Fact #191267
When:
Short story:
The Beatles play at De Montfort Hall, Leicester, England, UK, Europe, supported by The Vernons Girls, The Brook Brothers, Peter Jay and The Jaywalkers, and others.Full article:
Jennifer Fivaz (schoolgirl, fan) : The main thing I remember was queuing all night for the tickets. I must have been 16 and we must have been right at the beginning of the queue.
We started queuing at 9pm and we were getting the tickets the following morning.
I remember being wrapped in a sleeping bag. In the early hours there were a lot of people in front of us.
Police were doing crowd control and they had Alsatian dogs, pushing us up against the wall and the dogs were snapping at our ankles. It was quite frightening.
Of course, the biggest and strongest pushed straight to the front.
Paul Wheatcroft (12 year old fan) : The Fab Four had given an interview shortly before the performance saying that their favourite sweets were jelly babies. And so, during the journey to Leicester, my dad stopped his Ford Escort and my little brother bought a box.
Frances Harris (female police officer) : They (the police) had brought them in the side door and just left them in the car, to keep them safe from the fans. I didn’t even think to look in.
I probably got nearer to them than anybody. I was so annoyed I didn’t even think. It was evening and it was dark in there. It taught me a lesson: You keep your eyes open.
Geoffrey Freeman (fan) : It was absolute bedlam. When they came on stage you couldn’t hear a thing.
It was fantastic. I could see the stage and I could see John and Paul and George. There was a post, and so I couldn’t see Ringo or his drum kit.
I think there was just one song they played I could actually hear. I think it was Please Please Me and most of the time all I could see was people jumping up and down in front of me.
I’d always been a Beatles fan, right from the start. I’d picked up on it early.
I’ve been to various other concerts since and I’ve never seen an atmosphere like that ever.
Janice Benfield (fan) : It was steaming inside De Montfort and very, very loud.
Some girl who fainted was passed over our heads, nearly knocking our hair off! It was very, very noisy and very hot. God was it hot.
Girls were crying ‘Oh John! Oh Paul!’
Oh God, I was one of them girls. I loved John. I loved him. I had my eyes on him all night. I couldn’t hear the music; they only had to move and the screams went up. It didn’t spoil the show, though. They only had to open their mouths and the girls would go bonkers.
It was a brilliant night, I’ve never forgotten what it was like.
The Beatles was my first big gig and it really opened my eyes.
Carole Digby (fan) : We’d heard that Paul McCartney liked Jelly Babies, so we went to Woolworths and bought a 1lb bag. The security guards had threatened to throw people out if any more were thrown on stage, but we carried on.
Paul Wheatcroft : It was raining Jelly Babies a few seats forward on the front row. Within minutes of The Beatles being on stage, one or two people started to throw the occasional jelly baby but soon it was a barrage. My brother opened his box and threw one or two and a policeman in front of the stage pointed at him and shook his head. So my brother had to continue throwing cautiously.
It was during a duet with Paul and John singing into the same microphone when my brother launched a jelly baby which sailed through the air and hit John Lennon squarely on the neck. The pair burst out laughing and stopped playing for a short time. To this day, that’s my brother’s claim to fame.
Nigel Dawson (fan) : I remember at the end of the concert there was a chap who jumped over from the right hand side of the balcony. He lowered himself down so far and jumped the final distance onto the stage, walked over to them and they all walked off together to the right. I wonder who he was?
Teresa Ashton (fan) : It was the most wonderful experience ever. It was very noisy and happy; I made several new friends that night. I particularly remember coming out with a sore throat with all the screaming and shouting. I also got into a lot of trouble when I got home late.
(Source : all above quotes first appeared in The Leicester Chronicle)
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We started queuing at 9pm and we were getting the tickets the following morning.
I remember being wrapped in a sleeping bag. In the early hours there were a lot of people in front of us.
Police were doing crowd control and they had Alsatian dogs, pushing us up against the wall and the dogs were snapping at our ankles. It was quite frightening.
Of course, the biggest and strongest pushed straight to the front.
Paul Wheatcroft (12 year old fan) : The Fab Four had given an interview shortly before the performance saying that their favourite sweets were jelly babies. And so, during the journey to Leicester, my dad stopped his Ford Escort and my little brother bought a box.
Frances Harris (female police officer) : They (the police) had brought them in the side door and just left them in the car, to keep them safe from the fans. I didn’t even think to look in.
I probably got nearer to them than anybody. I was so annoyed I didn’t even think. It was evening and it was dark in there. It taught me a lesson: You keep your eyes open.
Geoffrey Freeman (fan) : It was absolute bedlam. When they came on stage you couldn’t hear a thing.
It was fantastic. I could see the stage and I could see John and Paul and George. There was a post, and so I couldn’t see Ringo or his drum kit.
I think there was just one song they played I could actually hear. I think it was Please Please Me and most of the time all I could see was people jumping up and down in front of me.
I’d always been a Beatles fan, right from the start. I’d picked up on it early.
I’ve been to various other concerts since and I’ve never seen an atmosphere like that ever.
Janice Benfield (fan) : It was steaming inside De Montfort and very, very loud.
Some girl who fainted was passed over our heads, nearly knocking our hair off! It was very, very noisy and very hot. God was it hot.
Girls were crying ‘Oh John! Oh Paul!’
Oh God, I was one of them girls. I loved John. I loved him. I had my eyes on him all night. I couldn’t hear the music; they only had to move and the screams went up. It didn’t spoil the show, though. They only had to open their mouths and the girls would go bonkers.
It was a brilliant night, I’ve never forgotten what it was like.
The Beatles was my first big gig and it really opened my eyes.
Carole Digby (fan) : We’d heard that Paul McCartney liked Jelly Babies, so we went to Woolworths and bought a 1lb bag. The security guards had threatened to throw people out if any more were thrown on stage, but we carried on.
Paul Wheatcroft : It was raining Jelly Babies a few seats forward on the front row. Within minutes of The Beatles being on stage, one or two people started to throw the occasional jelly baby but soon it was a barrage. My brother opened his box and threw one or two and a policeman in front of the stage pointed at him and shook his head. So my brother had to continue throwing cautiously.
It was during a duet with Paul and John singing into the same microphone when my brother launched a jelly baby which sailed through the air and hit John Lennon squarely on the neck. The pair burst out laughing and stopped playing for a short time. To this day, that’s my brother’s claim to fame.
Nigel Dawson (fan) : I remember at the end of the concert there was a chap who jumped over from the right hand side of the balcony. He lowered himself down so far and jumped the final distance onto the stage, walked over to them and they all walked off together to the right. I wonder who he was?
Teresa Ashton (fan) : It was the most wonderful experience ever. It was very noisy and happy; I made several new friends that night. I particularly remember coming out with a sore throat with all the screaming and shouting. I also got into a lot of trouble when I got home late.
(Source : all above quotes first appeared in The Leicester Chronicle)