Break up of the Beatles Tipped (1966)

 Breakup of the Beatles Tipped

By Sydney News Herald London Correspondent

Sydney News Herald

November 6, 1966

    The breakup of the Beatles as a pop singing group is being freely predicted in show business circles. They say the four millionaires will soon leave the singing field to concentrate on other aspects of entertainment. 

    They have the wealth, the contacts, and the know-how to ensure their future in show business. One pop manager said, "I will give the Beatles another year before they break up." 

    Already the signs are there. John Lennon is filming solo in Spain. George Harrison is showing decidedly more interest in the sitar, an Indian instrument, than in any group activity; he has just spent three months in Bombay learning how to play it. 

    The end of the Beatles as a singing group, the end of pop's most successful era seems inevitable. Many times they have appeared ready to split. Then a record reaches top place in the hit parade. 

    They have never lost their popularity. Not even when John Lennon, on the eve of an American tour, said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ, did the frenzied adulation of the fans diminish. Religious fanatics in the Deep South made unsuccessful attempts to blockade the tour; a predictable success, they could go on for years as a pop singing group, but they must be giving serious thoughts to a more peaceful life out of reach of 1000s of grasping hands and out of earshot of hysterical shrieking characteristic of all their appearances. The office of Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager, denies any breakup of the group.

     Miss Marion Rainford, a press officer for Mr. Epstein, said today, "They are not breaking up. They are due to start their third film in England early next year." Still, she affirmed that there was no sign of another Beatles single record nor another tour. Their last single was "Eleanor Rigby /Yellow Submarine," released in early August, and their last tour was also in August.

     There is today a greater maturity about the Beatles. John and Ringo are 26, Paul 24, and George 23. Three of them are married; two have children. John is starring in the film How I Won the War, for which he even had his trend-setting hairstyle narrowed to more conventional limits. 

    George has his sitar interests, and Paul has started on the musical score for Haley Mills' new film All in Good Time. When John returns from Spain, he will join Paul on the film score. 

    Miss Rainford said those interests were more hobbies which the Beatles wanted to pursue. It did not mean that they were breaking up as a pop singing group. This present confident prediction may, of course, be only an extension of the abounding rumors concerning the group, but the signs are there, and the Beatles, more than any other singing group, know which side their bread is buttered. They have made an astonishing impact on the pop scene. It has lasted, and it will not last a long time. Now they are looking to broaden horizons beyond the footlights

We're Speechless Said V.I.P. Fans (1963)

 

We're Speechless Said V.I.P. Fans

By Fred Norris

Birmingham Mail 

December 16, 1963

    Cheryl Fellows, a 16-year-old schoolgirl of 95 Bromsgrove Road, Halesowen, kissed the back of her left hand, which had been autographed by Paul McCartney, and said, "This  I will never wash again." 

    Mr. Edwis ard Turner of 165 Robin Hood Lane, Hall Green, a dedicated Beatles fan, yet at 69, a sort of elder statesman of the party, declared, "The experience of a lifetime. How I admire the vitality of these four young men. I can never thank the Evening Mail and Dispatch enough for this day of days in the life of a man who has already been actively interested in theater."

     Miss Fellows and Mr. Turner were two of the six winners of the Evening Mail and Dispatch "Meet the Beatles" contest.

    Yesterday, they all visited the Aston studios to attend the recording of the special Christmas edition of ABC TV's. Thank Your Lucky Stars. It was a bonus plus occasion. They not only saw the full dress rehearsal and the recording of a show they can see at home again next Saturday on their TV screens. They also met the Beatles, chatted to them, and became VIPs in their own right for the night.

     Because of heavy commitments on the previous day, the Beatles had arrived four hours late to the studios. This threw the day's schedule completely out of gear. Miss Carol Ann Young, a 17-year-old American girl from Charleston, West Virginia, now staying at 79 Clarence Road, Kings Heath, said, "Just seeing them as they appear on a TV show is good enough for me. I'm happy enough now."

     But minutes later, Miss Young and the other winners found themselves talking to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Miss Young walked out of the studio nursing her arm as though it were in a sling. "Do not touch," she said, "Paul has autographed it and like Cheryl, I am never going to wash it. 

    "They were so wonderful to me. They are completely unspoiled, just like boys who might live next door. I told them I came from America, and I wish them well on their visit next year. I'm sure they will do well. I've written to all my friends in the States saying how marvelous they are. "

    Mrs Yvette Jones, a 43-year-old mother of three, of 29 Beechwood Road, Smithwick, said, "I have hardly been able to eat ever since I knew I was a winner of the contest. This has been one of the greatest thrills of my life. I have a 19 year old daughter, Rosemary, a 16 year old son, Alan, and another daughter, Barbara, who's 13. They're all fanatical Beatles fans.

     "Before the Beatles came along, I was a cube, more than a square, but their fantastic vitality won me over completely. Tonight has been the most wonderful Christmas present I could ask for, I mean, actually, to meet the Beatles and talk to them. I'm speechless. "

1 5-year-old Mary Hatwell of 240, Gillot Road, Edgbaston, was equally speechless for a while, but she had an added thrill. Her father, a keen Bing Crosby fan, once had his photograph taken with the famous old groaner. "Now that I have my photograph with The Beatles", she said, "I consider I've got my own back on Dad." Just then, Mr. Hatwell arrived to drive his daughter home. Let him have the last word,

     "Yes, Mary," he said. "And in years to come, you will show that photograph to people and say, 'Remember those old squares who called themselves the Beatles?'"  Mary protested. "Never!"

 All that Mr. Hatwell said was " I said the same thing about good old Bing."