Ringo Starr håller en presskonferens i Sydney, Australien

Ringo Starr anlände till Sydney på kl. 06.30 på söndagsmorgonen den 14 juni 1964 efter en lång färd från London Airport, via San Francisco.

Vid flygplatsen höll Ringo Starr och Brian Epstein en kort presskonferens inför den samlade pressen.

Reportrarna: Ringo, welcome to Australia. How do you feel about being here?
Ringo: Oh, it’s great. It’s good fun, you know. I’m glad I’m off that plane.

Reportrarna: How long have you been on it?
Ringo: Thirty-four hours.

Reportrarna: Well, you must be… just about had it.
Ringo: No, I had a sleep, you know. I feel fine. Fit and everything.

Reportrarna: How’s your throat now that they put you in hospital and made you miss the start of the Australian tour?
Ringo: The throat’s fine now, you know. Everything’s all right. It’s fine. Just gotta take it easy a few days and then we’ll be back to normal.

Reportrarna: You’re still able to bash the drums?
Ringo: Oh yeah. Still bash ’em.

Reportrarna: And have you missed the other boys?
Ringo: Yeah, terrible! Haven’t half-missed you, fellas, if you’re watching… or if you do watch.

Reportrarna: You’re looking forward to joining up with them this afternoon?
Ringo: Yeah, can’t wait. ’cause, you know, we’ve been together, you know, for 90 years. For so long, I don’t know. It’s funny being without them. ’cause even if, you know, when we’re not playing, if we go out, at least two of us go out together as a rule. So it’s a bit funny being on your own.

Reportrarna: Can you give us a look at these rings which you got your name from?
Ringo: There you go.

Reportrarna: They say that fans have sent you a lot.
Ringo: Not too many actually. No. I haven’t got 2,671 as some reporter wrote.

Reportrarna: What are you looking forward to most seeing in Australia?
Ringo: I don’t know. Everything in general, you know. Glad to see a few Maoris and that. And a few kangaroos, I suppose.

Reportrarna: And Brian, coming over to you. Can you tell us when you first met The Beatles?
Brian Epstein: Oh, 1961. October, I think.

Reportrarna: And whereabouts did you see them?
Brian: In the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Reportrarna: And what did you think when you first saw them?
Brian: Oh, I was sufficiently knocked out.
Ringo: Load of rubbish, that’s what you told me.

Reportrarna: And what was the next step from there?
Brian: Well, then we got to know each other and eventually worked out a bit of idea of management. (To Ringo) See?
Ringo: I know. I was away at the time, you see, I joined later… after Brian.

Reportrarna: At any time did you have a feeling that you might reach this dizzy height of success that you…
Brian: No. Well, I don’t know about the dizzy height, but I always thought they were going to be pretty big. Very big.

Reportrarna: What’s the hardest problem you encounter trying to manage the Beatles?
Brian: Well, none really. But I think traveling around and going around the world and making arrangements for moving around is the most difficult thing, ’cause you don’t know what’s going to happen.

Reportrarna: Do you have any trouble keeping them in control? Do they try and escape from you?
Brian: Oh no. No no no no no.
Ringo: Never! never!

Reportrarna: And on the subject of money, how do you go about financing their weekly pocket money? What happens about that?
Brian: They get, you know, whatever they want from their earnings, and their earnings go into their own company.

Reportrarna: And Ringo, do you miss anything now being a Beatle, or do you think you’ve got everything now?
Ringo: Um, no. I don’t miss anything, you know. Well, I can’t remember. I just have a good time. It’s good fun, you know.

Reportrarna: Yesterday in Adelaide, the three were talking about what they were gonna do when they weren’t Beatles. And they said you were going to open a chain of women’s hairdressing salons. Is that correct?
Ringo: Yes. Well, I thought of that a few months ago, you know, so I’m still thinking about it. But I could change. Oh, I could change, you know.

Reportrarna: Is there anything that you’d like to ask about Australia?
Ringo: Ask about? No, I don’t think so. Seems quite nice to me.

Reportrarna: So, it was quite a good reception.
Ringo: It was a marvelous reception, I loved it. How many were there?

Reportrarna: I think it was about three or four thousand.
Ringo: There you go! Seven, he said!

Ringo tillbringade mindre än två timmar i Sydney centrum innan han tog ett flyg till Melbourne för att hinna återförenas med George Harrison, John Lennon och Paul McCartney.

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Ringo Starr återförenas med The Beatles i Australia

Efter nästan två veckor utan sina gruppmedlemmar, p.g.a. operationen av tonsillerna, kunde Ringo Starr äntligen återförenas med The Beatles i Melbourne i Australien.

Efter ovanstående presskonferens på Sydney Airport tillsammans med Brian Epstein flög Ringo Starr och Brian Epstein till Essendon Airport i Melbourne. På plats fanns redan stora människoskaror samlade eftersom de övriga tre beatlarna – John Lennon, Paul McCartney och George Harrison skulle anlända fem timmar senare.

Brian Epstein berättar:
When we arrived at the hotel, Ringo was knocked to the ground, as the police could not get through to the entrance of the South Cross Hotel through a crowd of a thousand people.

När Ringo Starr och Brian Epstein anlände till Southerns Cross Hotel i Melbourne väntade cirka 3 000 Beatlesfans utanför hotellet. Ringo togs om hand av en polisinspektör för att lotsa honom genom människorna. Men olyckligtvis snubblade polismannen Mike Patterson på en pr-kvinna när han försökte skydda Ringo, som i sin tur ramlade på Mike Patterson.

Barry Miles, författare bl.a. till boken The Beatles A Diary berättar:
When Ringo and Brian Epstein arrived at the Southern Cross Constellation Hotel, a crowd of 3,000 people gathered on the street. Police Inspector Mike Patterson rushed to Ringo and lifted him onto his huge shoulders and carried him through the crowd. Unfortunately, he tripped over a Beatles PR woman and dropped Ringo into the thirsty arms of the crowd. Patterson quickly freed him and took him to the hotel, but his face was white as a sheet of paper. His first words were: “Give us a drink. It was the hardest ride I’ve ever had. ” After that, he immediately went to his room to lie down. ”

Dick Lin, vd för Stadiums Limited berättar:
The Police Inspector decided to take Ringo in his arms and rush to the entrance. It seemed to be a good idea until our lady – a public relations specialist – waved to the crowd, then stumbled and fell right in front of the inspector, who, tripping over her, dropped Ringo right into the grasping claws of hundreds of teenagers. When we finally pulled him out and pulled him inside, his first words were: “Give me a drink. It was the hardest journey I’ve ever had!

Kl. 15.30 gjorde Brian Epstein Ringo Starr sällskap i Beatlessviten på hotellet.

Brian Epstein minns:
From the moment Ringo and I entered the hotel noisily, the barrage of the Beatles tour with all its side effects went into action! It seemed that all the journalists, photographers and DJs of the country had arrived at the hotel. When I first checked into my room and started unpacking my clothes, there was a knock on the door, the phone rang and, as always, the noise from the growing crowd in front of the hotel became more deafening – everyone was waiting for the arrival of John, Paul and George, as well as Jimmy Nichol.

Kl. 12.15 flög The Beatles från Adelaide till Melbourne i ett chartrat plan av typen Ansett ANA Fokker Friendship. En samling på cirka 5 000 personer var på Essendon Airport för att vinka av dem!

Ringo Starr:
I hated to leave the other three. I followed them out to Australia and there were people at the airport, but I was on my own and just automatically I looked round for the others. I couldn’t stand it. I met up with them in Melbourne. The flight was horrendous. It still is – they may have shaved a couple of hours off the flight, but it’s still a hell of a long way. I remember the plane felt like a disaster area to me.

It was fabulous in Australia, and of course, it was was great to be back in the band – that was a really nice moment. And they’d bought be presents in Hong Kong.

Tony Lapton, från motortidningen Royal Auto Magazine 2018 har berättat:
When the Beatles arrived at Essendon Airport, they were given a 1959 Austin Princesses car, previously owned by the Governor of Victoria (Melbourne is the capital of the Australian state Victoria). By this time, the owner of the car was Frank Dennis, a well-known businessman in the hotel and restaurant business.

Under tiden på hotellet i Melbourne så var det mängder med ungdomar och andra som hoppades på att få en skymt av beatlarna. Läget blev lite ansträngt, så såväl soldater från armén som från flottan kallades in!

John Lennon, Paul McCartney och George Harrison fick poliseskort av tolv motorburna poliser under resan från flygplatsen in till hotellet i Melbourne vid kl. 16.00. De kördes in i ett garage till hotellet. En polisbil körde fram för att vilseleda åskådarna. En scen av förödelse uppstod när 300 poliskonstaplar och 100 militärer kämpade om att hålla åskådarna ifrån The Beatles.

Över 150 flickor svimmade och ett 50-tal personer, varav de flesta var lite äldre, kördes till sjukhus med diverse skador. En del hade fallit från träd som de hade klättrat upp i för att se bättre. Ett flertal bilar demolerades i trängseln och dussintals av flickor tappade sina skor och klädesplaggen blev förstörda för en del fans. För att lugna ner stämningen ombads beatlarna att vinka från sina hotellfönster på första våningen. Vid planeringen av The Beatles ankomst till Melbourne hade man räknar med att cirka 20 000 personer skulle samlas. Det blev verkligen helt annorlunda. Det samlades cirka 250 000 personer! Så det var tvunget att armén och flottan fick rycka in och hjälpa den beridna polisen och de övriga poliserna som var utkommenderade.

Under The Beatles resa in till staden från flygplatsen kantades vägen av cirka 20 000 Beatlesfans, varav de flesta försökte ta sig fram till hotellet i Melbournes city. Trångt blev det, minst sagt!

Brian Epstein:
By 4:00 pm, when the guys were supposed to arrive, we watched and heard the crowd that gathered to meet them. Ringo could not look out of the window because he would have been noticed, so he listened to the radio and watched television, since the event was covered both there and there. When the boys arrived, no one knew about it, as they secretly went through the service entrance. The sight of what is happening and the noise of this stormy greeting I will never forget, as will the Beatles. The police, who were voluntarily assisted by the soldiers, tried in vain to keep the crowd at the entrance to the hotel. There were policemen on horseback, in cars, and on foot. There were many people and a lot of passion. I can’t say how many people were there, although numbers from fifteen to eighty thousand were named. I can only compare this to one other event that I saw near Buckingham Palace during my coronation in 1953.

Efter det att alla fyra beatlarna äntligen hade återförenats, höll de – tillsammans med Jimmie Nicol – en presskonferens på hotellet.

Ringo Starr:
I met the guys in Melbourne. Australia was amazing and of course it was great to be back in the band – a really enjoyable experience. And the guys bought me gifts in Hong Kong.

Barry Miles:
The roar of the crowd was so strong that it reminded me of the Nazi rally in Nuremberg, prompting John to salute the Nazi salute, shouting” Sieg Heil ”and holding his fingers over his upper lip, depicting a mustache.

Så var det dags för den sista presskonferens där Jimmie Nicol var med.

Presskonferensen inleds med att Ringo Starr, på skämt, glider ner från sin stol och gömmer sig under bordet.

Paul: (skrattande) Very serious. So serious.  Mer skratt efter det att Ringo har stoppat ett flertal cigaretter i sin mun samtidigt.

Reportern: Divide into four parts. The first will be held for about ten minutes and then recorded. Then there will be a break during which we will go out for drinks and you will go out …
Paul : (skrattar).

Reportern: All separately. Then the guys come back for TV, and then they go out again for drinks …
Paul : (skrattande) We’re going to be drunk!
John : (fnissandes) Let’s get it done until we pass out.

Reportern: Then they come back for the radio.

John: Is that for me?
Ringo: I missed you (skrattandes)
John: I missed you too. I saw your daddy on TV.
Ringo: Oh? And what did he do?
John: Harpo (syftande på en av bröderna Marx)
Ringo: Oh really?

Reportern: First question. You had some frenzied reception. Here in Melbourne, was that the most frantic?
John: I think the reception here [in Melbourne] was as fierce as it was in Adelaide, and I think they are equal. They are both the most violent we have ever seen. I can’t say for sure, because you can’t say how many people there were.
Paul: I think the whole of Australia is pretty wild.
Ringo: I think the reception was pretty stormy when I arrived here. I arrived earlier, as you know.
Paul: Really?
Ringo: Yeah.
Paul: (i en skämtsam ton utan att bry sig om reportrarna i publiken) How is your mom doing?
Ringo: (i samma skämtsamma ton) Great! How is your dad doing?
Paul: Great.
Ringo: With him? (skrattar)

Reportern: Were you worried, frightened, or alarmed by what you saw outside?
John: No, we were inside. (skratt)
Paul: We’ll start to worry when this all stops.

Reportern: There is so much noise at your concerts that have you ever seriously thought about performing a song to a soundtrack?
John: It would be cheating, wouldn’t it?

Reportern: Can you hear yourself when you sing?
The Beatles: Yes.
George: Built-in hearing aids.

Reportern: Do you like press conferences?
John: Yes. Depending on the questions.

Reportern: Of the questions you were asked in Australia, which was the most tactless?
Ringo: The most tactless question anyone asked me was ”How are you, John.” (skratt)
John: Isn’t he tactless.
Ringo: (skämsamt) Okay, that was offensive.
John: (till Ringo) It’s an old joke, but Paul said it was the other way around.
Paul: Temporary drummer!
Ringo: (skrattar)

Reportern: Did you manage to spend your vacation in Hawaii?
John: We didn’t try to spend our vacation in Hawaii, we just went through Honolulu. George and I went to Tahiti and other islands located there. After we got to Tahiti, we were all right. We hid from everyone. When we were on the ship, no one was around, except for one guy from Sydney, with whom we did not speak. Ha ha!
George: Ha!

Reportern: He swam far away.
George: He was last seen drowning in the Pacific Ocean.
John: He swam up to us. Yes. Asked if he could come aboard? We said no, and he swam back several miles. (skratt)

Reportern: Paul, what kind of music will you have at your Sydney party?
Ringo: (till Paul) Are you having a party?
Paul: Yes. You want to go?
Ringo: Yes.
Paul: (till Ringo) You’re invited. So. (skratt)
Paul: I don’t know. Anything, you know. Well, rock and roll. What kind of music do we like? Rhythm and Blues.

Reportern: You don’t agree with the classics at all?
Paul: Yes, quite a bit, you know.
John: Is this Americanism, ”in agreement”?
Paul: They definitely don’t have a fun swing, do they. Old Beethoven, he’s quite acceptable, but …
John: If you speed it up, it’s always funny.
Paul: Oh, it’s confusion. But in general, he usually sends them home.

Reportern: Would you like to make films yet?
Paul: We need to do at least two more because that’s in the contract. We love this because making films is a good change of work. It’s funny.
John: The best thing is when you don’t have to talk and you just run and stuff …
Paul: And the worst thing is getting up at six in the morning.
John:… trying to read the script along the way.

Reportern: How many tapes do you have now?
Ringo: (skämtsamt) I have one upstairs.
George: Just music for the film, I guess. Which will be on the new single and album.
Ringo: And the minion.
John: No, the minion will come out here.
Paul: Fifteen songs. Well, eighteen offhand that will soon be released.

Reportern: Does it bother you that you can’t just walk out the door and take a walk, or go shopping when you feel like it?
John: Well, we did it when we were seventeen years old. We had seventeen years to go shopping. And only two years not to walk.
George: Anyway, there are too many people in them, right?

Reportern: What’s your favorite drink?
Ringo: Bourbon.
Paul: Scotch and Coca-Cola.
John: (tIll Ringo) You’ve changed.
Ringo: Bourbon?
John: Did you get it in the hospital?
Ringo: Yes.
John: What kind of hospital is this?
Ringo: I was given a bottle of Scotch to cheer me up while I was there. I don’t know, the doctor is amazing.
John: Amazingly cool doctor.

Reportern: So far, has this tour been financially successful? Are there any problems with ticket sales?
John: We don’t sell tickets and we get paid whether there is someone or not. Empty spaces … usually those who are sick.

Reportern: How are you feeling, Ringo?
Ringo: (med en ömklig röst) Okay … (skratt). No, I’m fine. I feel good. And how are you? (skratt)

Reportern: Do you think your tonsillitis can change the sound of the band?
Ringo: I don’t think so. Not. I haven’t sung for just a few days … if you can call it singing.

Reportern: How much time do you have that you can call yours?
Ringo: Ten minutes.

Reportern: And what are you doing these ten minutes?
Paul: Sleep.
John: Uh, watching TV.

Reportern: What are you watching on TV? The Beatles?
John: If shown.
Paul: If shown, then yes. And so, whatever. What is coming. I watch Welsh television at home. I like. Well, ”The Flower Pot People.” A good thing. (The Flower Pot Men – ett barnprogram som sänts på BBC sedan 1952)
Ringo: He even looks at the timing card. Must have been an English show.

Reportern: How much fan mail do you scan?
John: As long as we get it. Many of them come straight to the fan club.

Reportern: How much per week do you get as a group?
George: We never counted.

Reportern: Did you see how many that came to you here?
John: Yes. We now carry them in plastic bags.

Reportern: Do you receive a weekly allowance?
Paul: In the money? Yes.

Reportern: How much is it?
John: (skämtsamt) Don’t tell me! (skratt)
Paul: Well, how much will they give.
John: Well, we don’t spend anything because you know what you can spend in your room? (skratt)

Reportern: Do you have any feeling that you can be trendsetters? Do you choose your own clothes, or does someone else do it for you … Mr. Epstein or someone else?
The Beatles: No.
John: (flinande) No. Look at him. You are joking.
Ringo: We choose ourselves.
Paul: He actually copies us. Hi Brian.

Reportern: Have you been with any Australian girls before?
Paul: Well, no, we weren’t, unfortunately. But we are trying very hard! (vinkar till tv-kameran) Anyone watching. (skratt)  

Reportern: How do you find your police escort?
John: They usually find us. (skratt)
Ringo: (till John) He was good.
John: Did you like it?
Ringo: I liked it.
John: Want to go to the next press conference?
Ringo: Could you write this down, please?
John: (letar efter en penna) Okay.

Reportern: If you weren’t the Beatles, would you stand in the rain in Sydney to meet another band?
Paul: Well, we wouldn’t be in Sydney.
Ringo: (skrattar)

Reportern: But would you have that attitude towards other pop vocal groups?
Paul: We’re used to it ourselves. I myself went to all the concerts and yelled.
Ringo: Bully.
Paul: Bully (skrattar) I was so worried when I saw all the techs that I liked so much. It’s a good feeling. I felt just like everyone who comes to our concerts, I think so.

Reportern: How long do you think you will be the lead vocal group?
John: We don’t have a clue, you know. If we knew, we would bet on it. (skratt)   TV interview with five Beatles.

Reportern: In view of the fact that you now have so much experience dealing with mass hysteria, you still cannot answer the question why?
The Beatles: (gemensamt) Yes. (skratt)

Reportern: Do you think crowds get on your nerves? Were there any moments today that made you uneasy?
Ringo: Well, I was quite worried when I was knocked down. (skratt)

Reportern: When did you get knocked down?
Ringo: When I tried to enter the hotel.

Ringo: (skämtsamt mot tv-kameran) Two people are asking me a question. Excuse me while I figure this out.

Reportern: You were really worried, weren’t you? You were pinched at the entrance to the hotel and you panicked a little.
Ringo: I started to panic a little, but the police did a great job. (lyfter nävarna) They’re standing there, you know.

Reportern: Guys, is it true that you have not been able to leave the hotel since you arrived in Australia? You are, in fact, locked inside. Why? In other words, you don’t want to go out?
Paul: That’s not entirely true.
John: On tour we don’t expect to go outside. If we do, it’s only for a moment. Take a look, I would say.

Reportern: John, if you weren’t a Beatle, or the Beatles weren’t so successful, what career would you choose?
John: Probably would be in jail. (skratt)
Ringo: Well, I was an engineer for four years. Probably still would be there, working hard.

Reportern: You wouldn’t write, John, would you?
John: Oh no.
Ringo: I wouldn’t write, John.

Reportern: Does the massive crowd reaction like the one in Melbourne today really bother you? Do you think this is social abnormal behavior, or …
Paul: No!
John och Ringo: No.
George: Nonsense.
Paul: Ugh!
John: We love that, you know. It’s great.

Reportern: Do you think that you have become trendsetters for such a haircut, or there was already a fashion, and you just adopted it?
John: It wasn’t … It’s not mostly fashion.
Paul: We don’t really know.
Ringo: She’s actually several years older than us. Julius Caesar had one.
John: Yes. He had one, didn’t he?
Ringo: Remember him? A short guy with lions.
Paul: Napoleon.

Reportern: What about touring? Do you have to get a haircut?
John: Uh, no. Never needed.
George: If we wanted to, guys, we could.
John: It’s usually a little noisy around the ears and stuff like that.

Reportern: Are you interested in sports at all?
The Beatles: No.
Paul: Swimming.
Ringo: Is this a sport?
Paul: Yes.
Ringo: The way we swim?
Paul: (skrattar)

Reportern: May I ask you to elaborate on the essence of how hysteria arises? No one seems to be able to figure out the reason. This seems to be a combination of reasons. What do you think?
John: In the audience of any rock ’n’ roll concert, there is always … when we first started, no one knew us … There are always those who yell at anyone, and then if others like it, they join them.

Reportern: Are those who yell mad at you because you cannot hear what you are singing?
John: They can hear quite a lot. They can hear even more than most people.
Ringo: It seems like the reporters can never hear anything. (skratt)
Paul: (skrattar) Yes, you definitely have to be in the mood for that.

Reportern: Have you heard Ella Fitzgerald’s version of Can’t Buy Me Love ?
Paul och John: Yes!
John: We’re flattered and think it’s great.

Reportern: Do you like Ella Fitzgerald and her music?
Paul och John: Yes!
Paul: But I think we like it better because we wrote it. (skratt)

Reportern: Regarding John and Paul, who writes the music and who writes the lyrics?
John: We both write this and that. It depends on who is humming at this time and who is writing.

Reportern: Can you read sheet music?
John och Paul: No.

Reportern: How do you do this?
John: Uh, we memorize it, or we record it on tape. If you can’t remember, then it is not very good, or difficult, you know.

Reportern: John, your book just went on sale. What’s your favorite part of this book?
John: Uh, act one, scene three. (skratt)

Reportern: Some of your critics say this book is a little unhealthy. Do you agree with this?
John: Well, if people who are unwell read it, it is unhealthy. You know, it depends on your mind. You can read and feel unhealthy, or whatever you like, you see.

Reportern: Do you like unhealthy humor?
John: Some good, some just stupid.

Reportern: Did it take you a long time to write the book, John?
John: Mostly it was written last year, and some parts of it are fragments and excerpts, I have been collecting for years.

Reportern: Do you share the opinion that you guys founded [the sound of] Mercy Beat?
Ringo: There is no such thing.
John: We call it rock and roll. The press came up with the Mercy Beat because it was just an excuse to write about it, you know, give it a name.

Reportern: George, how many guitars do you have?
George: Oh, I don’t know. About twelve, I guess.

Reportern: It seems that onstage you pay a lot of attention to your sound.
George: (flinar) … checking to make sure I’m not out of tune.

Reportern: What happens?
The Beatles: Yes! (skratt)

Reportern: (till Jimmy) What are you going to do when you get back to Britain? Do you have any things to do?
Jimmy: Hmm, well, first I’ll stay in Australia.

Reportern: Did you have any firm proposal here in Australia, Jimmy?
Jimmy: I haven’t had a firm offer yet.

Reportern: Are you in demand?
Jimmy: Yes, I suppose.

Reportern: How is the drummer with the band?
Jimmy: Not with the group, no.

Reportern: How do you want to manage your money?
John: Who? We? Let’s spend! (skratt)

Reportern: Ringo, if I do some comparison of the audience’s reaction to you guys, I guess there will be Elvis Presley’s entourage. He changed his performance style, now he sings a lot of ballads. Do you think you will do the same?
Ringo: No, I don’t think so. We can, but I don’t sing, you know. Ask someone else. (skratt)
Paul: No, I don’t think we will.

Reportern: Paul, what song do you think viewers like the most? What song did you get the biggest reaction to in Adelaide?
Paul: Hmm, I won’t.
John: Probably Long Tall Sally.
Paul: I would say that, but we already announced that this was the last song.

På kvällen höll beatlarna ett privat party för att fira att de äntligen var tillsammans igen. De firade tillsammans med några lokala flickor ända till kl. 04.00 på morgonen dagen efter. Jimmie Nicol var inte med på partyt.

Så här tyckte John Lennons moster Mimi, som hade släktingar i Nya Zeeland, i tidningen Evening Post, 1964:
Their Hair? I think they are outrageous! ” That was the comment of Mimi, the Beatle’s aunt John Lennon, at Wellington Airport. She had the shaggy haircut preferred by the Liverpool quartet. Where did these guys get the idea for this hairstyle? “They were vacationing in Spain, where they were swimming. When they came out of the water, their hair took on a similar look. They decided to leave it that way, ”says Mimi, who is Mrs. Mary Smith in everyday life. She was shown a photograph of the Beatles and pointed to her nephew John, whom she adopted when his parents died. “His hair was longer then than it is now,” she commented. ”Maybe they wouldn’t be so long if he had time to cut them.” Mrs. Smith has been to three Beatles concerts. The guys play a lot and she thinks their music is ”suitable for young people.” She herself is not very enthusiastic about her. Fame has not changed the Beatles, says Mrs Smith. “They are all the same. They are not very clear about how much they are earning. ” Her nephew developed an interest in music with a harmonica at the age of nine. Now he composes all the songs for the band. “John had a book published and was asked to write another one for Christmas. He writes all the time. ” Mrs. Smith came to New Zealand to see relatives. She’s not going to follow the group. “I can’t keep up with this pace,” but she will probably meet them at the end of the New Zealand tour. What does she think of all the Beatles’ clothes now? Mrs Smith, who looks very elegant in her beige suit and flower hat, said, ”Some are very graceful, others are a little radical.” Mrs Smith visited [the town of] Masterton and stayed with her sister Mrs K. Royce. In the evening Mrs. Smith met with members of a male quartet known for their singing style, but not for their appearance as the Masterton Beatles. She made an appointment with the real Beatles when they come to Wellington. ”

Ringo Starr skrivs ut från University College London Hospital

Brian Epstein avbröt sin resa med The Beatles och återvände till London för att eskortera Ringo till Australien.

På frågan om han trodde att borttagandet av tonsillerna skulle påverka repetoaren i bandet, svarade Ringo:
I don’t think so, not likely. For several days, of course, I will not be able to sing. If it can be called singing at all .

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The Beatles ankommer till Australia

The Beatles flög från Hong Kong till Sydney med en mellanlandning i Darwin för tankning av planet. Trots att det var ett inte planerat stopp, vilket skedde kl. 02.35 på morgonkulan, var det cirka 400 Beatlesfans som väntade på dem när de landade i Darwin.

Derek Taylor berättar:
None of us slept on the flight to Australia. There were reports of impossible weather on the eastern seaboard and as we flew on into the night, over the maddened sea and through the storm-crazed sky, I trusted in my purple prose and Their invincibility to get us there intact. We made a refuelling stop in Darwin, just in case we had to divert from Sydney (for the fans, God forbid such a necessity); but despite the short notice, the word was out and there was a good-sized crowd awaiting us when we landed. The Darwin welcome was, for me, compensation for the disappointment we had caused at the earlier, scheduled stops on the flight from England. It is more blessed to give than to deprive, and at Darwin The Beatles certainly gave. They were, like the rest of us, genuinely excited; this was a long, long way from home – indeed, from anywhere.

Australia! Euphony in the name; splendour and romance. What did we know of this unimaginably large island-dominion? Precious little. I have an imperfect memory of the short time we spent in the Darwin airport buildings; large windows, a balcony; darkness, cheering fans, a lot of good-natured babble into tape-recorders; a talkative John, full of fun, pushing and shoving his friends like a schoolboy in a bus queue.

A crowd of around 2,000 greeted the band at Sydney’s Mascot International Airport.The storm at Sydney airport was beyond belief. I had not known rain like it and of course like all sudden unexpected acts of violence, it was a shock to our systems. In all of our mental pictures, the arrival in Australia, the magical descent from the aircraft, now an expected and famously framed aspect of The Madness, the first sight of the Four Heads had not been imagined in rain. No, in the mind’s eye it had been sunny, dry, warm and gentle with scarves and flags waving in the light breeze…

The Beatles said there would be no chance of leaving the plane in such weather. The plane touched down, sending huge rippling waves down the runway. We were, now, finally in Australia. Somewhere behind the pounding of the rain and the roar of the engines in reverse there was another sort of noise. A high relentless scream. A scream which went on and on. The fans. Five thousand of them. Drenched, bruised and battered by the rain, taut and jumpy with anticipation, herded by the police. But still there, screaming and still loyal.

Neil Aspinall minns:
Although it was cold and raining heavily, The Beatles were paraded for the crowd on the back of an open-top truck.When we arrived in Sydney it was pissing down with rain. We got off the plane and they put The Beatles on the back of a flat-back truck so the crowd could see them. They were carrying umbrellas and wearing the capes made in Hong Kong. The driver was doing one mile an hour, and John kept leaning over and saying, ‘Faster, faster!’ but he wouldn’t go any faster. I was saying, ‘Go faster – it’s pouring down,’ and he said, ‘These kids have been waiting here for twenty-four hours to see these guys.’

Nothing was going to make this big Australian trucker go any faster. By the time they got to the hotel everybody was blue because the dye in the capes had run and soaked right through; they all looked like old Celtic warriors covered in blue dye.

Derek Taylor fortsätter:
Alarmingly, a woman ran to the truck and threw her six-year-old mentally-handicapped child at The Beatles, shouting, “Catch him, Paul,” in the hope that The Beatles could provide a cure. Fortunately, McCartney did catch the terrified boy, who was reunited with his mother as soon as the truck could be stopped.

Neil Aspinall:
The driver was driving at a speed of 2 kilometers per hour, John kept rushing to the cab and asking:“ Faster, faster! ” But the driver clearly did not want to go faster. I prayed: ”Well, go faster – the downpour is coming!” And he replied: ”To see these guys, the crowd stood in the rain for twenty-four hours.” No persuasion could get this Australian to speed up. ”   John: “We were filled with hysterical laughter. It’s funny: we arrived in Australia, got into a huge truck and got wet to the skin, and everyone thought that the day would be sunny. But we were soaking for only fifteen minutes, and the crowd for several hours. How could we be upset if people came to see us and stood for so long in the chilly wind, in the rain, to wave to us? They were great. And I have never seen such a heavy rain before, except perhaps in Tahiti (it rained there for two days, and I already thought it was the end of the world).

John Lennon till en reporter:
How can we be disappointed when they came to see us and stood there in the rain and wet wind to greet us? They were amazing, truly amazing. We went out welcoming people, the wind blew us from all directions, and we, like everyone else, were wet, but it was all very fun. ” Paul McCartney added, ”You might say they’re crazy, but to us, mate, they’re amazing.

Derek Taylor igen:
Following the airport parade The Beatles went through customs and immigrations procedures, and spoke to the press.

The Beatles’ hotel, the Sheraton, was in Potts Point, Sydney. They had been turned down by the nearby Chevron-Hilton due to concerns about crowd control. Their manager, Brian Epstein, however, did stay at the Chevron.

George Harrison berättar:
The Chevron Hilton Hotel in Sydney wouldn’t let us in because they didn’t want all the fuss, so we had to stay at the one across the street. However, they got the crowds standing in front of their hotel, all looking across to ours, and so they had the same sort of trouble anyway.

Bandets bagage ankom senare men John Lennon och Paul McCartney hade extra kläder att byta om till. John Lennon fick dock låna ett par byxor av presschefen Derek Taylor. George Harrison vinkade till fansen från hotellet balkong iförd endast en badhandduk.

George Harrison:
I used to hate waving from balconies. ‘Wave,’ they’d say. ‘You’ve got to go and wave.’ Derek used to wave for me out of hotel windows.

Derek Taylor:
Although they were unable to leave their hotel, in the evening The Beatles gave a series of interviews, press conferences and photography sessions, and met a number of concert promoters and local dignitaries. The Sydney press conference gave us a very good start in Australia. The weightier communicators were approving, and the fan-club secretaries were thrilled beyond expectation. Not only were The Boys Fab and Four (Ringo’s absence notwithstanding), they were flesh and blood, funny and nice and here. I was a contented man. Almost all of the media was giving us a Fab Rap, and that night I celebrated with Scotch and Coke, brandy and soda, buckets of ice and oysters and pills at The Chequers night-club. Neil and Jimmie Nicol came with me – maybe others, too, though not George, John or Paul. Frances Faye, an old jazz heroine, was the cabaret act. On hearing that Nicol was in the house, she had the audience call for him to ‘dep’ on drums’; he was happy to oblige and did a long and very good set. Next day, hung over and tired to the point of exhaustion, I joined the rested Beatles for the flight to Adelaide. It was still raining. There were fans everywhere and it was a relief to board the plane.