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.  

Mystery Bag Give Away!

 

I haven't really been telling people this, but I am moving.  You don't realize how much Beatles stuff you have until you start to move. 

Anyhow -- I found a sealed large bubble envelope of a prize that someone never claimed from a contest I held on this site a few years ago.    I am fairly certain it was from the Yellow Submarine contest in 2018 and has various Yellow Submarine items in it.   I have NO CLUE exactly what is in this envelope.  

The 18th person in the United States (sorry my international friends, but I am just mailing this within the U.S.) that emails me at Starshyne9@yahoo.com  with the name of my favorite Beatle will get this mystery bag.   Good luck!

Winners announced!

Thank you to everyone that entered the 2020 Meet the Beatles...For Real anniversary contest this year.  Most everyone that entered agreed that all the songs on the original Let it Be are great and it is hard to pick a very favorite.  Many also agreed with my feelings that while the Let it Be...Naked album is outstanding and might have been more like what Paul had in mind for the album originally,  the 1970 version is the one that is we grew up listening to and for that nostalgia sake, it is the favorite.   Here is how the songs ranked by those that entered.

5.  Dig a Pony
4 (tie) Get Back & I've Got a Feeling
3.  Across the Universe
2.  Two of Us
1.  Let it Be


Here are the winners of the contest. 

Prize 1:  Judy King

Prize 2:  Jim O'Keefe


Congrats to Judy and Jim!  And again thank you all for entering the contest.  I hope you had a little fun.    Winners, please remember to send me your address within one week from today.    I am not even sure with the quarantine if the post offices are open, but I'll try to get your prizes out to you as soon as I can. 


Peace and Love!
Sara S.

2020 MTBFR Anniversary contest

Today is a happy day because 11 years ago this very evening I started this site, Meet The Beatles ... for Real.   Who knew that I'd still be here doing this 11 years later?   Okay -- it isn't TOO surprising since I've been a Beatles fan for most of my life.   Still, many fan-based sights do not last very long, including some that I tried to start in the past. 


I want to apologize to all of you that while I have been posting photographs, I have not been doing very well at keeping up with the other aspects of this site.   It has been an entire year since I held a contest, I haven't been posting as many stories as I used to and I am just now returning to Wednesday Reviews.   I've had a difficult year and the best I could do was post photographs, but I am trying to get back to how things used to be.

Before I go into the new contest,  I wanted to inform you all that I just paid to renew this site for another year.   I have been asked in the past if I accepted donations for this fee.  Usually, I use what I earned through Amazon to pay the fee, but this year I did not review many books and so I didn't have Amazon purchases to help me out.    I do have a PayPal donation button set up on the "about Sara" page if you are interested in giving a few dollars to help me cover the cost.

I have been asked a lot lately if I am still working on the Beatles Fan Club book.  Yes!  I work on it ALL the time.  It is coming along slowly but surely.     The next question is when will it be published.   I am not sure at this point, but I am hoping for the summer of 2021. 

Okay -- onto the contest!!

I have two prizes that I am giving away. 

Prize 1:  A black and white 8 x 10 photograph of Wings with Paul, Linda, Jimmy, Denny, and Geoff.  This is signed by Geoff Britton, who was the drummer of Wings in 1974.    Geoff does not do very many public appearances and so if you collect Wings autographs, his is a difficult one to obtain.  I got this autograph directly from Geoff when he appeared at the 45th anniversary of Junior's Farm in Tennessee in June 2019.   I will also include a sticker from the event for the winner.


Prize 2:  Two Cds of Piers Hemmingsen's The Beatles in Canada books.  These Cds are the audio companion of his red and blue books (the blue version has not yet been published).   The red disc is titled "The Origins of Beatlemania!" which tells the story of how the Beatles music became popular in Canada in 1963.   The blue disc is called The Evolution (1964-1970) and tells more about Canada and the Beatles.


If those prizes interest you, then enter the contest!  Here is what you have to do:

1.  Send an email to meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com

2.  Tell me in this email what you think is the best song from the original Let it Be album.

3.  Tell me if you want to be in the contest for prize 1 or prize 2

4.  Send this email to me by 5pm (Central time) March 16, 2020

On my end, I will assign each entry a number according to the order of getting the emails.  This contest is open to any Beatles fan around the world.   However -- only one entry per household.  I will announce the winner on March 16 after using an online random number generator.  The winner has one week from then to email me his or her address.  If I do not receive the address within one week's time,  the prize is forfeited and a new winner will be chosen or the prize will be kept for another contest. 

Good luck Beatle people!

Yellow Submarine Contest winner!

Thank you to everyone that entered  The Summer 2018 Yellow Submarine contest!   It was a record-breaker!   73 people entered the contest, which blows the 52 people record way out of the water.    I enjoyed seeing what songs from the movie everyone picked and here are the tallys.   Out of 73 votes:


Hey Bulldog:   30 Votes!

Hey Bulldog is my personal favorite, but for some reason, I thought not very many other people would agree.  Boy was I wrong! 

It's All Too Much:  9 votes
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds:  7 votes
Nowhere Man:  7 votes
All Together Now:  6 votes
When I'm 64:  6 votes
Eleanor Rigby:  3 votes
All you Need is Love:  3 votes
Only a Northern Song:  1 vote

There was one write-in vote for the instrumental song, Pepperland


Did you notice what song got zero votes?   The title song, Yellow Submarine!    I was shocked that NO ONE voted for Yellow Submarine! 

It was a fun survey and thanks again to everyone that entered.

I chose the two winners randomly and the winners are

#26:   Kathy Klimpel  (who voted for Hey Bulldog)
#37    Michael Byrne (who voted for It's All Too Much)

Congrats to Kathy and Michael!   Please email me your mailing addresses to Starshyne9@yahoo.com by Wednesday to receive your prize. 

Look for another contest on Meet the Beatles for Real around October.    Peace and Love and Beatles 4-ever!

Yellow Sub contest ends soon!

Just a friendly reminder that the Yellow Submarine contest I am holding ends this Sunday.   I have gotten a great response from so many of you.  It makes me sad that there will only be 2 winners. 


There is a certain song from YS that is winning the contest by a landslide.   What do you think it is? There is another song from the movie that hasn't gotten ANY votes, which shocks me.    Wait and find out the winners of the contest and the songs this Sunday night.


If you want to enter send your favorite song that is featured in the Yellow Submarine movie to meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com 

NEW YELLOW SUBMARINE CONTEST 2018!

What better way to end Yellow Submarine week than with a contest to win Yellow Submarine themed goodies from Meet the Beatles.. For Real!

I have two prize packages to give away to two lucky readers.    Here's the prizes:

Prize Package A

• Ringo YS Hot Wheels car
• Paul YS Hot Wheels car
• Yellow Submarine Hot Wheels Car
• Legos set of the four Beatles
• A pin of the four Beatles YS style
• A pencil that says "all you need is love"
• A badge that says "We all live in a yellow submarine" from the Anthology

Prize Package B (similar but a little different)

• Ringo YS Hot Wheels car
• Paul YS  Hot Wheels car
• Yellow Submarine Hot Wheels Car
• 5 piece Beatles Yellow Submarine Christmas ornament set
• pin of the Sgt. Pepper's drum
• patch of the Sgt. Pepper's drum
• pencil that says "all you need is love"
• badge that says "We all live in a Yellow Submarine" from the Anthology

Here is how you enter this contest:

Send an email to meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com telling me what your favorite Beatles song that is featured in the film Yellow Submarine.   Your choices are:

Yellow Submarine

Eleanor Rigby

When I'm 64

It's All Too Much

Only a Northern Song

All Together Now

Hey Bulldog

All you need is Love

Nowhere Man

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

I will receive the email and write down your name with a number next to it.    On  July 22, I will use a random number generator and choose two numbers from the list.    I will announce the winner on this blog on July 22 by 8pm (central time).    The winners then have THREE days to email or message me their address.   If I do not receive the addresses by 8pm on July 25, I will choose a new winner.  

The contest is open to anyone that loves the Beatles Yellow Submarine on the planet earth.   Please, only one entry per household.   

Don't be a Blue Meanie -- enter the Yellow Submarine contest today!

P.S.  the email meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com is a READ ONLY email.   That means that I can receive emails to this account but I cannot send anything out.   It is perfect for contests, but I cannot respond from it.   

Her own Jukebox Jury

In 1986, there was a contest in the UK to help out Sport Aid (which was a foundation found by Bob Geldof).    For a donation of one pound, your name was entered into a raffle to win a day with a star.

The winner of the raffle was a young girl named Emma Frazer from Essex.    The star she got to meet was Paul McCartney!   She was invited to spend a day with him at his London recording studio (although it sure looks like MPL to me!). 

Paul played for Emma his new song, Press on his jukebox and wanted to hear her thoughts.    She said she thought it was "a hit."  (what else was she going to tell him?)    She was also quoted as saying, "He was wonderful.  He was so nice and he had no airs or graces."

Winners!

I told Ringo it was time to announce the winners of the Fall MTBFR contest, and he just insisted on putting the trophy on of his head.   Silly Ringo --- that isn't a hat! 

44 Beatle fans entered this contest.  And if you recall, you had to send me the name of you favorite Beatles song in the Magical Mystery Tour film (not the LP or EP but the movie itself).  Here are the results (just for fun!)


Flying:  0 votes
Magical Mystery Tour (theme song)  3 votes
Hello Goodbye     4 voties
Blue Jay Way:   6 votes
Fool on the Hill:   6 votes
Your Mother Should know:  10 votes
I am the Walrus:  15 votes


For a while there, Your Mother should know looked like it was going to be the winner, but on the last few days, five Walrus fans showed up and it was the winner!   


As for the winners of the contest:

The winner of the Las Vegas prize pack is #28 -  Thomas Loschel

The winner of the London prize pack is #32 -  Kim Kirk

The winner of the Liverpool prize pack is #14 -  Jeff Pope


Congratulations to the three winners!  You have three (3) days to contact me with your mailing address.  If I do not hear from you by this Thursday, I will pick another person to win the prize. 

Another contest will be held in late January,  and you can always try again to win.    I hope you have fun with these little contests that I hold four times a year.    As you all know, I try my best to align this site with the Beatles fanzines of the past, and they frequently held contests and did fun things like that.   Just trying to put the FUN back into being a Beatles fan!

Meet the Beatles for Real Fall 2017 contest!

Hello Beatle fan!

I am excited to tell you about the Fall 2017 contest.    As you all know, this past summer I went to Liverpool, London and Las Vegas.   What you didn't know was that along the way I picked up little souvenirs to give out as prizes for you to win!


Here is what I have to offer


Las Vegas:   A Beatles Love ink pen, a Las Vegas pack of playing cards, a guitar shaped key chain that say Las Vegas on it, a coupon to buy Love tickets for $55

London:   An Abbey Road postcard, Abbey Road coaster, Abbey Road Studios eraser, 2 Abbey Road Studios buttons

Liverpool:   A Cavern Club button,  St. Peter's Church button, Hard Day's night Hotel pin, Liverpool postcard, Liverpool Beatles sites postcard,  small map of Liverpool, Strawberry Fields magnet


You will be entered into the contest to win one of these amazing prize packs at random (in other words, you don't get to choose which prize you win).    To enter email me at meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com

The question you need to answer in order to be entered is:  What is your favorite song from the Magical Mystery Tour movie?    Your song choices are:   Magical Mystery Tour, I am the Walrus, The Fool on the Hill, Flying, Your Mother Should Know, Hellow Goodbye or Blue Jay Way.

Please send me those contest entries by October 29, 2017 at 5pm (central time).  All winners are assigned a number and I will use a random number generator to choose the winners.   Remember that anyone from anywhere in the world can enter the contest, but please only one entry per household.   The three winners will be announced on Facebook and on this blog on October 29 and will have 3 days to email me at meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com with their mailing address.   If I do not hear from them after 3 days, I will choose a new winner.

So what are you waiting for???   Spread the word and send me those entries!

The winner of the Summer of Love Contest is....

Paul checks MTBFR to see if he was a winner---sorry Paul!

The winner of the 2017 Summer of Love contest is----

Scott Relf!!  

Scott picked "Within you, Without you" as his favorite summer of 1967 song.

Congratulation Scott!  Please email me your mailing address.  


42 fans entered the contest this time and the most popular song choices were:  Whiter Shade of Pale, A Day in the Life and All you need is Love.


Thank you for participating and look for another contest in the near future.


I will be gone to England and The Netherlands from June 16-27 and so I won't be updating the blog like I typically do.  Please don't get concerned or stop visiting!  

I plan on setting a few special photos up on the "scheduler" feature (which took me 6 years of having this blog before I learned about it!)  to pop up a few times while I am away.  

Summer of Love Contest!

If you were able to join me on Facebook for the live broadcast tonight, you will already know about "the Summer of Love" contest.  

Between today (June 1) and June 11, I am giving away one Summer of Beatles Love gift bag!  Here is what is in the bag:

• double sided Sgt. Pepper Beatles shopping bag
• An "all you need is love"  picture to hang in your house
• a George Harrison keychain with Richard Avadon photo
• Sgt. Pepper magazine (the one that is currently out on the shelves)
• Sgt. Pepper flip book
• 2 Sgt. Pepper picks
• A Sgt. Pepper hot wheels car

One blog reader will win all of these wonder goodies!   All you have to do is email me at meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com    and tell me the name of your favorite song from the summer of 1967!    It doesn't have to be a Beatles song.    However, my favorite is "All you need is love."  

This contest is open to anyone anywhere in the world.   Just one entry per household.    I will collect the names of those entered and will assign each person a number.   Then on June 11 at around 8pm (Central Time), I will use the random number generator online and get the number of our winner!   It is that easy!     The name of the winner will be announced here on this blog as well as the Meet the Beatles...for Real facebook page. 

Once the winner is announced, he/she has three days to contact me with his/her mailing address.   If after three days the winner does not come forward,  he/she loose the opportunity and I will pick another number.  

Have a great summer Beatle friends!

Peace and Love!

Winners announced

There were 41 entries for Winter 2017 MTBFR contest!    Thank you to everyone who entered and all of the great answers to the question "What is your favorite Beatles song from 1967?"   I have to say that most of you like "All you need is Love" followed closely by "A Day in the Life."   Honorable mention goes to "Within you Without you,"  "Baby you're a rich Man,"  and "Fool on the Hill."

The winners are:

Abbey Road cup:  Terry Fletcher

Beatles playing cards:  Denny Kempen


Please contact me within the next 3 days with your mailing address.  Congratulations!


For those of you who will be at the Fest for Beatle fans this weekend in Jersey City, I will be speaking at the following times:

Friday: Meet the Author's panel 5:30-6:30 in the main ballroom.

Saturday: Women's Beatles historian panel discussion on the "6th Beatle" 12:45-1:45pm in the Harborside Ballroom

2:45 - My presentation on the Beatlemania in St. Louis! If you are interested in my book, you won't want to miss it! (In the Palisades Ballroom)

Sunday: 12:15-1:00- Author's panel (with some great Beatles authors!) in the Harborside Ballroom

I will be selling/signing books and selling RARE Beatles photos at my table on and off all weekend. PLEASE come see me (even if you don't care to buy anything--I love chatting with fan!)

Disc magazine winners

MTBFR 2017 Winter Contest!

Hello everyone!

If you joined me this afternoon for my live Facebook event, you will know that I announced the 2017 MTBFR winter contest.    For those of you that missed it, no big deal---I will tell you all about it in a few.

I quickly want to let you know that I am starting to run out of "Happiness is Seeing the Beatles:  Beatlemania in St. Louis" books.    I have about 100 books left and I am not getting them re-printed.  So if you want a book, go over to www.stlbeatles.com and order one.  

Next I wanted to let you know that I have contributed to a great book called "A is for Apple Volume 2"  It is a great series of books all about the Beatles Apple years.  It is in full color with a load of photographs and everything you will ever need to know about the Beatles at Apple.   If you are interested in pre-ordering the book go over to www.aisforapplebook.com.

Last commercial, I promise!   I will be at the Fest for Beatle Fans in New Jersey from March 3-5, 2017 with my book.   This is going to be my last big thing for the book and I will be speaking on several panels and giving a presentation.   If you are going to the at the Fest any of the day, PLEASE stop by and say hi!   I don't care if you have no interest in my book.   I get so bored just sitting there at these things and I would love to chat Beatles and say hi to anyone who is a blog viewer.  

Some of you have been wondering what the results were from the MTBFR survey from the beginning of the year.   Here are the results.    100 people participated in the survey.

1,  How long have you been visiting MTBFR-- most people have been coming here between 2-5 years!  Thank you for your loyalty!

4-5 years 31%
2-3 years 27%
6-7 years 17%
1 year 12%
under a year 7%
just started 6%


2.  What is your age range?  Looks like most visitors are 1st generation fans.   But 2nd generation fans aren't too far behind.

50-59:  34%
60-69:  24%
40-49   21%
30-39     9%
20-29     6%
13-19     5%
70 or older 1%  (Paul or Ringo---is that you???)


3.  How long have you been a Beatles fan?    Surprisingly,  the highest amount are people who became fans after the Beatles broke up followed closely by our 1964 first generation folks.

Since the 1970's:  26%
Since 1964:           21%
Since the 1980's    16%
Since the 2000's    10%
Since 1963 or earlier:  9%
Between 1965-1970:  8%
Since the 1990's        7%
I am a new fan           3%  (welcome!)


4.  What is your gender?  When I started this blog, I thought it would attracted more female fans because the topic of meeting the Beatles seemed to me to be something girls would be more interested in.  However, the male fans have rated higher than female consistently since day 1.


Male:  56%
Female:  44%


5.  In what country do you live?   No surprise that United States is the most.    But I think it is neat to see that fans from all around the globe come to MTBFR.   (2 people skipped this question)

United States:            62%
United Kingdom        8%
Germany                    4%
Canada                       3%
Spain                          3%
New Zealand              3%
Netherlands                 2%
Australia                     2%
Ukraine:                     2%
Mexico                       2%
Italy                            1%
Indonesia                    1%
Israel                           1%
Ireland                         1%
Finland                         1%
Brazil                            1%
Belgium                        1%
Austria                           1%

6.  Who is your favorite Beatle?  It was a tie!

John:                 29%
Paul                  29%
I don't have a favorite 24%
George;                   16%
Ringo                        2%  (sorry Ringo!  We still love you though!)


7.  Have you ever met a Beatle in person?   Most of us haven't.  (1 person skipped this question)

No:  77%
Yes:  22%

8.  Have you ever met someone connected with the Beatles in person (a wife, Pete Best, etc) (1 person skipped this question)    Most of us have.

Yes:  52%
No:   47%

9.  What is your favorite part of MTBFR?  (1 person skipped this question and you could answer any of the choices).    No surprise---most people like the photos!   They are great, aren't they?

Photos:  76%
Stories:  63%
Articles Sara has written:  19%
Comments form other fans:   19%
Wednesday Review:          15%


10 What is your least favorite part of MTBFR?( 2 people skipped this question and you could answer any of the choices).   Most of you say that you like it all!   Thank you so much.  You are so kind!

Nothing--I like it all:   88%
Comments from other fans:   6%
Stories:                                   4%
Photos:                                    2%
Wednesday Review:                2%
Articles Sara has written          2%



Now---finally---the contest.   I have two prizes I am giving away this time.   In order to be entered, you need to email me with the name of one of your favorite Beatles songs from 1967 to meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com by 5pm (Central time) Feb 26.    As always, everyone is welcome to enter, but only one entry per household please.   I will be using screen shots from the live facebook event to show you the prizes.  (so don't click on the arrow).  I will not email you back.   But I will assign you a number and use the random internet number generator to pick the two winners.   If you are a winner, you have THREE DAYS to contact me with your address or you forfeit the prize.  Good luck!

Prize #1:  A Beatles Abbey Road tumbler with straw.  

Prize #2  A set of playing cards with a photograph of John and Paul performing at Busch Stadium on the cards.

MTBFR Thanksgiving contest

Hello to Beatle friends around the globe!

This week here in the United States we will be celebrating Thanksgiving.   I want to take the time to say thank you to everyone that visits the "Meet the Beatles..For Real" blog.    I really have fun with this blog and I hope all of you do as well.  

To show my thanks to you viewers I purchased a few things for a contest.   I am sorry that I wasn't able to get amazing things for this Fall 2016 contest, but I hope you understand that I buy these prizes myself and I am not always able to get a hold of great Beatles things.

Prize A:
A copy of the book The Beatles and Me on Tour by Ivor Davis.   The book is signed by Ivor.   If you haven't read this book, it is one I recommend.    Ivor traveled as a journalist with the Beatles during their 1964 North American Tour and also was with them in 1965 when they met Elvis.   He is a great storyteller and his book is great!

Prize B:
One Beatles drum Christmas ornament (these are sold right now at Target) and a $15 gift card for Itunes.


If you would like to participate in the fall contest all you have to do is email me at meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com and let me know if you are interested in Prize A or Prize B.   It is that easy!    I will have a notebook here next to the computer and as the emails come in, I will assign everyone a number.   Then on December 4, 2016 at 8:00pm (Central Time), I will use an online number generator to determine the winner.  

The contest is open to anyone and everyone, but only one entry per household.    The winner will have 48 hours from the time I announce the winner to contact me at the same email address with his/her address.   If I do not receive the address without the 48 hour time period, the prize is forfeited.


I also wanted to remind you all of two great opportunities to purchase Beatles items for your Beatle friends for Christmas or for yourself.

My book "Happiness is Seeing the Beatles:  Beatlemania in St. Louis" is selling out fast!   Only 130 copies remain of the 500 I had printed.   So if you wanted a copy of my book, now is the time to order!   They are $25 each and you can order them directly from the book website www.stlbeatles.com   I also have photographs of the Beatles and their family members for same on the site, so it is worth checking out!


If you are wanting to order the Beatles Yellow Submarine Lego set, please do so by clicking on the photo below.  You will be taken to the official Lego website.   It is set for the UK, so you if you live in another country, just change the region at the top of the page.   A small percentage of each sale of the Yellow Submarine Lego sets from my blog goes back to me and will be used to help keep the blog running.    So far no one has used this deal, but I know as Christmas is approaching, many people will want a Beatles Lego set.  

I again thank you all for your support.
Peace and Love,
Sara S.




If you want to order the Lego set:  just click on the cute Lego Beatles below!

Summer 2016 contest winners!

Thank you to all 37 people that entered the Summer 2016 MTBFR contest!     The two winners have been chosen by random number generator.      If you are not a winner and you would like to order my book, Happiness is Seeing the Beatles:  Beatlemania in St. Louis  you can order them from www.stlbeatles.com  or just email me and I can give you more information.    If you enjoy this blog, you will enjoy the book because I wrote it very  much in the same way that I write the blog.   There are plenty of rare photographs and fan stories not just about St. Louis but also when the Beatles performed in Kansas City and Chicago.    Speaking of rare photos, you can also purchase prints of photos from the book and other photos I have copyright to on the website, so go check it out.



To have been entered into the contest, you had to email me the name of one of the songs that Beatles performed live in 1966.    Here is what people sent in:

Nowhere Man -  9
Paperback Writer - 6
I Feel Fine - 6
If I needed Someone - 4
Rock n Roll Music - 4
Day Tripper - 3
Yesterday - 2
I wanna be your man - 1
She's a woman - 1

No one mentioned I'm Down (performed in Germany and Japan) or Long Tall Sally.  



So without further ado here are the two winners:

#2   Kailey Troby

#31  Prabah (who has never entered a contest before!)

Congrats to the two winners!   Please email me your mailing addresses so that I can get your prizes to you.    And remember to check back in the Fall for the next contest on MTBFR!

Happiness is ... MTBFR contest!

Hello Beatle people!

I hope you all are having a great summer and staying cool---or if you are on the other side a great winter and staying warm!

Here in Southern Illinois it is currently thunder-storming and has been very, very HOT.  

I hope you all enjoyed the special photos and articles about the Beatles in Germany, Japan and Manila.    I had worked several years gathering all of the information and I was excited to share it with all of you.       Next up with be information about the 1966 North American tour.     If YOU were at one of the concerts on that tour and have a memory to share, now is the time to send it in!    Remember--if you were there---your story needs to be heard!

I also wanted to let all of you know that I now have a website open for the sale of my book "Happiness is Seeing the Beatles:  Beatlemania in St. Louis."    The site is www.stlbeatles.com .
I set it up to make it easier to order the book directly from me.  

Also part of the new web site is a page I have set up to sell copies of photographs that I have purchased the copyright to.    It isn't a whole lot, but it is a start!    If you are interested in a photo and it says "not in stock" just let me know that you want it.    The ones that are labeled as "in stock" are the ones I have copies of on hand.  But if there is one "out of stock" that you want, it is no problem for me to get copies made.     Don't be afraid to ask.    Here is the link for photo sales:    http://www.stlbeatles.com/#!photos-for-sale/ndjv1


I will be at the Paul McCartney concert on August 13 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, the Fest for Beatle Fans in Chicago on August 14, Beatles Prairietown in Prairietown, IL on September 11  and Beatles at the Ridge in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas on September 16-17.      If you are at any of these great events and see me---PLEASE come up and let me know!!!   I always love talking to readers of the blog.


Now---time for the Summer contest!
There will be two winners of the summer contest and both winners will win:

1 copy of the book Happiness is Seeing the Beatles:  Beatlemania in St. Louis signed by the author (hehe me!)
2 8 x 10 photographs of the Beatles performing in St. Louis
2 postcards from the Beatles fan club (Paul & Linda / Maureen and Ringo)
2 Beatles  Hot Wheels cars
1 $10 Amazon gift card


To enter this contest, all you have to do is answer this question:

What is one song the Beatles performed live in 1966?

Send your answers to meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com

I will keep track of who enters the contest and  on July 31, 2016 will pick two winners according to random internet number generator.

Here is the fine print

• Only one entry per person
• Anyone anywhere can enter this contest
• All entries are due by 5:00pm Central Standard time on July 31, 2016
• Winners will be announced on this blog and on Facebook on July 31.   If you are a winner, you have 48 hours to email me your address.  If I do not hear from you within 48 hours, you forfeit your prize.

Good luck!!

Winners for the 7th Anniversary contest are announced!

Come on fellows!  It is after 8pm and we need to announce the winners of the 7th Anniversary contest.  


The winners are:

Prize 1  Autographed Shoulda been there book, gift card and tie-dyed coaster from Rock n Roll Hall of fame:

Andrea Robbins


Prize 2:   Sgt. Pepper Tracks book, gift card and bracelet from R&R Hall of Fame:

Elizabeth Jordan


Prize 3:   2 Teen magazines and gift card

Jim O' Keefe


Congratulations to the three winners!   And sorry to the other 27 people that entered this contest and didn't win.    Please note that I hold a contest here at MTBFR FOUR times a year, so another contest will be coming up in the near future.

If you are one of the winners, please email me with your mailing address.    If I do not hear from the winners by this Friday (April 8) then their prize will be forfeited and put back into the prize pool for another contest.

MTBFR 7th Anniversary contest!

I know that George hates ticker-tape parades, but it is time to celebrate around here!   As of today Meet the Beatles...for Real has been around for 7 years!!!  


I get asked frequently about how I started the blog so now is a good time to repeat the story.   Just skip ahead if you have already heard it.     Back in 2009 I was going through a difficult time in life.   I had gotten divorced very suddenly and unexpectedly in July of 2008.   By March of 2009, the dust had settled and I found myself feeling very lonely and sorry for myself.   So I decided that I needed to find a hobby.    I had been collecting Beatles photographs for many years and I actually had a blog on my Myspace page where I shared Beatles photos and did reviews of Beatles books.     The photos that I always liked the most were the ones taken by the fans.   So on March 9, 2009 I decided on just a spur of the moment thing to start up a blogger account and share some of the photos I had in my files of photos of the Beatles that were taken by fans.     I enjoyed seeing the photos all together on the site and I thought my Beatle friends would enjoy it as well.     And that was the humble beginnings of the blog.


Today I have close to 3 million hits on the blog.    I average about 1,500 hits a day.   People from the United States, Canada, England, Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Israel, Argentina, Netherlands, Spain, India and Mexico (and I am sure there are others) have visited over the past 7 years.     Most people have found the blog through a google search where they have looked for things such as "Meet the Beatles for Real,"  "Beatles Photo Blog,"  "Friar Park"  "Julian Lennon's birthday,"  "Paul McCartney wedding,"  "Beatles in concert,"  "Kyoko Ono Cox,"  and many, many other searches.   Other of you have found it through facebook or Miss Tammy's Beatles Photo Blog.

Back in 2009 most people used Firefox and now I see a switch to Chrome.     The most popular post remains the one about Paul Goresh with the ones about Beatle fans peeing their pants in concert in 2nd place.    I knew that every year whenever Paul McCartney tours, the post I did on what to expect at a Paul McCartney sound check is going to spike in numbers.   I also know that whenever someone in the Beatles family passes away, the numbers sadly go up.  

Through this blog friends have been reunited, families have found long lost photos, and people have been able to share and remember things that have long been forgotten.    Bad things have also happened over the years.   I have been made fun of, been called a liar and had someone spread some very unkind things about me on another site.    I also have been threatened with two law suits over the years.    But over all things have been amazing.  

I just have to say a big thank you to each of you that visit this  blog.    While I never claim to do it for anyone but myself, it is nice to share the experience with each and every one of you.    As a thank you and in celebration of the 7th anniversary,  I am having a contest for 3 prize packages:


Package 1:   Copy of the book Shoulda Been There by Jude Southernland Kessler---autographed by the author.   A tye-dyed coaster from the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.   $10 Gift card to Amazon.com

Package 2:  Copy of the book "Recording Sgt. Pepper" by Tracks (lots of amazing photos in the book!).   A purple bracelet from the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.  $10 Gift card to Amazon.com

Package 3:  Teen Life Magazine (September 1967), Teen Screen Magazine (Nov. 1965).  $10 Gift Card from Amazon.  

I might find other goodies to include in these packages.   You never know!


To enter this contest all you have to do is send an email to meetthebeatlesforreal@gmail.com  and say that you want to enter the contest  Between now and April 4, 2016.    I will assign everyone that enters a number and will use a random internet number generator to pick the three winners.

This contest will end on April 4, 2016 at 8:00pm (Central Time) when the winners names will be announced on this blog.   The winner has five (5) days to contact me with his/her mailing address.  If I do not hear from the winner after the 5th day, the prize is forfeited .    Please note that I can only receive emails from the above address, but I cannot send emails from it.   You will not hear from me.  Only one entry per household.  This contest is open to anyone anywhere.  

Good luck!