Escaping fans in Chicago

Chicago Taping Session

If you love the Beatles -- raise your hand!

330 Girls Scream Goodbye

George Harrison ducks into chartered plane at Midway Airport as the other Beatles wave a last good-by to their fans Saturday (Sun-Times photo)

300 Girls Scream Good-By, but Beatles Can't Hear
By Thomas Day
Chicago Sun-Times

The Beatles brightened up an otherwise overcast day for 300 girls Saturday with a brief appearance at Midway Airport.

But the mop-headed four were kept at least 100 yards from the clutches of all but a handful of admirers as they boarded a chartered plane for Minneapolis.

Even the screams of the youngsters, drowned out by the roar of the warmup of the four-engine turboprop jet, were kept from the singers. 

About 50 of the girls showed up for the leave-taking as early as 10am.

Police apparently used a policy of divide and rule to help keep the girls in check.  Officers were stationed at the main and south terminals of the airport, thus drawing crowds to both places.

Nearly all the fans, many with cameras and a few carrying binoculars, scrambled to the main terminal when the plane taxied there about 1 1/2 hours before the 3 pm departure.

The arrival of Tim Hudson shortly after 2 pm brought screams of frenzy from many of the girls.  Hudson, a disk jockey for Station KCBQ in San Diego, California, sports a haircut like those that adorn Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

When Hudson stepped from one of the two station wagons carrying disk jockeys, reporters and supporting acts for the Beatles.  Hudson was apparently indistinguishable from the Liverpool entertainers to the eyes of admirers.

The Beatles arrived from the O'Hare - Sahara Inn, 3939 Mannheim, Schiller Park, moments before departure time.  They rode in one of two chartered 1965 Cadillacs.

The singers stepped from the auto, which was driven to within a few yards of the plane.  They waved and posed for pictures, then disappeared into the 92-seat aircraft. 

Only a favored few -- several children and friends of airline representatives, for example, got near enough for a touch. 

On Friday afternoon and night, the singing idols had performed to shrieking, adoring audiences at Comiskey Park.  Twenty-one of the 55,000 persons who attended couldn't stand it and were treated at the park's first aid station for hysteria and fainting.

An Oak Lawn teenager took a more objective look at the singers while waiting for them to arrive at Midway Saturday.  "It's best they only come once a year,"  she said.  "Otherwise we'd get tired of them." 

Ringo - the one with the sad eyes

Snapback

Matching ties

Who says that John and Yoko had to be the only couple that wore matching jackets and ties?   Looks like Paul and Linda sported that style as well.

Give my regards to Rupert the bear

Chicago in '64

Beatles Glasses

This story comes from Beatle fan and collector, Steve Brodwolf, who posted this story on the Beatles Collector's Facebook page and gave me permission to share it here. 

I met Ringo in 1989. A travel agent friend alerted me that Ringo was flying into Chicago and I went to the airport to say "Hi." Another friend made these wacky Ringo/Beatles glasses and I gave them to Ringo. (the shot of me was taken earlier in the day, knowing I was going to give them to Ringo) He immediately put them on and asked me to take his picture. He signed several items for me and he never removed the glasses. He loved them. The next night, I went to the show and gave a copy of the shot to one of Ringo's stage crew. He took it back to Ringo. A few minutes later the stage guy called me to the edge of the stage. Ringo sent the picture back to me. Signed and personalized with a small Ringo work of art. ...He was totally cool. :) - One odd thing about our meeting. It wasn't until I got the photo back that I noticed that on the day we met...we were both wearing the same shirt!

Wings over Chicago

Preparing for the firestorm

Sweet Beatle Dreams: Book Review

Sweet Beatle Dreams by Mary Mack Conger is an older Beatles book, published in 1989. Since then, many other books similar to Mary's have been published that were better than this one. This book is Mary's diaries from 1964 & 1965 reproduced in book form. Mary was a 14 year old girl in Iowa in 1964 and she quickly became a Beatlemaniac after hearing their records.


She writes about the Beatles in her diary every day and she talks about how her and her best friend, Sue did everything Beatles together:  the would buy magazines,  have sleep over, bake cakes on the Beatles' birthdays.    

Most importantly, they had tickets to see the Beatles in concert in Chicago in September of 1964!   That summer they anticipated seeing the Beatles in person and when the big day came, it was as wonderful and amazing as Mary and Sue could have dreamed.

I found the last part of the book to be sort of sad.  Mary's mother did not approve of Mary being a Beatlemaniac and said that the Beatles were corrupting her and made her take down all of the Beatles posters in her bedroom.  As the girls started high school and turned 15, Mary and Sue no longer were best friends.   Like so many friendships at that age, they drifted apart. And by mid-1965, Mary realized that she had outgrown celebrating the Beatles' birthdays and basically was no longer a fan.

I know it was the truth and it very well could be the story of any girl in 1964, but I was hoping that she would stay dedicated to Boys.  

This was a nice little book. Nothing amazing in it or anything. It was fast to read.  I read it while my boyfriend and his son were watching a movie.  By the time the movie had ended, I was done with the entire book.   So this makes for a really nice and easy summer read, although Confessions of a Beatlemaniac by Dee Elis is a much better book in a similar style.

The link below is the affiliate link to Amazon, where you can purchase this book.  I get a small percentage of anything purchased through this link.  Money made from the Amazon Afflication is used to pay the annual fee to keep this site online.  Thank you for your support.  Sara

https://amzn.to/49ymmjI

Meeting Paul in the Windy City

Here is a good story about a fan who did not win the contest to meet Paul during the "Broadstreet" promoting, but did have several meetings with him that day.    It comes from the Feb/March 1985 issue of the Write Thing and was written by Mike Matela.




It was a rainy and windy night in Chicago.  I arrived at the Ambassador East about 10pm and saw a few people sitting out in front holding signs and pictures of Paul McCartney.  I tried sneaking up, but I took one step off the elevator and was informed to please go back down, that's when I knew for sure hew as there.  So the wait started.  I lasted until one in the morning and went home dejected.  I set my clock for five am because I heard he'd been jogging the other day.  October 19, 1984, five o'clock came and jumped out of bed and headed back downtown Chicago.  A 25 minute  ride took fifteen minutes.  I was flying!    When I got there the same devoted girls were still there from last night.  I have to give them a lot of credit.  And the wait continued and it got colder and colder and much more windy.  We all stood by the entrance hoping to get a glimpse of Paul.  Then the next thing you know a voice comes out saying, "excuse me, I'm running late."  It was Paul!  He was coming in from jogging by himself.  Everyone there was shocked.  While we were looking for him to come out, he must have run right by us.  Luckily I somehow managed to take a slightly out of focus shot.  That sneak!  After that meeting my adrenaline was so high, I knew there was no way I was leaving.

Three limos pulled up about 9am, and people began to sense something  was going to happen.  About 9:15 he came out with Linda beside him.  Before you knew it, he was surrounded by people.  Luckily I got to take a couple of shots.  After he hopped into his limo another Beatle fan I'd met named Rich asked me if I wanted to hop into his car and follow him to the Ritz Carlton and of course I said yes.  We actually blew two red lights on Michigan Avenue, trying to keep up wit Paul.  We got there in time to catch him coming out of his limo.  We then found out he wouldn't be out for about three hours.  So I went to get some more film.  Later I found out that ten of my best pictures didn't come out because I trusted the lady there to load my camera.  Later on, back at the hotel we found out he was having lunch on the 12th floor and we shot up there and sat around.  And before you know it, he popped up, walking right toward us.  He came over and said hi, hugged the girl I was with (they died!) and then let me take those 10 pictures I was talking about.  Then he said he had to run because he had an interview with Gene Siskel.  Believe me, it was all too good to be true.

I got to meet him one more time about an hour later, which proved to be the highlight of the day.  He came out wit h the press and I caught up to him and asked him for an autograph.  He said "sure."  I shook his hand and said, "thanks for everything Mr. McCartney."  And that was it.  I'm still to the moment on cloud nine!


Side note from Sara:    The interview with Siskel was where Paul asked Siskel what he thought of the film and Gene admitted that he thought the whole thing was terrible.    It was reported that Paul was VERY mad at this and was close to throwing a glass of Orange Juice at Gene Siskel!      

Encounter with Paul

Encounters
Written by Keith Denemark
From the Fab/March 1985 issue of "The Write Thing"


My meeting with Paul and Linda McCartney all started when I received a phone call from New York on October 12, 1984.   The phone call was from a representative of Roger & Cowan's International Relationship Consultants.  I was told that I was selected through Paul's Club Sandwich mailing list to meet Paul when he comes to Chicago.

October 17th, I received another call from Roger & Cowan.  I was told to meet Paul tomorrow afternoon at the Ritz Carlton at 160 E. Pearson, 12th floor at 1:15.

October 18th I arrived at the hotel at 12:55.  Waiting on the main floor with Gwyn Ashley.  she was another person who was picked to meet Paul .   At 1:15, Gwyn and I went up to the 12th floor.  Couple of minutes later, Linda was walking towards us.  I removed my copy of "Linda's pictures" from the bag.  After she signed it, we had to wait about five minutes.  During that time, I was talking to Denis Golden and Gloria Rossi.  Five minutes past, the representative of Roger & Cowan brought us up to Paul's room.  Getting off on the 28th floor we walked to room 2819.  Walking into the room, Paul was not to be found.  Then Paul entered.  First he started shaking our hands.  Then he said, "why don't you all sit down on the couch next to me and tell me what's new."  I started taking pictures of Paul and Paul with the other fans.  then I was sitting next to him.  I gave him a drawing of Rupert the Bear and him, and he also signed some albums for me.  I had some pictures taken with Paul.  and then there was a photo session for the Club Sandwich.  After that photo session, I had my picture taken with Linda, too.

Fan memories of the Chicago show

I remember driving the Outer Drive in Chicago on the way to the International Amphitheater to hear Booby Hebb sing, “Sunny.”  I knew he was on the bill with The Beatles, and it fueled my excitement.  When my girlfriend, upon whom I had given this ultimate date, broke up with me a few weeks later, I developed a pathological hatred for “Sunny.”

As for the concert, I believe that memory is somewhat plastic and changes over time.  I have see The Beatles’ video from the Budokan in Tokyo form the same summer so many times, I think some of those images have migrated a bit into my own actual experience at the Chicago Amphitheater.  We were seated in the last row of the flat floor, so we didn’t have a great angle or line of sight.  The opening act dutifully, even enthusiastically, went through the thankless chore of “opening the show.”  In addition to Hebb was The Cyrkle (Red Rubber Ball) and I remember their distinction being that they were the only U.S. act managed by Brian Epstein (a mixed blessing, I imagine).  The other band that made an impression was Barry and the Remains.  I was kind of fascinated by them.  I had never heard of this band, yet they were opening for The Beatles. They lead singer reminded me a bit of Gerry Marsden who I liked.  And, he played a ridiculously weird Al Caiola model Epiphone guitar which seemed to have a Wurlitzer organ effects panel grafted on it.  I remember their performance as being rootsy and a lot grittier than the squeaky sound of The Cyrkle.  I did think that they were cool, but naturally my main focus was The Beatles.

What can I say about their performance?  Although I couldn’t often hear it, I dug it enormously, nonetheless.  Just the few scraps and recognizable riffs from “Paperback Writer” “She’s a Woman” “I Feel Fine” the songs from the more recent repertoire were overpoweringly exciting to hear.  I had seen The Beatles the year before in Comiskey Park and that was exciting, but the songs in this set were so much more marvelous to me – the vision of them in the flesh, their cool new stage outfits, the shirts with the long pointy collars, the odd sight of both George and John playing identical sunburst Epiphone Casino guitars rather than the Rickenbacker and Gretsch I had come to know.  Just as with my first Beatles concert, I couldn’t believe it was them.  I’m sure that’s why so many millions screamed in their presence.

As we drove home later, with my head still swimming with it all, I promised myself I would try to remember every detail so I could always access it perfectly -  a wonderful teenage fantasy about trapping memories, about capturing lightning in a bottle.  Many of the details of that concert have eroded since then, but I still have an indelible sense in my very marrow of how exciting it was.
--Andrew

I saw the Beatles twice in Chicago.  I still have the ticket stubs.  The only two things I really remember are, not hearing much unless you put your fingers in your ears, and in Comisky Park (’65) there were guys walking around in Beatle suits.  We all thought it was THEM just walking around
-MBR

Saw the evening show. You could hear YESTERDAY. When the band started to play it, the screaming virtually halted. -  Jim

Saw the 7:30 show and got an autograph from the lead singer of The Cyrcle. A ticket for the show cost $5.50. Will never forget it – Carol

August 12,1966 was my 13th birthday and this was just a FABULOUS way to enter my “teens.” I screamed, I cried, and had the best time ever!
It is a memory that I will NEVER forget. I can still see the Beatles on the stage..it was incredible. -  Debbie

It was a dream come true for me since I had just come to the US from Colombia in 1965 when I was 16 years old, at the time of the concert I was 17. I am now almost 66 years old and will never forget that wonderful experience it was just like I had seen on TV!!! LOTS of screaming!!! My favorite…RINGO?? – Sonia

I was at evening show. 5th row just off center to Johns side. I can see it like yesterday. I found that if I cupped my ears with my hands, I could hear the music. Somewhat. Maybe because I was so close and all the screaming was behind me. I have pictures that I found they the internet that show from behind The Beatles playing and you can see me in the fifth row. Still have the ticket stub of course.  – dahanu

My cousin and i went to the evening show. We were lucky because i sent in for tickets fairly late but we got seats in the first few rows in the balcony on John’s side very close to the band, as opposed to being in the back on the main floor.
We could see them and most importantly, hear them very well.
I wouldn’t have known it at the time but now I look back on the show as one of my life’s highlights. – Glenn

I remember lining up for the show outside, they had this regular door, not the big double doors you go into, it was just a side door, which might have been an indoor exit, and every now and then somebody affiliated with the stadium would open the door and look outside and all the girls would just start screaming thinking it was one of The Beatles.  My memory was the girls outnumbered the guys like 10 to 1. I didn't see anybody that wasn't a teenager. I remember at one point, I can't remember who was playing, but the crowd started chanting “We want The Beatles...we want The Beatles."  right before they came out, the announcer said “Ladies and Gentleman, The B…." and that's all anybody heard for the rest of the concert. Everybody was screaming from that point on. You could hear maybe two or three bars out of every song.

"It was my first concert, "I don't remember anything they sang because girls were screaming." – Rita
"We were screaming, too,  "I don't know if they even sang. It was just exciting being there and knowing they were close.  The screams were so loud, we just started screaming, too. A girl a few rows behind us fainted and the paramedics had to bring her out." – Mary

The evening concert in Chicago

This might not be a big deal to most, but I just figured out by reading some old articles that the Beatles wore the green suits with yellow shirts in the afternoon in Chicago and the green suits with red shirts in the evening.  

The first concert in Chicago

We love the Beatles!

‘We love Beatles,’ 200 Girls Shriek

By Gabriel Favoino

With the reverence formerly reserved for Popes and kings, 200 teenaged girls milled around Astor and Goethe Thursday night shrieking “the Beatles!”  The girls also shrieked on command for more than 50 press representatives, television cameramen and newspaper photographers.

Even two first-classmen from the Coast Guard Academy at New London, Conn. Were there.  

“We just saw the crowd and stopped.  We don’t know what it’s all about,” said John Curran, of Minneapolis.

Near them stood a fat girl in shorts, her eyes glued to binoculars, thinking she was looking at the floor on which the Beatles are staying in the Astor Towers Hotel.    In fact, the Beatles were in the hotel, at a press conference.  But they don’t live there.   With uncommon secrecy, the Beatles are hidden at the Ascot Motel, 1100 S. Michigan.   They are to perform in a concert here in the International Amphitheatre Friday evening.

Outside the Amphitheatre, a girl who borrowed $35 to come here from Mauston, Wis. Marched with a sign saying, “I love the Beatles.”  She said she had only eaten a peanut butter sandwich all day, and had written 64 songs for the Beatles.

Meanwhile, back at the Astor Towers, four girls from Kansas City and St. Louis were hoping to meet the musical group.  One wore a button saying “I love John.”  Another carried a banned reading “We love the Beatles.”  Her companion had a hand-lettered sign pinned to her chest saying the same thing.

Upstairs, at the press conference, reporters applauded as the Beatles sat down on imperial looking high-backed chairs.

An English reporter, with a hair-do resembling that of Thomas Becket, kneeled, as at an altar, with microphone in hand.  He asked if the Beatles thought their music was getting any better.  They replied they thought it was.

Outside, Jean Crusoe, 15, was one of the 50 teenagers storming the hotel’s freight elevator in an attempt to get upstairs and meet their idols.  Jean got lacerations of the head when the elevator doors closed on her.  She was taken to Henrotin Hospital for treatment.

Upstairs the Beatles were denying that they were better than Jesus, or Christianity.   At the press conference, Beatle John Lennon added, “I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus I would have gotten away with it.  I am sorry I opened my mouth.” 

A world-wide sensation ensued with Lennon was quoted as saying the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ.

In fact, it was reported that the Pan American World Airlines plane that brought the musicians here form England would have Bibles for them all.  This, they denied.

But when they landed Thursday afternoon in Chicago, their plane was diverted to a little used maintenance hangar.  Airline employees said teenage girls later got into the plane and stole the earphones the Beatles had used on the flight.  They even took the pillow where they rested their heads.

When the musicians left London, a crowd of hysterical girls chanted, “John, not Jesus…John not Jesus…John, not Jesus.”

Asked at the press conference what the reason for their immense popularity is, Beatle Paul McCartney replied:  “We don’t know.  We really don’t know.”

Second go round

the Beatles then held another press conference in Chicago--this time for newspaper reporters from around the world.   Once again, John tried his best to explain himself.  August 11, 1966 was a long, hard day for the Fab 4.