Flowers in Vience

September 22, 1976 
 

Wings Over Yugoslavia

 September 21, 1976 

Hello Vienna

 

September 18, 1976 

Flying

 

What a crowd!

Photo taken by Bran Epstein 

 

There is so much to see in this photo!  The Beatles are all there --- but look who is waiting to greet them!  I spot photographers, reporters (one actively interviewing someone), a full brass band, Beatles fans and just other onlookers.  Do you spot anything different?

Arriving at the press conference

 

September 5, 1966 -- Arriving to talk about How I Won the War 

Here's Derek

Photo by Paul McCartney 

 Taken at the airport in Hong Kong at the start of the World Tour in 1964

£11-16s a Minute for Beatles in U.S. (1966)

 

£11-16s a Minute for Beatles in U.S.

No writer listed

Lancashire Telegraph

August 31, 1966

    The Beatles, unbloodied and unbowed, flew into London Airport today after another grueling American tour. They all had one thing in mind: sleep. Of their three-week tour and their fourth in America, Paul McCartney said, "We had a good time, but it was very tiring." Did the Americans still love the Beatles? "I think so," he replied.

     John Lennon was asked about their rating in light of the tour. Declared, "Look at the charts. That's a silly question."

     During the tour, the quartet earned $1,000,00.  That's £11 16s a minute! Questioned about his so-called antichrist remark, John's reply was drowned in a background of screams. Paul, the only Beatle bachelor, denied that he was getting married. "No, no, no,"he said, waving his arms. "That was a publicity stunt dreamed up by the Americans." Ringo Starr commented, "It's great to be back."

     About 250 screaming girl fans on the balcony of the Queen's building were waiting to give the Beatles their usual noisy welcome. While the Beatles' Pan American Airliner was over the Atlantic, about 100 fans had spent the night at the airport dodging the police. Police ordered fans to take out one banner, which had "Thank Christ, you are home safely." But there was the usual cry of welcoming banners, posters, streamers, and balloons. One banner stated, "Success is Beatle-shaped."

     A strong squad of police was on duty as the Beatles arrived. They were insuperable. They had seen it all before. First out of the car when they arrived for a customs check was Paul wearing a blue striped jacket, black trousers, and a red carnation. He was followed by John, who had a white suit and sunglasses. Ringo was dressed in a white jacket and black trousers and sporting a red carnation. George Harrison, the quiet one, wore a black velvet suit. 

    After passing through customs, the Beatles were hurried into waiting cars. John, George, and Ringo were in a black Rolls-Royce, and Paul was in his own chauffeur-driven green Aston Martin. They waved cheerfully to the excited fans. Then they drove off with the drama-topped tour behind them to the well-earned rest

Beatles Colossal Brush Off Disappoints Fans (Cincinnati 1966)

Photo by Gordon Baer

 

Beatles Colossal Brush Off Disappoints Fans

By Dale Stevens

The Cincinnati Post and Times Star

August 20, 1966

Idols fly in, snub crowd, and vanish in 18 seconds

    Well, John, Paul, Ringo, and George-they say you're nice guys, but as far as I'm concerned, you're not. Even Frank Sinatra, at his saltiest, doesn't treat people the way you do. The Beatles, the English rock and roll group that has become the biggest hit in the history of show business, rolled into Lunkin Airport at 2:45 a.m. today. They preferred to stay over here overnight rather than in Memphis, where last night they did two concerts. From the door of the plane, past the waiting reporters and photographers, it took the Beatles a snappy 18 seconds to get into a limousine and away. 

    Their management, which apparently is more concerned with secrecy than courtesy, condescended to let the Beatles' car drive within the fenced-off area, so the 150 fans beyond the fence could wave, but standing within the fence were five young girls from Lexington, Kentucky, who had spent $367 on four floral horseshoes and wanted to hand them to Lennon, McCartney, Starr, and Harrison. 

    The limousine didn't stop, but Jan Greer, an 18-year-old Lexington student, got a grip on the window and tried to hand her carnation horseshoe to Paul McCartney. The 60 flower horseshoe split in two. Jan fell to the ground, bumping her head and rumpling her clothes, and away sped the Beatles, whose sole tribute to their followers and press was a collection of sincere, rehearsed smiles. 

    Afterward, the Kentucky girls insisted they didn't blame the Beatles. They still hoped to be able to present their flowers to the boys. They even vowed to buy another bouquet to replace the one lost in the motorcade. Jan, distraught, embarrassed, and sad because the Beatle car hadn't slowed down to less than 25 miles an hour, said she had said something stupid like "I love you" to Paul McCartney through the limousine window before falling. 

    Jan's friends are Linda Simmons, 19; Carol Lester, 18; Bonnie Sharp, 16; and Brenda Snowden, 16. Linda and Carol are secretaries in Lexington. For weeks, they had taken a few dollars from their salaries to pay for the flowers. The other girls, still students, had to save from their allowances for the $367, which included $20 to get the flowers here by refrigerated truck so they wouldn't wilt. Each horseshoe held five dozen carnations, one natural red, the other sprayed purple, blue, and green. Each horseshoe was three feet high, about half the size of a regular one used to crown winning horses, according to the florist who delivered them. And though the girls were permitted inside the runway fence, there was no guarantee they would be able to get their flowers to the Beatles. 

    They still had only words of love for the Britons after their brush-off. The newsmen had no such praise. All were miffed at the idea that the Beatles didn't even pause for a decent photo or as much as one question; the rush was put on by their management, of course, but it seemed a gross show of disrespect for the professional press to show up at the inconvenient middle-of-the-night arrival. 

    The medium-sized contingent of police, who were to guard the Beatles from possible overzealous fans, didn't have much to do at either Lumpkin or Vernon Manor Hotel because of the bewitching hour schedule. Barely 35 fans were at the Vernon Manor, evenly divided between teenage girls and fellows with hair as long as the Beatles' trusses. The Beatles and their group of about 65 people, managers, booking agents, international press, and supporting acts are housed on the sixth floor at the suburban hotel. Vernon Manor was sold out for the occasion. Some of the people staying there are believed simply to be in the same building with the Beatles. 

    Three cars were supplied by Stillpass Mercury for the motorcade, but owner Joe Stillpass laughingly denied he might later take one of the cars apart to sell it piece by piece. In the past, such items as bed sheets have been sold by the square inch once they had accommodated the Beatles. This scene this time was nothing like the 1964 Beatles' arrival, but the frenzy then was aided by their daylight landing. It doesn't signify any shift in sentiment by their followers. In 1964, almost 13,000 attended the Cincinnati Garden Show.

    Tonight, about 18,000 are expected at Crosley Field, and last night the best advance planning probably belonged to the two girls who showed up at the baseball park after the stage had been installed near second base. They chipped away part of the stage timbers for souvenirs, then kissed the infield dirt by the handful, replacing it near the stage steps in hopes the Beatles might walk on their kisses.

     That was precisely the atmosphere expected by Tom Dixon, Cincinnati police captain who headed the squad at Lunkin and Vernon Manor this morning. He said his men were prepared for anything, even the remote possibility someone might want to harm the Beatles. But his main job, he said, was to protect them from their followers. Kisses, he indicated, are more of a threat than killers. It must be true, for the limousine parked behind the Vernon Manor at 3:30 a.m. bore the script written on the dusky trunk, "Hi Ringo," and "I love you, Paul, and the dirty fingers belonged to Charlene Drescher of 1621 Pelham and Pam Kruger of 5832 Kennell, unlike the press, their adoration knows no bounds, and they do not insist upon professional conduct, and that, as I say, is show business.

500 Scream Welcome to Beatles to Malton (Toronto 1966)

 

500 Scream Welcome to  Beatles to Malton

No writer listed

The Globe and Mail

August 17, 1966

    The mop-haired Beatles arrived at Malton Airport at 125 this morning, one hour late, in a chartered flight from Philadelphia, where they performed last night. Their departure from Philadelphia was delayed by fog. 

    About 500 screaming teenagers turned out for a 10-second glimpse of their heroes at the airport. Some arrived as early as 6p.m. and waited to get choice viewing positions, with their faces jammed against a wire fence. 

    Four customs men boarded the plane as soon as it touched down. Within five minutes, the Beatles, led by Ringo Starr, emerged. The young people screamed, cheered, and sobbed. The Beatles were taken to a deserted hangar, where they entered a car and were gone within two minutes.10 minutes later, a 14-year-old fan, Carol Mary Wood, was still sobbing and shaking from the experience. 

    Beatle fanciers began to gather at the King Edward Sheraton Hotel downtown, hours before the Liverpoolians were due to arrive. They sat on the hotel steps, mingled with guests in the hotel lobby, and wandered around the corridors. A few stood at the door to the hotel's Oak Room, listening to the music issued forth. Most were teenage girls, wearing the standard bell-bottom pants and shell rig. The young males were mostly a little older, and not a Beatle haircut was to be seen among them. 

    Three sisters from Ashtabula sat on the trunk of their gold-colored Mustang and gazed wistfully at the facade of the hotel, armed with press passes that they hoped would admit them to the Beatles' press conference today. The girls were driven up from their Ohio home by their mother. "Mom doesn't mind; she's as crazy as the rest of us," said one of the daughters. 

    The girls and their mother refused to give their names. The trio who drove to Toronto and to other Beatles Tour cities last year were part of a crowd of hundreds of mini-skirted, Carnaby-clothed teenagers who wandered in and around the hotel early this morning. Subdued groups of fans squatted on the sidewalks, listening to portable radios and chanting Beatles songs while waiting for their idols to arrive. Police were out in scores at the front and rear entrances of the hotel. All of them were instructed to be evasive about which door the Beatles would use.

A happy lovely family

 August 12, 1986 - Heathrow Airport 

The traveling family

 August 11, 1981 -  Heathrow Airport 

Busy Travel Day

 August 11, 1966 

Welcoming Back the Beatles

 

Greek Holiday

 

John with the paper

 July 14, 1971 

Safe in India

 July 6, 1966

10,000 Beatles Fans Foiled in Manila (1966)

 

10,000 Beatles Fans Foiled in Manila

Associated Press

July 4, 1966

    The Marines, a helicopter, 25 motorcycle police, an armored car, and an airline pilot combined to avoid 10,000 Beatles fans at Manila Airport yesterday. The fans, many carrying pictures of their heroes, waited for several hours in the broiling sun for the group to arrive from Hong Kong, but when the Cathay Pacific Jet landed, it stopped at the end of the 1000-foot runway, almost a mile from the terminal.

     Then cars took the Beatles along the runway, escorted by motorcycle police, with sirens screaming and red lights flashing, and followed by two ambulances and an armored car. The armored car stood by in case the Beatles were mobbed and needed rescuing. The ambulances were there in case fans were injured. A helicopter directed the convoy to the gate which had the fewest fans. Tearful girls hurled themselves at the cars in the hope of stopping the convoy, but no one was hurt. 

    The convoy sped to the Philippine Navy headquarters on Manila Bay foreshore, where Marines stood guard. A seven foot launch took the Beatles out into the Bay. "It's safer for the Beatles out there than on shore," said Mr. Vic Lewis, a Beatles representative.

     The Beatles are to give two performances at the 100,000 seat open-air Rizal Football Stadium tonight. President Ferdinand Marcos, his wife, and their three young children were reported to be flying from the island of Leyte to see the show .

    Tomorrow, the Beatles are to take a KLM flight back to London. Before leaving Hong Kong, the Beatles said they considered their Japan tour a success, despite some anti-Beatles movement. "There was always some opposition," said Paul McCartney. 

    In Tokyo, the Beatles had been taken by car from their hotel to the aircraft steps. About 80 car loads of fans followed until police stopped them at the airport entrance. From midnight until the group left yesterday morning, the 1,000 police on duty turned away more than 2,000 teenagers under elaborate police guard.

     The group saw little of Japan. They said they enjoyed working before Japanese audiences, although they were "less responsive and more polite" than those in most other countries.

Bogged down with luggage

 June 25, 2011 

Guitar Case

 June 9, 2001