Helping Alf

 

Mal gets some help up at the airport in Manila after being knocked down.   

Manila press conference

 

Get out of town!

 

Paul in the Philippines

 I wonder if Paul took any photographs while he was there.   There he is entering the country with his camera in hand. 

We gotta get out of this place

One hot night in July

At least one of them is smiling....

Out of the frying pan and into the fire

The Beatles land in Manila and they have no idea what is in store for them!

Manila Mania

Hard Day's Fright (part 2)

The Beatles had 60 pieces of luggage/instruments/gear to load into the cars without any assistance or security.   The were lucky that their drive hadn't abandoned them at this point.

The Beatles things that had to get on the plane in Manila 

John Lennon recalled that on the ride from the hotel to the airport, there were still fans screaming and joyful along with groups of people booing them.   Some of them were holding these signs:

When they finally made it to the airport they found out that the airport's general manager had announced that the Beatles would get no help or security.  He told one reporter, "They will get what they deserve."     The escalators had been turned off so everyone in the Beatles entourage had to work at lugging the luggage and gear up the escalators (which magically started to work again once the Beatles were finished with this hard task).   They had to go through all of the check points that all passengers go through.  All the while (as you see in these photos) there were fans wanting autographs and to talk to the guys.  It had to have been a lot of mixed emotions---one group adores you and the other is trying to hurt you.   They all were corralled into a lounge to wait to board the plane.

In there were men wearing the same clothes and held guns that were spitting and pushing the Beatles.  Paul stated that they were "pushed from one corner of the lounge to another."   Ringo and John decided to hide behind some nuns and George behind a monk, figuring that they would not harm these religious leaders.

Brian Epstein, Tony Barrow, Neil Aspinall, Mal Evans, Peter Brown, Alf Bicknell and Vic Lewis all banded together to make sure that the Beatles themselves were not harmed and took the most of the abuse.  Someone kicked Brian and he fell and sprained his ankle and was punched in the face.   Mal Evens was kicked many times in the ribs and was punched to the point where he was bleeding.   Ringo was almost punched at one point, but ducked and one of the Beatles crew took the punch instead.     Neil explained later that it could have been much worse if any of the Beatles crew decided to fight back, but because none of them chose to punch or kick those that were hurting them, the injuries were less than what they could have been.

Here we see Alf Bicknell has gone down--are those men help or hurting him?

Neil Aspinall seems to be avoiding a punch and we see the back of Mal Evans while John looks on in shock

Mal checks on the luggage 

Finally the Beatles are told that they could board the plane.  They moved quickly on the tarmac, praying that no one with a gun takes a shot at them.  

Once they get on the plane, the Beatles began to kiss the seats.  They finally felt safe.  However, the nightmare wasn't over quite yet.   Through a loudspeaker they heard, "Mr. Tony Barrow and Mr. Malcolm Evans must return to the departure building."    Tony and Mal had to go back into that mess and Mal though it would be the end of him as get told the Beatles, "Tell Lil I love her."    However, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.   It turns out that in all of the insanity, those two men didn't get their passports stamped through customs.

While they were waiting for Mal and Tony to return (and hoping that they would return), Brian was being cared for.   His ankle was sprained and he was bloody from a punch.   Vic Lewis decided at that moment to ask Brian if he had gotten the money from the promoters for the concerts.    Brian couldn't believe it and started yelling at Vic.   The two had a physical altercation that ended with Vic yelling at Brian "I'll fucking kill you" while chocking his neck.   Someone had to pry him off of Brian and the two didn't speak to each other for a year.

At 4:45pm Tony and Mal were back on board and the plane took off to a round of applause.   The Beatles and their entourage had never been so happy to leave a country and the Beatles began to have some serious conversations about ending touring forever.


Source for these articles:

"Beat the Beatles" By Oliver X.A. Reyes for the July 2015 issue of Esquire Philippines (with much thanks to Joanne)

http://adenu1980.blogspot.com/2012/01/hard-days-and-fright-1966-beatles.html

http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-beatles-in-the-philippines



I also want to point out that over the years the stories of those in Manila have changed.   Imelda Marcos said long after the fact that she was always a Beatles fan and was never upset that they did not make the luncheon because there was miscommunication.    Ramon Ramos said in 2003 that the Beatles had to leave the yacht because it was overtaken by fans and that he believed that the Beatles did not appear at the palace because they were under the impression that they were going to have to perform there for free.  

Manila: The Hard Days Fright

When the Fab 4 woke up on the morning of July 5, 1966, they knew something was going on in Manila, but they weren't totally sure what.    They tried to order some breakfast, but did not get any response from the hotel management.      So they asked Mal Evans to go down to the desk and see what was going on.    When Mal got to the lobby, he found the hotel to be totally empty and then he saw a newspaper and realized why.   The variety of headlines said everything from "Imedla Stood Up" to "Beatles held for taxes."  

At 8 am, the Internal Revenue bureau was knocking on Brian Epstein's door with a bill for $80,000.  Vic Lewis, who had made the arrangements with the promoters, explained to the officials that it was the promoter that was responsible for paying the tax on the concerts and not the Beatles managers.   Brian also had not received any money at that point from the promoters for the concerts and didn't want to leave without the money they made.  

Meanwhile, George and Paul were being interviewed in the suit by a reporter for the Manila Times, who had planned all along to do a multi-part series about the Beatles for the paper.    Paul told him, "We don't want to offend anyone, especially since we're visiting this country.  We just want to sing."  However George simply said, "We didn't even want to come here."  

But Paul then made  what could have been another mistake for the Beatles---he started to question the reporter about the poor people he had seen in the streets of Manila the early morning when he explored.   He stated how there was social inequality in the country because the extremely wealthy were bragging of their wealth with the fancy yachts and all the while there were people living on the streets nearby.     The reporter didn't seem to want to discuss any of that and told Paul that the Beatles could have solved the problem and make people happy if they had only agreed to move the meeting at the palace to later in the day.  Paul was quoted as saying,  "We weren't supposed to be there in the first place.  What  were we going to do?  Show up and say, 'We're here!  Sorry we're late!'  Why should we apologize for something that's not our fault?  We didn't ask for the appointment."   The reporter simply explained that an  invitation from the First Lady "amounted to an invitation from one who represented all the people."    John walked in at this point and sad something, "We got a few things to learn about the Philippines, first of all is how to get out of here."

Another concert that night

As is typical of Beatles concert, not much was written about the evening Beatles concert in Manila.   We know that another 50,000 fans were there---maybe more.   Meaning that in one day the Beatles performed for 100,000 people!   That is pretty amazing!

They sang the same songs as they did during the afternoon performance.    It must have been extremely hot and humid that evening because in the few existing photographs the Beatles  (well John and Paul) were sweating more than usual.  

After the concert they must have realized something strange was going on.   The limo was there, but gone were the police escorts and the gate to get out was locked.   Tons of people jumped on top of the car with the Beatles inside and pressed against the windows and rocked the car back and forth.   They could not understand what the people were yelling, but they could tell that it wasn't the normal "We love you Beatles" that they were used to.    They somehow made it back to the hotel in one piece and called it a night.

However, the police did make an appearance---at the door of Vic Lewis, the guy that worked with NEMS and Brian and helped with the tour.   The police took him down to the station and interrogated him.    All the while Vic explained that it was a misunderstanding and he laid the blame on Brian Epstein, saying that Brian was upset and angry the entire time and he was the one that didn't allow the Beatles to attend the luncheon, not him.   Vic was interrogated until the sun came up--and by the time he was allowed to go back to the hotel, he had serious concerns about the safety of the Beatles.

The Fans in Manila

As you would expect, the Beatle fans in Manila were just as excited about seeing the Beatles in concert as any other Beatle fans around the globe.   The fact that the Beatles didn't show up for some lunch at the palace didn't mean much to them, as they were just anxious to see the Fab 4 in person.    In Manila before the Beatles came, Help! was being shown at the local movie theater.      And you can see the excitement on their faces and the pure Beatlemania in these photos. 

One fan, Marra Lanot wrote this about seeing the Beatles during the afternoon show:

What was it like hearing The Beatles in person? Hearing? You couldn’t hear a word or a note, what with all the screaming and clapping and “I love you” thrown at John, Paul, George, and Ringo!

What was clear was that John especially was intently listening to the sound system and shouted with concern to the audience: “Could you hear me back there?!” Of course, the audience’s reply was unclear, whether it was a Yes or a No.

But who cared? What was important was The Beatles were there IN PERSON! They wore striped light-gray suits, they were singing, talking, looking at us. They were human, not just some cardboard representations of the world icons that they still are. And they were in Manila!

Being an avid fan of the Beatles, I had bought two tickets maybe just two weeks or so before their performance. The tickets were naturally quite expensive, and so I got seats somewhere in the middle.

The concert was at 4 pm, July 4, 1966, at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium. Days later, I found out my best friend was seated in the front row, and she told me how she wanted to run to the stage but didn’t because she was with her Maryknoll friends who sat prim and proper. How I envied her. Had she known I was there, she said, she would have dragged me to the front row and pulled me to the stage. As if that was an easy thing to do. So, there I was like all the others, standing on my chair, watching The Beatles as well as the audience who listened and not listened at the same time.

Pilita Corrales was front act, and much as I admired Pilita as a singer, I was so impatient for The Beatles to appear. When they finally did, my jaw dropped and for a moment I was so still, as I usually am when initially stunned or flummoxed. Then, they sang songs from their then-new album Rubber Soul, which I had memorized

The blip

After that first concert, Tony Barrow felt like he had seen enough.   He witnessed uniformed police with wooden batons beating fans who were standing behind a fence to see the Beatles.   They weren't hurting anything, just standing there watching and Tony could not stand to see these kids knuckles get hit so he decided to go back to the Manila Hotel instead of staying for the 2nd show.

He got to his room and turned on the TV and it was then that he realized that the Beatles not going to that luncheon at the palace was a big deal.    Imelda Marcos was on the television saying all sorts of terrible things about the Beatles not showing up that afternoon.   Trying to fix things, Barrow contacted the television station that was going to show a half-hour show about the Beatles concerts later that week and asked if they would broadcast an official statement from the Beatles.   They agreed and so he wrote a statement for Brian Epstein to read on the air.

Mysteriously, when Brian got to the station and read the statement, there was a "blip"in the sound and the Filipino community did not get to hear what the Beatles' manager had to say.  

The 4pm concert in Manila

The Beatles made it to the Rizal Stadium by 4pm for the first of two performances on July 4, 1966.    35,000 fans were waiting outside, including Danee Samonte who recalled in 2011,

 I was there but outside the stadium grounds because I couldn’t afford the P20 entrance to the concert. I contented myself with the faint inaudible sound of The Beatles drowned by hysterical screams of the fans.

As many as 50,000 fans were inside the stadium that  afternoon and of course they had to make it through the opening acts and there were seven of them!    Reports show that the Beatles also weren't interested in these acts, as they turned off the sound on the backstage speakers.   One of the groups, The Reycards, was a comedy act and Paul asked someone why the audience was laughing.  He was told that they did comedy and song like music hall entertainment and Paul was not too impressed.

Finally the Beatles came out and performed in the heat for 30 minutes for fans that were excited to see them appear.