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.”