Fact #20490
When:
Short story:
Supporting Frank Ifield at The Embassy Cinema, Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England, UK, Europe, The Beatles' egos are dented by a disastrous reception. Also on the bill are The Lana Sisters, The Ted Taylor Four, 'vibes duo' Tommy Wallis And Beryl and Moya Moray, with Joe Black as compere.Full article:
Frank Ifield : A little earlier, I'd played at The Empire in Liverpool, where I'd met Brian Epstein backstage. He played me The Beatles first single, Love Me Do, and I was struck by it because it wasn't too unlike what I was doing, it had that harmonica in it and a slightly country feel to the harmonies. I could see that they had talent, but they really hadn't been heard much outside of Liverpool, so I had a word with my agent, Arthur Howes, and got them onto the show. It was a one-off deal, and they didn't get paid, but it was to give them exposure.
In Peterborough, they'd obviously been told to watch every move I made, because I was a star and they were learning the tricks of the trade. They came into my dressing room while I was doing my make up.
Paul McCartney : Ted Taylor first told us how use make-up. We were playing the Embassy Cinema at Peterborough late that year, very low on the bill to Frank Ifield and below The Ted Taylor Four as well. Ted had a funny little synth on the end of his piano on which he could play tunes like Sooty. He would use it for Telstar – the audience went wild to hear his synth sound.
It was Ted that said, ‘You looked a little pale out there, lads. You should use make-up.’ We asked him how. He said, ‘There’s this pancake stuff, Leichner 27. You can get it from the chemist. Take a little pad and rub it on; it gives you a tan. And put a black line around your eyes and lips.’ We said, ‘That’s a bit dodgy, isn’t it?’ He said, ‘Believe me, they will never see it, and you’ll look good.’
Right afterwards we were being photographed for a poster for Blackpool. They had been bootlegging posters, which meant we were obviously getting quite popular, and the poster company said we should do an official one. So they did four squares – one of us in each square. And you can see the black line around our. eyes. We never lived it down!
(Source : The Beatles Anthology)
Ringo Starr : We didn't know anything about things like make-up, because we'd never done proper stage shows. It was a long time before we had a go at that. I think it was watching Frank Ifield. His eyes looked amazing. We thought we'd try it ourselves. We pranced on like Red Indians, covered in the stuff.
Frank Ifield : They really over-did it, with big black eyes. They looked pretty awful, and they didn't go down at all well with the audience, but it was probably the wrong crowd for them.
Lyndon Whittaker (local journalist) : The drummer apparently thought that his job was to lead, not to provide rhythm. He made far too much noise and in their final number, Twist And Shout, it sounded as though everyone was trying to make more noise than the others. In a more mellow mood, their A Taste Of Honey was much better and Love Me Do was tolerable.
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In Peterborough, they'd obviously been told to watch every move I made, because I was a star and they were learning the tricks of the trade. They came into my dressing room while I was doing my make up.
Paul McCartney : Ted Taylor first told us how use make-up. We were playing the Embassy Cinema at Peterborough late that year, very low on the bill to Frank Ifield and below The Ted Taylor Four as well. Ted had a funny little synth on the end of his piano on which he could play tunes like Sooty. He would use it for Telstar – the audience went wild to hear his synth sound.
It was Ted that said, ‘You looked a little pale out there, lads. You should use make-up.’ We asked him how. He said, ‘There’s this pancake stuff, Leichner 27. You can get it from the chemist. Take a little pad and rub it on; it gives you a tan. And put a black line around your eyes and lips.’ We said, ‘That’s a bit dodgy, isn’t it?’ He said, ‘Believe me, they will never see it, and you’ll look good.’
Right afterwards we were being photographed for a poster for Blackpool. They had been bootlegging posters, which meant we were obviously getting quite popular, and the poster company said we should do an official one. So they did four squares – one of us in each square. And you can see the black line around our. eyes. We never lived it down!
(Source : The Beatles Anthology)
Ringo Starr : We didn't know anything about things like make-up, because we'd never done proper stage shows. It was a long time before we had a go at that. I think it was watching Frank Ifield. His eyes looked amazing. We thought we'd try it ourselves. We pranced on like Red Indians, covered in the stuff.
Frank Ifield : They really over-did it, with big black eyes. They looked pretty awful, and they didn't go down at all well with the audience, but it was probably the wrong crowd for them.
Lyndon Whittaker (local journalist) : The drummer apparently thought that his job was to lead, not to provide rhythm. He made far too much noise and in their final number, Twist And Shout, it sounded as though everyone was trying to make more noise than the others. In a more mellow mood, their A Taste Of Honey was much better and Love Me Do was tolerable.