Suicide and assault: Dark side of the Beatles 1964 visit down under
Vigilante protesters, violent fans who left John and Paul bloodied and bruised, and suicide attempts: How the dark side of Beatlemania was exposed when the Fab Four came to Australia and New Zealand
- New Beatles book reveals darker side of group’s visit Down Under
- One fan attempted suicide in one of their hotel rooms in New Zealand
- Another devotee tore a chunk of hair from John Lennon in Dunedin
Beatlemania swept Australia and New Zealand from June to July in 1964 in what became an iconic pop culture moment.
But a music historian reveals in an upcoming book there was a dark side to the international frenzy over the Liverpool boys whose hits revolutionised music.
In Kenneth Womack’s Living the Beatles’ Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans, he reveals how one fan tried to commit suicide after failing to get to the bands’ hotel room.
Mal was a road manager for the Beatles from 1963 and became their personal assistant when they stopped touring three years later, remaining with them until their break-up in 1970.
One of Mal’s diary entries detailed his most ‘serious and frightening memory’ where he came back to his New Zealand hotel room to find ‘all this blood’.
‘There’s the story of a woman who attempted to commit suicide in [Mal’s] hotel room because she couldn’t get to the Beatles,’ Mr Womack told Daily Mail Australia.
Music historian Kenneth Womack reveals there was a dark side to the international frenzy over the Liverpool boys whose hits revolutionised music (pictured, the Beatles at the Southern Cross Hotel in Melbourne – with Jimmie Nicol who stood in for Ringo while he was ill)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=hgv09bqVMig%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
The Beatles (pictured, in Adelaide on June 15, 1964) experienced the biggest crowds they would ever see in Australia with the ‘sheer enormity’ making it near impossible for road manager Mal Evans to do his job
Massive Melbourne crowds swamped the streets to see the group at the Southern Cross Hotel on June 19, 1964 (pictured)
The Beatles (pictured, in New Zealand) had a ‘really rough time in Dunedin’, Mr Womack said
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zBhzJjjlMkE%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
‘It’s a horrible story,’ Mr Womack said.
‘Yeah, she tried to talk her way into the Beatles suite.’
He said Mal had come back to his room after having dinner on his night off when the band were staying in New Zealand.
‘He came back to their suite of rooms, and this woman had tried to get to the Beatles, but she only got as far as Mal’s empty room,’ Mr Womack said.
‘And he came back to a wall of police officers, and he thought, “What is going on here”, and all this blood, and apparently this woman had tried to kill herself there.’
He said Mal was terrified police would point the finger at him.
Mal was unable to identify the 20-year-old woman and said she was taken to hospital afterwards.
But the horror didn’t stop there as Mal recalled another harrowing moment a young girl jumped off a platform and landed on the Beatles’ limousine.
‘There was a 13-year-old girl in Christchurch who hurled herself at the Beatles … Mal could not believe that she didn’t die,’ Mr Womack said.
The Beatles themselves had a violent confrontation with fans while they were trying to get back to a hotel in New Zealand.
‘They had a really rough time in Dunedin,’ the author said.
‘It was the first time Paul’s face was scratched and John had a large clump of hair yanked from his head.
‘There was a lot of blood from that one… It was a good chunk of his hair.’
More than 300,000 people turned out to see the Beatles in Adelaide (pictured, crowds outside the Town Hall in King William Street on June 12)
But over-eager fans were not the only ones the Beatles had to deal with as a vigilante group had also sprung up ‘who really got under Mal’s skin’.
Members of the Anti-Trash Society followed the group around protesting against the group and even managed to egg the Beatles as they were passing through Brisbane.
‘What particular axe [this group] had to grind I never did find out – being too annoyed and having to take egg stains off the boys’ suits,’ Mal said in a diary extract.
‘Because you know, that was part of his job. He had many jobs, but part of it was to to keep the gear clean. Of course, eggs didn’t do much for electric guitars either,’ Mr Womack said.
He said the Beatles experienced in Australia the biggest crowds they would ever see, with the ‘sheer enormity’ of the number of people making it near impossible for the road manager to do his job.
On June 12 more than 300,000 people lined the Anzac Highway and King William Street in Adelaide to welcome the band, while massive Melbourne crowds swamped the streets to see the group at the Southern Cross Hotel a week later.
‘And you know, they never had 100,000 people in the United States. or certainly not in Europe or England,’ the author said.
‘And there could be thousands of people trying to see them and not just girls, celebrities of every kind, local politicians. Everybody wanted to try to throw some weight around.
‘So there was just a constant pressure of people trying to get in.’
He said it was an ‘absolute wonder’ no one was hurt or trampled to death during the Beatles tour of Australia.
The tour included concerts in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide with more shows scheduled for New Zealand.
There they performed in Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch.
The tour became renowned in Beatle folklore for drummer Ringo’s illness which forced him to miss several concerts – with stand-in Jimmie Nicol called in to replace him.
Mr Womack’s book Living the Beatles’ Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans is set for release in November.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LNQutZEKFHE%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
The Beatles tour Down Under included concerts in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide before they flew to New Zealand (pictured, the Beatles with replacement drummer Jimmie Nicol)
Mal (pictured, with Paul McCartney in 1967) became a good friend to the band, working with them as road manager from 1963 until their break-up seven years later
It will detail the life of Mal who left his telecommunications engineering career to work as a roadie for the fledgling band in 1963.
He later moved to Los Angeles in the wake of the band’s split eight years later where he started to pen his memoirs.
In January 1976, the 40-year-old died after he was shot during a domestic standoff with the LAPD.
The month of June marks the 59th anniversary of the Beatles only tour Down Under.
Beatles Australia and New Zealand tour timeline June – July 1964
Wednesday, June 10: John, Paul, George and Jimmie Nicol fly to Australia from Hong Kong
Thursday, June 11: The group land in Darwin at 2am then fly to Sydney for a press conference
Friday, June 12: They fly to Adelaide and do two concerts at Centennial Hall
Saturday, June 13: Two more concerts in Adelaide
Sunday, June 14: The group fly to Melbourne while Ringo arrives in Sydney to rejoin them after a bout of illness, before meeting them in Melbourne
Jimmie Nicol leaves.
Monday, June 15. The group – now with Ringo – do two concerts at Melbourne Festival Hall
Tuesday, June 16: There are two more Melbourne concerts and the Lord Mayor’s reception
Wednesday, June 17: Another two concerts in Melbourne
Thursday, June 18: The band flies to Sydney and do two concerts at Sydney Stadium, with more concerts the following two days
Sunday, June 21: The band flies to New Zealand
Monday, June 22: They perform two shows at the Wellington Town Hall
Tuesday, June 23: Two more concerts in the capital
Wednesday, June 24: They take off to Auckland and do four shows over two days at the Town Hall
Friday, June 26: The Beatles fly to Dunedin and do two shows
Saturday, June 27: They fly out to Christchurch and do two performances
Sunday, June 28: The band flies to Brisbane via Sydney
Monday, June 29: They do four shows at Brisbane Festival Hall over the next two days
Wednesday, July 1: The fab four take off for London via Singapore
Source: The Beatles Down Under: Glenn A. Baker
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