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December 1969

The Beatles reject offers to perform live

Last updated on September 26, 2023

In March 1969, U.S. Promoter Sid Bernstein, who was the first concert promoter to bring the Beatles over to the United States from Britain, made an offer for The Beatles to play four concerts in the U.S., but The Beatles turned down his offer.

In December 1969, he tried again to persuade them with a different project – to perform at a pop festival in Holland in August 1970. The Beatles refused his offer, as well as another offer from two US promoters to perform live in the U.S.


Beatles reject £2m

BACKS TURNED ON FORTUNE

Two American promoters have within the last week, attempted to persuade the Beatles to return to the concert platform. The combined bait was a guaranteed income of at least £2 million — for a total of 13 concerts! But both offers have been rejected by the group’s Apple company on the grounds that, if the Beatles do decide to make any more personal appearances, these will be promoted by Apple itself.

First offer came from Sid Bernstein — promoter of the group’s first three U.S. tours — who bid one million
dollars for the Beatles to perform at a pop festival in Holland next August. This was topped by an offer of £1,700,000 from promoter Mike Belkin for a 12-city tour of major stadiums in America.

It is now evident that no amount of money will tempt John, Paul, George and Ringo into undertaking further live dates as the Beatles — because of the divergence of their individual Interests — and that the group will almost certainly never again appear on stage, in its present form.

John Lennon’s latest venture, in company with his wife Yoko, is a plan to make a documentary film about the 1962 James Hanratty murder case.

From New Musical Express, December 20, 1969

Million dollar offer for Beatles

A MILLION dollars a night for the Beatles! That’s the offer being made by American Promoter Sid Bernstein for the group to perform at a proposed International Pop Festival in Holland next year.

Bernstein promoted the Beatles first three tours of America in the mid-sixties and says he owes a great deal to
them for his success.

Manager of the Rascals, he was in London last weekend working on plans for an Olympics Pop Festival to be held at Appledorm, Holland, in August.

A London spokesman for Bernstein told the MM on Monday: “Appledorm is a vast natura arena which could hold 200.000 people. It will be 2 three-day event and tickets will cost ten dollars each for the whole festival. Mr Bernstein plans to move to Holland in March with a team of international PR people to work on the arrangements, selling film rights.

“He wants the Beatles as Britain’s representatives and there will be groups from all over the world including Iron Curtain countries, South America and the Far East. Holland has been chosen as the venue because of it’s
central position”.

From New Musical Express, December 13, 1969
From New Musical Express, December 13, 1969
From New Musical Express, December 13, 1969
From Cashbox Magazine – January 3, 1970

Going further

The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years

"With greatly expanded text, this is the most revealing and frank personal 30-year chronicle of the group ever written. Insider Barry Miles covers the Beatles story from childhood to the break-up of the group."

We owe a lot to Barry Miles for the creation of those pages, but you really have to buy this book to get all the details - a day to day chronology of what happened to the four Beatles during the Beatles years!

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Paul McCartney writing

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