Beatlemania: The Real Story of the Beatles UK tours 1963-1965 -- Book Review

I honestly do not know how I missed this book when it was first published in 2010.   The book Beatlemania:  The Real Story of the Beatles UK tours 1963-1965 by Martin Creasy is my type of Beatles book.  I spotted this book for sale at one of the shops in Liverpool this past summer.   I bought it right away, thinking it must be a new book.  I was quite surprised when I saw the copyright date as 2010, and I wondered why no one had been talking about this book.

Martin Creasy has done a wonderful job researching a topic that has very little information out there, the Beatles UK tours.  He has gone through newspaper and magazine articles as well as photographs to give detailed information about each individual concert the Beatles gave during the U.K. tours from 1963-1965.   But the best part is that he has tracked down people who were actually at the concerts and has their personal stories in this book.  Everyone from fans who were there to police officers, hotel managers, security, opening acts, etc etc.    It is these first-hand accounts from those who were there and witnessed the Beatles performing on stage that make this book so special.

The bulk of the book covers all of the 1963 tours: the Helen Shapiro tour, the Roy Orbison tour, and the Tommy Roe tour. It was interesting to read about how Beatlemania really took off and how the screaming got out of control way before the term "Beatlemania" was given in October 1963. I also really enjoyed reading about the 1965 U.K. tour because there is so little information out there about this tour. 

From this book, I also learned that you cannot find photos of every Beatles concert because some concert halls did not allow photography during a concert, not even from the press. What a shame! Many of the press people bothered the Beatles for photos in their dressing rooms.

Here is one of my favorite parts of this book:

This was during the 1964 tour

Janice and Maggie really were in the front row of full-on Beatlemania. "When The Beatles came onstage the theatre was alive with screaming, which did not die down at all   I was rather annoyed  because I could barely hear the Beatles, even in the front row, although I hasten to add I must have been screaming as well!  We stood on our seats and were in awe.  At one point I looked at the girls I was with and there was only Maggie in the seat next to me.  The others had been carried out by St. John's Ambulance Brigade people because they had fainted.  Then Maggie threw her cardboard, moveable puppet she had made of George onto the stage.  George picked it up and put it on his amplifier and so I turned to Maggie to say something, but she had collapsed in a heap in her chair.  They had to carry her out!  So I was the only one left and I decided I didn't want to miss the show and was there until the end.   When the Beatles finished Maggie came rushing back down the aisle, but the Beatles had gone.  We rushed outside to see if we could watch them leaving, but they were not in sight.  So we tried to storm the backstage, but were sent back out.  We hung around for quite a long time waiting for the departure of the Beatles, but never saw them.  The newspaper the next day stated that they had left the theatre over a wall right after the show."

Here are some photos taken during the U.K. concerts in 1963. These aren't from the book, but I have found them, and the places and dates are unknown.

This photo was thought to have been taken in Liverpool?

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