Achi news desk-
The Beatles were high on the success of the song “She Loves You”, which marked their third place in the UK music charts. In addition, they had three more songs in the top twenty and a royal performance by the time they played the show on December 13, 1963.
Their popularity spread far and wide, with reports of frenzied teenage fans causing chaos at their concerts making headlines across the country.
The craze of Beatlemania took Southampton by storm, mirroring its widespread influence across the UK and even across the pond.
Enthusiasm for the Beatles extended beyond just teenage girls. Even the normally serious Echoes couldn’t contain their excitement for Friday night’s concerts, prompting them to issue a comprehensive four-page supplement.
The previous December, the band with the odd name, who were little known outside of their hometown of Liverpool and the German city of Hamburg, released Love Me Do, which reached number 15 in the charts.
“It was an amazing evening,” a staff reporter told Echo readers the next day on December 14, 1963.
“Heavy. Turbulent. Deafening. If the atmosphere could be bottled it would be familiar. Saints v Manchester United in the cup semi-final at Aston Villa [Manchester United had defeated Second Division Saints one nil the previous April, and the disappointment continued to fester] There was nothing to it.”
The Echo even published short biographies of John, Paul, George and Ringo, a history of a “form mop” and a full-page portrait of the boys suitable for pasting on bedroom walls.
“Inside the Gaumont, the two houses have a capacity of 2,000 – the girls outnumbered the boys three to one – almost screaming the building from its foundations.
“Almost hysterical little girls were rocking in their seats as if electrocuted, waving huge pictures of The Beatles. It sounded like a slaughterhouse.
“My man of the night: Gaumont manager Ken Watts, who dealt with the Beatles like a military operation and without loss on either side.
“He arranged the way they arrived four hours early; their car change from Austin Princess to Consul on the outskirts of town; the coach tricking around the back as the four ran in front.
“He organized the manner of guarding the stage, front and back, so that invasion was impossible
“He organized the escape and didn’t tell anyone how to do it. ‘Even my mother didn’t know,’ he said.
“And that was after he couldn’t rent a van because of insurance difficulties.
“Only once was Ken Watts’ network breached: schoolgirls Penny Allen and Judy Stewart, aged 16 and 15, got behind his lines 24 hours before the show – and hid in the theatre.
“‘They were found in a dressing room on the fifth floor and taken out,’ Mr Watts said.
“‘It’s heartbreaking,’ Penny said. “So close and yet so far…”
In those carefree early days, the Fab Four weren’t seen as controversial or political, despite the frenzy they caused among young girls.
As time went on, they became much more nervous.
John Lennon was inspired by literary icons such as Lewis Carroll, James Thurber and Spike Milligan in his writings. Music critics will end up dissecting their music, analyzing and praising their work in a serious way.
From their explosive arrival in America to the controversial statement of being “more popular than Jesus”, the band has left a lasting impact on millions of people around the world. Their journey took them from divorce from the Philippines for allegedly condemning President Marcos to their last electrifying live performance at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in 1966.
Throughout it all, the shouts of the adoring fans echoed in their ears.
Their bold claim that they were “more popular than Jesus” caused a stir.
The Fab Four even found themselves quickly kicked out of the Philippines for allegedly disrespecting President Marcos and his partner Imelda.
And to their last electrifying rooftop show at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, 1966, where, as always, the sound of maddened screams from adoring fans filled the air around them.
“After the program”, the reporter “saw several girls who screamed one too many, physically sick. One girl cried as if she was dead…”.
“Even if, as I discovered, when I tried to talk to someone, I couldn’t actually hear my own voice, my eardrums were so numb.”
At the time of their tour, the band did not have monitor speakers as part of their equipment. They later discovered that they were unable to hear themselves or each other due to the overwhelming noise created by the rabid fans.
It was one of three concerts the Bills played at the Gaumont. They thrilled the crowds there on May 20, 1963, as well as on November 6, 1964.
