Tuesday, February 18, 2014

The run away

I found an extremely interesting story here.  I will try to give you the "Reader's Digest" version if you will.


In October of 1964 a 13 year old girl from Newton, Massachusetts saw the band, The Animals in concert in Boston.   Not just that, Elizabeth Freedman actually got to meet  a few members the band.    This meeting with the British band and her love of the Beatles, sparked a curiosity in Elizabeth about London and the music scene there.  Her Grandmother lived in Britain and she figured that she would meet up with her.  

So she took $400 out of the bank, got a passport and a smallpox shot and then told her friend that she was going on an exciting adventure.   On October 17, 1964, dressed in black, Elizabeth left a note for her mother saying that she was going to the movies and then took a plane from Boston to London.  

Once she made it to London, she found herself in a world of music.  She saw all sorts of concerts including Cilla Black, Petula Clark and Cliff Richards.   She was hoping to get to see her favorite group, the Beatles in the concert.  This would have been an exciting adventure had Elizabeth been five years older.  However, she was a 13 year old runaway with a widowed mother back home in Boston that was worried sick about her little girl.    This mother figured that her daughter had ran off to England and began a search for her.   She flew over to England and worked with the Scotland Yard to locate the teenager.   George Martin saw the news in the paper and announced that if Elizabeth came forward or was found, he would see to it that she could meet the Beatles.      Meanwhile Elizabeth was enjoying dances and shopping and tourist attractions in and around London.   She was living with an older girl at a boarding house.    But her photo and name were in the papers and finally one of the people she had gone out with turned her in.

George Martin kept his word and on November 1, 1964 Elizabeth Freedman met all four Beatles backstage at the Finbury Park Astoria.   They signed two albums for her:  With the Beatles and A Hard Day's Night.   She also got a ticket to see them in concert..

After it was all over with, the press wanted to speak with her.   She did not directly answer their questions.   Just simply yes and no answers.   Although when she was asked what the Beatles were like, she said "terrific"   She did admit that running away from home was a selfish thing for her to do.  She said that she was glad to see her mother, but at no point during her time in England did she feel scared.   Her mother told the press that she was going to be grounded for a long time.

The autograph's album, photographs, ticket stub and newspaper articles are being sold for $60,000.






27 comments:

  1. Sooo, did she buy a plane ticket as the article says, or did she stow away on a ship, and the photo says?

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    1. I have read 3-4 articles about her and all of them say that she bought a plane ticket. The photo was was a fanzine in the 1980's and it is the only mention of stowing away on a ship.

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    2. How did she get a passport so quickly? It takes me weeks here in Canada.

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  2. These photos are fantastic. The Beatles look so animated and just as thrilled to meet her as she is to meet them. They really seemed to love kids and their fans.

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  3. She is only thirteen and she is smoking? Oh My God...

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    1. I sort of thought the same thing, but then I wondered if one of the Beatles offered her a ciggie and she took it to be cool and didn't really smoke it.

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    2. People did in those days, it was not considered dangerous, I was smoking at 13 in 1967. I've given it up now though.

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  4. After the "punishment" she received for running away, I'm surprised there wasn't a rash of fans trying the same thing!

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  5. do all 13 years girls in america look like they're 16 or 17? do they all smoke? she looks older than 13

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  6. I'm sure how young or old someone looks and whether or not they choose to smoke at a particular age, has nothing to do with the country they reside in. And yes she does look much older than 13. Maybe the article got her age wrong.

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    1. No, her age was correct. In her story, she states that she must have looked a lot older than 13 because she was shocked that no one asked her age.

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    2. I can confirm that her age is correctly given. A girl who lived across the street from me, and who like me lived in the same neighborhood as Liz, knew her and confirmed her age.

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  7. Strange.... okay she may not look like a 13 years old girl but.... inmigration on UK never asked to her about passport?

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    1. She had a passport with her. She had family in the UK, and had been over there before, but no alone. Although it would seem strange for 13 year old to be traveling to a different country alone.

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    2. How did she get a passport so quickly? It took me weeks to get mine. She flew from Logan airport to Heathrow without luggage no one at the airport questioned her? Going overseas for 3 weeks and no baggage? Hmm

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    3. She had previously traveled to the UK and had a passport.

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  8. In retrospect, I am quite sure she was glad she did what she when she did it! Look at those great photos! Look at the albums she had! Smart girl...the punishment she might have received could never take away from the happiness she felt being right there with the four of THEM!

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  9. http://www.beatlesautographs.com/SignedAlbumsImages7.htm

    (Vitaliy)

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  10. In 1964 having 400 in the bank was a lot of money. Strange a 13 year old had that much...

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    1. She's the right age to have money received from her Bat Mitzvah if she had one. Girls can look older at that age and back then some were already smoking. It wouldn't have been that unusual to travel alone if she said she was visiting family. Things were not so regulated back then.

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    2. “$400 from her Bat Mitzvah”-How do you know she’s even Jewish? (Freedman isn’t necessarily a Jewish name.)

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    3. Newton, MA, where she was from, is known for having a very large Jewish population.

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    4. Shw was indeed Jewish. I lived about a ten minute walk away from her house (which was far from luxurious); but that has nothing to do with anything. She was simply the determined daughter of a successful salesman. I suspect that the family moved elsewhere, soon afterwards, because I turned 12, 6 days after Liz met The Beatles, so since I was a year ahead in school, I would have at least attended junior high and high school with her, and possibly have been her classmate.

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  11. Remarkable story. She’s a pretty mature 13 year old to manage a passport airline ticket flying alone to London getting a hotel room and no one questioned her along the way ? From cabbie to airline hostess to hotel desk clerk … she was able to get into bars and pubs - no one ID’d her? Hmmmm

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    1. Having never met her, just read the articles, I am not sure if she is telling the truth about how she got the UK. However -- she did meet the Beatles as seen in these photographs. Do you think her story is made up? Think it was all a rouse to meet the Beatles?

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    2. It is indeed a true story. We lived in the same neighborhood; and I remember hearing a lot of "background gossip" about her trip... most of which I have forgotten.

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  12. Really good story and photos. From the photos and body language, I may be reading too much into it - but it looks like John thinks the runaway story is hilarious and thoroughly enjoying it, whilst George is more hardheaded and thinking 'this is actually a bit mad'.

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