An online Beatles fan club for and about Beatle fans
Sunday, June 30, 2024
George and the luggage
June 1969
One of the biggest pain points for me when traveling is luggage. I feel for George - in 1969 there wasn't the handy bads on wheels that we have today. That luggage and guitar had to get heavy fast. Thank goodness Terry is there to help!
Family Holiday to Scotland
End of June / Beginning of July 1969
I always thought Julian and Kyoko were adorable in their matching Scottish clothing. It's such a shame this trip had to end with a car accident because it looks like a lovely family trip.
The Day Two Beatles Visited Tambourine Mountain
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| Photo owned by Carol Waldon |
The day two Beatles visited Tambourine Mountain
written by editor Gary Stubbs.
So much is known and has been written about the Fab Four, as they were known, that it is an exercise in futility to even begin to try to sum up the Tour Down Under.
What is worth recalling, however, are some of the details of their brief stay in Brisbane and a day that two of them, Paul McCartney and George Harrison visited Tambourine Mountain.
The original photo of Paul and George reproduced on this page is owned by Carol Waldon of Toowoomba who, as a young schoolgirl, Carol Williams, then living on the Mountain, actually met the lads at the old Eagle Heights Hotel, which some years later burnt down. Carol's older brother, John Williams, who still resides on the mountain with his wife Lindy, went to one of the Beatles concerts in Brisbane, perhaps even on the night I had the good fortune to attend.
Carol was working in a snack bar near Curtis Falls when a customer said they had just seen Paul and George, who had walked down to the Falls and were now headed for the Eagle Heights Hotel to have a meal.
With her father's permission, an excited Carol walked to the hotel and waited at the entrance next to a man who was a Marist Brother, hoping to see them when they left.
When the Beatles appeared, Carol shyly asked them for their autographs.
"They were lovely," She recalled. "They were happy and friendly, and before I knew it. I had their autographs. The Marist Brother took their photo and later, very generously, gave me a print, which, of course, I still have in my old photo album along with their autographs."
"Paul always my favorite Beatle said we lived in a lovely place."
Speaking to Carol also clarified another point for me. I had always been under the impression that they had gone to Green Mountain in two MGBs, but after so many years, had not been able to verify this. She was able to confirm that they did indeed leave the hotel for the Gold Coast in two chauffeur driven sports cars.
The Beatles arrived at Brisbane airport just after midnight on 29th June, where they were greeted by thousands of screaming fans. More than 200 uniformed police lined the tarmac, with 20 detectives mingling in the crowd. Six girls were treated by ambulance workers, two for hysteria, and four who fainted in the crush
Brisbane and the other cities had never seen nor have they since anything like their concerts and the unbridled hysteria that surrounded them.
"The shrieks, the screams, the sobs, bounced off the ceiling. The girls and boys threw their arms above their heads. They bounced up and down on chairs. They sank to their knees in the aisles. It was bedlam, and judging by the upturned open mouth faces, it was pure bliss. It was the Beatles." reported the Brisbane Telegraph newspaper.
I can personally vouch that every word in the Telegraph story printed the morning after their second Brisbane concert and the final appearance of the eight-city tour was true.
I should not even have been there. A cadet journalist with the Courier Mail. I went to sign the time book at the end of my shift when Robyn Smith, a pretty senior reporter, asked me if I was going to see the Beatles. No, I said, I don't have a ticket. You have one now, she said as she flicked a small piece of paper in my direction. I looked at it and realized that it was indeed a concert ticket. How come? I sheepishly inquired. Do you want it or not? She said briskly. I sure did.
I was later to find out that she had accrued two complimentary press tickets, but the bloke she wanted to accompany her had to work that night. Lucky me. Thanks, Robyn, wherever you are.
Now, when they arrived in Brisbane, Paul McCartney was first to step off the plane and onto the gangway, followed by John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, then they stepped onto an awaiting tabletop truck and began a tour of the fence line to acknowledge the crowd.
The excitement was marred by an unfortunate incident when a handful of attendees, later revealed to be university students, threw a barrage of eggs, tomatoes, orange peels, newspapers, and a cushion at the Beatles. Paul McCartney said, "We were disappointed at the egg throwing. It was so pointless".
Due to this incident, the Beatles did not make any further public appearances outside of their concert performances, except for the flying visit to Tambourine Mountain and the Gold Coast by Paul and George.
John Lennon is reported to have said, "No more unscheduled public appearances. We have had enough eggs as long as we're in Brisbane. It's just here (the Lennonn Hotel)and the Festival Hall for us."
The Beatles departed on the first of July from Brisbane airport with 500 screaming fans and 100 police to see them off. As the plane took off, a policeman was overheard to remark, "Well, thank goodness that's over." As the four waved finally from the aircraft steps, there were cries of, "Don't go. Don't go!" and many girls cried, reported The Telegraph.
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Happy times with George
George with Shyamasundar Das (who is the Hare Krishna devotee seen in Get Back)
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Wednesday, June 26, 2024
One of the fans
One of the cutest things this week for me has been these photos of Paul McCartney, Mary, and Nancy at a Taylor Swift concert in London.
What I find adorable is how Paul got into collecting bracelets from Taylor's fans at the show. Something common at a Taylor Swift concert is that fans make "friendship bracelets" and trade them with each other at the show. It is a very sweet part of a fandom and helps fans to get to know one another and make friendships. Even if you don't like Taylor Swift, you must agree that this event is very wholesome.
What Paul might not know is that his fans also do things like this. I received buttons and bracelets at the Paul concerts I attended. In 2016, when Paul came to my town, St. Louis, I had about 100 buttons made that I handed out to fans. It is a fun activity, and for me -- going to a Paul concert is so much more than just hearing Paul perform. It is an event and a chance to get together with people who share the same love that you have.
I hope that with these bracelets, Paul got to experience a little taste of what the excitement of being a fan feels like, and I hope he was able to make the connection of how he makes all of us feel.
Performing for the fans in Dunedin
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June 26, 1964
Check out the fans sitting behind the Beatles. The seem so calm for being so close to them.
Tuesday, June 25, 2024
The Day Barbara saw John Lennon
The day I saw John Lennon
by Barbara Kaminski-Stern
December 12, 2012
May 17, 1975, I was 13 years old. I had just become a Beatles fan. Although I knew who they were, I wasn't that interested. Until I watched Help! with a friend. I was mesmerized. I was a bored teenager to be, and this was interesting. I was hooked. A month later, John Lennon came to town. That sealed the deal.
John Lennon was friends with Larry Kane, a TV reporter and head announcer at WPVI studios in Philadelphia, off Cityline Avenue. Kane had toured with the Beatles when they first came to America. Everyone listened to WFILam pop radio. I used to collect their playlist (and still have some). They announced that John Lennon was coming to Philly to raise money for the Helping Hands charity. I was over the top, excited. The only way we could get to WPVI Studios was by Septa e-bus or a parent. My friend Robyn went with me. We were both interested in music. We had seen Cat Stevens together, and that was enough to bond. I think we took the bus. We got off at the Bala Cynwyd Shopping Center, and our first stop was Record Music to pursue the 45s. I wanted to buy Paul's "Mary had a little lamb" with cover sleeve, but thought I'd wait for another day (no pun intended). Today was John's day, and I wanted to look good and focused.
We were so excited. I wore my favorite white hipster pants and a cool light green shirt with a cartoon drawing on the front, a leather belt, hair pulled back in a "chicken," glasses, and big earrings. I wanted to look my best for John.
When we got there, a crowd already formed. We were in the back of the studio near the parking lot. Nothing fancy here. The back door was higher than we were, so other fans helped Robyn and me climb onto the raised floor. I brushed off my white hipsters. I had money with me because we knew we'd have to make a donation. Someone from the studio came out with autographs, Lennon singles, and "Mind Games," a $2 donation. I raised my hand for one and got it. Ironically, the only thing I had with me to autograph was the WFIL playlist. Why didn't I bring a Beatles album? To be honest, I didn't own any Lennon albums at that point. I had just become a fan, and I wasn't well off. I may have had two Beatles albums at the most. I figured I used my playlist for a second autograph. Suddenly, the crowd started screaming. Out came a DJ and... John Lennon.
It was very surreal. I thought if I just laid back and be respectful, he would notice me, but Robyn was having none of that. "John!!!", she shouted, and I handed her my playlist, and she got an autograph. He yelled, "Give us the greens!" and I put money into a container. I was so close, just a foot away, I looked beyond his glasses. Noticed his shoulder length, straight hair, beret, striped beige and white scarf, his J necklace. He wore a suit, but he was funky, very 70s. This was not hippie, John. This was NYC, John. I wanted to remember it all.
Fortunately, my good friend Mindy lived next door to a photographer who took photos of John while he was here. He seemed to have the same outfit on all weekend. Mindy got her photo taken with John while he was on the air. It's so funny because she looked like a deer caught in the headlights, but she gave me a copy. Then my sister went the next night, she got a double autograph, John's "Rock and Roll" album. You could say I "borrowed" it indefinitely.
Some of my friends got autographs on their arms. I could have done that, but I wasn't so bold, and I wanted a real autograph to keep. I was on cloud nine that day. It was one of the best days of my life.
I went home and was so excited. My neighbors were hanging out with my mom on the front patio of our West Philadelphia row home. "Why are you so excited?" Joan asked. My mom told her "she saw John Lennon today." Joan replied, "Oh, he doesn't appeal to me". They were not impressed, but I was. I ran in and played the Mind Games 45 on my record player. I was overwhelmed.
I changed into jeans and wrote Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr on each leg with blue ink. I wore them to the Sacred Heart School Fair off Cityline and Harvarford avenues. I was in heaven. Nothing could go wrong that day. I was so close. And I had his autograph. And I was there. Although, I felt lucky I didn't realize how lucky I was.
Monday, June 24, 2024
Wedding in Hawaii
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Here is George at a wedding of I would assume Ken and Marilyn in Hawaii. Do you think that is Dhani? I woudl guess this photo to be from the early 1980s. What are your thoughts?
Going over walls and over bridges
June 1974
John was the most gorgeous here -- I said what I said, and I will stand by it. If you saw me at the last Fest for Beatle fans in NYC in February, you might have spotted me hugging a big version of the middle photo. Oh -- I should also mention that Walls and Bridges is my favorite John solo album.
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