Meeting Macca

Wings performance in Philadelphia in 1976

 

Meeting Maca In ’76 & ‘77

By Marina Sharpe

 The McCartney Observer

Summer 1977

It happened like a dream, meeting Macca for the first time on Friday, May 14, 1976!  I, along with my friend Peggy, were going crazy with anticipation of seeing Wings in concert at the Spectrum.  We met two of our friends, Karen and Darlene, in Philly, and we all got in Karen’s car and drove to the Spectrum.

The concert was so fantastic, the first of four Wings concerts I saw.  I thought for sure I’d be cool during the show, but I went wild at my first glimpse of Paul.  I screamed so much my voice was hoarse later in the evening.  I knew after seeing Paul on stage I HAD to meet him!

When the concert ended, we four – Peggy, Karen, Darlene, and I stood with the crowd waiting for Paul’s limo to leave the Spectrum.  Karen got a great idea of following the limo since the parking lot was right next to the ramp where the limo would come out.  So we all got in and sat waiting for the big moment.  When it happened, we were ready!  Paul’s limo came out, followed by three others and two police cars.  Karen was beeping at the crowd to move and managed to squeeze around the crowd and follow the limos.  What a chase it was!  We were scared the police would stop us because we were going 90 miles an hour in a 60-mile zone! We got past the police, who stopped a few cars by the small airfield. Karen parked across from the limos.  They were lined up in front of the gate where a plane was waiting in the airfield.  There were a few people looking in the window of the first limo, and we had a feeling Paul was in it.  We were right!  My heart was beating so fast as I walked towards the limo and looking in the window I saw him —Macca!  Linda was sitting next to him, Jojo next to her, and Denny in the opposite seat.  Time stood still as I looked into Paul’s eyes; even in the dark, his eyes are so bright and expressive.  We were all staring at him and smiling and he was smiling at us.  We all say “Hi” and Peggy (the bold one) said “Hi Macca” and told him how great the concert was.  When Linda asked where we were from Peggy said, “New York.”  Paul nodded and said, “Yeah,” like he knows New York!  We all shook hands with Pau, Linda, and Denny.  Paul’s hand is so soft and warm, with a strong grip.  I could’ve held his hand forever!  His bodyguard came over and told us to move and he stood in front of the window to block our view.  So I went around to the other window, and the goon came over and tried to block my view again, but Paul saw I was trying to get a picture of him, and he leaned toward the window and smiled.  What a beautiful picture it is!  Macca had on his nice leather jacket, which he wore throughout the Wings Over America tour.  The limos drove into the gate, and we looked through the gates watching Paul and the group board the plane.  It was after midnight by then when the plane took off.

We were all so “high” on meeting Macca.  We were up till 4 a.m. talking about him.  Until Wings’ last concert at the Madison Square Garden in New York, I caught glimpses of Paul going between the hotel and the Garden.

 

Practically a whole year passed before seeing him again – on Saturday, April 30, 1977!  I got to the Stanhope Hotel early in the morning – around 10 a.m. and met some of my friends from “The Harrison Alliance” who were already there.  There were about 10 people hanging around, quite a relief compared to last year’s 50 or more people hanging around the hotel during the concerts.  The doorman was very nice to us, said Paul would be out in about 15 minutes.  We all got our cameras and things we had for him to autograph ready.  I started to get those nervous butterflies in my stomach feeling.  Karen came running down the block to the hotel; she was so excited when I told her Macca is really in the hotel.  Suddenly Mary and Stella appeared then ran back into the hotel.  Then Linda, Heather, Mary, Stella, and Paul came out.  20 people appeared from nowhere.  Then the next five minutes happened so fast; some obnoxious girls pushed everyone out of the way to kiss Paul and get his autograph.  Paul had an annoyed, surprised look on his face when the girl kissed him, but he smiled and said “hi” to the other fans.  It was impossible for me to get near him.  The crowd seemed to carry him off.  Linda was standing alone, so I went to her and asked her for her autograph.  She said “Sure” and signed.  I could see she was pregnant even though she held her coat in front of her.  She pushed through the crowd to the waiting limo and got in.  Paul had to tell some eager beaver fans to let him get the kids in the car before signing for them.  They kept pushing closer to him, so he got in the limo, and I got up close to the window and waved. He waved back, and the limo took off.  I took two pictures, but unfortunately, they came out dark.  Luckily, Karen’s photos came out beautifully!  He looked gorgeous that day, with a short-waisted length jacket showing off his beautiful buns!  And those eyes – for the second time, he’s looked at me with those eyes!  I hope there will be many more times that I can look into those eyes.

 

 

Onto Cardiff and Bournemouth!

Continuing one with the journey of the Americans following Paul McCartney and Wings around the U.K. in May of 1973 from the Summer 1973 issue of McCartney Lovers and Friends



Now, onto Cardiff.  Would you believe we had to stop off in Bristol again to catch a connecting train?  Anyway, we finally did make it to Wales and registered in a hotel right across the street from the theatre.  You had to lean out the window to see anything, so while I was writing a letter, I kept sticking my head out the window every two seconds.  All of a sudden I saw the bus (arriving hours ahead of time for rehearsal) and naturally I missed Paul by a split second.  I saw everyone else going in, but brother!  We met a friend for the first time outside the theatre and since then, we become traveling buddies and went nuts on the train together.   She and Maddy and front row seats and our seats were awful.   They were off the side, and not being six feet tall, I was having a hard time seeing anything.  I was having a nervous attack when Ann spotted two beautiful, gorgeous empty seats in the second row - center!  Luckily enough, we snuck over to them about 10 minutes before Paul came on, but God, we were so nervous that the proper owners would show up and kick us out.  John Eastman was sitting right near us.  The show was great, and I loved our seats.  god lots of nice looks from Mr. Mac, which didn't bother us at all.

At the end, when everyone was up, Ann and I decided to make ourselves noticeable and stand up on our chairs.  Well, it worked!  Especially when we both fell through the seats at the same time!  It was so funny!  We were both dying from laughter that we hardly noticed the pain.  I pulled a cutie and tried to get back up on the chair, and leaned all my weight on the let that was stuck behind the chair.  I was sure that I had broken my ankle.  I had a black and blue mark half the size of this page which didn't go away from about 5 weeks.  In order to balance ourselves, we threw our shoes off.  It was hysterical, really.  We kept having visions of Paul seeing our heads and then all of a sudden "where'd they go?"  Ann got stuck so bad that she just let her foot stay behind the seat and danced on her one remaining foot.

Guess who came and sat in these3ats were ere so happy to give up?  Mary McCartney and Paul's manager, Vincent Romeo (They say she fell asleep during the show).  Mary was right next to Sher -- so Sher was happy.  We went to the stage entrance behind the theatre, where the bus was.  Linda stuck her head out and throw some frisbees.  Oh!  I almost forgot -- at the end of each show, the roadies would come and throw hundreds of frisbees into the audience and at times, Paul would throw them too.  They were blue and red and said "Paul McCartney and Wings  -- Red Rose Speedway".

Picture from Tracks 

Anyway, the bus went out to the front entrance.  the night before in Oxford, I asked Linda where the kids were.  She told me they'd be there, and sure enough, they were!  When Paul came out, he was swarmed again, and yelled, "Dave!!"  He looked at Ann and rolled his eyes as if to say, "their assholes..."  Vincent was carrying Mary and everyone was pushing.  Some nut was heading right toward Mary, so I pushed him away from her and said, "Don't push!"  Mary was SO CUTE.  She looked at me with the cutest little smile.  I could kidnap that kid.  We went over to the side where Paul was .  Linda was sitting at the window and someone gave her Stella.  Linda waved and then started Stella waving at us.  this went on for 10 minutes.  Stella is so cute -- she's got his features in her coloring.  She was so cute and happy, waving to us and we kept waving back.  It was hysterical.  We just kept waving on and on for 10 minutes!  Paul was devoting his attention to the hysterical side of the bus but were having all the fun with Stella and Linda.  Mary was next to Paul and all we could do is drop our mouths as we compared profiles -- exactly alike.

Finally, Paul decided to give us poor creatures standing over there alone some attention and waved and gave the thumbs-up sign.  Stella was still waving at Sher, Ann and I and Paul noticed and starting singing to her.  Ann swears he said "You're a bad girl" because she read his lips.  He was waving and smiling and gave some mucho nice looks.  After the bus left, we went back to our hotel and the owner opened the closed bar for us so that we could have some drinks.   Ann and Sher and I had a little theme song going, which went to the tune of the song Paul sang at the end of the special (before Yesterday) "so here we sit at the end of another day, end of another day..."  Our words were "so here we sit at the end of another concert, end of another concert... 

Bournemouth is on the southern coast of England -- on the English channel.  That was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.  It was incredible -- very clean, parks with gardens all over the place and water was nearby.  It was gorgeous.  If you ever go to England, plan that as one of your stops.   One of their restaurants had the best lasagna in the word (and by the way, John Aunt Mimi lives there).

We were there for a total of 2 days since there was a day off.  We went to the Winter Gardens early so that we could take some photos of the theatre as well as the surrounding area.  Sher and I were taking photos of the front when we noticed this person on the roof.  It was Henry, who was practicing on his guitar.  There were some nice guys around who wanted to get some photos of Paul -- later on, they were talking to Henry and Henry said that once Paul arrived they, including me could go backstage, providing it was alright with Paul.   Naturally, Paul arrived too late, so that flopped.  Anyway, we sat around and waited a few hours.  I had gotten some yellow roses for Paul and the bus arrived.  It was only us, and Denny Laine spotted us and therefore, proceeded to stand up and wave and smile.  Paul noticed us, and jumped up and started waving and grinning and before long, everyone was waving at us.  I went around to the side where Pau was because they were opening the gate for him and he followed me around to that side.  He was smiling and I held the roses up and he went "Oh!  OK!" nodding his head.  I pointed to the front of the bus, and he nodded his head ok, so I went to the front to meet him.    I had this big plan to ask him to sing the "Hold me Tight" medley.  He came off the bus, looking like a little kid at Christmas time.  He had this huge grin and an expression like "ok! Can I have my flower now?"   I handed him the flowers and said "They were living once"  (they had sort of wilted during out vigil).  He said "Thank You" and walked in, so I never did get to ask him about that song.   It's better that he never did sing it because, with those words, we would not have been responsible for our actions.

We had second-row center seats that night which were fantastic.  I was talking to this particularly gorgeous guy next to me before the show.  he couldn't understand what we saw in Paul that would make us follow the tour around.  Well, after the show, all he kept saying was "Now I know why you're doing this!  Fantastic!  Absolutely fantastic!  That was the best show I ever saw!"  When the show began, I immediately had a heart attack when I saw my flowers sitting in Denny's drums!  The show went along beautifully, as always, with a lot of special attention from Paul.  At the end, however, the stage got rushed and we just about died.   Something like that makes you want to run up and punch those silly people.  Paul saw it coming, dropped everything, and ran like hell!  I was so frightened my heart was in the my throat.  When they cleared everyone off, he did come back out.  Linda was so scared that a roadie put his arms around her as if to protect.  She put her hands over her face and she was crying. I really felt sorry for her -- that really scared me too!  None the less, it was a good show, except for that scene near the end.

We waited near the stage door and were joined by 100 other people, so we separated ourselves from that.  We were very tensed up and afraid of what would happen when he came out.  As usual, he was swarmed, flashed at, and had to sign a lot of autographs and smile at the same time.

Moving day

Photo taken by one of the girls in this story on July 18, 1970

This story was written by Kris M. and was first published in the Beatles fan newsletter, "Beatles Rule" in the September 1970 issue. 


July 18 (1970) -  Linda, Glenna, Joann and myself decided to go to see George's bungalow just for the heck of it.  We went up Clairmont Lane and got lost two hours looking for Claremont Drive.  We were walking along the road when we spotted George's car (the white mini).  Glenna spotted a sitar and his jacket but we spotted no bungalow.  We turned a corner and found George and Terri coming towards us!  We tried to be calm and got to speak with him for a while.  He was so nice!  He looked good, thinner and his hair is very long now and it was tied back in a ponytail.  He said he'd be starting to record in about two weeks.  He stopped for lots of pictures and movies.  Then he waved goodbye in his car as he drove away.  Then, we went back to his house and saw Mal moving out stuff from his house. We asked him if we could walk around and he said OK adn we walked into some of his rooms -- the bathroom, sitting room and kitchen.  Then Glenna asked Mal if she could have a big black and white poster of George that was in his garage.  Mal said "No."  Then Glenna said, "Why not?"  and Mal said he wanted it and Glenna said, "I'll give you anything for it!"  Mal smiled and said, "Anything?  I've been on the road too long for that sort of thing!"  (he has a dirty mind).  Then we spoke to him about Paul, John and Yoko.  That was a day we'll never forget!

'64 Hull concert

This letter written by Jane Dunn was published in the April 1970 "B.S. Sheet" as she was looking back at the Beatles concert she went to.


Oh, so I didn't tell you of our Beatle concert?  Hard luck!  No, really, I'll tell you.  No, I didn't take any photos (as in 'you're not allowed to take cameras into the theatre, luv. You'll have to leave it here.').  Anyhow, "D" day arrived -- as I say 'D' day -- we had right up until 6:30pm to wait.  Itw as Friday, October 16, 1964.  It was their second visit to Hull.  The first one was in 1963.  I was only 13 then and mum said I could have gone, but there was one problem -- over 800 fans queuing for 48 hours for the box office to open.  Over here you're not allowed to book tickets by phone or post.  So I never went and neither did 100s of others.  Anyhow in 1964, I told mum that even if it meant queuing for 48 weeks I'd do it.  This time however they were crafty.  They never announced the date that the office would be open until in the newspaper on a Wednesday night (about a fortnight before the actual concert) and it would open the following morning.  This was to stop the queues (ha ha) foiled again methinks.  Boy was there a queue!   So much so that they opened the office at one minute past midnight to get rid of the congestion.  We were up on the balcony - John's side.  10/ a seat (they ranged from 15/- to 7/-) the most expensive concerts are the ones with The Beatles on of course. 

This particular Friday was also Voting Day, which involved half the Police Force.  It was also the week of our Hull Fair and this involves 100s of Police too.  But there also had to be 100s at the ABC Theatre, mostly mounted (on horses).  Guess which event gave them the most trouble?  He he!  1964 was when I was in the fourth year and a Friday afternoon we had needlework all the time.  Our teacher was the greatest and was going to the concert herself.  Well, we drove her mad (all but two of us were going).  We were telling her how long to the exact second there was to go!  4L15pm finally came and everyone rushed out.  I live very near school so Elaine and I dashed home.  It was the "era" of denims and crownecks, so we quickly changed and went straight there!  The bust just couldn't get there quick enough.  First, it got caught up in the Hull Fair crowds.  Finally, it got to some traffic lights and we were so fed up we got off thee and ran all the way and beat the bus by an hour!  You've never seen anything quite like it!  The whole city of Hull was Beatle mad!  Thousands were milling around -- only about 1% could possibly have got tickets.  All the nearby shops had iron gates absolutely covering them (nice to know we were trusted).  We got conned about 100 yards from the stage door by a phony program seller.  In the middle of paying him, THEY arrived.  100 yards away from them!  We just missed it.  Linda Stockman came running up to us and all she could say was, "I've touched George.  I've touched George!!"  We wandered around then decided it was time to go in and so did everyone else it seemed.  We passed a figure sat on the curb edge.  It was another girl from school, Linda Joliffo.  she was sat hunched up crying.  She had lost her ticket.  Her father came up in the car to say they'd looked everywhere but no luck and she'd better come home.  But she stayed.  Poor girl, to this day she swears if she ever found that ticket she'd kill herself. 

Anyhow, the concert.  Well, the atmosphere was marvelous.  Who was on with them?  I only remember Sounds Incorporated (fantastic), Mary Wells and Tommy Quickly.  I nearly wept because Quickly was so awful.  I shouted out and told him so.  He was the act before THEM, and he was sooooo depressing that I found myself worrying in case I was disappointed with the Beatles.  Next thing I know I jumped seven feet in the air, my tonsils made room for my heart and my stomach did 17 sommersets -- THEY were on!   There were some young teachers behind us and they lent us their binoculars.  I'll always remember looking at Paul and George, almost crying with laughter at some joke -- don't ask me what!  I've never seen such a beautiful sight --ever!  I can't remember what they sang (I couldn't hear anyway).  I know Ringo sang a solo.  I remember the solo spot on him and the other three in semi-darkness huddled together at one corner of the stage.  John wanted to sing "Hello Dolly" and kept attempting to do so in the "spastic" voice and pose, you know which one I mean -- the clawing at space, etc.  The others wouldn't let him sing it and in the end, he ended on his knees at Paul's feet, begging him.  all I know is I've never felt so utterly happy and full and ecstasy at the same time.  I cried the whole concert-- oh well!

Afterward we hung around to ages -- hoping.  Elaine and I seemed to be going in the opposite direction of everyone else.  A policeman came upon us and demanded what we were doing so I said we were going for a drink.  We went into the Milk Bar and got (wait for it) two free drinks of water!  We went off again and found Linda still sitting on the curb edge crying.  We went around the side of the theatre and looked up and a toilet window was ajar and (this is the honest Gospel truth); someone was using it (the toilet, not the window).  elaine and I stood gobsmacked.  We'll never know who it was unless we see again the -- oh forget it!  It took me ages to get over that biggest night of my life.  What I wouldn't give to live it all again. 

Random stories

More stories from the November/December 1969 issue of "Beatles Rule" fan club newsletter.   These are short, so I am going to put them all in one post. 


I met Paul!
By Rita

Photo from March 1969

I met Paul 10 times!!  I can hardly believe it myself.  He was here in March with Linda and Heather.  We found out and went down to Linda's apartment on March 18 (1969).  After waiting for eight hours we MET him!!  I was able to kiss him.  After that, we went home.  The next morning he left for the Bahamas for a brief honeymoon.  They returned the following week.  And once again we went down to the apartment on Lexington Avenue.  But this time, we decided we weren't leaving -- not until he did!  So we stayed for three days!  It was well worth it.  I got his autograph on my favorite picture of him.  You'll never guess which one.  The Fool on the Hill picture I got from Beatles Rule!  I have it framed.  It's so beautiful.   On Sunday, March 30, he came home at midnight -- drunk!   Linda had to hold him up!  It was a riot!  He was singing "Hey Jude" all off-key and staggering all over.  all the time he was friendly to us.  And when he left on Monday the 31st, it was so sad.  He said he loves us all.  We cried so much. 



More Memories
By Jamie

Seven weeks in England makes one realize a number of things:  It's too easy to get in the habit of seeing The Beatles every day and too hard to face reality when the dream ends.

I can't linger on the thought for long because it blows my mind.  Remember all the hours of waiting, waiting...just to spend the minute or two in his presence.  Paul.  But each few minutes strengthens the realisation that all the waiting is worth the freezing hands, numb feet, silent tears, cop dodging, and other miserable circumstance.  worth so much more dear friends.

I can't give all the details of my trip, but I will try to choose a couple of incidents that will be of interest to you.

One day precious Paul, wife Linda and dog Martha came out for a walk.  Paul was in a good mood, smiled and said hello.  then a girl named Pat and I followed them (we were on the opposite side of the street) for about three blocks.  At a busy intersection Martha was determined that she was gonna run out into the traffic, so Paul put his legs on either side of her, held onto the collar, and nearly sat on her!  It was ever so sweet.

Another day Paul and Linda got home after being out in their green mini.  Someone had thrown a girl's purse into Paul's yard and she told him about it as he got out to open the gate.  After getting the facts straight (who threw it?  "Where did he throw it?") He went in and we could hear him kicking around in the leaves.  "No--can't find anything here..." he finally shouted from the other side of the wall.

I saw all four, by the way.  Also Yoko, Maureen, Zak, Jason, Pattie, Heather, Mr & Mrs. Graves (Ringo's mom and stepdad), Neil and Mal, Freda Kelly, Krishna Temple, Mary Hopkin, Jackie Lomax, and many others.

Well--with that I'll leave you.  sorry that I'm so Paul biased.  Take that back--I'm not sorry at all!  He's a beautiful man.

Meeting George in Brazil

This story/interview was found in the April/May 1979 issue of 'The Write Thing.'     It was written by Henrique Filho.

Photo by H. Filho

George gave a press conference at the WEA offices here on February 7, 1979, at around 2 pm in Rio.  My wife and I managed to be present and were lucky enough to record his interview, take some photos and film him in super 8mm.  Here is the interview George gave to a local TV station.

Q:  How do you feel about the constant approaches regarding a  Beatles reunion?

George:  I think it's a waste of time.

Q:  Because of your involvement with the Hare Krsna movement you've influenced a lot of youngsters everywhere.  What do you think about that?

George:  I think it's very good because first of all Krsna is one name for God.  So there's only the same God, it's like what we call Buddha, Allah, Jehovah, Krishna so there are many names.  Krsna is the divine energy we should plug in and so you chant Hare Krsna, Krsna, Krsna, Krsna, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama and if you chant it millions of times you feel great.

Q:  What do you know about the Brazilian people and its music?

George:  I don't know too much about the music other than what I've seen about the Carnival on TV.  I've heard about samba, rumba, you know, this sort of thing and about the fields.  It's very much like India, the same hot (at this he shook his shirt), smell and the same flowers, trees, fruit, vegetables, you know, very similar.

Q:  Please, tell us something about your new album and the song "Faster", it is really dedicated to J. Stewart?

George:  One of the songs on the new album is "Faster", inspired by Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda, you know Formula 1 motivates it and the song is also in the memory of Robbie Peterson.  All about the Formula 1 circus and what happens to people.

Q:  Is there any real possibility of some concerts here, in Brazil?

George:  Maybe, because one reason I came -- used the Grand Prix as the excuse to come and see Rio and a little bit of Brazil, you know, it's like a test to come and see what it is like and I didn't realize it was so interesting.  So I think it's a good place to come and maybe I'll come late this year or next year.



On the same day, George returned to Europe by the Concorde.  During the press conference, George was wearing jeans, a white shirt and arrived with his glasses on.  All the time he was very nice and gentle.  He signed some records for us and we gave him a present for Dhani.  It was great to see George and to talk to him.  Late that night we remembered it was February 7th, the day you were completing your 15th Beatles anniversary celebration, the same day we saw our first Beatle here in Brazil!

An open letter to fans everywhere

As I have been going through my Beatles fanzines and news clippings the past few weeks to find items to share on the blog, I began to notice a theme as the material began to hit the early 1970's.   A very obvious rifted was seen among Beatle fans.    Some fans were feeling like other fans were treating the Beatles as they were their personal possessions.   From what I can tell, things got ugly between certain individuals.     

You can still see a little bit of this in fans today, although I would say that things aren't too bad.   It is mostly when the topic of what fans get pulled up on stage at Paul's concert gets discussed (why did so and so even make a sign?  She has been on stage three times now!  Give someone else a chance...etc).  But for the most part, I think we work together and no longer are against one another.    

I blame a lot of the issues among the fans in the early 1970's on the age of the fans at that time.   Late teens/early 20's can be a hard time for some--moving out of childhood and into adulthood.   

Ringo and George (and their wives) in May of 1972

An open letter to fans everywhere

By Mary Ellen

Published in the July/August 1972 issue of “5 Bites of the Apple”

Dear Members,

Monday June 5, 1972 is a day which I will remember for more than one reason.    For on this day, for anxious “Beatle fans” Lynn, Linda J., Ruth and myself set out from Connecticut for 1700 Broadway where it was expected that a meeting was to be held between Allen Klein and John, Paul, George and Ringo to discuss their partnership shares in Apple.   Since Linda J. was the only one who had ever seen the Beatles before at the Shea Stadium concert in 1966, you could imagine how excited we were that we might be able to see at least one of the boys.  What we didn’t know was that in order to get any information on what was going on or to be able to camp out right in front of the steps leading to the entrance without being told to get lost – you had to be a P.B.N.B.F:   A Phoney Brown Noseing Beatle Fan <sic>. 

  Those who were fortunate or unfortunate enough to hold this title were able to ride up and down elevators and go in and out of ABKCO without any questions since they were all “such good friends” with those working up at ABKCO.  They also felt that they had the right to shout orders like a marine sergeant and even to determine who was “worthy” of seeing an of the boys if they show up  They only bothered with you if they wanted to know if you saw any of the boys going in or coming out.  Ringo came out first, and believe me it was a moment I know I’ll never forget.  Maybe the rest of us would have had a longer glimpse of Ringo if those who were waiting on the steps had not made a mad surge towards him as he came out.  After having gotten over the shock that we had all see Ritch, we all patiently waited for George to come out.  As he came out walking quickly up the street we all looked at him in the quiet of the evening, some of us following after him in a half daze until we heard a loud scream from one of the “darlings” of the group, “DON’T FOLLOW GEORGE!!!!”  Well at that moment, even George was forced to turn and see where that command was coming from.  The person who was so quick to give all the orders was even quicker in hailing a cab.  I wonder what fire she was off to, I mean she couldn’t have been following George now could she? 

  Everyone showed disappointment over the fact that John (he was in Chicago) and Paul had not come as we had all hoped for.  But even sadder fact was the way many of you who were there on Monday chose to act.  Maybe some of you will say that I have been unfair in what I said.  But let me ask you this:  How would you have felt if you were the ones seeing them for the first time, and there were those who felt if you were the ones seeing the Beatles so many times, that they should be the only ones allowed to see them?     It’s funny that while the Beatles are singing “Come Together” and “All you need is love” their “loving” fans are trying to figure out who to stab in the back next so there is one less threat to their chances of getting to them.  Remember, no one owns a copyright to the Beatles.  They belong to anyone who has ever felt a little bit better knowing that such as a thing as “The Beatles” was a part of their lives.

Note from the president:  The most unfortunate thing about that letter (as Mary Ellen pointed out) is that this certain thing does go on in New York, London, and any big or small city where there are a lot of fans who are involved with them.  It is sad really.  I know, I’ve been through it all, and I must confess I was a bit possessive with Paul (when he was here for 5 months about 1 year ago), but I had a damn right to be.  You see there are two groups of fans.  I should really say a few groups:  first you get the distaste of groupies (eck!).  Then comes the little babies who pull their hair and scream at them, and then US.  The people who have been around for 8 ½ years now, and know “the score” on what is going on.  I thank George for writing that song, Apple Scruffs.  Thank God, that four of them know the difference. 

Detroit concert memories from the fans

One thing that people don't realize now is that back then it wasn't so easy to get tickets.  There were no toll-free numbers, no credit cards, and very few interstate highways to zip along to other cities to see more concerts.  Most people had to get tickets through the mail.  I won two tickets from the Cunningham Drug Store Company, twenty-five words or less, why you like their drug store.  We also bought a pair of tickets for $7 each.  We gave the extra two tickets to the children of the parking lot attendant.
 We saw lots of fans with Beatles decorations on their cars; one even had a huge model of a yellow submarine tied to the roof of their car.  Our seats were about halfway back to the right of the stage in the stands.  We were only a couple of seats away from one of the entry ramps.  While the Beatles were on, we happened to look over, and there was Brian Epstein standing in the entry watching the concert!
 It was too bad that the crowd's screaming was so loud that the songs were almost impossible to hear.  The year before we had been on an exchange to England with our university and had seen the lads in concert in New Castle-on Tyne.  The concert was in a small city hall auditorium with about 2,000 people who actually listened to the songs and only screamed in between!
 We decided to wait at the back entry to the arena after the concert to see if we could see The Beatles.  There was a big crowd at first but after half an hour there were only about fifty or sixty people, and we were all standing around talking about The Beatles and how great they were and which ones were the favorites (mine is John).  The garage door finally opened and a huge bus came out.  My friend and I ran back to our car across the street, got in, and followed the bus.  Olympia is not in the best part of Detroit, so we were a bit apprehensive about where the bus was going and if we could find out way back since we lived in Ann Arbor.  Surprisingly we seemed to be the only ones doing this, and after about a mile, the bus pulled over and parked at the curb.  We stopped behind it and wondered what to do now that we had our chance.  One of the windows opened (can you imagine our excitement?!) and a member of The Cyrkle stuck his head out.  We asked him if The Beatles were on the bus, He said they weren’t, but would we like some popsicles?
So we got back in our car, turned around and headed home.
--Sue D.
 

I saw The Beatles in concert at Olympia Stadium, Detroit, 1966.  It was right after the controversy over John stating that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.  While my friends and I were outside the stadium waiting for the second show to begin, a group of teens showed up with anti-Beatle signs.  We chased them, seized the signs and destroyed them!
And yes, once inside, I was one of the many crying, hysterical girls, loving every minute of it!  As difficult as it was to do, we decided to leave the building when we felt the show was nearing an end.  We gathered out back where the Greyhound buses were parked and, sure enough, we got a glimpse of Paul waving to us as the bus drove away!  What a trill!!!
--K.R.W.

I was at that show also.  My friend and I watched from behind the stage and nearly went nuts when John turned around and waved.  After that they alternated throwing a wave and smile to the dedicated fans sitting behind the stage.  I really treasure those memories.
-Ted 

I too saw the Fab Four in Detroit.  I was up in the balcony and they looked like ants. I couldn’t hear a thing because everyone was screaming so loud, especially me.  I was fourteen at the time.  I just loved Paul.  I even wore a black straight skirt and white blouse because I read in Tiger Beat that that was what he loved.
--Lee Ann

They played in Detroit, and then took the Ohio Turnpike to play in Cleveland.  Their bus stopped at the Vermilion (Ohio) Turnpike at 2 A.M., where I met them.  Paul sang a shortened version of “Michelle” to me – a thirteen year old Michele.  Imagine!
--Michele

Women who know tell all about the Beatles

This is a fun little article about the girls that ran the Beatles Fan Club in London in 1964.   I found it in some newspaper archives from the "Teen" section of an un-sourced Washington D.C. newspaper. 

Women who know tell about the Beatles

By Rodney Burbeck

July 25, 1964

They are the most envied girls in Britain possibly the world.  They work in a smallish office in the West End of London surround by letters and photographs. Their work is exhausting,  keeping them in the office for 10 or 12 hours a day. But there isn't a girl anywhere who wouldn't  give her right arm to do their job. They are the Beatles' secretary.  They work for a firm called NEMS enterprises, the organization headed by Brian Epstein that handles the business affairs of the Beatles.

Who better than these girls to give us a first-hand account of the Beatles at work, rest and play?  The boys often pop into the office to relax with a soft drink, to chat with the girls and keep themselves up to date on fan club news.   One of the girls told me of the day she first me the Beatles.   "It was about a year ago at a BBC recording. Of course, those were the days before things were quite so pottie and they are now, but it was my first taste of Beatlemania. I found the boys very polite and splendid and everything was going swimmingly --until I glimpsed through a glass door.  Crowds of girls were going mad trying to get at us .  I was petrified, but Paul, who was with me, just calmly waved his hand. We raced up the stairs to the canteen and I was scared stiff in case they came after us."

  Another girl commented on the Beatles intense politeness, “I remember when they got back from the Swedish tour.  They were dead tired but even then they bent over backwards to be nice and help out all they could."

When the boys descend on the office, the girls prepare for anything happening. "We never know what crazy things they'll get up to.    If we let them into the phone, they usually say something like 'Mark and Spencer's stock department' or 'Russian embassy'. If they sit down and want to chat, we shove 30 or 40 photograph in front of them and get them to do some signing while they talk. They usually pop in when they have been shopping in the West End.  Once John came rushing in with a fantastic blue cashmere sweater.  He was terribly excited as if it were the first thing he has ever bought. Everybody had to feel it and say how nice it was. We never know when they are going to come in but it is always lovely to see them.

Often fans visit the office is open to see the boys. One girl came to pay her fan club dues and on the way out passed John on the stairs. A minute later there was a knock on the door and back she came trembling all over and asking 'was that really John?'"

"We assured her it was and got John, who had gone into another office and sign of photo for her.  She left in a daze. "

How do you get a job as a Beatle secretary?” Well one of our best typists is a fan who just happened to call when we were so busy we were going potty . She says 'do you need a shorthand typist?'  And we said 'DO we!'   The Next day she rang up and asked if she could have the job.   We gave her an interview and took her on.   She really is a marvel."

  What sort of person do you have to be?  "You have to be able to work very quickly and be prepared to work all hours. It also helps to be a little crazy."

  I asked the girls to sum up each of the boys as they see them and this is what they told me

Paul:  he is the supreme diplomat,  in fact he could have been a diplomat.

 Ringo is tremendously generous and takes a genuine interest in people. He's also a bit of a clown --a lovable clown.

 John:    fabulous. We all adore him.  He is  terribly witty  and very very sharp and quick.  He's so intelligent it might frighten you.

 George is a bit of a puzzle. He's just nice.  He doesn't say very much but when he wants to say something he just says it. He is funny and helpful.

 “The appeal of all of them is that they could quite easily just be the boy next door. They all make you feel as if you matter. John might walk passed  you without recognizing you.   I think he seems to see people’s faces as a blur. But then Ringo comes bounding up and says' hello nice to see you' and then they all remember you and say hello.  Being so close to the boys, it is a little difficult to realize how big they have become. We don't think when talking to them 'good gracious, thousands of girls would give anything to be in my shoes. ‘We just think they are nice  boys to know.”

Girls that met the Beatles in Portland '65

I really enjoy the stories from Datebook magazine written by girls that met the Beatles during their North American tour.    Great information and fun stories.   These two from Portland come from the Spring 1966 issue of Datebook.  Enjoy!

Girls who met the Beatles

Georgia King

Portland, Oregon

We were led down one of the corridors and then were told to stop in front of the concession stand.  The janitor slid back a panel in the wall.  How clever!  Hidden doors, no less.  The hidden door was unlocked to reveal a flight of stairs.  We went down these and into a hall where we could plainly hear showers running.  We were told that the Beatles were cleaning up before they came to see us.

We were ushered into the press room, where I seated myself as close as I could get to the front, which was the third row.  I was feeling very pleased about how cool and calm I felt.

While I was pondering the merits of sophistication, Ringo Starr made his way to the table.  It was 6:00 PM on August 22, 1965.  I looked up, choked down my tears of fright and surprise, and tried to say hello and proceeded to the other end of the table where he took a seat.

Next came George, who said, “hi” before I could get out the first squeak..   He grinned at nothing in general, and sat down next to Ringo.

When John Lennon came in, the hot press room immediately was overcome with the chill of something hostile.  He gave everyone a look of disdain, and then sat down and proceeded to stare at me as if to wonder why they had let someone as insignificant as me get so close to him.

Paul came in and sat right down across the table from me, and brought back a little of the sunshine that Lennon had so rudely taken.  I put my camera around my neck, and extended my hand.  Paul took it and began to chat as I attempted unsuccessfully to take pictures with one hand.  Our short but interesting conversation went like this:

“Hello there, what is your name?”

“Georginia---uh---I’m here for Datebook.”

“Oh?”

“Are you tired Paul?”

“Yes, just a little.  These one night stands are rough.”

Then Paul knocked me off my feet by saying, “Your hair’s awful nice without all that hair lacquer in it.”  Then he asked me to please not ‘flash’ for a while, for my bulbs were blinding him.

Then someone told the photographers to sit down, so the questions could begin.

Reporter:  It is true that a stewardess broke up a pillow fight on the plane when she was hit on the head?

George:  Ahem—I’m not sure that was where she was hit, but we did quit.

Reporter:  What are your religious beliefs?

John:  We neither believe nor disbelieve.  We are agnostic.

Reporter:  There is a pamphlet stating that you are communists.

Paul:  Us Communists?   I’ve just gotta read that one.

Reporter:  Is it true that there is a feud in the group?

Paul:  Rubbish, I read that article too.

John to Paul: You shouldn’t even read trash like that.

Reporter:  John, is it true that you were not home for the third year in a row on your anniversary?

John:  Why should  I have been?  Birthdays and such are a lot of rubbish.  We don’t’ have birthday celebrations or anything like that.  Don’t even bother with them.  Besides that my wife is in Libya and I couldn’t see her if I was home.

Reporter:  George, is it true that you are going to wed Pattie Boyd?

George:  Where’d you read trash like that?

Reporter:  In the magazine I work for.

George:  Tell your editor he prints a lot of rubbish.

Reporter:  Ringo, is it true that your wife has gotten her hair cut off?

Ringo:  No, the woman just keeps wearing it up on her head.

At this point the press officer stepped up and said that would have to be all.  I ran to the table again.  Paul grabbed my hand, shook it, and said good-bye.  They all trooped out.

I called to Ringo to please come back and let me touch him.  He was told by a guard not to but shoved the guard aside and came back anyway.  He shook my hand, and smiled warmly.  He departed with these words, “Be good and don’t cry for us.  We’ve decided to come back next year.”  (So there, Derek Taylor).

After I had gotten home and had a good cry.  I had a chance to form an opinion about each Beatle.  Ringo Starr is without a doubt the most unaffected by the fame.  He is very down to earth, and really like you and me.

I couldn’t quite make up my mind about George because he is so quiet, but he seemed to be all right.

John Lennon I’d rather not say anything about except that he is definitely not my type.  He is cynical, and complex.  I don’t understand him one little bit, and I’ve decided not to try to.

Paul is just wonderful.  He reminds me of the typical boy next door.  He’s very handsome, and also very kind.  He puts you right at your ease.  Of course, he is very intelligent, as are all the Beatles, John especially—he acts as though he is far too brilliant to associate with the human race.

Cathi Sellards

A crowd of about 200 were standing around the employee’s entrance at the Memorial Coliseum awaiting the arrival of the Beatles.  It was in the middle of the whole thing.  Policemen were everywhere and busloads more were coming  Finally, a motorcycle escort came roaring up, closing followed by a nine passenger station wagon.  Between two bobbing heads, I caught a glimpse of John’s grinning face with his sunglasses balanced on his nose, a black flat hat on his head.

After a moving concert, during which five girls fainted, I headed back to the employee’s entrance.  The police still blocked the doors.

One girl jumped the barrier and ran to the door.  It was locked.  It was pathetic to see her pounding on the door in vain.

Some of the police made a great mistake and opened that door only a few inches.  About 100 of us jumped the barrier and surged toward the door.  A tug of war between the police and kids began.  I and about eight other kids headed for the second door.  The boy next to me pried the door open a few inches.  I immediately stuck my foot in.  We had succeeded!  Eleven kids got in before the police shut the door.

It didn’t’ take long to locate the Beatles, with the police in hot pursuit.  We rushed up to them, all talking at once.  I shook hands with Paul and touched the rest in the process of getting their autographs.  We talked to them briefly.

Girl:  Are you going to stay in Portland tonight?

Paul:  No.

Me:  Are you coming back to America?

George:  I’m not sure.  You’d have to ask our manager.

Me:  May I have your autographs?

John:  I guess so, since you fought your way in here.

John still had on his flat hat.  He looked rather angry.  Ringo seemed a bit afraid of the fans.  George was tanned and grinning.  Paul was flirting and winking at the girls.

The police finally pushed us all out.  But they let us collect all four autographs first.

Outside we were met with shouts of jeers from the poor people who didn’t get in.  Eight girls pounced me and asked if I had touched the Beatles.

It was only then that I realized I had touched them and had been with them for about ten minutes.  Suddenly I felt very weak and decided I’d better go home.

The Beatles go for a Wirral

On January 14, 1963 the Beatles played The Ellesmere Port Civic Hall to a very enthusiastic audience.   And while the band was still in the beginning stages of stardom, those who were there caught on quickly that the Beatles were special.  

Here are some memories from those who were there:

Patricia Greenhalgh: My friend Barbara Dickson and I had some great times following the Beatles before they became really big, in fact we were responsible for them playing Ellesmere Port Civic Hall. We knew the lads really well from the Cavern Club, so we contacted the manager of the Civic Hall and encouraged him to book them. We'd always have a chat with Paul, John and the band and have a bit of a laugh after the gigs but before they went onstage at the civic hall Paul came and invited us back stage with them. It was a really good gig. They even offered to play at my 21st birthday party but I said no because I was only having it at my brother's house in Blacon! I've still got signed records now. They were nice lads and they deserved their success. They were truly great days.
(Ellesmere Port & Neston Messenger Winter 2008)

Sue McClelland: My friend Angela and I took them tea in their dressing room. We got a kiss from each of them and their autographs. Angela's Mum organised it all and booked them.  

Lee Lucks: I'm barely 15 years, never been to a gig (a dance in those days!) and I've been invited by my friend Angela to a "do" to raise funds for the Carnival Queen in the Civic Hall at Ellesmere Port. "It's brilliant new group from Liverpool," she tells me. 'The Beatles, with an A." Along I go in my best - a straight skirt, daringly short, and a very prim white blouse with a high neck. The atmosphere is amazing and the performance electric.

The show finishes and we're waiting for Angela's mum to clear up and take us home when we're called over. "You can go backstage if you want to . . ." Wow! By now we're all in a frenzy and a little nervous but that disappears as soon as we walk into the dressing room. Four exuberant, noisy boys larking about and writing on the mirrors. It didn't matter who was who, they were all friendly, chatty and wild.

The only number I remember is Please Please Me but that started me on the collection - all my pocket money that year was spent on new releases. Most of my time that should have been spent revising for GCEs was spent listening to the records. Maybe that's why I can remember most of the words to the early hits but very little about the Battle of Hastings! 

Dennis Flavell: I was there and have an original ticket, plus the Beatles autographs, plus the receipt for the dance signed by Brian Epstein on a NEMS enterprises business card. They were paid forty pound and Please Please Me had just gone to #1 on the charts. Supporting orchestra was The Whitby Ward Trio who all (or at least 2) were at the Grammar School at the time. Roger Parrot was the keyboard player.  

Margaret Walmsley: It was my sister Joan Fairley that took them their tea in the break. George Harrison signed a cigarette for her and she smoked it! Could have been worth something now...

Pam Stout: I was at this dance and a friend (Carol Gorman) got Paul to sign a personalised autograph for me as her Mum was on the Wolverham Association who arranged the event. Happy Days! 

Gillian Campbell: I remember my Dad saying when he went to watch the Beatles at the Civic Hall John Lennon was "flirting" with one of his friend's girlfriends. There was a small fight (don't think it was a mass brawl or anything) with Lennon and my Dad, his friends and I remember him saying Screaming Lord Such (I think that's how you spell it) was involved!! 

I found all of this great information on the LiverpoolLocations blog.