The Beatles' first stop in New Zealand was Wellington. Seven thousand screaming fans – nearly all young women – waited as the band touched down on 21 June 1964. One girl badly hurt her leg trying to climb a wire fence, and two others were forced through the fence because of pushing from behind.
A team of 30 police officers, some in plain clothes, was on hand. Bill Brien, in charge of the operation, later said that:
“We underestimated the whole thing badly. The crowd was so big we had to … keep all the people behind a wire fence. At one stage it looked like the fence would collapse, which would have been a disaster.”
As the band stepped off the plane, the shrieks of fans drowned out the noise of the engines. Te Pataka concert party performed a haka, before doing a hongi (pressing noses) and presenting the band members with tiki.
From the back of a Holden utility, The Beatles waved to fans who lined the roads from the airport to town. The crowds outside their hotel, the St George, were so large that The Beatles had to be taken in secretly through the bottle shop entrance of the hotel. Management rushed the band up to the third floor balcony so fans could see them and not crash the hotel.
It was mayhem. 'Girls were screaming uncontrollably, quite out of their tree,' people remembered. Police used dogs to clear crowds from verandahs and other vantage points. Teenagers pushed over and damaged two police motorbikes; there was so much pushing that one of The Beatles’ cars was shunted backwards, even with the handbrake on.
Fans trekked back to The Beatles' hotel after the concert. The band was stuck inside as crowds gathered outside. Some kept up a late-night vigil on the hill behind the hotel. Others tried to get round the strict security; four girls strolled onto the sixth floor into the arms of Ringo Starr. His response was, ‘Now girls, no nonsense or else I’ll leave.’
Away from all the fuss, two of the band members took the chance to catch up with family. Police whisked John Lennon away to Levin to meet his second cousins, while Ringo Starr (formerly Starkey) met a group of Starkeys from the Wellington suburb of Karori.
Activity 2-
1) Back in those days, people (Young girls) were crazy in love with the Beatles. The same way a few years ago girls were in love with One Direction. People these days don't really know much about the Beatles.
2) After the performance, fans followed them back to their hotel. The Band was stuck inside as the crowds gathered outside. 4 girls strolled into the arms of Ringo Starr. His response was "Now girls, no nonsense or I'll leave." I feel sorry for the band members, not having any personal space.
3) As they stepped off the plane, the girls shrieks were louder than the plane's engine. It must have been a deafening sound. A girl even badly hurt her leg trying to climb the wired fence.
Hi there Lauren,
ReplyDeleteIt's quite interesting what some fans would do to meet their favourite music artists isn't it? It is quite similar to what artists like Justin Bieber or One Direction go through now! Who's a music artist that you would like to meet in person? I would probably like to meet Ed Sheeran because I absolutely love his music.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon and keep up the awesome blog posts.
Jade F :)