Magical Mystery Field

Report from Beatlefest -- top 5 highlights of the weekend.

I am here for my annual report back from the Fest for Beatle Fans in Chicago.    2018's Fest was a great time.   I was on four panels and gave a presentation -- so I was pretty busy.    I did not have a table set up to sell anything, so I was still able to see a lot of great things.    It was AWESOME talking to so many of you at the Fest!     A special hello to Kristine, Lola, and Kaeli who I met for the first time at this year's Fest and to all the people that stopped me and said "hi."   It really made me happy to see so many blog visitors in person.   You guys are really out there! 

Here are my personal top 5 best things about the Fest this year....


5.    Jude Southerland Kessler's Book Release Party

Before the Fest got going on Saturday morning, there was a special party to celebrate the release for Jude Southerland Kessler's 4th book in the John Lennon series called Should have Known Better.     What a great party that was!   Scott Erickson played John Lennon songs on the guitar,  there were donuts, door prizes, and lots of mingling and chatting about the Beatles and John Lennon.     

4.  Little Nicola

Remember the adorable Little Nicola from the Magical Mystery Tour film?   Well, she is now all grown up and was a delight to hear speak at the Fest.    Her memories were so cute!  It was a treat listening to her and meeting her after her talk.

3.  Seeing the next generation of fans

No need for more cowbell on this great rendition of "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and Monkey" by the Chicago School of Rock 

I can't tell you how much I love 3rd generation Beatles fans.   You guys are amazing!    Let's just stop and think about the fact that The Beatles have three generations of die-hard major fans.    I love the fact that places like The Fest for Beatle fans, all three generations can gather together and express the same passion for the guys.     The third generation fans made a big impression on me at the Fest this year.   The Chicago School of Rock did an amazing job on songs from the White Album and Hey Bulldog on Sunday morning.    If this is how we are going to hear Beatles music performed live in the future, then we have nothing to be concerned about because they play music that rocks!     I also enjoyed talking to several third gen fans.       These are the ones that will keep the Beatles legacy going, so more power to them!

2.  Tea and memories

On Friday night there was a nice session called "Tea and Memories" where those of us who regularly attend these conventions came together and shared our favorite Fest memories, photographs, programs along with a lot of laughs.    The Fest has become a sort of family reunion among all of us that go and it is a great time to spend with each other.   We have made so many wonderful memories and so many unforgettable things have happened over the years that it was so great to share those memories and be reminded of things forgotten.    Wally was a wonderful host. 

1.  Jack Douglas

John Lennon's producer, Jack Douglas was one of the best guests the Fest has ever had.    He really was the star of the weekend.    He told so many stories about John while making Imagine and during Double Fantasy.    His stories really brought out John's humor and personality.    Jack showed some photos and then he played the songs "Watching the Wheels" and "Woman" starting with the demo, then the rough mix and the final mix.    Hearing those songs like that was really emotional for everyone, but it was so appreciated that Jack brought them for us.     He was such a nice man.  He met with every one after his talks and his line was really long because he spent time telling more stories at the table.    He signed the book "Starting over" for me underneath a photo of him in the book and he told me all about when the photo was taken.    Such an unforgettable moment, especially since I am such a John lover.   

Honorable mentions go to All of the panel discussions, Geoff Emerick, late-night sing-alongs, singing "Hey Jude" on the stage, the artwork in memory of Nicole,  Ringo's drum kits,  and the brownies at the staff party.         It was great and I hope to do it again next year.     Attendance was noticably low, but it was pretty crowded on Saturday and everyone I spoke with was having a great time.   

Kicking around the ole football

Magical Mystery ball

Playing football

Regardless if you call this a soccer ball or a foot ball, you have to admit that Ringo is adorable to be playing it with Little Nicola during a break in Magical Mystery tour filming. 

More on Little Nicola

Stephen Mc was kind enough to scan the Q magazine article about Little Nicola that the SFF article I posted a few days back was based on. Here is what he sent me. Really neat stuff! I love reading about the people that we are only a little bit familar with in Beatle history. And I can't believe she lives in the Chicago area and yet has never spoken at Beatlefest!

"No You're Not" said Little Nicola

I recently won a lot Strawberry Fields Forever magazines on ebay. If you never read, SFF, I recommend it. Joe Pope was a great Beatles fan and had an amazing humorous side (reminds of me Greg from The Beatles photo blog at times actually). Anyhow, in issue #51 there is an article in the 'zine that is about the girl who played "Little Nicola" in the Magical Mystery Tour movie. Seems like there was a discussion about her in the comments recently. Anyhow...I think this article is from the early 1990's, so it might not be the most up to date, but still neat.

So who was the Walrus? Was it Paul? Was it John? Does it matter? Probably not, but one person was sure that it wasn't John! In the sleeve notes to "Magical Mystery Tour" John says, "I am the Walrus." "No, you're not," said Little Nicola! She sure was an obstinate young things...you couldn't even talk her into having a guess without some overt form of physical threat! But we suppose, when all was said and done, she was just a sweet little girl who would gladly have a guess and who couldn't care less who really was the Walrus.

Little Nicola wasn't specifically chosen, or cast, to go on the bus. She only went along because her second cousin was given the job of recruiting the passengers for the trip and the first one she picked was Nicola's grandmother, Amy Smedley. A little nepotism goes a long way; Amy brought along her daughter, Pam Hale, Nicola's mom, and since Nicola was only four she certainly couldn't stay at home alone ... so, as one of the Magicians said, "back on the bus!"

"I have a vivid memory of fighting with Paul McCartney on the floor of a hotel," she relates, "and playing table football with John Lennon and Ringo Starr. I remember John Lennon asking my mother for sixpence. There was a party; the whole family dressed up real weird as witches and wizards. Everybody there was dressed up in Superman costumes and stuff and I felt kind of out of place. I remember Ringo played soccer with me and he bought me a little African drum. And I remember being spoiled a lot!

Her father remembers it a bit differently, as might be expected. "Nikki was more interested in the cameras than the Beatles!" But he also goes on to say that "My mother-in-law expected the Beatles to be strange and weird. But the Beatles were always nice and polite. In the evenings, John or Paul played piano and led everyone in sing-songs. And John hadn't brought enough underpants so my mother-in-law bought him some."

So where is she now? This should come as no surprise but Little Nicola is no longer Little. She's now known as Nikki Hale and is a full grown 31 year old woman. For the last five years, Nikki has been living in America. She's in the Chicago suburb of Forest Park where she works as a counselor for kids with drug problems. Since most of the kids are hard-core drug users they're at a high risk for HIV infection. It's not an easy job.

Nikki might not have appreciated what she was doing and who she was with during those five days in 1967, but it eventually sunk in, "The excitement came later for me, at comprehensive school. I used the story for my English exam. My mum told me when I was growing up that this was a story I'd want to tell people and I've since pulled it out of the bag to impress people. When people over here don't believe me I show them the video ... it's pretty wild!"

It's no secret that many of our female readers have dreamt about a date with a Beatles at one time or other. Little Nicola has a terrific memory: a five-day date with all four Beatles in which each one was thoughtful, attentive, and protective of her. And she got to see a private Beatles performance every night, too!

As far as that sing-along music goes, don't even ask. It's not secret that a few tapes of unbooted campfire music featuring John and Paul --with George and Ringo popping up throughout would be priceless. But unfortunately, the tapes do not exist. After all, why would a four year old, or anyone else for that matter, be carrying around a tape recorder in 1967? Portable tape recorders were only just coming into existence. and what sense would it make to take one along for a five day trip with the Beatles? After all, they'd be recording the important bits themselves, now, wouldn't they?

Remember what we said about the nepotism going a long way? A few days into the trip it turned into a "Magical Fish-Story Tour" when Nicola's grand-mum casually mentioned to the Beatles that she owned a fish and chips shop. The bus tracked it down and in trekked the most famous musicians in history for a plate of grease and grease (John and George are pictures in the Magical Mystery Tour booklet having a fish and chip snack.)

The general public may not remember "Magical Mystery Tour" like it should be remembered. But Beatlemaniacs do. And the Beatlemaniac who has to remember it most vividly is Little --- uh, excuse us---Nikki Hale. The four magicians in the film never broke a promise to their fans the whole time they made magic together. And because of the seriousness with which they took their promises we're quite sure that Nicola had a Lovely Time!

The magical mystery tour is coming to take me away!