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All Things Must Beat. Share Anything Beatles!!

When Paul McCartney Crossed Abbey Road With a Pony
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At age 15, when Beatlemania hit, I was all in. Got the first guitar...we know how that story goes. My mom, so cool, told me to skip school (and wrote me a note to say I was sick) and go to Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto (where we lived) and buy a ticket. Massive lineups so I got what was left, a $5 seat fairly high up, not bad. Second time they came to town I had 2 tix then won floor seats in a contest run by the local AM radio station. The photo is roughly where I sat (not a picture from my little flash camera).
By '66 I was into Memphis Soul music. Meantime, I absorbed all the Beatles stuff.
I wasn't into psychedelics but was spellbound by Day In The Life. I wasn't a bass player until I was into Duck Dunn so I didn't catch on to Paul's excellent work on so many tracks. It's been a joy ever since to play bass on any
Beatles tunes in bands or jam sessions.
 

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At age 15, when Beatlemania hit, I was all in. ... ... ... won floor seats in a contest run by the local AM radio station. The photo is roughly where I sat (not a picture from my little flash camera). ... ... ...
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Wow! Andy, that's awesome! Could you actually hear them at all, from that close a seat? Or was the crowd noise too much?

I remember only rage from the few times I attended "A Hard Day's Night" in theaters in '64 only to hear almost nothing but girls in the theaters screaming at every word and song! Sheesh!

I never got to see the Fab Four live. And, from my experience at the movies, I tell myself I would never have gotten close enough to tell one from another, much less to hear anything they said or sang. (sigh)

But, the wife and I saved up and saw Paul & Linda (& Hamish & 'Wix' & Robbie & Blair) live in the Astrodome for Earth Day in '93. We were a couple of the few singing along with the selections from their then-new album, "Off The Ground". Of course, everyone sang along for everything else.

The Astrodome is a huge indoor space, but it felt fairly intimate, with our middle-of-the-crowd floor seats. I walked up to the stage mid-concert for some pix with no hassles! But when the giant pyrotechnics went off on both sides of the stage in "Live And Let Die" it was extremely jarring!!! Visually, sonically and physically!!! Multiple times!!! Excellent show! That's it for me. Can't imagine a better show!
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I recently read a fascinating description of the Beatles by someone who had been there. It might have been Glyn Johns (wish I could remember).
Anyway, he said that John was the ne'er-do-well father, Paul was the kindly mother working hard to hold the family together, George was the surly teenager, and Ringo was the little kid happily playing with his toy airplane.
 
G-Dog: Both times I saw them, the screaming girls were a non-stop din. My ears rang for an hour afterwards.
It was such a joy to see and hear them play. You could hear them, every word, but that screaming!!
What nobody talks about is that these were multi-band line-ups. Jackie DeShannon and Sounds Incorporated were just a couple of the opening acts. It was good value for the money. There was an afternoon show and an evening show. You don't see that any more, maybe in Vegas. Other bands had their own equipment but a couple used Ringo's kit (but with a false front on the kick drum). When the Beatles were being introduced by a local Toronto DJ, a roadie removed the cover to reveal The Beatles drum skin and that's when the screaming really got started. There was also a non-stop parade of First Aid teams removing girls that fainted.
I also saw the Wings tour, just not on Earth Day, with all those players you mentioned. I'd seen video screens before but that was the first time I'd seen them that big (and stacked). It was an excellent show and I've seen Paul many times since.
 
Bootlegs are great in that they allow you to get closer to the creative process. It’s amazing how song such as I Am The Walrus evolved in the studio. Such a complex song and George Martin really earns his pay. He should have gotten a writing credit.

 
I have quite a few bootleg albums of demos…

I have many bootleg CD’s. Some were done very well, noise cleaned up and good mastering. Yellow Dog is an example. Before that they came on vinyl. During Beatlemania, they couldn’t press enough vinyl to meet the demand. There were bootlegs that were copies of the records, they were inferior. Literally copied from a record. I knew someone who worked for Capital, his job was to get bootlegs off the market.
 
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Why don't we have more Beatles cover bands? The vocal harmonies is my guess. They were gifted singers.

"There are thousands of Beatles tribute bands, in many countries, all over the world. ... ... ... "

Beatlemania Alumni bands and other Beatles tribute bands.


Beatles tribute bands for hire in the U.S.


Book the Perfect Beatles tribute band in your area.


25 Wikipedia documented Beatles Tribute bands.


19 Beatles tributes, ranked.


15 best Beatles tribute bands. Can you name even 10
bands in tribute of any other band?

Invalid Link Removed


Moral of the story: Never let a perceived lack of ability stop you from aspiring to your dreams. :smug:
.
 
"There are thousands of Beatles tribute bands, in many countries, all over the world. ... ... ... "

Beatlemania Alumni bands and other Beatles tribute bands.


Beatles tribute bands for hire in the U.S.


Book the Perfect Beatles tribute band in your area.


25 Wikipedia documented Beatles Tribute bands.


19 Beatles tributes, ranked.


15 best Beatles tribute bands. Can you name even 10
bands in tribute of any other band?

Invalid Link Removed


Moral of the story: Never let a perceived lack of ability stop you from aspiring to your dreams. :smug:
.

I was in a Beatles band in the 60’s. Girls didn’t have the real thing so they screamed and chased people in bands. We covered what was on the radio but when a Beatles record came out, bands scrambled to cover their new songs.
 
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I was in a Beatles band in the 60’s. Girls didn’t have the real thing so they screamed and chased people in bands. We covered what was on the radio but when a Beatles record came out, bands scrambled to cover their new songs.


I wasn’t a screamer, of course, but I recognized something different about that 1st Capitol 45 rpm "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" in December '63. So, I tried the "Meet The Beatles" album in January '64 and loved it! I'd been messing around with an acoustic guitar (missing one string) for a couple of years, playing various tunes by ear. I went to work on that whole album and, when they appearred on Ed Sullivan I sang along to myself on every song. I coulda played along, too, but IIRC they weren't always strictly in A440 tuning! It wasn't until a few years later when I bought my very own first record player, with a variable speed control!!!, that I could stop re-tuning my guitar for each different song.

I dunno why I couldn't convince my high school garage bands to play more Beatles songs. We played Rolling Stones, Grass Roots, Strawberry Alarm Clock and other top 40 radio stuff. But, as near as I could figure, the other guys just felt "we're not worthy" to play Beatles, (which we weren't) but I didn't think that was any reason not to try!

Ah! The good ol' days.
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I wasn’t a screamer, of course, but I recognized something different about that 1st Capitol 45 rpm "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" in December '63. So, I tried the "Meet The Beatles" album in January '64 and loved it! I'd been messing around with an acoustic guitar (missing one string) for a couple of years, playing various tunes by ear. I went to work on that whole album and, when they appearred on Ed Sullivan I sang along to myself on every song. I coulda played along, too, but IIRC they weren't always strictly in A440 tuning! It wasn't until a few years later when I bought my very own first record player, with a variable speed control!!!, that I could stop re-tuning my guitar for each different song.

I dunno why I couldn't convince my high school garage bands to play more Beatles songs. We played Rolling Stones, Grass Roots, Strawberry Alarm Clock and other top 40 radio stuff. But, as near as I could figure, the other guys just felt "we're not worthy" to play Beatles, (which we weren't) but I didn't think that was any reason not to try!

Ah! The good ol' days.
.

The Beatles did have a reputation of being more pop entertainers in their very early days. But they opened the door for everyone else, including the Stones and music evolved quickly. It then came down to are you in the Beatles camp or in the Stones camp. Much like there were Mods and Rocker gangs in London. I was always on the side of the Beatles.
 
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