The day was Friday, November 15, the year was 1963 and the hysteria
John, Paul, Ringo and George evoked at each of their gigs would soon
become legendary.
The
12th date of The Beatles' 1963 Autumn Tour saw them appear at the
Colston Hall and that night in Bristol saw the start of the group's
enormous popularity.
It began when the band made a mad dash to the city from Exeter, where
different police forces escorted them from checkpoint to checkpoint,
until they finally reached Bristol.
They were led up the A38 where they stopped in Bedminster Down, where Bristol police took over.
It was a trusty Bristol Evening Post van that guided the band safely to Colston Hall.
Martin
Creasy, author of Beatlemania! The real story of The Beatles UK tours
1963- 1965, wrote: "They were safely inside before the gates closed in
front of a pack of screaming girls.
"Operation Get the Beatles
Into Colston Hall Safely was deemed a success and the heat was off for
at least a few hours until Operation Get Them Out Again."
The book
details the "literally hundreds of girls" who had waited for up to
eight hours to get a glimpse of the band outside the venue.
Many
had skipped work to attend the concert – even risking the sack – and
there were many messages of love for the various Beatles adorning the
Colston Hall's then famous red doors.
Creasy notes that as well as
tickets being hawked for inflated prices, local sweet shops had sold
out of Jelly Babies, which were regularly thrown at the band after it
was once reported that George Harrison liked eating them.
The Evening Post spoke to 15-year-old Sue Godfrey of Avonmouth, who captured the mood.
"We'll see The Beatles, even if we have to break in," she said.
That night a fellow fan tried to scale the 15ft wall in an attempt to reach the group.
Bristol band The Kestrels were due to perform before the Beatles and told the Evening Post that they were not keen on the hysteria.
Roger
Greenaway said: "It's quite a struggle. By the time we go on the fans
are getting worked up to fever pitch for The Beatles.
"They scream and shout for them and frankly, they just don't want to know us. They think we are keeping them from their idols."
But he made it clear that it hadn't affected their relationship with the more famous band.
"We enjoy The Beatles.
"They're a great crowd to appear with but this screaming isn't our cup of tea," he added.
Evening
Post reporter Roger Bennett tried to hear what he could over the
screams, and even saw one girl evade security and leap onto the back of a
startled John Lennon.
The group performed ten songs – I Saw Her
Standing There, From Me To You, All My Loving, You Really Got A Hold On
Me, Roll Over Beethoven, Boys, Till There Was You, She Loves You, Money
(That's What I Want) and Twist And Shout.
After the concert, 5,000
fans waited outside screaming and chanting their names, and The Beatles
had to take another police escort to the outskirts of the city and back
to their Austin Princess.
They were taken to a hotel in Bath but
even then, 500 fans had managed to find out where the band were staying,
causing another tough night for the police.
SETLIST:
I Saw Her Standing There
From Me To You
All My Loving
You Really Got A Hold On Me
Roll Over Beethoven
Boys
Till There Was You
She Loves You
Money (That's What I Want)
Twist And Shout.
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