1964 ~ Part 2

The Billboard US singles chart for April 4th showed The Beatles occupying the Top Five positions with 'Can't Buy Me Love' followed by 'Twist and Shout', 'She Loves You', 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' and 'Please Please Me' - a feat that is unlikely ever to be equalled. In addition there were seven other Beatles singles on the Top 100. The following week there were two entries. Between February 22nd and April 25 The Beatles monopolized the top 2 positions in the chart.

The Beatles world tour sadly got off to a bad start when Ringo collapsed during a photo shoot the day before they left for Denmark and was diagnosed with tonsillitis and pharyngitis, requiring rest and quiet. On George Martin's recommendation the group hired 24 year old session drummer Jimmy Nicol as a temporary replacement, although George Harrison at first refused to play without Ringo. Jimmy Nicol: "I was having a bit of a lie-down after lunch when the phone rang. It was EMI asking if I could come down to the studio to rehearse with The Beatles. Two hours after I got home I was told to pack my bags for Denmark".

Temporary drummer Jimmy Nicol played his first concert with The Beatles the day after joining them in Copenhagen. In Holland the following day, a TV appearance ended up in chaos after fans engulfed the stage and the band had to calm their nerves in Amsterdam's red-light district. In Hong Kong they failed to sell our two shows, mainly because the promoter was charging the average weekly wage for a ticket. In Adelaide, Australia, an estimated 200,000 people lined the route from the airport to the City Hall where the mayor presented The Beatles with many toy koala bears.

In Melbourne, where Ringo finally caught up with the tour, a civil reception ended up chaos when dignitaries and fans scrambled to touch the band. It was cold and pouring rain in Sydney but they there still paraded around the streets in an open top bus. In Brisbane, a group of Beatles-haters pelted the group with eggs during their open-too ride and again at their concert. 

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1964 ~ Part 1

January of 1964 was a turning point in The Beatles carrier. 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' went from the 43rd spot to No.1 on the Cashbox charts January 18th. During this time The Beatles were in Paris on a three-week run at the Olympia and writing new songs for their upcoming movie. A telegram was sent from Captiol Records to announce the wonderful news, which was soon greeted with stunned silence and disbelief. This soon changed into a party, gleefully started with a pillow fight and got wilder. Brian Epstein was even allowed to be photographed with a bucket on his head. Paul McCartney, "We didn't come down for a week."

The Beatles single 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'

Pam Am flight 101 to New York carrying The Beatles, and their entrourage (including Cynthia Lennon) left Heathrow Airport on February 7th. Radio stations all over America broadcasting bulletins of the flights progress. When they emerged from the plane at JFK Airport, they were greeted by 5,000 fans, along with 200 journalists just waiting to ask questions - brave photographers dangled off a fork-lift truck to get the first pictures of this event.

 

 

The Beatles at JFK Airport on Febuary 7th, 1964

In February also started their first American concerts from the 10,000 capacity Washington Coliseum to the prestigious New York Carnrgie Hall. The only sour note of their US visit came when they attended a reception at the British Embassy in Washington and were jostled by Embassy staff for autographs. One of the woman even tried to cut off a lock of Ringo's hair.

 

The Beatles at Carnrgie Hall Feburary 13th, 1964

 

With the success of 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' selling 5 million cooked during its seven-week stay at No. 1, it provoked a feeling among the lablss that had previously released Beatles singles without success. Swan Records reissued 'She Loves You' that went to No. 1 for 2 weeks. Vee Jay re-released 'Please Please Me' that got to No. 3. Before long there was a free-for-all as almost every track The Beatles had recorded for their first album, that was itself re-packed into two different versions, was issued as a single while writs flew back and forth as Captiol frantically sought to regain control of The Beatles' catalogue.

Right after The Beatles returned from America they completed work on their next single that had been written and recorded in Paris at the start of the year, 'Can't Buy Me Love'. George Martin's suggestion of adapting the chorus to start and finish the song paid dividends. Paul McCartney: "(It was) my attempt to write in a blusey mood. The idea behind it was that all theses material possessions are all very well but they won't buy me what I really want. It was a very hooky song". Advance orders ensured that the single was instantly No. 1 in the UK and US. From now on every new Beatles single went to to No. 1 - everywhere.

Can't Buy Me Love - The Beatles Single

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A Hard Day's Night ~ The Movie

Filming for 'A Hard Day's Night' began in March of 1965. With the script and shouting schedule barley in place, The Beatles started work on their first feature film, an intact slant on Beatlemaina. Director Richard Lester: "It was all a bit of a blur. We only had seven weeks' shooting. Nobody really had any time to stop and think over what they were doing. But the incredible speed with which it was made worked to its benefit". Fortunately the band had already written and recorded a batch of songs for the soundtrack. The films title came from a remark Ringo Starr made in location late one evening.

The police closed Piccadilly Circus for the London permiere for A Hard Day's Night at the London Pavilion on July 6th, 1963, keeping at bay a 12,000 crowd who'd come to see The Beatles getting in and out of their cars. And the critics raved, even ones from 'quality papers' who'd been expecting the usual B-movie standard from rock stars. The band were most apprehensive about Liverpool premiere five days later as they'd barley been back since moving to London. But they needn't have worried; nearly 200,000 people turned out to watch them en route to the Town Hall for a civic reception. Paul McCartney's day was made when he spotted his old English teacher in the crowd.

The plot of the movie is on a trip to London, The Beatles are chased to a train station by fans and are forced to escape. Once aboard the train and trying to relax, various interruptions test them. After a dalliance with a female passenger, Paul's grandfather is confined to the guard's van and the four lads join him there to keep him company. John, Paul, George, and Ringo play a card game, entertaining schoolgirls before arriving at their destination.

Upon arrival in London, the Beatles are driven to a hotel, only to feel trapped inside. After a night out during which Paul's grandfather causes minor trouble at a casino, the group is taken to the theatre where their performance is to be televised. The preparations are lengthy so Ringo decides to spend some time alone reading a book. Paul's grandfather, a "villain, a real mixer," convinces him to go outside to experience life rather than reading books.

 

Ringo goes off by himself. He tries to have a quiet drink in a pub, walks alongside a canal and rides a bicycle along a railway station platform. Meanwhile, the rest of the band frantically (and unsuccessfully) attempts to find Ringo. Finally, he returns after being arrested by the police along with Paul's grandfather, and the concert goes ahead as planned. After the concert, the band is taken away from the hoards of fans via helicopter.

 

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