Beatles plane arriving in Australia 1964

[@isthatcork3853]

i can’t with John’s faces

[@beatlebrian4404]

Can you imagine any of the pampered pop stars of today putting up with that open top procession! No chance whatsoever.

[@retrothingz]

Indeed. The Beatles were a stoic lot. Despite their stardom, they just accepted the vagaries and uncertainties of life with a shrug of the shoulder and a chuckle... most of the time....or, at least, that was the image

[@beatlebrian4404]

@@retrothingz yes they never took themselves to seriously, always sending themselves up and we loved them for if it! It was wonderful to see the Beatles on TV giving interviews of course 3 years of constantly touring, interviews, making films etc took it toll and by 1966 they had enough of it

[@retrothingz]

@@beatlebrian4404 ... a touch of self effacing humour always helps to humanize such near-God like celebs. Elvis was the same. He knew what the image was and he always delighted in self satire.

[@beatlefancraig67]

So hard to believe that this was 60 years ago?, the 60th anniversary is approaching in Australia, equally sad that some places The Beatles stayed & played are long gone!... the Southern Cross hotel in Melbourne & the Sydney Stadium, luckily the Festival Hall in Melbourne was saved from demolition but knowing how greedy & heartless some developers are who knows what future it has?

[@retrothingz]

All true. I actually started to write a history of the Southern Cross Hotel . Interviewed a number of people who were there around the time of the Beatles visit. I only got the first few chapters finished. But I will get back to it. I did upload a piece about Festival Hall when its demolition appeared to be a certainty. I included quite a few links to concert footage at the end of it. Thanks for your memories of that time backinthedayblogspot.blogspot.com/2023/05/festival-hall-exit-stage-right-festival_30.html

[@raccuia1]

This was the month before "A Hard Days Night" movie, album and single came out. The Beatles worked nearly everyday. Concerts, media, songwriting, recording and all the traveling. Gosh knows how they did it.

[@retrothingz]

Thanks for that. Didn't realise HDN was as early as '64. Great.movie and songs. It seemed to have a major influence on Australian groups and our popular culture in general. Many young guys started to get around dressed all in black !! Not sure if the Beatles suits were actually black or if they just looked that way in the.movie

[@randymillhouse791]

Pills.

[@JF-eu4xz]

​@@randymillhouse791And youth

[@oui2611]

high ambitions

[@orangeafternoon_exe]

Look, Jimmy Nichol.

[@areareare9953]

Poor John. Between the wind and the rain and his eyes, he can't see a damned thing. 3:40 Guess that's what counted for trains in Australia Australia Australia back then.

[@retrothingz]

He was very short sighted as I understand. However he was interviewed, briefly, in Brisbane ? before he left and he, apparently, said that he actually enjoyed the tour....apart from the storm at the airport on arrival. We did have trains here in "Austria" in 1964....but not running around the airports...

[@BeatlemaccaAR]

Darn, what miserable weather!

[@retrothingz]

Yes.As I understand, the BOAC flight came via Hong Kong? ...possibly stopped in Darwin and then went on to Sydney? Might be wrong with all that. Outsiders tend to think of Australia as being one big endless summer. But the Beatles were here in winter.

[@randymillhouse791]

The wind and rain were awful too.

[@retrothingz]

​@@randymillhouse791 It was an unfortunate start to an otherwise very successful tour. A book was written about it. I had the pleasure of communicating with Ken Brodziak on several occasions. He was the Melbourne based promoter behind the Beatles visit. He also brought many other acts to Australia including the Monkees. I contacted him back in the '90s when this film came into my possession. He was very helpful providing background info on the whole thing....right down to remembering the name of the cameraman who was onboard the BOAC flight.

[@Borella309]

2:26 Is John's Aunt Mimi sitting beside him on the plane

[@retrothingz]

Yes, I think so..As I understand, she was on the tour at John's invitation. From all reports, they were very close.

[@npc3po301]

Yes, apparently on arrival she took one look at the madness awaiting them and stayed on the plane until the circus moved on enough for a chance to quietly slip away to visit family in Adelaide

[@retrothingz]

@@npc3po301 Also seem to recall reading that either George or Jimmy had relatives in Beaumaris (Melbourne bayside suburb)

[@TheyCametoaLandDownunder]

check out our 9-part podcast into the tour downunder and the land downunder itself

[@retrothingz]

Thanks. Can you provide a link?

[@p0llenp0ny]

Is there any way to minimize the noise of the projector? I can't tell a word the first interviewer is saying.

[@retrothingz]

The problem had nothing to do with the projector noise but rather the fact that the reporter wasn't holding the microphone close enough to his mouth nor close enough to the interviewee. Unfortunately, the film to video transfer was also done in a somewhat primitive way....quite a few years ago now (1990s)

[@CosmicGoat-d3o]

2:23

[@retrothingz]

Looks like John's aunt? sitting next to him?

[@letisia1908]

​@@retrothingzYes ! It's aunt Mimi

[@justmadeit2]

2:39 that’s Jimmy Nichol who stood in for Ringo when he was sick

[@retrothingz]

​​@@justmadeit2 Seems that he never really benefitted from his brief stint with the Beatles...or, perhaps more accurately, never tried to. Apparently an excellent talent who did a lot of work as a drummer around the London theatre scene (?), pop stardom alluded him and his life was.no picnic in later years ...from what I've read. But, the bottom line was that Ringo wasn't just competent...he was a uniquely creative player. His playing was so distinctive and inventive

[@justmadeit2]

@@retrothingzMust have been an amazing experience for him for those 12 days or so that he was involved

[@randymillhouse791]

What a ZOO!