Door peeking again

 May 30, 1963 

Meet Paul in Manchester

Photo and autograph by Sheryl Walmsley

 

Granada Television memory

 Janice Finch remembers as a nine year old trying to meet the Beatles at Granada

I forgot to mention that I had of course actually breached the walls of Granada television in 1963 as a nine year old when the Beatles were supposed to be appearing live on their Friday night show. It was a summer holiday so it must have been August 1963 and I’d gone with a girl in the street who was supposed to be looking after my six year old sister and me that day. We decided the three of us were going to go to Granada to see if we could see the Beatles.

Of course every other young girl in Manchester had got the same idea so by the time we got outside Granada it was packed with screaming girls, just packed. Every time anyone went in to the front door they got mobbed by people asking for their autograph or “Have you seen the Beatles? Are they in there?” We would look up and you’d see in the windows of the office block there were people peering out looking at this mass of young girls in the street outside. Finally there was this shout, “They’re in there at the car park!” We all ran, there was a stampede. We ran down Quay Street to the Car Park Lodge entrance and we all started climbing over the wall. People would help you up and you’d get over the top.

My sister was with me and my friend was with me, and there were the Beatles in the car park setting up to do this live transmission of ‘Twist and Shout’. They were there in their black polo neck sweaters and suddenly they looked up and saw this horde of women running after them and had to run for it. The performance outdoors was abandoned and they had to do it inside in the studio.

Years later I was working with Phil Taylor, who had those huge dark eyebrows, on a ‘Union World’ shoot somewhere in the middle of nowhere and we got talking about the Beatles and that particular day. He said, “Were you one of them? I was out there, we were trying to fix them up to do this performance and it was abandoned. All these bloody women!”

It was such a big deal, the Beatles being there. You did feel, you really did feel at the time that the North and the North West was on its way and Granada was all part of that.

*Much thank you to Farshad Arbabi and The Lennon Years Facebook Group for originally posting this story and photographs.

All Thanks to a Panda Bear

 You know I love that big stuffed panda bear that became one of Julian Lennon's toys.   Here is a story about the fans that gave it to the Beatles.   It was found in the newspaper website, Express, in March 2019. 

The Beatles AMAZING Story of how one fan met the Fab 4 thanks to a stuffed toy

By George Simpson

November 20th 1963. The Beatles superfan Jacquie Graham was sixteen years ago and couldn’t get a ticket to the Fab Four’s show in Manchester. Nevertheless, she’s revealed to Express.co.uk in an exclusive interview how she ended up meeting The Beatles thanks to her panda toy. Jacquie can’t quite recall why she had the plush animal with her, but she and her friends tried their luck at the concert venue. She said: “We got to the Apollo. Knocked on the stage door and this chap came out and took the Panda.”

Jacquie continued: “He just took it out of our hands and shut the door.

“We were absolutely furious. Very, very upset.”

As a result, the girls took a taxi to the Daily Mirror in Manchester and explained to the paper what had happened.

They ended up back at the Apollo with a photographer, who managed to get into the venue and retrieve the panda toy – but that’s far from the end of the story.

Jacquie revealed: “And the next thing we know, we’re invited into the foyer of the Apollo.

“We were interviewed and then led off to another room and they were there!

“Obviously I don’t remember it in fantastic detail as it was all a blur.

“It’s all just too wonderful, like a dream. We were all just lost for words. John and Ringo gave me a kiss on each cheek.

“I can remember them fooling around and throwing the panda about.”

And incredibly for Jacquie and her friends, they were allowed to watch the show from the side.

She said: “There were no tickets available but they took us into the theatre and we stood at the side of the stage, standing, and we watched the whole show from there.”

But having given The Beatles her panda, its whereabouts are now unknown.

In fact, Jacquie’s daughter has set up a Where Is Panda Now? Facebook page to find it.

The panda did appear in later photos, with the last being of John Lennon with his son Julian in the mid-1960s.

No one’s got back to Jacquie yet, but who knows, maybe it will eventually show up.

Jacquie’s photos were sent into The People Beatles Project, which aims to crowdsource an archive of Beatles fan pictures for a book in May.  (Note from Sara:  The People Beatles Project book only printed a few copies and then it was shut down for reasons unknown to me. ) 

Jacquie revealed: “And the next thing we know, we’re invited into the foyer of the Apollo.

“We were interviewed and then led off to another room and they were there!

“Obviously I don’t remember it in fantastic detail as it was all a blur.

“It’s all just too wonderful, like a dream. We were all just lost for words. John and Ringo gave me a kiss on each cheek.

“I can remember them fooling around and throwing the panda about

Cry for a Shadow

October 14, 1964 -  Manchester

A big Kiss for Paul

Manchester Piccadilly Hotel

By Susan Dilorenzo

McCartney Ltd. 

Fall/Winter 1979/1980

I’d brought a Hershey’s Chocolate kiss to give to Paul.  It was a large bit of chocolate in a pink box with large blue lettering that read “A Big Kiss for You.”  I’d tried getting close enough to give it to him before but unfortunately the opportunity never presented itself.  Tonight I was bound and determined for results!   I was contemplating just what I’d say as we sat in the lobby of the hotel.  He’d used the elevator yesterday and we expected him to do this again today.  He surprised everyone by using the stairs (to our right) and in less than a second, we flew over to the stairs.  It was myself, Doylene, Marie, Barb, Mary Ann, George, Shelia and Mar.  As if we alone weren’t the equivalent of a crowd, well, you know how it is when Paul enters onto the scene.  Everyone under the sun materializes.   He was on the escalator then in front of us, so we just hopped on too! 

  The award winning ham we all know and love was waving and posing for everyone at the bottom of the escalator.  Once he laid his head on the railing with his arms out and pretended to be sleeping.  Linda had gone on ahead, which she’d been doing the whole of the tour.  Doylene hopped off the escalator and her camera case dropped.  She spent the next few minutes chasing it down the pavement.   He started to walk down the tunnel to the coach and it was here I decided was the moment of truth.  Paul had been signing autographs so when I trembled up to him he smiled at me and stopped walking and poised his pen.  I held the chocolate kiss out to him and asked, “Paul, could I please give this to you?”  He smiled and looked me in the eyes and replied, “You sure can” and looked down to take it from me and then looked up at me again, continuing to look me dead in the eyes.  It was like this through the whole encounter and it was divine!  He has these magical light brown eyes.  Schmaltzy but so true!  I explained why the box was marked on one side.   It had been in my camera case at the show on the 28^th and forgetting, I stood on the case to see Paul better.  “I accidentally stepped on it at the concert trying to see you but I wanted you to have it.  I’m sorry.”  You’d expect him to burst out laughing, but on the contrary.  He was dearly charming and so very sincere.   He replied, “Well, don’t you worry about it.”   I took a step back and smiled and looked down and he walked away.   I couldn’t move.  I watched him walking away with my hands to my mouth, half laughing from blissful hysteria when I see Paul look down at the kiss, reading the print on the box.  He stopped walking and turned around and looked at me.  He smiled at me, that all knowing smile, and winked. 

  Then continued outside.  Further up ahead Marie had asked Paul to sign a mounted photograph of hers.  He signed it on the mount at the top and she said, “Oh Paul---I know beggars can’t be choosers, but I wanted you to sign it at the lights.”  He drew an arrow to the lights and smiled at her, “How’s that?”

I found my feet finally and charged outside, my chin dragging the pavement.  He’d already got on the coach and I heard Barb call out, “Susie, he’s looking at it!”  I ran next to her to get a  look and he was saying something, showing it to Laurence, who was sitting across from Paul and Linda.   Laurence looked at it and smiled and Paul set it on the table and leaned back.  He closed his eyes for a second and then popped back up in his seat, opened it, closed it and sat back.

Someone in all that confusion, Barb got his autograph too, which I had missed.  Mary Ann took a picture to capture that moment.  It is nice to have snaps of the memories. 

Prayers for Manchester

Beatles in Manchester in 1964 for a TV show 

Beatles concert Manchester 1965

Wings backstage in Manchester in 1975

Paul and Linda backstage in Manchester during the 1979 Wings UK tour 

Paul plays Manchester in 2011

Ringo in Manchester in 2011

Words escape me in regards to the terrible tragedy that unfolded tonight in Manchester, England at the Ariana Grande concert.      As music lovers, we go to concerts to have a fun time and have a temporary escape from the real world.     Some of the most fun I have had and some of the best memories of my life have been at concerts.     The fans that went to that show tonight should have had a good night and gone home.    But 19 people won't be going home and others are in hospitals.  

The scary thing is that it could have been any of us.     A terrorist (and to me anyone who intends on killing people is a terrorist) can go to any concert, even a Paul McCartney concert, and do the unthinkable.     Is this going to stop us from going?    I sure hope not.       While you can't prevent a terrible event from happening, you can make sure that when you are in a large crowd that you are aware of your surroundings.    Always locate your nearest exit and have a mental plan on how you will get out if need be before the show starts.    Have a "if we get separated" plan with family and friends that you are attending with.     And go with your gut feeling.   If someone or something doesn't seem right, it most likely isn't and you need to tell someone in authority about it.  


My tear-filled prayers go out to everyone that was at this concert.    I pray for those who are injured and that they heal quickly.   I pray for the family and friends of those who were murdered tonight and that they can find out the information quickly and have peace.  


We need peace and love now more than ever.

Smile for the policeman

Beatles on the outskirts of Manchester
photos taken by Andrew McPherson (a policeman who had the job of getting the Beatles out of the theatre safely)

I Should have known better

Beatle fans had two chances to see the Fabs on October 14, 1964 in Manchester.   First the Beatles "performed" on television where they were interviewed and mimed the song "I should've known better." 

While this was going on, the guitar George was going to play that night at the ABC theater in Manchester was getting some needed repairs.    Then the Beatles performed the 2 concerts.   Unfortunately, this particular Manchester show seems to have been somewhat forgotten, as I couldn't find any photographs from the concert or even a memory or two from a fan that was there. 

I do have some great shots from the Beatles television appearance that day for you to enjoy!

photo from Sara Schmidt's collection

photo from Sara Schmidt's collection

photo from Sara Schmidt's collection