Living History

A dream come true

One of my girlfriends was trendier than the rest of us. In 1963, I was a very innocent 18 year old, camping with a few girlfriends at Torquay, when she said we had to listen to The Beatles - and that they were going to be BIG. She turned on her portable radio, so we could listen to 'Love Me Do'. I liked the sound of it. They might become BIG but surely not as big as Ricky Nelson? More great Beatle songs reached us Down Under, and The Beatles did become BIG, as my friend had predicted.

Early in 1964, we heard that The Beatles were coming to Melbourne for a concert at Festival Hall and my girlfriends and I were very excited about this. How many of us would be allowed to go to a concert? Or had the money to buy a ticket?

My mum worked as a cleaner at Myer Melbourne, and Myer was going to sell the tickets. Even though Mum did not start work until 7 am, she joined me on the first bus into the city from our western suburbs home to allow me to queue for the first release of the tickets. At 9 am, the doors opened and I rushed to buy the tickets. I got TWO, one for my girlfriend and one for me. Oh, how excited I was! A dream come true!

On 14th June 1964, The Beatles arrived in Melbourne. My whole family was caught up in the excitement, and my brother having a car, decided to take us to Essendon airport to welcome The Beatles. Mum, Dad, Aunty, my sister-in-law, brother and their baby girl - AND ME - piled into his little car. Unfortunately, I cannot remember seeing The Beatles at the airport, but perhaps we did have a glimpse. My first memory of seeing them was on our way back into the city, as we stopped in a side street and ran to Mount Alexander Road, one of the main roads where hundreds of people were lined up. The Beatles car drove past, and they waved to us! Spurred on with exhilaration, we jumped back into the car and continued our drive into the city, stopping where we could to get more glimpses.

We heard that The Beatles were going to stay at the Southern Cross Hotel, so that is where we headed. Out of control with excitement, I charged into the hotel, pressed the lift button, and hopped into the lift. It would only go to the second floor! They must have fixed it, so it could not go any higher. Joining thousands of people on the road outside the Southern Cross Hotel, I waited for The Beatles to come out on to the balcony. There were so many people squashing into each other, I could hardly breathe. When they eventually did come out on the balcony, we all screamed.

It truly was a memorable occasion. I can still remember the excitement of being there.

My girlfriend and I arrived at Festival Hall on 17th June 1964 for the final concert, expecting to be close to the front considering how early I had queued up on the first available date for tickets. How disappointed we were to discover the seats were further back than we had hoped. Who could have got the better seats? Disappointment turned to joy though, when The Beatles came on stage. We began to scream and scream and scream with the thousands of other girls, as we saw our idols in the flesh, singing all our favourite songs. And Ringo was there too! But my favourite was Paul.

Years later, watching a kids show on television with my own kids, ‘OUR’ concert came on, and there I was, with my girlfriend, screaming at The Beatles in Festival Hall.

All age groups were caught up in the frenzy and excitement of that time in 1964 - the phenomenon that was The Beatles.

Until The Beatles came along, I had not liked the Liverpudlian English accent. I met my husband-to-be in July 1964, just a few weeks after their Melbourne visit, and he had an accent like The Beatles. I used to make him say to me over and over again: "LUV ME DO"

We have been married 39 years this year (2005), and as I look back, I think to myself that perhaps The Beatles were responsible for me being attracted to him initially!

May, Edithvale, Victoria

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