Listen or download the special (an mp3) here:
The Beatles at their press conference in Melbourne, held at the
Southern Cross Hotel, June 14th, 1964 (with stand-in drummer Jimmie
Nicol) (photo:courtesy Performing Arts Museum Melbourne)
It was 50 years ago, in June 1964, that the most famous band in the
history of rock and roll toured Australia for the first and only time.
This
program charts the story of the Beatles down-under, with contributions
from some of the people who helped to orchestrate the visit, as well as
from social historians, fans and even some detractors of the Beatlemania
phenomenon that swept Australia.
The version of the Beatles that
Australia saw in 1964, with their mop top hair cuts, and neat black
suits, marked the arrival of the manufactured boy band.
But did they also spark the beginning of an overdue generational and social shift in this country.
Even the Victorian police were happy to see the Fab Four (ABC Archives)
The Beatles come to grips with the crowd of 200,000 people that turned out to greet them in Melbourne (ABC Archives)
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