Meet the Beatles for Real: The Beatles

Showing posts with label The Beatles. Show all posts

Thursday, April 11, 2024

Ring the Bell for Caroline Award

Meet the Beatles Contest winners

April 11, 1964 - There were several of these types of contests happening in the Spring of 1964. Various magazines and/or disc jockeys held contests where lucky winners got to spend a few minutes with the Beatles and get photos taken and autograph books signed.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Fashioning The Beatles: a Book Review

I have often posted on this site information and thoughts about the Beatles fashions. The clothing John, Paul, George, and Ringo wore is part of the Beatles story and what made them the band we all love. I have long thought that a book should be written about the Beatles and their fashion, and finally that has happened.

Fashioning The Beatles: The Looks that Shook the World by Dierdre Kelly is a well-researched book that takes the reader on a journey through the years of Beatles clothing and the history behind it. The book is written chronologically, starting with the Teddy Boy look of the Quarry Men Days, going into the leather in Hamburg, the suits that Brian had them wear, and onto the casual denim of Abbey Road and fashion the Beatles wore after the band broke up.

The one thing that really stands out is that the Beatles were one step ahead of trends when it came to clothing. As soon as the masses started wearing something the Beatles were wearing, they would change their look. The Beatles look changes with the music. This book is really great at laying out the whole evolution of the Beatles and their different looks.

I really liked reading about the different shops in London where the Beatles bought their clothing: Hung on You, Granny Takes a Trip, Mr. Fish, Dandy Fashions --- all names I had heard, but to learn the history behind these shops was really interesting. It is also fascinating to read about how this all led up to the Apple Boutique and the mistakes that were made in that endeavor.

If you want to learn more about fashion and the Beatles' clothing, this is the book for you! If you are just focused on Beatles music, it would be best to skip this one.

The link below will take you to the Amazon Affiliate page for this book. Any purchases made through this link will provide a small percentage of the sale to go to Sara. The money earned through the affiliate link is used to pay for the annual upkeep of the site. Thank you for your support.

https://amzn.to/49rGDGU

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Boating Beatles

April 9, 1969

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

The Baby Buggy trailer

April 3, 1964

How was this supposed to tie back to A Hard Day's Night? I guess it was just meant to get fans excited about the upcoming Beatles movie.

Sunday, March 31, 2024

The Beatles together

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Happy birthday Julie Harris

March 26, 1964

Julie Harris was the Beatles costume designer on both A Hard Day's Night and Help!. The Beatles and Wilfrid Brambell celebrated her birthday on the set of the Beatles' first film. I don't think Ringo is very happy they are putting that little cake on his drums. They loom large in his legend, you know.

Mad Mel Returns

Here are the Beatles at a press conference in Portland, Oregon, in 1965. That guy in the striped shirt and big sunglasses is none other than Mad Mel, the Australian disc jockey who orchestrated the knitting of a huge scarf that he presented to The Beatles during their tour of Australia. You can read the story about that here.

When I saw these photos the other day, I was confused about why Mad Mel would be at a Portland Beatles press conference. I discovered that in 1965, Mel left Australia and was a DJ at CFUN in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). Portland would have been the closest town to Vancouver to have a Beatles concert that year. Since Mel had a friendly relationship with the Beatles, it makes sense that CFUN would send him down to Oregon to attend the press conference. He must not have spent too much time in Canada because I read that Mel was back on air in Australia by the end of the decade. It is believed that Mad Mel still lives in Sydney. As far as I know, he hasn't been interviewed about his time with The Beatles. Hopefully I am wrong and the book about the Beatles in Australia that is supposed to be published this year will give us more information about this interesting disc jockey and his Beatle connection.