MERRY CRIMBLE TO ALL...

HI everyone and a 'MERRY CRIMBLE' TO ALL....

 

Heres hoping wherever you are in the world you have a good time and that 2014 is a good year for you, ...well it cant be as bad as 2013 can it! I have added some new art to the #Art Page 2, and i have got some stuff to add next year but i have been so busy since september with illustration and graphic work that i just havn't had time to write and upload it this year.. so watch this space.

 

Also i must aplogise for not getting the next meeting for the folks in York sorted, my time has been so precious and with tight deadlines i just could not fit it in before the new year... but i will arrange it asap!

 

 

 

So take it easy and enjoy the hols, they dont last long you know....we'll soon be back to the grindstone.

Chris

 

Beatle Collectibles

 I have had a communique from a web based group who have access to Beatle memorabilia, for those who want to find out more, or sell and price up their old Beatle collections. Thers a link button on my web page or see the details below.

In return they will give YBAS a write up on their facebook page and help to advertise the blogsite...

The Collectionary

What inspired The Collectionary into existence?
The Collectionary was created because we wanted to create a Dictionary of everything in the world that people collect. There are hundreds of e-commerce sites, but there is no dedicated place where you can learn about different items. Whether it's the history, facts, or unique attributes regarding a particular collectible or item, we want to give people a place to learn about the collectibles they love.

What made you coin it The Collectionary?
Collectionary comes from combining the words Collection and Dictionary. A fun play on words that explains what we are working on with our site and brand.

Why is your site devoted solely to Beatles memorabilia?
No, the Beatles Collectionary is one out of hundreds of different Collectionaries to join. We have expert collectors we call moderators that help us with each Collectionary to add new and cool items to the site. In fact, we would love to have more Beatles moderators willing to help out :).

What's the takeaway for potential customers? What can they hope to gain from perusing your site?
We hope visitors to our site will enjoy browsing all the amazing collectibles ever created. Looking at many of the nostalgic items on the site we hope it brings back many fond memories as a child or another time in your life. We also want people to learn about Collectibles and find out where those items are for sale as we point to the different places on the internet the items are for sale.

Anything unusual worth noting about your site? Beatles?
Our site would love to have more moderators helping us out. I'm sure you will find many unusual and never before seen Beatles items here.

http://thecollectionary.com/club/Beatles

To see all the amazing Collectionaries please visit our homepage:
http://thecollectionary.com/

Beatles Art Page 2

Hi all, just added a new art page - the original page was getting a bit long to upload and scoll down on so i decided it was time to add another page, the examples i have come across lately are enough to have a dozen art pages on the lads....

....and i must get that next meeting set up, just been so busy this last two months and october is looking the same so will try for november, there has been some new enquiries about the next one from near and afar.

Will post as soon as possible...

 

New Beatles Book now out - BUY IT!

 

I have received this excellent book as a complimentary copy from the publisher. Having not heard of the author (he is from Finland),  I really didnt know what to expect, but having read it I cannot fault it. Mauri Kunnas is a devoted Beatles fan and you can tell it by the way he has weaved a true and well covered story into an adult graphic novel/cartoon stripbook. His humour is right up my street, his quality of artwork is exceptional, he captured all the main characters personal caricatures, his knowledge and research of the band and its various lineups is comprehensive, but this book is more than that, its a work of love and a book any true Beatles fan must have on his Beatle shelf!

I even learnt some Beatle facts, Georges 'Thingy' for example...read the book to find out! I also particularly like the images of 'Mick and Keef' (well known devotees of John and Paul) cropping up as heavenly cherubs whenever a holy Beatle moment happened...very clever and wholly original in everyway.

 

Released also in English, it is available from here:
http://www.beatleswithana.com/
Hardcover Comic: 80 pages
Publisher: Otava Publishing Company Ltd
Language: English
Translation: Will Moore
ISBN-10: 9511273957
ISBN-13: 978-9511273950
Product Dimensions: 290mm x 247mm x 10 mm
Weight: 610 grams
Price: 19.70 EUR | £16.90 | $26.20 plus delivery
It is also available from Amazon.co.uk, and as an i-pad version.

Mauri Kunnas is a well known and loved illustrator in his native Finland. More known for his childrens books he has a really good website which i recommend you visit, ( http://maurikunnas.net )

Here's a couple of quotes from his biography:

''Towards the end of my school career I became a devoted Beatles fan and grew “long” hair (everything is relative). We followed the British and US pop charts almost religiously: The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Manfred Mann, The Hollies, The Troggs, The Beach Boys, The Lovin Spoonful, Bob Dylan, Sonny & Cher, The Mamas & Papas, and Jimi Hendrix were the big names in those days. We had no time whatsoever for Finnish bands, most of whom were only doing cover versions in translation.''

''I do a certain amount of reading, though for some reason quite a bit of it seems to revolve around books about The Beatles. I guess the Fab Four count as a kind of hobby/obsession: I collect records (vinyl), and tapes with old interviews with the band and their press conferences.''


© Otava / Katja Lösönen 2009

Beatles Art page

More art images added to the Beatles Art page. Fans and artists must still be producing their work as everytime i search the web i find new images to 'pinch'. Some i will not use as they dont pass my 'artistic' standards, some are quirky and amateur and i am happy to upload if i think they are worthy of viewing, others are quite professional and i dont know if they are produced for personal use or for commercial use, but they are usually based on well known photos or album covers.

Here for example are some well known images from the Hard Days Night album cover, but reworked and now looking graphic and quite modern, fantastic as a wall art picture.....

Beatles BUTCHERS!

This is a picture of The Beatles that I bet many of you haven’t seen. It’s the original concept for what became the infamous butcher cover for the initial pressings of the US LP “Yesterday and Today.” The idea was to give the impression that the woman was being disemboweled. Pleasant, eh?
The Beatles hated the way Capitol in America put out their records, and they felt their material was being butchered. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band was the first LP that was released exactly as it was in the UK. Well, almost. It was missing the inner groove at the end of side 2

The story of the "butcher cover" has become the stuff of rock legend. Photographer Robert Whitaker was the Beatles' photographer between 1964 and 1966 and came up with the idea for this photo shoot. The Beatles were at the height of their fame and Whitaker bore witness to the hordes of screaming fans and prostrating females, and he wanted to shoot a concept image referencing the celebrity idolatry. Whitaker was also an admirerer of Salvador Dali and surrealism, which influenced his vision. The Beatles were game for the shoot, so Whitaker ran around to butcher shops to find the meat and then had to find the baby dolls and dismember them. "It was a lot of work.''
The photo wasn't originally intended for an album cover. It was meant to be part of a triptych, with the above image the last in the series. The plan was to doctor the image to include halos over the Beatles' heads, referencing religious iconography. Surprisingly, the image landed on the cover of the Capitol Records release of Yesterday and Today. Capitol ended up recalling the cover; they were feeling especially skittish in the wake of John Lennon's "bigger than Jesus" comment.
A new cover for the album was produced and many of the "butcher covers" were destroyed. However, the record company eventually decided it would be cheaper to paste the new cover photo over the old one and once this leaked to the public, fans tried to steam the new cover off to see if the "butcher cover" was underneath. Needless to say, the original "butcher cover" has become a valuable collectable item.

The Real Butcher concept

Whitaker had the idea of creating a satirical commentary on The Beatles' fame, inspired by the German surrealist Hans Bellmer's images of dismembered doll and mannequin parts.

I did a photograph of the Beatles covered in raw meat, dolls and false teeth. Putting meat, dolls and false teeth with The Beatles is essentially part of the same thing, the breakdown of what is regarded as normal. The actual conception for what I still call "Somnambulant Adventure" was Moses coming down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments. He comes across people worshipping a golden calf. All over the world I'd watched people worshiping like idols, like gods, four Beatles. To me they were just stock standard normal people. But this emotion that fans poured on them made me wonder where Christianity was heading.

Robert Whitaker

It was later claimed that the photographs were intended as a protest by The Beatles on their treatment by the press and public, and Capitol Records' insistence on reordering their album tracks for the American market, but Whitaker later denied this, saying it was entirely his idea.

Q: How did that photo, featuring the Beatles among slabs of meat and decapitated dolls, come about? Was it your idea or the Beatles'?
Robert Whitaker: It was mine. Absolutely. It was part of three pictures that should have gone into an icon. And it was a rough. If you could imagine, the background of that picture should have been all gold. Around the heads would have gone silver halos, jewelled. Then there are two other pictures that are in the book [The Unseen Beatles], but not in colour.
Q: How did you prepare for the shoot?
It was hard work. I had to go to the local butcher and get pork. I had to go to a doll factory and find the dolls. I had to go to an eye factory and find the eyes. False teeth. There's a lot in that photograph. I think John's almost-last written words were about that particular cover; that was pointed out to me by Martin Harrison, who wrote the text to my book. I didn't even know that, but I'm learning a lot.
Q: Why meat and dolls? There's been a lot of conjecture over the years about what that photo meant. The most popular theory is that it was a protest by the Beatles against Capitol Records for supposedly "butchering" their records in the States.
Rubbish, absolute nonsense. If the trilogy or triptych of the three photographs had ever come together, it would have made sense. There is another set of photos in the book which is the Beatles with a girl with her back toward you, hanging on to sausages. Those sausages were meant to be an umbilical cord. Does this start to open a few chapters?
Q: Were you aware when you shot it that Capitol Records was going to use it as a record cover?
No.
Q: Were you upset when they did and then when they pulled it and replaced it with another photo?
Well, I shot that photo too, of them sitting on a trunk, the one that they pasted over it. I fairly remember being bewildered by the whole thing. I had no reason to be bewildered by it, purely and simply, because it could certainly be construed as a fairly shocking collection of bits and pieces to stick on a group of people and represent that in this country.

Robert Whitaker
Goldmine magazine, 15 November 1991

The triptych as intended by Whitaker was to be retouched to make The Beatles appear as religious icons. The decoration was intended to contrast with the earthiness of the meat and dummies, underlining the group's normality beneath their fame.

The cover was an unfinished concept. It was just one of a series of photographs that would have made up a gate-fold cover. Behind the head of each Beatle would have been a golden halo and in the halo would have been placed a semi-precious stone. Then the background would have contained more gold, so it was rather like a Russian icon. It was just after John Lennon had said that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ. In a material world that was an extremely true statement.

Robert Whitaker

Out-takes from the session, included in Whitaker's book The Unseen Beatles, indicate the form the triptych was to take. The first photograph shows the group facing a woman standing with her back to the camera, with her hands raised in surprise or worship. The Beatles held a string of sausages, intended to symbolise an umbilical cord, to emphasise that the group were born like everybody else.
The triptych's centre panel is the image now known as the 'butcher' photograph, and shows The Beatles dressed in butchers' white coats, surrounded by slabs of meat and doll parts.
The final panel was an image of George Harrison standing behind a seated John Lennon, holding a hammer as if he was driving nails into Lennon's head. This was intended to underline that The Beatles were real and substantial, not idols to worship.
The butcher photograph was used in advertisements for Paperback Writer in the British music press before it appeared on the cover of the Capitol Records compilation Yesterday... And Today.
Capitol pressed the cover in early June 1966, but upon its release that month it was swiftly recalled after an outcry from record retailers. Nervous after Lennon's comments about The Beatles being "more popular than Jesus", the label issued letters of apology and hastily issued the album with a replacement cover, also taken by Whitaker.
Eventually it was decided that it would be cheaper to paste the new cover shot over the withdrawn butcher sleeves. Unpeeled copies are now highly sought-after by collectors; however, the most valuable are the original 'first state' versions, particularly the stereo pressings.

I am going to devote a new section to this LP cover with all the pictures taken at the session, its an interesting concept album, as it was only just before the Revolver and the 'first' concept album of Sgt Peppers.

Fulford Arms 13th July - Beatlefest!!

Just checked with Edwin about this saturdays Beatles music day at the Fulford Arms in York and here is his response:

Hi Chris, - yep its still on !!!!

We are starting the day with a big screen showing of Hard days Night about 2pm, followed by music from 4pm. We are also creating a giant Sgt Peppers Album cover for folks to help create and have their pics taken in and ending the day with a Beatles sing a long. - phew.

Bring some sun cream. Ed

The York based 'Pepper Hearts' are the lead act (here is their web page address, check them out: http://www.thepepperhearts.co.uk/ ).

So get yer collarless suits out, yer Sgt Pepper outfits or yer kaftans and silk flairs and get on down there - it sounds like its gonna be a 'fab' and 'gear' day...  (is that too much?)

 

Here's what the Fulford Arms gigguide webpage has to say about the day...

Sat 13th – EDSTOCK SUMMER FESTIVAL – This is gonna be one hell of a day as the Edstock Xmas Festival comes to summer with a special themed event to commemorate 50 years since The Beatles played in York. Fun includes watching A Hard Days Night movie to start the day; creating a modern version of Sgt Peppers famous album cover in the beer garden; Record Graveyard, magic with Adrian Salamon; a Beatles Quiz and open mic. Music from the Johnnie White Band; Lisa B, Headway; Sundog (feat: Stolen Earth’s Heidi Widdop in a rarely seen duo); Captains Of Industry; The Surf Sluts; Herb Helpless and the Marijuana Brass with the jewel in the crown being York’s own Beatles tribute band The Pepperhearts. 2pm-late. Children welcome until 8pm.

 

I am still here!!

 Hi.... yes, i have not been abducted by aliens, or been recruited by a religious sect or even been on an extended holiday!

Just been mega busy over June with my 'other' society, the Battle of Stamford Bridge. I had a few shows to attend and had to design and produce a massive Timeline exhibition for the Stamford Bridge History Open Day event we had organised in the village..... but all done for now, - so got time to catch up with my other business...

I have got lots of news and snippets to add so watch this space, and also want to promote the following festival event in July: I'm going, so get yerself there, lets hope its a luvverly summers day!

''Hi Chris, I organise a mini festival every year called Edstock,(Huddstock, madstock, Fifestock.. you get the picture) we knew the beatles link to the rialto was to be our theme so we are having our event at the Fulford arms (nearest venue to original site).

The gig is on Sat 13th July and runs all day with many local musicians playing Beatles songs. Headlining are the Pepperhearts and the whole event is FREE, Radio york have expressed interest and MinsterFM are going to interview me, also written to Look North (you never know!)  we would love to have people bring tickets, programmes etc. and we will award prizes.

There is even going to be a Beatles menu.

Cheers Edwin''

Saw this in last weeks papers, I will add it to the 'Beatles Cars' page when I get round to doing it...

''John Lennon’s first car, a 1965 Ferrari 330GT, is heading to a Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 12, 2013. Finished in Azzuro blue paint, the classic Ferrari also has a matching blue interior and was priced at a little over $10,000 (£6,500) in February 1965. Lennon would own the car until October 1967, putting on over 20,000 miles.''

Apparently he got it in 1965 after passing his driving test and had it for about 3 years, well its now up for auction so will no doubt it be hyper-inflated for the bidders...it is nice tho... never seen any pictures of Lennon in it or driving it, he never liked driving any way and usually had his live-in chaffeur drive him around most of the time.

The one time he did drive himself was when he crashed in 1969 whilst holidaying in Scotland with Yoko her daughter Kyoko and his son Julian. John crashed his white British Leyland Austin Maxi car in Golspie in the Highlands, Lennon was a notoriously bad driver who had rarely been behind the wheel since passing his test in 1965. He was poor at navigating roads and often failed to notice other traffic. The roads around Golspie were narrow, and Lennon lost control of the car, driving it into a roadside ditch.

He, Ono and Kyoko sustained cuts to the face and Ono's back was injured. They were taken to Golspie's Lawson Memorial Hospital where Lennon was given 17 facial stitches, Ono 14 in her forehead, and Kyoko four.  Julian Lennon was treated for shock but was otherwise unhurt. He was taken to stay with Lennon's Aunt Mater in Durness, around 50 miles away, before his mother took him back to London the following day. When she arrived at the hospital to demand an explanation from Lennon he refused to see her.

Lennon remained in hospital for five days. He later told reporters, "If you're going to have a car crash, try to arrange for it to happen in the Highlands. The hospital there was just great."

Although Lennon was never intending to attend, 1 July was the first official day of recording for what became the Abbey Road album. The crash further delayed his return to London, and after being discharged from hospital he spent three days at home before finally rejoining The Beatles on 9 July.

Lennon later had the car crushed into a cube and exhibited it on his lawn at Tittenhurst Park.

New Page added....

Hi everyone, sorry its been a while since my last post, been busy with other things, BUT good news is that I have just added a new page to the blog, called 'Fans Snaps'. As it says this is devoted to all those fans who made their way to London or to the Beatles houses to either speak or see the Beatles on their own turf.

Impossible to do with modern 'celebs' now, back in the 60's the lads actually didn't mind (upto a point) actually meeting their fans and spending some time with them. So visit the page and see the lads as you have never seen them before, and as they probably really wanted to be seen....as just ordinary lads from Liverpool.

First Meeting - Notes

Well thats the first one out the way. Ian at the Masons arms kindly let us use the back room and even supplied a large bowl of delicious chunky chips free of charge! As it turned out we could have just used a normal pub table, since the actual number of folk was only 5  - including myself! Considering the amount of hits I have been getting on the website and especially on the meeting post, maybe I had built my expectations up to an unreasonable level.

To say I was not dissappointed would be a lie. But it could have been worse - I might have been sat all alone looking like a lost tourist... Fortunately a chap I had already met came and brought three more who all share the same interests...and to say we had a lively and varied discussion would be an understatement.

It turned out to be a very enjoyable evening with Alan, Sarah, Peter and Brian. Photos were shared, ideas put forward, personal songs/albums, musical tastes compared, and lots of anecdotes too. I did intend to take a few pictures but totally forgot as we were engrossed in various topics.

Eventually we decided it would be worth meeting again, and I comforted myself on the way home with the thought 'that from small acorns do large oaks grow'.

So i will arrange another 'official' meeting again sometime in the next three months, and I might have another poster/flyer blitz in York to promote it.  

FIRST MEETING DATE ARRANGED.

OK, first meeting date has been arranged and is open to anyone who wants to come along and see who we are and what we want to do.

WHEN: MONDAY 22ND APRIL

WHERE: MASONS ARMS PUB, FISHERGATE YORK

WHAT TIME: 7PM ONWARDS

Hopefully we can have a good turnout, I know of at least 10 people for definite that they intend coming, so any more will be a bonus! I am going to loosly facilitate it, but there is no agenda as such for this first get together.

As we arrange a more regular schedule when can hear about special items and members interests etc. I do have the facility to borrow a PC projector and large screen so we can have DVD or web items viewed and maybe members' private pictures or slideshows.

But that is for future meetings, lets get the first one out of the way and break the ice!!!

Chris

Just Added NEW page section...

Yes I have just added a new page section to the website. I was going to put it on the Beatles Art page but it seemed worthy of a whole page to itself as it may expand in the future.

Its all about how the Beatles have been perceived through the Comic Book medium. I didn't realise it myself at first but theres a whole genre out there, from trashy 60's love sick girls and romances to 1990s unofficial 'biographies', and i use that term very loosely....anyway have a look...here's a taster:

I still need to add the 'Beatles Cars' pages as I have quite a few images now to use. I am also going to add a new page on 'Beatle Suits' as they help to identify specific times and places, and believe me that is a BIG section to cover.

All in good time.

Favourite pictures

Here is a few of my favourite pictures of the lads. There are so many to choose from and a picture can capture them in a variety of moods, even now there are 'undiscovered' and 'rare' photos coming out of lofts and cupboards all the time.

To me the best photos are the candid ones  - there is a book i am watching on ebay called the Beatles Unseen, showing spontaneous and revealing images of them. The posed and contrived  'official' photo shoots have their place and are of course excllent quality, but they lack the down to earthness of the bands attitude, especially of the early days.

Any way have a look and enjoy..

I have always liked this early Hamburg shot, it almost looks Victorian. The passers by are Stu, Paul and George. This is Lennon with his early attitude shown both in his pose and face....

 

Another great docu-social shot of John, maybe in Pauls kitchen?

 

Is that the Gallagher brothers? could be from 1996 instead of 1966...

 

There's a well know story of Ringo taking a suitcase of tinned baked beans to India in 1968 on their mediation sabbatical. He hasn't got a strong stomach apparently...

Sometime in 1967, probably around pre-release of Sgt. Pepper, for such an influential look and legacy it was a remarkably short period of time.

 

 

 

Nearing the end now and the tension between then is getting obvious. I think this is actually from the last PR shoot at Johns Tittenhurst Park. In many of the other shots George is distinctly seperate from the other 3 and has this 'lets get it over with pleeeese face'.  They all knew it i am sure.

 

Rare Beatles concert footage

 

Came across this Youtube post featuring a recently 'restored' live Beatles concert. The introduction explains that the full concert was recorded during the visit to Australia in 1964, but it was cut and hacked to feature only selected songs for the final version. Its a good example of a full early concert including some rather garish warm up acts, some of the video footage has been lost and is replaced by similiar images, but the full soundtrack remains. After seeing  the 'Bootlegs' last week  i am reviewing the live concerts to see the quality of the live music and their stagecraft.

There has in recent years been some criticism of the live sound of the band,  - as the beatle madness got out of control they lost faith in the touring and musical credibility, it was one of the reasons why they eventually gave up live touring. It is also interesting as it shows Lennons attitude to the audience, not very politically correct now and probably not as he intended, but read into it what you will. But despite the poor quality of the recording and early video quality it actually proves how tight they were as a rock band, both vocally and musically. See for your self, they play the last forty minutes or so, the warm up acts are as expected about 5 years behind the Beatles in their act and look....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiEDsJz9yQ8

 

...whilst i was on the youtube site i also found this interview with Paul McCartney recorded in 1990.
Although there are loads of interviews with him and his interpretation of the break-up of the band, this one seem rather openhearted, and very personal, never seen it before and worth a look, the ending is poignant because it is 'off camera' and has Linda being very straight forward.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aboVVvLgelw

Bootlegs at the Barbican Fri 8th March.

 

Well what can I say? Absolutely superb! A three hour show for the paultry fee of £26.00, and the musical and acoustic reditions of the songs and in-jokes were just spot on. I must admit I was rather nervous of seeing them again, but within the first song I actually began to relax and even stood and clapped with the audience on occasion. I think my nervousness was due to my being somewhat more mature than the lastime, and I think I expected them to let me down with the quality of the mimicry and the look of the show, but I was proved wrong and I urge anyone who enjoys the Beatles music to go and see them, it is the closest you are going to get to experience a 'Beatles' live music concert.

They employed very clever backgound visual graphics and movies to help with the bedding of the different fashions and styles which were everchanging throughout the bands lifespan...it wasn't a cheap and tacky way of making money from nostalgia, but a real and sometimes quite emotional tribute to the Beatles and their incredible musical journey; they even had McCartney left handed now which was an original criticism of mine on an earlier post. The addition of the string and brass quintet did not distract from the songs and very much showed that had the Beatles really wanted to, they still could have performed their 'recorded studio' songs to a live audience.

Hearing the 'live' versions of the songs i know so well you really begin to appreciate the craftsmanship and power of the tunes and the instruments too. I can see as a stage band how they managed to capture the excitement of the times, and also emphasise the important roles of both George as lead guitarist and Ringo as the drummer/beat keeper. 

I have to thank the Bootlegs for giving me and the Society a shout out, the email did get to them after all.... thank you Adam, Steve, Andre and Hugo for great night!

Heres a link to some pictures and some live footage i took on my phone camera, some are a bit dodgy in quality but it will give you some idea of what to expect when you go and see them live... and you must!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcA4tHHBbsY

Beatles 50th from York Mix

Here is the text from the York Mix Beatles 50th Anniversary article that appeared. It is written by Van Wilson who wrote a book in 2002 about the history of Yorks pop music scene.

''It is exactly 50 years since the Beatles first played in York. That turned out to be a low-key appearance but their later concerts prompted a severe outbreak of Beatlemania. On February 27, 1963 Helen Shapiro was to top the bill at a package show at the Rialto on Fishergate, York – where Mecca Bingo is today – with the Beatles as second billing. Helen contracted flu and did not appear so singer Danny Williams took her place. The Beatles only rated seven lines in a one-page review.

The Beatles returned on March 13. Chris Montez topped the bill, followed by the Beatles then Tommy Roe. John Lennon was ill and could not play so the group performed for the only time in their career as a trio. After the show George Harrison told Stacey Brewer of the Yorkshire Evening Press, that the Beatles’ next single, From Me To You, had been written by them in the coach as they travelled from York to Shrewsbury following the February concert.

On May 29 they came back again with Roy Orbison topping the bill and tickets were sold out two weeks before the concert. This time the Beatles were headline news. In only two months they had shot to fame and From Me To You, their first number one hit, remained in the charts for 21 weeks.

 

By their fourth and final appearance in York, on November 27, they were topping the bill. Arriving early in York in their Austin Princess limousine, they dropped in at the York Motel on Tadcaster Road for a meal. I lived in that area and remember a friend of my brother’s dashing round to our house to tell my elder brother Mike that he’d heard the Beatles were at the motel.

 

They ran down to the main road to try to catch a glimpse. I wanted to go too but was not allowed! Half an hour later he came back gloating because they had seen a car go by the Knavesmire with the Beatles inside. There was no one else around so they knew that when they waved madly, they got a personal wave in return, which was more than the crowd at the Rialto got, as the Beatles were rush in through the front door to avoid all the fans at the back door.

 

Before the concert the police had to work out a special “Beatle plan” and arrange traffic diversions. As well as 100 policemen, another 40 special constables were drafted in on “Beatle duty” for the occasion. Some young people had started queuing at lunchtime in the hopes of seeing their heroes. The Rialto management had been sent hundreds of requests for autographs, and even a dress which the owner wanted the Beatles to sign so that she could raffle it for charity.

 

There were 1,800 fans inside the auditorium and another 400 outside jammed behind crush barriers chanting, “We want Paul, George, John, Ringo” throughout the concert. In fact they stood for five hours in the cold. Stacey Brewer’s review in the Yorkshire Evening Press said that “their final, frenzied frantic version of Twist And Shout threatened to lift the roof off the Mecca Casino”.

 

It seems more information is coming to light regards where the lads stayed when they visited York on their last gig. I cant find any old images of the York Motel in the 60's on the web so if anyone has info it would be appreciated. The other interesting facts are the cars the Beatles used, Van Wilson mentions an Austin Princess Limo, other sources say they had a bottle-green Zephyr Six, Reg 2074 KD to use as well. See pictures below:

Sorry for the poor quality, anybody got a better copy please send it to me.



1964 The Beatles limousine gets mobbed by fans as they arrive at Futurist theatre in Scarborough.

Ford Zephyr 6, a 1965 reg model. Seems awefully small....

An Austin Princess Limousine. Now thats more like it!

I came across this picture below purely by chance; apparently its an Ex-Beatle Limo. Found in poor condition in 1999 in Somerset, its a Daimler DS42(5?)0. There is some very good images in the Beatles Anthology book of various vans, cars etc that the Beatles used in the early days, but I will need to scan them in first... This Beatle cars subject is a website in its own right!!!! I will add a new page to cover this fascinating aspect.

 

Beatles Daimler DS420 found in 1999 Somerset

 

Sat 2nd March York Evening Press

Ok... Tomorrow the York Evening Press are running an article on myself and the Appreciation Society. Its basically the same text i sent to YorkMix, but with some new pix done by the press themselves. It will be the fastest and easiest way to get to the York masses about what the society is about.

I will post a copy of the article after its publication. Thanks to Steve Lewis at the Press for his enthusiasm and his generousity and hopefully this will open the door to a flood of people wanting to get involved.

Thru Steve i have a load of new articles and information to post here. I will post it as i get round to it. This time next week myself and Gary will be in our seats waiting for the show to begin..Bootleg Beatles....i did email them regards to giving the society a shout out at the show, but so far i have had no response. might get some leaflets knocked up and hand out at the Barbican.

Chris

PS here's the link to the York Press article that appeared yesterday:

http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/features/features/10262331.I_love_them__yeah__yeah__yeah/

It was 50 years ago today...

Well tonites the nite, about now 50 years ago the lads were on stage in York belting out those early classics, being at the bottom of the bill they probably would have been overlooked by many of the audience there to see the top billing stars...but by the middle of the year they were top bill and the cultural and musical revolution of the 60's was beginning.

Chris Titley of YORKMIX has commorated the historic event on his website. He also invited me write an article for the webpage and you can read it all here:              

http://www.yorkmix.com

And my contribution piece here:

http://www.yorkmix.com/life/fifty-years-on-the-beatles-are-still-the-greatest/

Many thanks to Chris for the opportunity to contribute and help spread the word.....

Good TV nite for Beatles stuff

Good evening on BBC Four last nite for a smattering of Beatles related programmes... firstly an excellent documentary on Brian Esptein, it was in two parts and well worth watching (should imagine it will be available on the BBC i-player), although it was quite a few years old now. Gave a great insight into the man behind the myths and stories and was quite sensitive in its approach, its a pretty diverse tale of the man who had everything and could have everything, but deep down felt he had nothing, no family and no friends, and sadly accidentally took an overdose.... I have never read his book, ' A Cellarful of Noise', but will certainly go and buy a copy to read now. The programme also had some refreshing comments from close NEMS/Business associates and Macca himself.

 

 

 

The other interesting progamme was a 'The Beatles' Please, Please Me - Remaking a Classic' shown after the Epstein documentary; I quote:

 

On the 50th anniversary of the famous 12-hour session at Abbey Road which resulted in the Beatles' iconic album Please Please Me, leading artists such as Stereophonics, Graham Coxon, Gabrielle Aplin, Joss Stone, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, Paul Carrack, Mick Hucknall and I Am Kloot attempt to record the same songs, in the same timescale, in the same studio. The results will be captured in this programme, presented by Stuart Maconie. Amongst those paying their own tribute to the album's success are Burt Bacharach and Guy Chambers, as well as people lucky enough to have been there 50 years ago telling the remarkable story of what happened that day, including engineer Richard Langham and Beatles' press officer Tony Barrow.

 

 

 

Missed this one but it will be available on the BBC I-Player soon.

 

Spent today in York, not only delivering stocks of my '1066 Battle of Stamford Bridge' books to the shops, but also hawking the YorkBeatles poster around various venues for some publicity. Some places actually refused to put one up. (i wont name them, but they are off the list of places for us to meet as a society) However most of them were happy and willing to help out  - a big thank you to them. Aso had a piece in a local paper which will help to spread the word and I am also hoping to have some editorial space in the York Evening Press soon.

 

Cheers Chris.