Those Fabulous Beatles

 

June 25, 1964 - Auckland 

Happy Day in Auckland

 June 24, 1964 

The crazy Auckland Reception

Back at the hotel in Auckland....

Deidre Gribble (Aukland Regional Queen) gives Ringo a greenstone Maori tiki

Here is what Sally (age 16)  wrote in her diary about her meeting with Ringo and John:

I met Ringo and John!  Ringo shook hands with me and winked at me!  Just me!  Robyn and I took our lunch hour later and went to the hotel to see them returning from the civic reception.  When we got there, we had missed them, and the police wouldn't let us cross the road, but in the end we did.  Robyn was feeling vile, so we went up to the receptionists' room.  Jeannette took us along to see George who was evidently lying on his bed reading, but we looked into the wrong room and the security guard came and made us go.  Then we got talking to the compere of the show and one awfully nice person who we asked if he could get us a Coke and told him we were feeling vile.  He said he bet he knew what would make us feel better, and we said yes, and he said 'would two minutes satisfy us?' We said half a minute would satisfy us!  He said "Come with me."  He said George and Paul were asleep but the other two were there.  We went into the suite and there was Ringo!  Lying curled up on a pillow and he sat up looking tired and depressed.  He first shook Robyn's hand and then he shook mine!  honestly, I thought I was going to cry.  There were tears in my eyes!  When I shook hands I could feel his rings in the way.  He said "hello" and Robyn went across to John.  Ringo said hew as feeling very tired and I, in a fit of bravery said, 'You look it.'  Robyn asked John to take off his sunglasses, but he wouldn't.  She said she wanted to see his eyes and he said they were closed anyway.   We were told we had to leave the hotel; we didn't.  We went down to the Bristro where we met on of the Sounds Inc. who invited us to a party later that night.

Auckland concert memories

If you recall, John Lennon refused to perform in Auckland if there was not proper security.   The police of the town claimed that they would not receive it because they were not royalty.   And so the Beatles almost didn't perform in Auckland.   Derek Taylor was all set to call off the show, but the Beatles had a change of heart because they did not want to disappoint their fans.

While there weren't any police to escort the Beatles to the Town Hall, there were plenty of police inside of the venue.  They would only allow the concert-goers to enter the concert hall two at a time, which caused the some of the fans to miss some of the show (the exact same thing happened when I saw Paul McCartney in concert in 2002---there was no much security after 9/11 that they were only allowing us in two at a time---and some fans missed the beginning of the show because of it. Luckily I got there way early).

Once they got inside, the Auckland fans had a great time.  It was reported, "When John said, 'We're gonna sing an oldie called 'She Loves You,' the crowd went wild and they could have been singing anything at all and the crowd would have been none the wiser."

There was a bit of rowdy behavior from the fans, but nothing too wild.  Derek Taylor said, "The Wellington audiences had been more staid than those in Auckland, the Beatles were very pleased with last nights show."

Looks like someone got up on stage!

Some concert memories

As a twenty year old I was very fortunate to go to TWO Beatle concerts at the Auckland Town Hall!

On the 6.00 pm session of the first night I drove three girls from work, at Papakura, in my treasured A35 and with my cousin sat in great seats in the stalls. The noise was deafening yet wonderful!  At some stage I remember (much to my female cousin's disgust) finding myself on the floor. I soon got up tho'.

The next night I, and a female friend, attended the 8.30 pm session and that again was a wild night. 

I distinctly remember my friend, who was a devout George Harrison fan, just sitting there with her mouth wide open but no sound was coming out. I was getting a bit concerned but realised that she was just so enraptured seeing George it was all she could do!!!

After the performance I recall going to the Royal International on Victoria Street West and standing in the street chanting "the Beatles". However I don't think they did appear. 

Well there are my memories - I still have the Ticket Stubs, the Program and my still immaculate Beatle Boots to prove the "point"!- Garry F B, Auckland CBD 

As a then 20 year old, I went to see them at the Auckland Town Hall with two flatmates. 

One flatmate was madly in love with Paul McCartney, so much so that her boyfriend bore an uncanny resemblance to said Paul. 

They had front row circle tickets and didn't hear any music through the screaming, to which she contributed mightily. 

The other flatmate and I had our tickets in the choir stalls behind the stage, consequently, could hear the music quite well, and I remember that Ringo kept turning around and waving to us.  I also remember leaving the Town Hall with my ears ringing from all the screaming, which was probably the start of the tinnitus from which I now suffer!  Wonderful memories as I have always loved their music. -- Jenny H.


I went to the concert with a boy I wanted to impress, so I didn't wear my glasses and The Beatles were just a blur in the distance.  We were all screaming.  Screaming was a way of loving them.  They gave us so much and we just had to give it all back to them.-- Susan
 

Pois--isn't that what Ringo sings?

On June 25, 1964, the Beatles were thrown a Civic Reception outside the Aukland Town Hall.   The Beatles may not have been popular with the police and some of the residents in Aukland, but the mayor Mr. D.M. Robinson made the decision to hold the reception because receptions had been held for other famous people who came into town and he didn't think you should judge who should and who shouldn't receive a civic reception.    Beatle fans of Aukland were thrilled with the mayor's decision.

Those at the reception included the mayor and his wife, promoter Sir Robert Kerridge, and the members of the opening act, Sounds Incorporated.  The Beatles emerged from the Town Hall ten minutes after the start time and when the fans heard them, they let out a huge roar that echoed around Civic Square for a full five minutes - gestures of quiet from John and Paul having no immediate effect.

The mayor started the reception by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen and Beatlemaniacs this is a reception for the young people of Auckland to see the most outstanding entertainers of their class in the world.  It's a chance to let your hair down, the Beatles seemed to have already done that."

A Maori Concert Party sang songs, did the haka, presented each Beatle with pois and three of the girls rubbed noses with the moptops. "The reaction of the Beatles delighted even the cynics," wrote The New Zealand Herald. "They made ineffectual attempts to twirl the pois, recoiled in mock horror from the grimaces of the Maori warriors, and shook their long hair violently during the nose rubbing." After being on show for 25 minutes, the Beatles stood on their chairs to give the crowd one last look while Robbie asked the crowd to "say goodbye," ineffectually leading them in a rousing Now is The Hour.

They were asked later what they thought of the reception and George said, "the Maori dancers and singers were great.  I liked the pois."  To that John responded, "Pois isn't that what Ringo sings?"  (haha John---always good for a pun).

Of course the fans were there, screaming, throwing items, climbing fences trying to get in, stomping down flowerbed, holding banners (like the sign that says "Tom loves the Beatles) or crying in school because their school did not get out in time to see the Fab 4.

Here is the memory of a fan named Susan who was there:

At my school -- Mt. Roskill Grammar-- dozens wagged to go to the Civic Reception.  There had been dire warnings at morning assembly of the consequences  but many caught buses into the city.  At 14 it seemed the most wonderful thing that had happened in our live--the Beatles had chosen to visit our city.  My memory of the civic welcome is simply noise. We cheered everybody.  The crowd was so big when I lifted my leg to scratch my foot, I couldn't put it down again. 

While we know that typically the Beatles hated these receptions, the photos and things said afterwards really makes me think that they honestly enjoyed this one.

 
Information found in
The Beatles in New Zealand (book) by Bruce Renwick (1999)
Half A World Away: The Beatles' Australasian Tour 1964 by Greg Armstrong and Andy Neill (exert from the New Zealand Herald) 2014
The Gilly tumblr blog

The Beatles Kiwi Caps

I just thought this was an interesting article and was worth sharing.   It was written by Dearnaley for the New Zealand Herald.

Michael Willison did not understand the fuss when he rocked up with a set of school caps in 1964 to adorn the world's most famous mop-tops.

Nor would he have known that the caps would be likely to fetch thousands of dollars each nowadays, if anyone owning them could prove they were once worn by the Beatles.

The Woman's Weekly chief photographer, now retired but still living in Auckland, said yesterday he had not known just how big the Mersey side group had become when he arrived for a picture session at their hotel.

That dawned on him only during their subsequent concert, at the Auckland Town Hall, when he again photographed the Fab Four and feared foot-stamping fans "might bring down the balcony if we were not careful".

"It was complete and utter mayhem," he said, confessing that he was in his early 30s at the time and possibly not fully in tune with youth culture, although he enjoyed the Beatles' music.

Mr Willison recalled that he and his colleagues rustled up the school caps to give the hotel photo shoot a local touch and to provide readers with something extra for having to wait the six weeks it took for the Woman's Weekly colour pages to be published in those days.

"We did it to give it a New Zealand flavour," said Mr Willison of the session in which he photographed George Harrison and Ringo Starr wearing Mt Albert Grammar caps, and Paul McCartney the insignia of Avondale College.

John Lennon, in keeping with his more erudite image, wore a university cap and gown.
Mr Willison believes the caps were likely to have been borrowed from a uniform shop. He does not have any idea where they have ended up.

But veteran Auckland auctioneer Dunbar Sloane Snr told the Herald that if the Beatles had signed the caps, or if whoever now owned them had any other proof they were worn for the photo shoot, they would probably be worth $3000 to $4000 each.

Press conference in Auckland

Another city and another press conference.   It was the same old story in a different town for the Beatles, but a new and exciting experience for those who attended the press conference

Scanned by the Gilly from a New Zealand magazine from 1964

The Night George Harrison came calling

John and Ringo visited with relatives while in New Zealand, and George visited with some old Liverpool neighbors.  This story was written by Zizi Sparks and was published in the New Zealand Herald.  As always, I encourage you to click the link and visit newspaper.   I am copying the article here so that it does not get lost in cyberland.

Screaming fans, loud concerts and poached eggs on toast were all part of George Harrison's visit to New Zealand with the Beatles 50 years ago.

For Pauline Snelgrove, 67, it's the poached eggs she remembers.

Harrison visited her family - his former Liverpudlian neighbours - after one of the band's Auckland concerts, for a late-night dinner.

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Beatles tour of New Zealand and Australia.
Thousands of screaming fans waited as the band touched down at Wellington Airport on June 21, bringing Beatlemania to New Zealand.

But Harrison's midnight visit was "no big deal" to Mrs Snelgrove.

The grandmother of five grew up a six-minute walk from George Harrison's family in Liverpool and her mother Josie was good friends with his mother Lou.

"This is my mother's story, really," said Mrs Snelgrove.

She remembered when Harrison and his brother babysat her and her siblings, and fondly mentioned how her father, as an electrician, would fix his electric guitars.

When Mrs Snelgrove's family, the Hughes, moved to New Zealand in 1961, Josie and Lou exchanged letters.

Mrs Snelgrove wasn't a fan of the Beatles so when they came to Auckland, the 17-year-old wasn't interested in going to one of their concerts. But she was "dragged to the show" by her brother. Afterwards, Harrison paid the Hughes a visit. "He arrived in a Mini after the show with a big burly bodyguard," Mrs Snelgrove said.

"They came in and stayed until about three or four in the morning. We all sat and had poached eggs on toast with tomato sauce."

Mrs Snelgrove was given several signed photos by Harrison, which she has given away over the years. She only has one left.

She and her now-husband, Noel Snelgrove, dropped Harrison at the Royal International Hotel on Victoria Street - demolished in the 1980s - at 4am after taking him up Mount Eden in Mr Snelgrove's Holden to look at Auckland's lights.

"As we got closer to the hotel, the screams got louder, she said. "When Noel pulled up, policemen came up and said we couldn't stop there. When George rolled down the window the policemen apologised. Then he got out and we never saw George again."

Mrs Snelgrove said the family didn't tell many people of their visitor and some people think it's a made-up story.

"My eldest daughter wrote a high school assignment and told the story of George's visit and her teacher wrote, 'this story shows a good use of your imagination'."

The Beatles performed for less than 30 minutes during each concert.

Not the Best Welcome in Auckland

When the Beatles landed in Auckland, New Zealand on June 24, 1964, they did not know that they weren't going to have the security that they were accustomed to.    When their plane touched down at the Whenupai Airport, 300 fans were waiting for them, but the fans were not allowed to wave to the Fabs.   The Beatles were taken straight to their Royal Continental to hear for the hotel.   Glenn A. Baker's great book, The Beatles Downunder takes it from there--

(Lloyd Ravenscroft speaking) 'The Royal Continental was rather inconveniently located on a hill with a lane-way running behind it and a tiny car park descending from the lane.  O one occasion our Cadillac got to within 30 feet of their entrance and because there was only a handful of police on duty, it stopped dead in the middle of a surge of people.  So Mal, Neil and I squeezed out, locked the boys inside and pushed in inch by inch towards the garage door, a process that took about 20 minutes.   All through this, girls were fainting in the middle of the crush and we were passing them over our shoulders to safety, only to discover five minutes later that we were handling the same girl.   We managed to get the steel door open and we carried about 200 fans into the garage with us.  So we kept the Beatles locked in the car until we had removed them one by one.' Somehow the fans did get their hands on the group.  John said, 'It was a bit rough.  I thought definitely a big clump of my hair had gone.  I don't mean just a bit.  They'd put about three policemen on for three or four thousand kids and they refused to put more on.  They said, 'We've had all sorts over 'ere, we've seen them all,' they said they h ad seen them all as we went crashing to the ground.'    Dave Lincoln explains, "that was the one time I saw John really lose his temper, particularly as Ringo had got a bit hurt.  He virtually went on strike, refusing to play any more shows until he was assured that there would be enough police when they needed them.  It was times like that he showed very clearly who the leader of the group was.

The Beatles made it inside of the hotel and appeared to the fans in the street below while standing on the fire escape balcony.   Here I will let Bruce Renwick from his book The Beatles in New Zealand explain what occurred

The seething mass erupted and as the four waved to them a girl rushed around the balcony and planted a kiss on Ringo's cheek before a burly security guard picked her up and carried her away.  After a few more more minutes of waving, the Beatles disappeared inside and the crowd started to simmer down and disperse.