Fact #105723
When:
Short story:
The Beatles refuse to take the stage at The Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida, USA, until they are assured they are playing to a non-segregated audience. Support acts on this show are The Righteous Brothers, The Exciters, Jackie De Shannon and the Bill Black Combo.
Full article:
John Long (journalist) : I walked into the ballroom at the hotel where The Beatles' press conference was to be held and Derek Taylor [The Beatles' PR man] asked who I was and what station I represented. I figured that I had better be truthful since he probably knew Paul Drew and besides I had typed up official looking credential on WTRP stationery just in case I needed them. He handed me a card identifying me as press, and told me to use that to get backstage at The Gator Bowl. I had died and gone to heaven. Never in my wildest dreams had I ever thought I'd be able to get backstage at a Beatles concert. I had been successful getting backstage at a couple of Dick Clark Cavalcade Of Stars shows in Montgomery, Alabama and Columbus, Georgia, but this was unbelievable.
Taylor called the room to order and in marched The Beatles. I was on the front row as the newspaper and TV people asked questions. Then it was radio's turn and due to the hurricane, the number of stations there was small. I moved right in and started asking questions. When I got to John, he said, "You're no radio DJ, that's not a tape recorder it's a shaver". I froze; he laughed. I realized he was kidding me and asked him a question. I have the tape.
There was a teenage girl with a Polaroid camera taking pictures and I offered her five bucks to take mine in front of the table with The Beatles in the background. She did and handed it to me but refused the money. I stood starring at the picture as it developed. After a few minutes I remembered that Polaroid pictures had to have a chemical wipe after they the image fully emerged. I looked around for the girl with the camera but he was nowhere to be found. The picture eventually turned brown, but I have it hermetically sealed in plastic.
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Taylor called the room to order and in marched The Beatles. I was on the front row as the newspaper and TV people asked questions. Then it was radio's turn and due to the hurricane, the number of stations there was small. I moved right in and started asking questions. When I got to John, he said, "You're no radio DJ, that's not a tape recorder it's a shaver". I froze; he laughed. I realized he was kidding me and asked him a question. I have the tape.
There was a teenage girl with a Polaroid camera taking pictures and I offered her five bucks to take mine in front of the table with The Beatles in the background. She did and handed it to me but refused the money. I stood starring at the picture as it developed. After a few minutes I remembered that Polaroid pictures had to have a chemical wipe after they the image fully emerged. I looked around for the girl with the camera but he was nowhere to be found. The picture eventually turned brown, but I have it hermetically sealed in plastic.