Rockland man once crashed Beatles gathering

Albert Gardner with the Beatles 

 

Rockland Man Once Crashed Beatles Gathering

By Emmett Meara

Bangor Daily News

December 13, 1980

    You could say that Albert Gardner has nerve. That is like saying it snows in Maine in the winter.

     On a bet in 1964, Gardner actually crashed a Beatles press conference in Scotland, went backstage, had his picture taken with the famous quartet, and took home an autographed photo. Still not satisfied, he watched a Beatles show standing behind the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein. He has the pictures to prove it. He even has an autograph from slain Beatle John Lennon, which says, "You are a fake" underneath the name. 

    Gardner had donned an overcoat and felt hat, complete with a press pass in the brim, like the George Raft movies. The outfit was completed with dark glasses as he posed as a magazine writer.

      Of the hour backstage with The Beatles, the Rockland insurance man said Lennon seemed to be the leader. "They would look to him for a lot of things. He was the kidder, but he was the gun too. He was the spokesman. I'm surprised at the reaction to his death. It is even more than Elvis. I suppose that it was the violent nature of the thing."

     The whole Scotland event started on a bet with an English woman. Gardner said.  When he told her that he met 50s rock and roll star Roy Orbison, the woman didn't believe it. "I can meet anyone I want to. So can you," Gardner told her. The conversation spread a bit, and a few dollars were bet that Gardner could not get into a scheduled Beatles press conference in Edinburgh with his press outfit. 

    Gardner went to see the manager of the theater."I told him I was going to get in there with or without his help, and after a while, for some reason, he actually agreed. On the day of the concert, the line was already blocks long. I went to the front of the line, and he actually waved me in. He told me that I was on my own and that he might call the cops himself. I said that was fine, as long as I got in the door."

     Gardner said the press conference hadn't started, so he took two of the free drinks offered and left one under a front-row seat. Then he went and socialized, telling a tall story about working for a magazine from the States. "They all looked at me kind of funny, but no one threw me out," he said.

     When the conference started, he went up front to claim his seat and drink. In the seat was a newsman with a movie camera, sound outfit, notepad, the works. Gardner politely asked a man to move and pointed to his drink under the seat. "He actually took his equipment and left. I couldn't believe it", he said.

     While he was pretending to write something in his notebook, Gardner walked behind the Beatles to get in the picture for the local paper to get proof for the bet. But that was not enough. Ringo, noted for his love of diamonds, left a jeweled cigarette lighter on the table. When the band went backstage, Gardner quietly took the item and headed backstage. When he encountered resistance, he told the man at the door, "You tell Ringo you met the man with his lighter, but didn't let him in."

     That's what did it.  He went to the dressing room and introduced himself to the Beatles. As you must have noticed, there is little shyness in Mrs. Gardner's boy, Albert.  He refused to hand over the expensive lighter despite Ringo's displeasure until they agreed to pose for him.  Mixed in with the motor-driven Nikons and Leicas at the press conference was this pocket-sized Instamatic. Honest. Garner had stood up in the middle of that press conference with a pocket camera and flash cubes. He should work for the CIA .

    Anyway, Gardner today has a picture of himself with the Beatles in the process. The picture developed a slight mist, but Gardner is not complaining. He also has a signed publicity photo and a small scrap of paper with all the signatures. He figures they might be worth some money today. 

    Even after getting those goodies, Gardner was not satisfied. After all, the show was starting, "I had never seen them. I didn't want to miss it", he said. So he simply walked backstage and stood behind Beatles manager Brian Epstein. When officials came by to check credentials, Garner said, he just nodded toward Epstein and said, "I'm with him". 

    "I could not believe the concert. There were girls throwing things and throwing up. They would run from the back of the theater to the front to the top of the chair. They would never touch the ground. They were fainting all over the place. There was a constant scream, a roar in the theater. I had never seen anything like it. 

    In the scrapbook, carefully preserved, Gardner has the pictures of himself and the Beatles.