Beatles A Day in the Life Blog posts of '1964' 'September'

The Beatles were to have had a rest day in Jacksonville, Florida, but stayed in Key West until Hurricane Isabel passed.

Much of the day was spent drinking, but The Beatles also jammed at their hotel with New Orleans rhythm and blues singer Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, plus members of their tour support acts The Bill Black Combo and The Exciters.

The Key Wester Motel, where The Beatles stayed, was later demolished and replaced with the Hyatt Windward Pointe. An open-air structure named the Beatles Hut commemorates the place where the group stayed.

The Beatles’ stay in Key West was later obliquely referenced in Here Today, Paul McCartney‘s 1982 tribute to John Lennon.

The tour ends in Canada and the Beatles have a few days free on the tour.

Forum, St. Catherine Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Two shows at the Forum, seen by 21,000 fans.

The Beatles gave a matinee performance to 9,500 fans that afternoon, and then later would give a sold-out evening concert before a crowd of 11,500. The Beatles held a press conference at 6pm from the stage of the Forum, between the afternoon and evening shows. Following the questions and answers with the Montreal press, John Lennon was briefly interviewed individually by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Beatles' press conference and the John Lennon interview are both presented below.

Opening acts appearing before the Beatles took the stage at the Montreal Forum included the Righteous Brothers, Jackie de Shannon, the Bill Black Combo, and the Exciters.

From here the Beatles were next scheduled for a performance at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville Florida, but due to Hurricane Dora their flight needed to be detoured to Key West at the last moment.

Maple Leaf Gardens, Carlton St. Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Two Shows in one evening here in Canada, seen by a total of 35,522 spectators.

They flew to Toronto in their charter Electra aeroplane and, after signing autographs for immigration officials, were driven to the King Edward Hotel.

Between the car and the hotel Paul McCartney‘s shirt was torn by an overzealous fan. He and Ringo Starr were separated from John Lennon and George Harrison, but the police managed to restore order and they arrived in their suite safely. Once there, however, they found a 14-year-old girl hiding in a linen closet.

Toronto’s mayor, Philip Givens, and his wife, called at their suite at 1.30pm, but was turned away. A blonde woman is said to have answered the door, and told the couple that two of The Beatles were asleep and two others were with relatives. Canadian newspaper the Daily Star ran a story afterwards headlined “Beatles’ Blonde Snubs Mayor”.

To get to the Maple Leaf Gardens, The Beatles left by the hotel’s back entrance and boarded a police wagon. At the venue 4,000 police officers and Mounties were on duty, and a five-block surrounding area was sectioned off for 12 hours before the group’s arrival.

The first show was due to begin at 4pm, but The Beatles took to the stage after 5.30. They were introduced by Jungle Jay Nelson of radio station CHUM. The other acts on the bill were, in order of appearance, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, and Jackie DeShannon.

In between the two shows the group posed for photographs with local DJs, fan club presidents and Miss Canada, and gave a press conference to reporters. Their second performance began at 10pm.

Olympia Stadium, Grand River Ave/McGraw Ave. Detroit, Michigan, USA

The Motor City was the place of origin for the music the Beatles had professed to love in almost every interview and press conference -- The Detroit Sound, and the recording artists of the Tamla-Motown label.

The Beatles would perform two shows at Olympia Stadium. A press conference was held backstage at the Olympia between the two performances.

From the Press Conference:

DEREK TAYLOR:(to the press) "If anyone would like to raise their hand."

Q: "How do you like Detroit so far?"

JOHN: "Great."

PAUL: "What we've seen of it."

(laughter)

JOHN: "We see very little. The show, we enjoyed."

Q: "Is it a disappointment not to see it?"

JOHN: "No. We come here to play, not to see, you know."

PAUL: "We saw a bit of it though."

Q: "Does that noise out there go away with a little bit of cotton packed way deep in your ear so that the noise..."

JOHN & PAUL: "No."

JOHN: "We're used to it."

GEORGE: "We're immune to it."

Q: "It doesn't upset your musical balance?"

PAUL: "It sounds nice."

Q: "Which artist or musical group do you think has most influenced your music?"

JOHN: (jokingly) "Nicki Cuff."

PAUL: "Nicki Cuff, I'd say. No, uhh... American colored groups, mainly. And early Elvis Presley."

GEORGE: "In fact, The Detroit Sound."

JOHN: "In fact, yes."

GEORGE: "In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miricles."

JOHN: "We like Marvin Gaye."

GEORGE: "The Impressions, Marvin Gaye."

PAUL & GEORGE: "Mary Wells."

GEORGE: "The Exciters."

JOHN: "To name but eighty."

RINGO: "Chuck Jackson."

Q: "How many records have the Beatles sold?"

RINGO: "No idea."

JOHN & GEORGE: "We don't know."

JOHN: "It's a lot, somebody said."

Q: "What part of the film (A Hard Day's Night) did you enjoy making the most?"

JOHN & RINGO: "The bit in the field."

GEORGE: "And the bit in the bathroom. We had a laugh, didn't we. A laugh. We had a laugh, anyway."

Q: "Do the jellybeans bother the Beatles onstage?"

BEATLES: YES!"

JOHN: "It's awful."

PAUL: "It's worse when it's not really jellybeans. When it's... Once there was about 'that long' silver pin that they use for sticking on kilts in Scotland."

(giggles)

PAUL: "And it came flying through about two-hundred-mile-an-hour. Just missed me."

RINGO: "Very dodgey."

Q: "Is that an affirmation? Are they throwing it for you or against you?"

PAUL: "I think so."

JOHN: "And when they don't have the sweets they throw whatever they've got on them, which hurts."

Q: "Do you ever throw anything back?"

RINGO & JOHN: "No."

JOHN: "I think we did once."

Q: "Have you written the new screenplay yet?"

JOHN: "No. I'm not writing it. I'm having hard enough time trying to get to sleep."

Q: "With the exception of being onstage, after the performances are over do you socialize with each other or do you go your own separate ways?"

GEORGE: "Well, we can't go our own..."

Q: "Or is it like in the movie?"

JOHN: "It's like in the movie."

RINGO: "Yeah."

GEORGE: "We all go the same way, don't we."

PAUL: "Especially on tour, you know."

(laughter)

PAUL: "It wasn't a joke."

International Amphitheatre, 42nd Street, South Halsted St. Chicago, Illinois, USA

The Beatles performed one concert at Chicago’s International Amphitheatre on this day. The other acts on the bill were, in order of appearance, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, and Jackie DeShannon.

There were plans to hold a civic reception for The Beatles during the day, with 100,000 people expected, but special events director Colonel Jack Reilly cancelled them saying there were insufficient police officers “for a bunch of singers”.

They arrived at Midway Airport at 4.40pm, an hour later than scheduled. Five thousand fans were waiting to see them, kept at a safe distance behind a chain link fence. The Beatles were ushered into a black limousine and taken to the Sahara O’Hare hotel at O’Hare International airport.

Outside the amphitheatre that evening, the crowds outside were so large that the group were forced to enter through the kitchens.

Inside, 15,000 fans watched the performance. Thirty-five usherettes and 170 ushers had been carefully selected to work at the concert due to their lack of interest in The Beatles. There were also 320 Chicago police officers on duty. Fans were frisked and large signs, jelly beans and other potential projectiles were confiscated.

After the concert The Beatles were driven straight back to Midway Airport, from where they flew to Detroit. They returned to the International Amphitheatre on one other occasion, for the opening date of their final tour in 1966.

The International Amphitheatre stood at 42nd Street and South Halsted. The venue suffered a decline during the 1970s and 1980s, becoming unable to attract enough large events, and was demolished in August 1999.

Milwaukee Arena, West Kilbourn Ave/West State St. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

The Beatles performed a single show at this venue in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA – their only such performance in the state.

The Beatles’ aeroplane landed at Milwaukee County Airport (now called Mitchell International Airport). They were taken to the National Guard headquarters on the east side of Mitchell Field, away from the crowd, leaving behind hundreds of disappointed fans. They were then driven by limousine to the Coach House Motor Inn.

At the hotel a press conference was held; John Lennon was suffering from a sore throat so didn’t take part.

Tickets cost between $3.50 and $5.50, and had gone on sale in April 1964. Within a week all 12,000 had sold out. Also on the bill were The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, and Jackie DeShannon.

Security was tight around the arena, as the Milwaukee authorities feared the effects of Beatlemania. The Beatles arrived in the city by aeroplane in the afternoon, and were met by around 700 fans. Fifty police officers and 30 county deputies had difficulty restraining the fans, despite makeshift fences being erected, and officers with fire hoses stood by. At one point around 100 fans broke through the cordon and rushed towards an approaching plane.

After the show fans the Coach House Motor Inn, on West Wisconsin Avenue and 19th Street. Some fans stood in front of the building all night, but were mostly well behaved. Inside the group ate dinner and were given antibiotic shots to alleviate their colds.

The next morning fans invaded their suite and took all available mementos of The Beatles’ stay.

TState Fair Colisieum, State Fairgrounds, East 38th St. Indianapolis, Indiana USA

The Beatles performed two shows on this day, which were watched by a total of 29,337 people. The other acts on the bill were, in order of appearance, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, and Jackie DeShannon. Two shows, seen by a total of 29,337 people and netting $85,232 in the process.

The nights before and after they stayed at the Speedway Motel on West 16th Street. Prior to the first concert Ringo Starr went missing. He arrived just minutes before they were due to go on stage, explaining that he he had lost track of time while driving a police car around a nearby race track.

The first show began at 6.21pm, and was watched by 12,413 fans. Afterwards they held a press conference, before returning to the stage for the second show. This time 16,924 were at the venue. The Beatles later said the fans’ reception was “quite quiet” in comparison to the other dates on the tour.

Convention Hall, 34th St. and Curie Ave. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

The Beatles performed before an audience of 12,037 at the Convention Hall, part of the Philadelphia Civic Center.

Also on the bill were, in order of appearance, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence ‘Frogman’ Henry, and Jackie DeShannon. Henry joined the tour on this date, replacing The Righteous Brothers who had complained to Brian Epstein that their music was drowned out by the audience’s cheers for The Beatles.

A few days before the concert there were race riots in Philadelphia. To The Beatles’ disgust, the audience at the Convention Hall was all-white. The concert was broadcast live on local radio.

Another day of rest during the US tour