Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Beatles "Break Up" Fete By NY Deejays



Beatles 'Break Up' Fete By N.Y. Deejays
New York (UPI)

Local disc jockeys officially met the Beatles last night and gave the mop-haired British singers a boisterous reception rivaling the one they received from the city's teenagers.  They screamed.  They yelled.  They pushed each other out of the way to get a closer look at the rock n roll quartet.

The ruckus took place in the Baroque Room of the once sedate Plaza Hotel, and the record company which sponsored the press reception placed four private detectives on the door to make sure no unauthorized person slipped past.

The authorized persons were more than enough.

All was relatively quiet for the first hour of the reception as the 150 disc jockeys' press agents and pretty girls -- whose presence was never satisfactorily explained -- stood around sipping drinks.

Then the young heroes arrived, and pandemonium broke out.

"It's Ringo!"  shoulded an elegantly dressed blonde making a beeline for the door.  A moment later she, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and the rest of the Beatles were engulfed in a wave of enthusiasts.

Disc jockeys thrust microphones under the noses of the Beatles, pretty girls cuddled them and were cuddled in return and the officials of the record company bellowed vainly about the hubbub, "Let's have a little order, please."

During the outbreak of Beatlemania, a young woman kept shouting for "Popsie,"  who seemed to be a photographer -- but "Popsie" never showed up.  Even if he had, he never would have been able to get through the crowd.

Of course we know that "Popsie" was there taking photographs, as the signature on this photo (and many others) show. 


It was the latest chaotic reception given to the British visitors, who earlier in the day played meet the press.

The news conference was held at their headquarters in the Plaza, a hotel which may never recover from the experience of having The Beatles as their guests.

Missing were the teenage Beatlemanaiacs.   Sub-freezing temperatures, a driving snow and classroom commitments kept the group's adoring fans away from the hotel for the first time since the Beatles arrived here last Friday.  Scores of policemen, stamping their feet to keep warm, had nothing to do.

Inside the hotel all was confusion.  The Beatles were presented with two golden records- one for their million-seller single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and the second for the best-selling album, "Meet the Beatles."

Newsmen, photographers, television and radio technicians and press agents got in each others' way as Alan Livingston, president of Capitol Records, tried four times to make the presentation.

Other opinions expressed by The Beatles, who visited Twist palace (The Peppermint Lounge) and motored through Greenwich Village Sunday night:


  • Teenagers here are "noisier" than in England.
  • "We're not very sexy... our manager is the sexy one,"  John Lennon (Manager Brian Epstein blushed)
  • Greenwich Village, the city's Bohemian community, "Looks like Disneyland."  (This opinion despite the fact that they have not visited the Los Angeles amusement park).
  • They have not been invited to the White House by President Johnson but "we wouldn't mind meeting the President's daughters."
  • They don't mind girls throwing themselves at the limousine which carries them about New York.  "It's not our car," Ringo noted.
  • New York city, as a whole, is "absolutely fab."

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