AN AUTHOR is trying to track down fans of The Beatles who saw any of
the Fab Four's appearances at the Winter Gardens in Margate.
The shows, in July 1963, took place on six consecutive nights and The Beatles performed twice each evening.
Richard
Houghton, from Manchester, is hoping to trace members of the audiences
from those nights in 1963 who are willing to share their memories of
seeing John, Paul, George and Ringo for what he is terming a 'people's
history' of the group.
Richard said: 'There have been lots of
books about The Beatles but I'm trying to tell the story of their shows
from the point of view of the audience. Britain was a very different
place then to what it is now and I'm hoping to capture the memories of
the people who were there on one of those nights. They were probably
teenagers then and grandparents now. What they witnessed was a run of
sell shows that were amongst the first signs that The Beatles were a
phenomenon.'
Richard is the author of You Had To Be There: The Rolling Stones Live
1962 - 69, which tells the story of the Stones early concerts in the
words of their fans. Now he is looking to repeat the exercise with his
book about The Beatles.
Richard said: 'The Beatles and the Stones
between them defined what it was like to be a teenager in 1960s Britain
and I'm really keen to hear people's memories of seeing The Beatles. I
don't want to hear just about what John and Paul wore that night and the
songs they played but how old people were, who they went with, what
their parents thought about it and whether they had to go to school or
to work the next day. I'm also interested to know what the audience
reaction was like, as these shows were just as the phenomenon of
Beatlemania was beginning to take hold.'
The Beatles had already
had their first number one hit with From Me To You and went on to top
the UK charts 17 times in the 1960s.
Richard said: 'I am hoping
some readers will have been there on one of those nights and will be
able to help me paint a picture of what the Fab Four were like just as
they were becoming really famous.'
You can share your Beatle
memories with Richard at thebeatlesinthe60s@gmail.com or by writing to
him at 7 Hartley Road, Manchester, M21 9NG
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