high. Some reports say that 10,000 fans were at the San Francisco airport waiting for the Beatles, although many historians believe that number was exaggerated. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 - 10,000 fans were there in Beatleville and the area disc jockeys were in the middle of it all, getting the crowd pumped up for the big event. They did Beatles cheers, sang Beatles songs and made announcements. Not only were tensions high but the girls were getting worked up into hysterics. And to top it off, the Beatles plane was delayed twice. All of these things made for a bad combination.
Finally at 6:42p.m. after some fans had been waiting over 30 hours to see the Fab 4, their plane touched down in San Fransisco! As Ringo began to come down the steps, the crowd went wild. As they made their way towards the Beatleville platform the crowd began to surge forward. Girls were pressed up against the fence and some were trying to jump over it. Mass hysteria was all around the Beatles. Girls were fainting, screaming, crying, and clawing over each other to reach their favorite band member. Before the four of them even reached the platform, they were taken quickly to their limo and sped off for the Hilton Hotel. It is a good thing too, because soon as they got into the limo, the Beatleville fence broke and fans were everywhere. And while the Beatles were gone, fans were left kissing the dirt they walked on and trying to save some of it as a souvenir. All of those hours of waiting for only 42 seconds of the Beatles presence. All that was left behind were thousands of homemade posters and love letters.
From then on, the Beatles did not make the public appearances at the airport in a formal way. Thing had gotten far too out of hand and they could have gotten killed. What a welcome to the U.S.A.!
*Articles used for this story:
"A Giggling Gathering of the Frenetic Faithful" by Richard Thieriot San Francisco Chronicle. August 19, 1964
"The Beatles Come to Town" No writer listed. San Francisco Chronicle.
Some Fun Tonight volume 1 by Chuck Gunderson p. 36-37
↧
Fans Swoon for the Hairy Idols
Fans Swoon for the Hairy Idols
No writer listed
San Francisco Examiner
August 20, 1964
The Beatles hurriedly left town last night after giving 16,000 viewers exactly 29 minutes of their valuable time. It came to $3,013 per minute for a total of $90,000.
They left 13 schoolgirls so overcome that first aid was necessary.
Another reason for their hastp departure might have been suggested by a former Beatle fan who said, "I paid $6.50 for two hours of Beatles, and look what we got!"
Those f the Beatle backlash were probably in the minority among the 16,000 teenagers - and some wonderful adults -- who filled the Cow Palace to capacity for the first stop on the second American tour by the four rich youngsters from Liverpool, England.
They should properly be regarded as viewers, not listeners, because only rarely could the catchy songs known as the "Mersey Sound" be heard over the incredible noise of shrieking females.
Although it was publicized as music, all that was heard and seen of the Mersey Sound was something like a jet engine shrieking through a summer lightning storm because of yelling fans.
It had no mercy, and afterward everyone still capable of speech took note of a ringing in the ears which lasted for as long as the Beatles had played.
The eerie scene of four young men with shaggy hair-dos wiggling on the stage and moving their lips inaudibly was exaggerated by the flashes from a hundred cameras, like sheet lightning in the Midwest.
As expected, girls in the audience stood on their chairs, waved their hands, stamped their feet, burst into tears, shrieked words of love and tried, without much success, to mob the stage. "You can figure it this way," shouted a deputy sheriff witha smile on his weary face, "that's 16,000 kids who aren't out stealing hubcaps."
Jelly beans peppered the stage despite a pre-performance request from Ringo Starr, the drummer. "It's dangerous," he said, in the only serious statement of a shouting press conference.
A school psychologist who saw the show with his wife said he has observed many cases of mass hysteria. "This beats anything I've seen," he said.
Despite a volume of sound that overpowered, but a ratio of about 10 decibels to one, anything in the recent Republican National Convention in the same arena, every girl in the audience knew exactly which song was being sung.
Mary Murphy, 15, of 88 Lake Forest St. San Francisco, searched for the right words to describe her reaction. "It was traumatic," she said. "Spell it right."
It was the night of the Pied Piper, who came disguised as four boys in blue mohair suits with black knit ties, white shirts, leather boots and soup-bowl haircuts.
But when they pulled out of town, the Beatles showed little interest in taking the children along. The only consolation, as spoken by a Cow Palace custodian, is that the big barn's rats are probably dead today from high-frequency screaming.
The Beatles went to Las Vegas, their second stop on a five week tour of 24 cities in the United States and Canada. They hit Seattle tomorrow.
During a farcial press conference before the performance, a schoolgirl asked if they planned to stick together. "I don't' know," answered John Lennon, the ringleader, "We might get fed up."
Ringo Starr, who changed his named from Richard Starkey, was asked about marriage plans. "I'm supposed to get married every week," he said. "I never will. It (marriage) is a joke."
George Harrison said he hasn't yet seen a topless bathing suit. "I'm hoping," he said.
Should the Beatles help pay for their police protection? "We do," answered George, "We pay taxes."
Did Mayor John Shelley of San Francisco hurt their feelings by failing to offer the keys of the city? "We didn't know," answered Ringo, "So what?"
They were given, however, the keys to Los Gatos.
Other gifts included a message in hieroglyphics from three enterprising San Jose girls. It said, "Hail Beatles, Thou art great Among Thy Brethren."
The Cow Palace was nearly filled by 7pm, an hour before the scheduled time to start the performance. Instead of the Beatles, the first group was called the Bill Black Combo which was greeted by screams and applause. According to one fan this was only "because the Beatles were coming."
The other combos, including one called, necessarily, the Exciters, were heard before the penultimate moment the girls had been waiting for.
When the Beatles came on stage, the screaming continued without let up for 4 minutes, 45 seconds, and went on for the rest of their time on stage.
as soon as they left, the screaming stopped abruptly.
Next week: Armageddon
↧
Memories of the Cow Palace
When the Beatles first landed in San Francisco, they went into their hotel room at the Hilton and watched the footage of their arrival on a colored television. A reporter for The London Daily Express named Ivor Davis met the Beatles during this time, but they were not too interested. This information was all given to Beatle fans at the Fest for Beatle fans by Ivor Davis this past weekend during a discussion about the 1964 summer tour.
Prior to the Beatles concert at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, they held a press conference at the Hilton Hotel. In a rare press conference set up, the Beatles stood in front of large microphones and answered the questions. They also were presented keys to a local city by some girls.
![]()
![]()
I collected some quotes from some fans that I was able to locate in comment sections all around the internet including The Beatles Bible and Youtube.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Prior to the Beatles concert at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, they held a press conference at the Hilton Hotel. In a rare press conference set up, the Beatles stood in front of large microphones and answered the questions. They also were presented keys to a local city by some girls.
I collected some quotes from some fans that I was able to locate in comment sections all around the internet including The Beatles Bible and Youtube.
"It was so loud you could hardly hear them. I just wanted everyone to stop screaming so I could hear the music. My brother and I grew up a few blocks from the Cow Palace. So earlier in the day we went over to the back entrance and waited. There were only a few others there. When the limo pulled up it stopped for a while. I remember George waving at us." --anonymous
"I was only 10, and up in the nosebleed seats, they looked pretty small, couldn't hardly hear anything for the shouting, but it is still one of the best memories of my life....."--anonymous
"My friends, sister and I were there, I was 17, sis 15. We went up on the train from San Jose!! We did not scream, we tried to tell the others to be quiet! I found by cupping my hands behind my ears I could hear."
"I was also at this concert (1964 Cow Palace) and I had 2nd row center tickets and I brought my Kodak Instamatic! I was all of 11 years old."
"I was there in almost the front row but the concert didn't go on for long. All the back rows came rushing down toward the stage and the chairs we all were in collapsed. People were hurt and concert was over. I lost my purse and had to go back the next day to find it in a huge pile of things people had lost in the panic and confusion. Still love the Beatles though and even met Paul McCartney on that same visit."--anonymous
"I was 15 in 1964, when the Beatles came to the Cow Palace, and I no longer lived in San Francisco, having moved to a little Northern California town called Olivehurst, in 1960. My best friend had snagged three tickets to the show at the Cow Palace, and since her mother and sister decided not to go, she sold them to me and my mother.
So the three of us boarded a Greyhound bus for San Francisco. Fortunately, my older sister still lived in the city, on Polaris Street, off of Pope Street, and within walking distance of the Cow Palace. So we were able to stay at her place.
We were seated almost to the rafters. In those days, there was nothing fancy about the staging of concerts; the lights were as bright as they had been when we saw the circus or rodeo there. The stage was quite bare, with just a plain curtain.
There were three opening acts ( at least that's all I remember). First up was the Exciters who sang their song “Tell Him” -- tell him that you're always going to love him, tell him that you're never going to leave him. Then the Righteous Brothers came on and sang “Little Latin Lupe Te Lu.” I remember thinking that they were really fantastic. This was before they hit it big with “You Lost That Loving Feeling.”
Just before the Beatles came on Jackie DeShannon took the stage, wearing a dress so tight it looked sprayed on. She sang her hit “What the World Needs Now,” and some other songs, with the last one really getting the crowd riled up. Somehow she was able to keep our attention focused on her, and just as she left the stage, the Beatles were center stage, as if by magic, at least that's the way it seemed to me.
From that point on, all the crowd did, all I did, was scream. They looked so tiny from where I was seated. I kept yelling “George!!”. He was my least favorite Beatle of all-- I loved Ringo, then Paul, then John -- but somehow, he was the one who I could make out the best from my vantage point. One girl managed to rush the stage, and got her upper body on it before security pulled her off."– Rita W.
So the three of us boarded a Greyhound bus for San Francisco. Fortunately, my older sister still lived in the city, on Polaris Street, off of Pope Street, and within walking distance of the Cow Palace. So we were able to stay at her place.
We were seated almost to the rafters. In those days, there was nothing fancy about the staging of concerts; the lights were as bright as they had been when we saw the circus or rodeo there. The stage was quite bare, with just a plain curtain.
There were three opening acts ( at least that's all I remember). First up was the Exciters who sang their song “Tell Him” -- tell him that you're always going to love him, tell him that you're never going to leave him. Then the Righteous Brothers came on and sang “Little Latin Lupe Te Lu.” I remember thinking that they were really fantastic. This was before they hit it big with “You Lost That Loving Feeling.”
Just before the Beatles came on Jackie DeShannon took the stage, wearing a dress so tight it looked sprayed on. She sang her hit “What the World Needs Now,” and some other songs, with the last one really getting the crowd riled up. Somehow she was able to keep our attention focused on her, and just as she left the stage, the Beatles were center stage, as if by magic, at least that's the way it seemed to me.
From that point on, all the crowd did, all I did, was scream. They looked so tiny from where I was seated. I kept yelling “George!!”. He was my least favorite Beatle of all-- I loved Ringo, then Paul, then John -- but somehow, he was the one who I could make out the best from my vantage point. One girl managed to rush the stage, and got her upper body on it before security pulled her off."– Rita W.
"I was lucky enough to go the Beetles Concert on an Press pass. My friend was a DJ in the bay area and 6 of us went. I was pregnant with my first child and when everyone stood on the chairs to hoot and holler, I couldn't. But still saw them and heard every song. It was so loud and everyone screaming. The girls behind us were practically tearing their cloths off. One of the girls in the front section was crushed by the crowds and had to carried off. The only way out was onstage. Poor girl, she went right by the Beetles and was out cold. We left early to avoid the crowds in my condition and went to eat and talk about it. All of us were suffering with temp.deafness from the noise. It took a long time to get our hearing back. But it was worth it." - Judie
"I was six years old and I got to see the Beatles at the Cow Palace. My Uncle was a very important man in the city, so we had four tickets.We had four great tickets, way up front.I also remember that there was a lot of security at the front of the stage. I do not remember any of the warm up acts at all. I was so excited to be there, I must admit I was rather overwhelmed. I remember girls screaming and crying and screaming again. I remember a lot of perfume and lipstick and combing of hair. Almost like if one of the four had made eye contact with any of the girls it would have been love at first site. Lot of primping going on.
I also remember being very disappointed that I could not hear one song, I held my hands over my ears the whole time because of all the screaming. At the time I was rather disappointed but now I know I was very lucky." –Cathlen
I also remember being very disappointed that I could not hear one song, I held my hands over my ears the whole time because of all the screaming. At the time I was rather disappointed but now I know I was very lucky." –Cathlen
↧
↧
On Ringo's lap
Writer not listed
San Francisco Chronicle
August 19, 1964
In poetic justice of the oddest sort, the only little girl fortunate enough to sit on Ringo Starr's lap backstage last night was the daughter of Shirley Temple, now Mrs. Charles Black.
Lori Black, 8, proved to be a trouper in the great tradition established by her mother in aime when a beatle was considered a misspelled bug.
A ten-minute session with the child idols of this lunatic era, young Lori said that Ringo, of course, was fine, but her favorite Beatles was George--- George Harrison.
"Yes," said her mother, "but whose lap did you sit on?"
"Oh, Ringo's," was the reply.
Mrs. Black elaborated to the extent that she, Lori and the British singers had "just talked".
She didn't say it, but it was conveyed, nevertheless that "Yeah Yeah Yeah" is several sons away from "the Good Ship Lollipop."
↧
The Key to being a Beatles fan....
 |
| photo by Lil Kraai |
One of the most popular way for Beatle fans to get the chance to meet the Fabs was to make a large "key of the city" to present to them. Through the connections of a friend's father, one lucky group of fans that included Lila Kraai did just that. As Lila explains in Garry Berman's book We're going to see the Beatles!, they made the large key and then painted it gold and tied a red ribbon on it. Then they got the mayor of Los Gatos and the town council all to sign it. Lila's friend was to present the key to Paul. But her friend was in awe of the boys and didn't move! Lila had to nudge her friend and say, "give them the key!!"
↧
Concert photos
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
 |
| These photos were taken in Las Vegas and then sold for $1.00 each at another concert stop (not officially of course) in 1964. I bought them for more than that from ebay many months ago. I think they really are a neat piece of original Beatles memorabilia. |
↧
Toy Cats the coolest
 |
| photo by Terry Todd |
BL4JDEH0CQ~~_3.jpg)
Review Journal
August 20, 1964
Toy Cats the Coolest
By Donald Warman
A tried bunch of newsmen dizzy from two hours of shrieking and angry at the roughness of a key up security force, trooped into a backstage room of the Convention Center Thursday night for a close look at the Beatles.
The boys, obviously beat after 25 minutes of shouting back at the ocean of screamers who faced them in the Rotunda, walked wearily onto a platform. Side by side, like characters in a police line-up, they submitted to a mass press interview.
The “Conference” – it was anything but- was as noisy, as chaotic, as impatiently handled as everything else in that long afternoon.
But the Beatles graciously fielded, in their almost inaudible speaking voices, a hodge-podge of questions which flew simultaneously from most of the 100 persons who pushed and crowded their way to the platform.
Shouting over a forbidding cordon of private policemen, the luckier reporters and radio men managed to attach themselves to one or other of the Beatles at least for a few moments.
A Review Journal reporter, by a sheer stroke of luck, was shoved right to the feet of John Lennon, an engaging, articulate, modest young man who appears to carry the burden of the melody line in the Beatles arias.
Lennon, who is much better looking in real life than in his photographs, leaned down and answered freely and affably to such inanities as these:
Q: What do you do with your money?
A: Put it in the bank.
Q: What will you do after this fad is over?
A: I don’t know.
Q: What is your personal favorite among the gifts you have received?
A: An admirer in Liverpool sent me 40 cats … not real cats, you understand, but ah, toy cats, little things for decoration. I s’pose they’re my favorite.
(if enough of the interviewers caught that answer, the toy cat market will surely boom.)
Q: Which do you hate worse? Reporter and their questions or photographers who always want one more?
A: (with a boyish smile) I don’t hate anyone. None of us do.
Q: Do you regard yourselves as being musicians?
A: (He appears never to have been asked that question before) Well we’re in the union, so I s’pose you’d have to say that, in a way, we’re musicians. But not really, I guess. WE don’t think about it much.
Meanwhile in the hubbub along the platform, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and that Ring fellow were fielding questions like “When are you going to write your next book’?” and “What do you think of school dropouts?”
When the RJ reporter tried to edge his way along the platform to catch the answer to that last one, he was abruptly lifted back to his place by the coppers.
The mass interview, born in edginess and tedium, shortly died of apathy.
Then the Beatles trooped, Indian file, to their dressing room. It was a hard day. And the boys faced a hard day’s night ahead.
↧
↧
Vegas Teen Describes the Scene
Vegas Teen Describes the Scene at the Center
By Cornelia DeBruin
The Beatles' chartered plane touched down at the old McCarran field Wednesday at approximately 1 a.m. There were --unexpectedly-- no fans.
They were promptly driven to the Sahara hotel where --even after curfew hours, 2,000 loyal fans screamed a welcome to Las Vegas. Since Wednesday the Sahara has been a constant melee of teenagers who have been trying to get a glimpse of their idols.
The Beatles have spent most of the day in their hotel rooms and, at close to 2:30 or 3:00 pm they were taken to the Convention Center where they spent the time practicing their songs.
At 4pm, the afternoon show began. All 3,500 seats were filled and roughly 200 policemen, some from Phoenix tried to keep law and order.
About 15 minutes before the Beatles came on someone began turning the Convention Center lights on and off which caused much confusion and screams.
At 5:30 The Beatles came on stage to be greeted by uncontrollable screams and applause. the first song they sang was "Twist and Shout" which drove the audience into mass hysteria. It was followed by "Can't buy me love," "close your eyes," "She Loves you," "'till there was you" (a solo number by Paul McCartney), "Roll Over Beethoven," "You can't do that" "If I Fell," "I wanna hold your hand," "Boys (Ringo's solo), "Hard Day's Night" and "Long Tall Sally."
The whole center was reverberating with screams and shrieks and a rumor was circling that at least one girl tried to climb on stage and was carried out in hysterics. May girls in the audience were unashamedly crying while others were at the point of mass hysteria. More than once, the Beatles were pelted with jelly beans. Ringo was hit in the head once to which he shook his head causing many shrieks.
Between 8 and 10 girls fainted and a few adults were driven out by the screams. After the concert, several fans rushed to the back of the Convention Center to get a glimpse of their idols. The police, who treated the people like criminals, forced the crowd back causing many casualties. One girl was jabbed in the ribs with a nightstick and nearly fainted and one other fan had her foot (your truly) run over by a policeman's motorcycle.
All in all, the Beatles' stay and concert here was a smashing success and the teenagers, as a group, behaved in a surprisingly orderly fashion with the exception of a few emotional outbursts. This performance has touched the hearts and lives of nearly 8,500 teenagers.
And in respect to the Beatles, they had a tremendous success which paid off $30,000, nearly $1,000 a minute (Editor's Note: We think somebody as pulling Cornelia's leg).
↧
She wanted to hold her hand
I recalled hearing a story of a fan who had her white gloves signed by the Beatles when she met them so that she could "hold there hand." I thought that was a clever idea. I was surprised last month when I discovered the gloves up for bid on ebay along with the fan's story. I was always surprised that I had the newspaper clipping in one of the scrapbooks I own. So I am sharing all of this with you. I just love this story!!
![]()
![]()
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG) |
| remember to click on this to make it readable |
Beatles OK, Say Phoenix Interviewers
August 25, 1964
When a Phoenix girl confided to Beatle John Lennon that his book, “In His Own Write” was the greatest literary effort she’d ever read, he quipped, “Haven’t read the Bible, eh?”
The only sour note, on an otherwise exciting time in Las Vegas, was an adult male sitting in front of four Valley girls at the Beatles how last week. He sang along with the group – off key!
Among the 16,000 fans who crowded into every nook and cranny to see the long-haired quartet from England were Bessie Cross, 18, Darlene Frank, 17, and her sister, Karen Frank, 20, and Diana Harnack, 16.
A Phoenix Gazette story about Arizona security men being sent to help with anticipated crowds gave them hope to see their idols in person.
Jim Pascal of the Arizona State Guard and Detective Agency gave them the name of Jim Hazel, who heads a similar group in Nevada. Hazel was assigned as the Beatles’ personal body guard and got permission from the English four to grant the Phoenicians a personal interview – said to be the only one given in Las Vegas.
The girls requested a key to the city of Phoenix from Mayor Milton Graham, who said the request was unusual and wasn’t normally done, but would be granted this time. They also made a larger silver and gold one, adorned with a flower, which was a landing area for four beatles.
From their interview backstage came the following facts:
· Ringo Starr winks at the end of every sentence.
· When Paul McCartney signs his autograph, he adds three x’s.
· George Harrison is very quiet and shy.
· All conducted themselves as gentlemen and were very gracious—even to the point of introducing themselves.
· Bessie, who’ll be an Arizona State freshman, came away with Paul’s pen. She got their autographs on her gloves—that way they had to hold her hand!
· The girls maintain the Beatles may fade down, but never out.
↧
These memories didn't stay in Vegas
The Beatles two concerts in Las Vegas on August 20, 1964 were well photographed and documented. What happened in Las Vegas that summer night did not stay in Vegas and we thankfully know a lot about what occurred. Here are some memories of fans that I collected from all around the world wide web.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
I attended the afternoon performance. My dad was working at the Stardust and got “comp” tickets. I believe they were just a couple of dollars each. The Beatles sang through the PA system and played through their amplifiers. You could not hear the music above the screaming. After all, this was the concert scene in its infancy and things were kind of primitive.
One last thing. The entertainment director at the Sahara, Stan Irwin, brought the Beatles to town. He said that he did not make any money on the deal and did it for the kids in the community. Things in Las Vegas were a lot different “all those years ago.” – Jim B.
My uncle, a Vegas hotel owner (and world class poker player) got my family tickets to the evening show. It was exciting but also a bit of a disappointment. The Beatles played for only about 1/2 hour and the little girls (I was about the same age as most of them) screamed so loud it was hard to hear the music. Still, I am happy to have witnessed a part of Beatles history. –Dan W.
I was fortunate to attend both shows almost 50 years ago. Four of us went and we were 14 years old at the time. We traveled to Las Vegas with our friend’s older sister who I believe was just 21 so we didn’t have a lot of supervision. My other friend’s father was a reporter with the Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Arizona and he got us comp tickets in the second row for the first show. My uncle lived in Las Vegas and got us tickets for the 2nd show in the balcony. We also stayed at the Sahara hotel and saw the Beatles get into their limo to go somewhere. After reading this article it must have been the sound check. We also saw them waving from the penthouse. Naturally we attempted to get up to their floor in the elevator but got caught and ran. While both shows were great, the first was amazing as we were at the right of the stage in row 2. We were right behind an American actress of our time named Connie Stevens and her husband actor James Stacey. As in other descriptions, their equipment was just a PA system and pretty small amplifiers. We were definitely Beatlemanics and I remember crying and screaming when we saw them. One other recollection is the warm up group. It was the Righteous Brothers duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield who were popular at the time. To this day I will never know how I talked my parents into going but it was certainly a life experience I will never forget. I still have a box of Beatles memorabilia and know I have a few pictures taken at the show and am going to see if I still have the ticket stubs. – Sue R.
I saw the concert on a whim. I lived in mid-Missouri at the time and my best pal and I decided to take Route 66 out west and we wound up in Las Vegas. Had no knowledge that the Beatle’s would be playing there at the time, but we scored two great tickets on the floor about twenty rows back on the aisle. I was playing in a cover band at the time and we covered many of the Fab Four’s early tunes so the concert was a surreal experience for me. I wish I would’ve had the foresight to save my ticket stub. Been a Beatle’s fan all of my life as all of my children have. –George C.
↧