Beatles First US Gig at Washington Coliseum

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[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1416488309' post='2610716']
I never saw the Fab Four live but saw them a lot when when they were filming Help and A Hard Days Night. My school was a couple of hundred yards from Twickenham Studios. The Beatles homes (4 terraced houses in a row) in Help was in my friends road, The Turks Head pub where Ringo played darts was next to my school, the park where they spell H-E-L-P was near me etc. Hundreds of screaming kids descended on Twickenham Studios when school finished at 4 pm every weekday. So lots of happy memories of those times and places.
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Sounds like heaven to me. If I could walk pass the 4 terraced homes, sit in that bar Ringo played darts in, my life would be complete. What wonderful memories. Shea was done just shortly after the boys finished filming Help.

I remember when I was 9 years old, I don't listen to lyrics much anymore but I listened to the lyrics on Something New , Hard Days Night, Meet The Beatles ect... I was young but I understood conceptually what they were singing about and I wanted to get in on it.

BTW, my Mom purchased an imitation Hofner violin style bass for me the week after their debut on American Television. February 9th,1964, The Ed Sullivan Show. 50 years later and I'm just as active gigging as ever. The whole thing was inspired by the Beatles for me, I think that's why you won't hear me moaning. Those guys always looked like they were having fun and I'm still having it.

Blue

Edited November 20, 2014 by blue

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[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1416489184' post='2610729']
I was only 5 when they split up, although I think they were a huge influence on young bands in years to come. Even if you dont like them, you must accept that before the Beatles nobody wrote their own songs.
BTW I was in Abbey Road studio 2 recently, where they recorded most of their stuff, and I was surprised at how small it was!
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Man do I get ticked when some younger guitarists rips on George. I told one uninformed guitarist,[i] "First of all the guy was like 17 years old and didn't have much in rock guitar history to draw from so he did what he had to do. He blazed the trail for you.You have over 40 years of rock to draw from and your sitting in your bedroom noodling and you can't sing or write"[/i]

He stood there looking down at his shoes.

Blue

Edited November 20, 2014 by blue

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[quote name='Stu-khag' timestamp='1336577378' post='1647826']
Loving the minimal set up. And not a monitor in sight! I am in awe of how well they gel. They epitomise the importance of gig fitness!
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Isn't it amazing how big 2 and 3 part harmonies made them sound.

Blue

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1416516004' post='2611131']
Sounds like heaven to me. If I could walk pass the 4 terraced homes, sit in that bar Ringo played darts in, my life would be complete. What wonderful memories.[/quote]
Many years after that i worked with an old guy who lived in the fifth house in that road. He could never get over that he missed out and because they didn't use his house in the film he lost out on a good pay day!
The day they filmed the Ringo bit in the pub i had to go to the dentist which meant a rare few hours off school and that's when they were filming. I stood and watched Ringo (no other Beatles were there) go in and out of the pub while filming. The funny thing is i can still remember how bright those lights were.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1416516004' post='2611131']
Shea was done just shortly after the boys finished filming Help.
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I've only ever been to Shea to watch Baseball but each time i was there i did think of the Beatles and tried to imagine what it was like. I've sat in a lot of different places in that stadium and it always surprised me how steep the upper seats around the outfield seem looking into 1st base.

Edited November 20, 2014 by BetaFunk

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[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1416522152' post='2611236']
Many years after that i worked with an old guy who lived in the fifth house in that road. He could never get over that he missed out and because they didn't use his house in the film he lost out on a good pay day!
The day they filmed the Ringo bit in the pub i had to go to the dentist which meant a rare few hours off school and that's when they were filming. I stood and watched Ringo (no other Beatles were there) go in and out of the pub while filming. The funny thing is i can still remember how bright those lights were.


I've only ever been to Shea to watch Baseball but each time i was there i did think of the Beatles and tried to imagine what it was like. I've sat in a lot of different places in that stadium and it always surprised me how steep the upper seats around the outfield seem looking into 1st base.
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You know, I went to HS with Chuck Burgi ( Billy Joel's Drummer ) and played in a band with him. When Billy played Shea and Paul came out for a few songs. When I saw Chuck up there on drums with Paul, I was thinking; [i]"Well, that's it. It doesn't get any better than that."[/i]

Blue

[lurksalot]

I have sat top level at Shea , scared the sh1t out of me and how the hell you would hear a band with less amplification than most pub bands have nowadays is beyond me . I understood that the scale of those first beatles gigs took everyone by surprise sound wise , the screaming of the crowd pretty much drowned out the best the band could throw at them .