Two concerts in Seattle

The Beatles performed twice in Seattle, Washington.  They did an afternoon and an evening show.   Really there is not a lot of information and photos available about  these performances.   There are some interesting photographs of Mal carrying the Beatles instruments before the first show, but I am not allowed to share them on this blog.

 Funk, Wallie V., photographer, “Paul McCartney and John Lennon performing with the Beatles at the Seattle Center Coliseum, August 25, 1966. ,” Western Libraries Heritage Resources, accessed August 25, 2016,http://heritageresources.omeka.net/items/show/626.

Honorary Washington Citizens

The Beatles were made honorary Washington citizens during the Seattle press conference.   I often wonder if John ever tried to use something like this when he was so desperately trying to stay in the United States.  "But I have a certificate----I am an honorary citizen of Washington state!"

Photo shoot time in Seattle---trying to smile

Photo by Donna Elkins

Photo by Mindy Stenson

Photo by Mindy Stenson 

Funk, Wallie V., photographer, “Paul McCartney and John Lennon performing with the Beatles at the Seattle Center Coliseum, August 25, 1966. ,” Western Libraries Heritage Resources, accessed August 25, 2016,http://heritageresources.omeka.net/items/show/626.

Teenagers, Rumors and money

Teenagers, Rumors, money engulf Beatles in Seattle

UPI (Seattle)

August 26, 1966

Mid rumors and pickets and the usual mob of screaming teenagers, the mop-topped Beatles picked off a record $73,717.38 as their cut of the gate Thursday night and flew away with one fourth of them still single. 

Rumors Beatle Paul McCartney would marry British actress, Jane Asher after the evening performance beat the Beatles into town but proved unfounded – just as McCartney and his fellow songsters and they would.

“Yeah, I’ve heard of her,” McCartney said when asked at a news conference if he knew Miss Asher.  “It’s a joke.  How did it start—does anybody know?”

“Absolutely untrue,” said press agent Tony Barrow.

But reports persisted Miss Asher would fly to Seattle incognito as “Jane Collins.”

Meeting airplanes, reporters and photographers saw many pretty girls, none of whom said shew as either Miss Asher or Miss Collins.

Noisy as it was, this was a fairly calm evening for the Beatles.  Their stage was 10 feet high, and a fence used to hold back hockey fans served similar duty against Beatles lovers.

Pickets outside the Coliseum carried hand-lettered signs, one of which said “Beware False Prophets.”  The handful of marchers said they were protesting Beatle John Lennon’s statement that the Beatles were more popular than Christ.

Zollie M. Volchok of Northeast Releasing, the sponsor said the gross take was $118,071, largest in Seattle entertainment history.

Shortly before midnight, as both rumors and teenagers faded away, the Beatles boared a plane for Hollywood from whence they had come.

The last press conference

On August 25, 1966 in Seattle, Washington the Beatles gave their very last press conference as a group.    Many books, including Tony Barrow's state that the press conference at the Capitol Records Tower was the last one ever, but if you look at the Beatles schedule, the flew from NYC to LA and did the press conference, went to Seattle and did a press conference and then returned to LA and did not have any more for the rest of the tour.       The LA one was a MUCH better press conference, but alas, it was not the last one.  Seattle gets that honor.

Made it to Seattle

photo removed at the request of the copyright holder
3-8-19

The music will never stop

Seattle, Washington on August 21, 1964

Lennon in his own Write

On August 21, 1964 John was interviewed about his book in his hotel room in Seattle, Washington.

I read the news today---oh boy

"Yeah---we made the paper again...." 

George and John

Scream and Shout and let it all out --- the Beatles in Seattle!!!

Beatles at the Edgewater Hotel

photo by John Vallentyne

The Beatles stayed at the Edgewater Hotel in Seattle, Washington because no other hotel in the city would allow them to stay there.   In 1964, the Edgewater was a fairly new hotel.   Since the Beatles were always stuck in the hotel room, someone had the idea that it would be a good idea for them to fish outside of their window.    People in boats came by and told the Beatles that there weren't any fish in the water and sure enough, the Fabs didn't catch a single fish.  However, it made for great photos.   This would also be one of the few times that fans came by boat to catch a glimpse of the Beatles!!

Larry Kane interviewed some girls who were waiting outside of the Edgewater hotel:


Kane: "We're out here in front of the Edgewater Inn Hotel on Elliott, on Elliott Bay, and listen to this — "
Crowd: "We want The Beatles! We want The Beatles! We want The Beatles!"
Kane: "Did you all see The Beatles?"
Fans: "Yeah!"
Kane: "What'd you think of them?"
Fans: "They're great!"
Kane: "We've been traveling with them all across the country and this is one of the wildest receptions we've received. Are you proud of it?"
Fans: "Yeah!"
Kane: "Who's your favorite Beatle?"
Fan: "Paul"
Kane: "Why?"
Fan: "'Cause he's cutest!"


The Post-Intelligencer newspaper wrote an article about the Beatles and their fans at the hotel

Uneasy quiet hung over the Edgewater Inn and the Seattle Center Coliseum yesterday morning as 200 or so Beatle fans awaited appearance of their idols at both places.

With the time and place of the Beatles arrival by plane in Seattle a secret.  Beatle lovers clustered around the Edgewater where the Beatles were to stay last night and the Coliseum where they were to perform.

By mid-morning, more than 100 teenage girls -- not a single boy-- was in evidence were clustered outside the plywood and barbed wire barricade cutting the Edgewater off from the Beatle people.

The kids sang, listened to transistor radios and pestered watchful police for permission to slip into the Edgewater "just for a minute."

The answer uniformly was "No"--firmly.

Newspapermen were offered bribes for their press cards, officially issued  by Seattle police.

The answer here, too, was "No."

Several boat loads of teenagers were shooed away by Harbor police from the dock on which the Edgewater stands at the foot of Wall Street.

Within the Edgewater there was an air of a castle under siege.

Both off-duty Seattle police officers and Burns uniformed officers were on guard throughout the building and the badge of officer was a walkie-talkie radio.

City License director, Don Turnball said his inspectors and IRS agents would be on the look out for ticket scalpers.

Turnball said he had reports that the Beatles show tickets were being offered for $30 and up.

Ticket scalping is illegal under city and state law.  Turnball said any scalpers wold be arrested and the tickets would be confiscated.

The Trill of a Lifetime

First three photos taken by Timothy Eagan

In an article called A Thrill of a Lifetime a radio DJ who was at the Beatles concert in Seattle recalls his memories of the fab concert 50 years ago today.

“The event was a phenomenon,” said Seattle radio personality Pat O’Day, who introduced the Beatles to the sold-out auditorium 50 years ago. “It opened the door and our eyes to what the concert business could be.”  “I went home saying, ‘I think I just saw a piece of history made tonight,’” he said.


 “I had gotten acquainted with George Harrison backstage, and I was standing right next to that tiny stage at the end of the coliseum, standing there, looking up at George,” he recalled. “The screaming was so loud. George looked down at me, shook his head, unplugged his guitar for about 30 seconds, and plugged it back in and said, ‘It doesn’t make any difference. They can’t hear it anyway.’”

Beatles Seattle press conference

I posted these two stories of fans who met the Beatles at the press conference back in 2009 and so I thought that today, on the 50th anniversary of the Seattle show, I would repeat the stories for those of you who might have missed it in the archives. 

Beatles show Puckish Humor at Interview, Take Selves Lightly

by Jack Jarivs

There wasn't much news but there was a lot of fun as the Beatles held a "press conference" in the Coliseum before their show last night. And some people who were prepared scoff- yes, sneer - came away with some different ideas about the mop-tops who have taken the teen-age world by storm.

For one things the Beatles - Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon - don't take themselves seriously at all.

For Another, they're quick with answers to questions and each has a puckish sense of humor. About fan mail, for instance, Ringo was asked why he gets more fan mail from Seattle girls than the other do. "Because more of them write to me," he said, dead-pan. So it isn't great humor. But it's clean. It was a relief to hear them after listening to some of the "sick" comics that have enjoyed fame of a sort.

Well, maybe there was a bit of news. All four of them dropped fishing lines out of the windows of their rooms in the Edgewater Inn but no one caught anything. They said they've made no long-range plans, but Paul said that he and John may turn to song writing when the Beatles fad has died out. "With you?" said John, pretending to be horrified. "Never!"

With the Post-Intelligencer crew covering the press conference were three reporters-for-a-night, who had written to the P.I. months ago suggesting that THEIR view might explain the Beatles to adults. They are Cheryl Ann Steward, 14, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth E. Stewart, 3048 NW 56th ST; Sharman Weston, 14, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Robert Weston 3235 NW 56th St,. and Sharon Wallinger, 14, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred L. Wallinger, 942 NW 62nd St. Cheryl and Sharman are co-presidents of a Seattle Beatles Fan Club formed in January. Sharon is vice president.

Cheryl got in a couple of questions, one about the "good qualities" of Great Britain and the United States. George parried it neatly with "It depends on each individual" But mainly the girls just sort of glowed, happy to be with in 10 feet of their heroes. Afterward Cheryl said, "They were wonderful! Just as I pictured them!" Sharon said: "I love them! Ringo held my hand!" And Sharman said: "Wonderful! I can't believe it!" Sharman and Sharon also took pictures of the Beatles. (Sara's note: Where are they today?? I want to see them!)

Souvenirs? Cigarette butts! Each girl got one. Cheryl and Sharman got cigarettes Ringo had smoked and Sharon got on Paul had smoked. They they went off to see the show, leaving the adult newsmen sorting out their notes and wondering just what had been said and who said it.

What about those shaggy haircuts? "We've gotten used to the long hair," Paul said. But John admitted that their fame probably would diminish if they got crew-cuts. How long will they ride the crest of the entertainment wave? No one knows, least of all the Beatles. But as a group they haven't made any long-range plans.

Ringo made his daily denial that he's married and Paul lashed out at magazines "that have printed some pretty terrible stories about us." John read some excepts form his book, but hammed it up towards the end and read the last few sentences through clenched teeth, then laughed along with everyone else in the room. All in all, it was fun. No news, but fun. 

 

 

 

Tacoma Girls Meet Beatles: Wonderful!

by Jacqueline Towne and Michael Hand (special news Tribune correspondents)

It was wonderful! We were the two luckiest girls in Tacoma to be able to go with two TNT reporters to the Beatles' performance. We followed a long-legged Seattle photographer around to the other side of the coliseum. He went to a side entrance and a policeman let him in. We went through right after him showing our press cards - which we thought would be no good - and were accepted.

After we went through long corridors until we came upon a door blocked with many policemen. They said there were too many reporters, but after a few minutes of persuasion they let us pass.

We waited in a hallway for awhile and then went into the press room. It was small and at the front was a table with four chairs. We sat in the third row. The Beatles were late and the longer we waited the calmer we got.

We thought they would never get there. Then we heard they had just left from the Edgewater Motel. When they arrived we almost had a cow! We were surprised that John had light reddish brown hair. They had such tough accents!Paul looked like he needed a shave - and he did! Their offstage boots looked cracked and used.

We found out that Ringo never changes his rings. Two come form his mother and grandfather and from girls. Such rumors as John's wife expecting another child, Paul's marriage or engagement of Jane Asher, and any other Beatle engagement were stated false. By the way, the reason Ringo hates Donald Duck is because he goes "Quack-quack!"

Our reporters motioned for us to come over to them. We got up from our seats and went around the back of the room. One of us dropped the flash attachment to our camera. It made a racket and then a cameraman got all flustered he thought we had knocked over his camera. Then he yelled "Everyone out of the back of the room!" We got around fast. While standing by the reporters, the same one knocked over a light and it almost landed on the Beatles. We caught it just in time.

The Beatles started to get up and we rushed up to them. One of us was lucky enough to talk to Paul and ask him a question: "How do you pick the one to sing the lead?" "To tell the truth, I'm not sure," He said. "You're not sure?" "I'm really not, Luv. I really don't." Then he winked and left. He didn't get very far before the other one stopped. She asked if he would sign the pictures her sister had drawn of them. "Sure, Luv," he said and took the pictures into their dressing room.

 

We waited for about an hour or so for our autographs. In the meantime we talked to girls and policemen. One girl held Ringo's hand. Someone called to him to leave. He said, "Sorry Luv, I've go tot go." She wouldn't let go. "Luv, I've got to go!" She still wouldn't let go. "LUV, LET ME GO!!" Some of the girls went back to the conference room and got their cigarette butts. We went back and found Ringo's cigarette package. It had some cigarette butts in ti, too.

We gave the package to a policeman to give to the Beatles for an autograph. We guess they threw it away. It never came back. We gave to one of their road managers a "bouncing boo-hoo" a little ball of fuzz with two eyes to give to John for his son. The manager was quite thrilled about it and thanked us twice!

When we returned to our seats everyone for rows in front and in back turned and listened to our stories. One girl said tell us more - meaning we weren't at the conference. When one of us showed our friends her book that was autographed someone grabbed it and started passing it around, but we got it back, finally.

We were so excited we couldn't stay in our seats. The ushers kept pushing us back, but we always came back. It was a tough show, we love you Beatles Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Paul McCartney and the girl in the black beret

I think we can all agree that Paul McCartney is one pretty amazing man.   He is not only a talented musician but he is just an all around good guy.    This story will put tears in your eyes and it is a wonderful reminder of what a kind man Paul truly is.   I found this story on the KSHE 95 blog.

 

 Paul McCartney and the girl in the black beret
By Beau Phillips

Kelley was a nineteen-year-old who was suffering from brain cancer. She’d endured rounds of treatment, but the disease continued to spread. When doctors run out of options, they often call the Make-A-Wish Foundation and ask them to step in. When they asked Kelley, “What would you like more than anything in the world?” she responded, “My dream is to meet Paul McCartney.”

While most sick children request a trip to Disney World, this request would be much harder to grant. Paul McCartney was the biggest rock star in the world. When Make-A-Wish called me to ask if I’d help fulfill Kelley’s request, I told them I’d try. But this was a real long shot. I inquired, “Does Kelley have a Plan B?”

“No,” they replied. “This is all that she wants.”

I must admit that I was skeptical that a teenager was truly a Beatles fan. If I was going to lobby McCartney’s “people,” I needed to hear it for myself. That evening, I called Kelley’s home and spoke with her and her mom. On the phone, Kelley was soft-spoken, shy and remarkably poised for a woman who’d been diagnosed with a terminal illness. I asked her when she first heard Paul’s music.
“My mom was a child of the ’60s and ’70s, and I grew up listening to the Beatles and Wings. I know those albums by heart.”

“Let’s play a game, Kelley,” I suggested. “Imagine that I have a machine that can print concert tickets for any artist. Who would you choose?”

“My friends think I’m crazy,” Kelley admitted. “But I’m a huge Paul McCartney fan. I just love his songs and even have a stuffed Paul doll on my bed.” Kelley convinced me that she was sincere. We spoke for another ten minutes before Kelly had to leave. This gave me a few moments to chat privately with her mother. “I will do everything I can to give Kelley a special experience,” I assured her. “In your opinion, is this really what she wants?”

Without missing a beat, Kelley’s mom answered, “Nothing would mean more to her than meeting Paul McCartney.”

“Okay. Let me go to work. A lot of people must sign off on this request before it gets to Paul. I’ll make some calls and keep you posted.” While I really wanted to make this happen for Kelley, I knew that her chances were slim and none. Still, it was hard to manage their expectations.

As luck would have it, McCartney’s tour was passing through Seattle the following month, March of 1990. This would be his first show in America since John Lennon was murdered on the streets of New York City. I had heard that Paul was keeping a very low profile and preferred to stay well under the radar. I didn’t want to disappoint Kelley. But getting a private meeting with Paul would be a real challenge. I sent letters to McCartney’s manager and followed up with phone calls. I explained that Kelley had only months to live and her final wish was to meet Paul McCartney. I poured it on, “It would mean the world to her if Paul could spare a few moments.” I went back to McCartney’s record label and begged his PR agency. But no luck. The answer was the same. “Sorry, but Paul has asked for privacy and is not meeting people on this trip.”

I called Kelley and told her that I had played every card that I could, but the chances of meeting Paul were looking grim. Kelley and her mom took the news graciously and thanked me for trying.
Never one to accept defeat, I took one last shot and begged McCartney’s management again. I appealed to Paul as a father of a nineteen-year-old daughter (Stella) and hoped that he’d sympathize with Kelley’s plight. A few days later, I got the call that I was hoping for. A rep from McCartney’s firm, MPL Communications said, “Paul has agreed to see Kelley at 3 p.m. on the day of his Seattle concert, right before his sound check.”

I was bursting inside. His rep went on to say, “We will arrange for three backstage passes for you, Kelley and her mother.”

“That’s perfect,” I gushed. “Thank you so much.”

“However,” his agent said, “Paul has one stipulation. Nobody can know that he’s doing this. He doesn’t want any press people there when he meets Kelley. Mr. McCartney wants this to be a private meeting, as it should be. No reporters can be present. He’s meeting Kelley because he cares, as the father of a teenage girl.”

I excitedly called Kelley and her mom and gave them the good news. “You’re not going to believe this, but Paul McCartney said yes! He will meet Kelley on March 29th before he goes on stage.” They squealed with delight.

My plea clearly struck a chord. McCartney had a reputation as a family man who made his four daughters and son a priority. Kelley’s terminal illness must have resonated with him, and Paul was making a special effort to see her. Make-A-Wish and I agreed to tell no one until after Kelley’s private meeting with her idol. We all agreed that the man showed tremendous class by agreeing to see her, for all of the right reasons.

On the afternoon of McCartney’s sold-out concert, I rendezvoused with Kelley and her mother at the backstage entrance to the Kingdome. We had never met in person, only spoken by phone. So I was anxious to get to know this young, strong-willed Beatles fan. Kelley stood about five feet tall, and she was rail thin. She was soft-spoken and shy, but her smile was infectious. Kelley had lost all of her hair after exhaustive radiation treatments, but still looked terrific in a black beret. She beamed, “My mom took me clothes shopping, and I picked out this patterned dress and beret. I hope Paul likes it.”
“You look adorable, Kelley,” I said. “Let’s go meet Paul McCartney.” With that, she clutched her stuffed Paul doll under her arm along with several photos and album covers for him to sign. I escorted Kelley and her mom inside the concrete and steel dome, and they were overwhelmed by the enormity of the empty stadium. The floor was lined with thousands of empty folding chairs, filling what was usually the Seahawks’ playing field. We dodged the crews who were setting up Paul’s equipment onstage, hanging lighting trusses and preparing for his sound check. In just a few hours, this cavernous dome would be packed with 50,000 screaming McCartney fans. But for now, we would have Paul and the Kingdome to ourselves.

The three of us were guided through several corridors to the backstage area and led to a twenty- by twenty-foot greenroom. It was sectioned off with aluminum pipes, long, red drapes and ugly green astroturf. Not very quaint, but it didn’t matter. This moment was all about Kelley getting her wish. We sat in folding chairs in the center of the room, our hearts racing. Kelley nervously asked, “I know that Paul is an advocate for world peace. So I made him a peace pin. Is it okay if I give it to him?” “Of course,” I replied. “I’m sure he’ll love it.”

Sidebar: I’ve met many stars at backstage “meet and greets.” Usually, you’re rushed through a receiving line and only have time to say a quick hello and get a handshake before being ushered away. I was hoping that Paul would spend a few quality minutes with Kelley.

Moments later, the curtain parted and Paul’s smiling face peeked out. He looked our way and smiled, “Are you Kelley?”

Stunned, Kelley turned to face Paul and meekly replied, “Yes.”

My heart leapt when Paul McCartney pulled back the curtain and walked right over to Kelley. She stood up and put out her hand. Instead of shaking it, Paul threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Then he and his wife Linda sat down on either side of Kelley and made her the center of attention. Her mother and I looked on as the McCartneys focused all of their attention on Kelley.
At one point, Paul took Kelley’s hand and complimented her, “I love your beret. Do you think I’d look good in one?” Then he picked up the stuffed likeness of him that Kelley had brought. Paul held the doll next to his face and playfully remarked, “Which Beatle is this?” He made Kelley laugh when he joked, “Does it look like me? I thought I was supposed to be the cute Beatle.”

Taking her cue, Linda reached into her bag and handed Kelley a stuffed bear they had brought for her. “Here Kelley, this is for you,” said Linda. For a few precious minutes, the frail young woman forgot that she was fighting brain cancer. She savored this moment, closed her eyes tightly and pulled the stuffed bear to her chest. I looked over at Kelley’s mom and saw that tears were streaming down her face. The sight of her daughter realizing her greatest dream was overwhelming. I felt a lump in my throat as I watched Paul and Linda, who were thoroughly engrossed. They could not have been more sincere and genuine. For now, Paul McCartney was not a rock star, he was a caring dad lifting the spirits of a young girl.

After about thirty minutes, Paul asked, “Kelley, what is your favorite Beatles song?” She responded “‘The End.’ I love where you sing, ‘The love you take is equal to the love you make.”

“It’s really true, isn’t it?” Paul added, “I’ve spent years talking about peace on earth, love and understanding. Do you believe in peace, Kelley?”

“I do. In fact, I brought something for you.” Kelley reached into her purse and pulled out the pin she’d made in the shape of a peace sign and handed it to Paul. He turned it over in his hands and pinned it to his jacket lapel. “Darlin’,” he said. “I’m wearing this onstage tonight.”

With that, Paul stood up and reached out his hand to Kelley and winked, “Now follow me.”
Paul led us back out into the arena and headed for the merchandise tables. They were piled high with McCartney shirts, jackets, sweatshirts, caps and posters. In a few hours, the crowd would make a dent in those piles and spend thousands of dollars on concert gear.

Paul turned to Kelley as she took in all of the cool McCartney swag. Then he asked, “What would you like?”

“Uhhh, can I have a shirt please?” Kelley replied.

Paul smiled, “I think we can do better than that, luv. Here, put out your arms.” He proceeded to lift stacks of clothing from the tables and drape them over Kelley’s outstretched arms. Literally dozens of items. Kelly thanked Paul profusely, as she handed the pile of clothing to her mother.

“We’re not finished,” Paul said. He took Kelley’s arm and led us toward the stage and seated the three of us in the front row. Then he jumped on stage to rehearse a few songs while Kelley watched in awe. We were the only people in the Kingdome—and she was getting a private concert from Paul McCartney! He played “Hey Jude” and “Band On The Run,” and he winked impishly at Kelley throughout his sound check. When he played the Beatles’ classic “Get Back,” Paul changed the character’s name (Jojo) and sang “Get back, Kelley.” She was swooning, her eyes sparkling.

After the rehearsal, Paul jumped down from the stage and walked straight toward Kelley. “I’ve got to go now and rest up before the show. Do you have concert tickets for tonight?”

“No,” Kelley replied. “We tried to buy some but they were all sold out.”

“Well, I can fix that. Tonight, you are my guest,” McCartney said as he reached into his pocket and handed Kelley a pair of “all access” passes. “You’ve got the best seats in the house. We’ll put special seats on the sound mixing board in the center of the arena.” Kelley was stunned by his kindness and at last the tears started flowing. After a few more hugs and pictures, Paul disappeared into the caverns of the Kingdome—and we headed back to reality. It was a mind-boggling experience for me, much less a teen cancer patient. An hour after entering the Kingdome we were back in the parking lot wondering, “did that really happen?”

Two weeks later, I received a FedEx package with an autographed photo, signed from Paul to Kelley. I am told that he insisted on writing a message to Kelley. It read, “To our Kelley, lots of love, babe!”
Six months later, I received the phone call that I’d been dreading. Kelley’s mom called to say that Kelley had passed away peacefully. “You should know that meeting Paul McCartney was the highlight of Kelley’s life. She cherished that day and never let go of the stuffed bear that he gave her.”

I hung up the phone and felt the cold slap of reality. It didn’t seem fair that a brave young woman only lived to nineteen. She never got to experience adult life or have children of her own. But she did experience something special…the humanity and humility of Paul McCartney. And for that brief moment, Kelley’s dream came true.

Thumbs aloft for the last press conference

The Beatles at the last press conference that they ever gave as a group.   This was in Seattle, Washington on August 25, 1966.   They do not look too happy, do they?   They look sick and tired of press conferences.  

Getting to the Beatles

I found this article on a tumblr blog called "Good time music."   It is a pretty neat blog in that it posts a variety of scans from Teen magazines from the 1960's.   Someone named Beth I guess owns a bunch of these, scans them, fixes them up and allows "Good time music" to post them.   So check it out if you are interested in that sort of thing.   It isn't just Beatles, but just a variety of stuff from the 1960's Teen magazines.

This article came form the February 1967 issue of Teen Life magazine.  It from a column in the magazine known as "Teens take over."   These teens, Peggy and Kathy write about when they made a piece of artwork for the Beatles during the 1966 North American tour and Peggy got to go backstage and meet the Beatles in their dress room.    And Kathy.....poor Kathy.....she had to go to her sister's wedding rehearsal!   Oh how terrible!    She missed out on meeting the Beatles for a wedding rehearsal!   I bet she never let her sister live that one down, especially if the marriage didn't last!  Kathy really should have blown off the rehearsal (her sister would have gotten over it eventually) and met the Fab 4 with her friend.   I bet she would have if she had known that the Beatles would never tour again.

Getting to the Beatles

By Pegg Scheinman and Kathy Callison (Seattle, Washington)

Written for Teen Life magazine Feb. 1967

To meet the Beatles is impossible – or is it?  Many fans have tried and failed, but we were determined to succeed!   We decided we wanted to give them something of beauty rather than a spectacular display of emotion.  Peggy had learned how to make stained-glass windows at camp in California, so we thought it would be an original idea to give the Beatles an abstract portrait of themselves in stained glass with Seattle’s Space Needle restaurant in the background.

We started the project on August 18, 1966 – a week before the Beatles were due in town for their concerts at the Coliseum.  The first night we spent hours searching out pictures of them in fan magazines and drawing our impressions of their faces.  We put the last touches on the Space Needle sketch and fell into bed.

The next day we went to our neighborhood hardware store and bought a single piece of clear glass –15” by 33”.  Then we bought strips of lead and several tubes of glue.  We placed the glass on top on our drawing and glued the lead strips on the glass to follow the lines of the drawing.  After the laborious task of scraping off excess glue the day after, we began to stain the glass with assorted colors of special stain.  We used twelve different coloring including purple, brown, orange, green and yellow.

The next stage was getting a frame for the picture.  We went to the man who makes frames for some of the most famous artists in the Northwest and he agreed to make a frame of gold molding.

Our gift was completed – now HOW were we going to get it to the Beatles?  We talked with Egan Rank, who handled the Beatles for Northwest releasing, and he agreed to have our picture delivered to the boys along with a note from us asking if we could meet them.  I  (Kathy) went along to the 3 pm performance, and Peggy attended the 8pm show because I had to attend my sister’s wedding rehearsal.  We then talked to Mr. Rank.   He told us that the Beatles were very impressed with our window but it would be impossible to meet them.

On hear this news, I (Peggy)  was even more determined that I was going to meet them, and began to concoct a plot to meet the quartet.  I got to the Coliseum an hour before the show and tried to open several basement doors which appeared to lead to a maze of corridors beneath the Coliseum -- but as I am not a skilled UNCLE agent, I couldn’t break the locks.  I continued circling the place and talking to policemen.

A quarter of an hour before the second show, now a little desperate, I went over to a police sergeant.  Luckily he said that he had seen my photograph in the local paper and realized we had gone to a lot of work to try to meet the Beatles.  He told me to wait a minute, disappeared backstage and came back and said, “Follow me.”   I could hardly believe it!

He led me to a corridor outside their dressing room, and told me I could snap a few pictures as they went by to the stage.  But a few minutes later Paul McCartney came into the waiting area, shook hands with me and posed for several pictures!  And as if that weren’t exciting enough, their road manager invited me to come into the boys’ dressing room while they were taping radio broadcasts!  And there I sat with all of them for forty minutes!  They were all very nice to me and let me take as many pictures as I wanted.

I was amazed how small in stature the Beatles were.  They also looked very pale and thin.  I asked Paul if they were bored.  “No,” he said, “but we are all very tired.”

All too soon the time was up and I had to leave as the boys were getting ready for the next show.  I went out front to see the performance, which was wonderful, and on my way out a policeman I had talked to earlier came up and asked me if I’d seen the Beatles.  He didn’t believe me when I said I had.  Then I showed him the pictures I’d taken with my Polaroid camera and he was really surprised.  So was my mom!  My only regret is that Kathy was unable to share the victory of our project.  She worked so hard with me.  Oh well, perhaps next time….

Wooo Seattle!!!

Sell out crowd