Junior Press Conference in New York City • Monday, August 22, 1966

Interview

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The Beatles flew to New York City on August 22, 1966, after their concert in St. Louis the previous day. They arrived at 3:50 AM and were taken to the Warwick Hotel, where they gave a press conference for journalists. Later that day, they held a second press conference for young fans, which was known as the “Junior Press Conference.“

The Junior Press Conference was organized by the radio station WMCA, from an initial idea from the Beatles, and it was open to 150 lucky fans who had won a contest. The fans were selected from a pool of over 48,000 applicants.

The Beatles were ushered into a ballroom, where they were seated at a long table. The fans were seated in front of them, and they were given the opportunity to ask the band questions.

The questions ranged from the mundane to the philosophical. Some fans asked about The Beatles’ favourite foods, while others asked about their plans for the future. The Beatles answered all of the questions patiently and graciously. They even took the time to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

The Junior Press Conference was a huge success. The fans were thrilled to have the opportunity to meet their idols, and The Beatles were happy to interact with them in a more relaxed setting.

We were cordially invited to invite 75 lucky guys and gals to attend a special Beatles Junior Press Conference… The (kids) did a great job, and I’ll tell you something, the Beatles got such a kick out of it. I could tell they were really digging it.

Gary Stevens – DJ from WMCA radio station – From Beatles Junior Press Conference, New York City 8/22/1966 – Beatles Interviews Database

There was a press conference in New York — a very crowded, noisy, hectic affair held in the Warwick. It was immediately followed by a junior press conference, the first of its kind. The reporters were fans who had been selected at random by The Beatles Fan Club U.S.A, and WMCA radio. One hundred and fifty teenagers were given the opportunity of a lifetime to attend a press conference, take pictures, and ask questions. I expected excitement, but the whole scene almost got out of hand. They milled, they fretted, they giggled, they waited tautly, and when The Beatles finally made their appearance behind the microphoned table — chaos. It was like a concert in microcosm, with flashbulbs, screams, and rushing. Police lined the front table, stooping so the girls could photograph The Beatles. There was also a problem, because everyone wanted to take pictures and there was just so much room up front – Tony Barrow finally made them separate into two groups and take turns.

When the questioning began, things quieted down, and some intelligent things were said by fans and Beatles alike. I questioned George and Paul about their reactions to the junior press conference, and their answers were almost identical. “We thought it was goin’ to be a drag at first with all the screaming, but the questions were good. They’re the fans; they ask what they want to know.” George added, “I guess I’m gettin’ old; I don’t like noise. If they just wouldn’t scream… but the questions were good.”

Judith Sims – From TeenSet Magazine – Quoted in “Ticket To ride – The Extraordinary Diary of The Beatles’ Last Tour” by Barry Tashian

On August 23, a little over a year after their first triumphant appearance at New York’s Shea Stadium, The Beatles returned to Shea Stadium for a single concert.

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Not all the audio from the junior press conference has survived, and much of what has is obscured by screams from the fans. Here is partial transcript taken from The Beatles Bible. Another transcript is available at Beatles Interviews Database.

Q: Paul McCartney, are you going to get married with Jane Asher?

John Lennon: Yay! Tee-hee!

Paul McCartney: Erm, I’m probably gonna get married with Jane.

Q: I want to know who your favourite American group is.

John Lennon: Just one? There’s a lot of them.

Paul McCartney: There’s quite a few of them, you know. Beach Boys, Lovin’ Spoonful, Byrds, Mamas And Papas.

Q: I’d like to know, John, are you making a movie without the other Beatles?

John Lennon: Yes.

Q: When?

John Lennon: When I get home from doing this.

Q: Are you gonna have a lead part?

John Lennon: No.

Q: A small part?

John Lennon: It’s… you know. I wouldn’t take a lead part. I wouldn’t like to.

Q: Will they put your name in the mo.. you know in the um…

John Lennon: I’m big enough to get a mensh.

Q: I’d like to ask Paul when the whole group is going to make their next picture.

Paul McCartney: The next picture, we’ll probably make it, I think, early next year. But at the moment the man’s writing a script, and it depends on the script, you know, when we make it.

Q: I’d like to ask John – Is it true he went around London in a gorilla suit?

John Lennon: No. That was a film called Morgan. I’ve got a gorilla suit, which I’ve worn about twice to frighten a few people, and it’s too hot.

Q: I’d like to know, do you mean all the lyrics that you write?

Paul McCartney: We mean them as lyrics. But I mean, if we write ‘We all live in a yellow submarine,’ we don’t really mean that.

Q: Paul, is ‘Eleanor Rigby’ cryptic? Does it got a hidden meaning?

Paul McCartney: No, no. No. It’s just a straight song.

John Lennon: That aint no hidden meaning, baby.

Q: I wonder, being in a group with four people and becoming famous so young, how you managed to evolve with separate personalities.

Paul McCartney: The main thing is, it’s true that we’re a group of four people together with an image, but we don’t believe that. We don’t take that bit of us too seriously.

John Lennon: We’re still us, you know.

Paul McCartney: We’re still individuals.

Q: I’d like to wish John a happy wedding anniversary.

John Lennon: Oh, thank you!

Q: I want to know if any of you know Patricia Flater in Cumberland, England.

Paul McCartney: Patricia who?

Q: Flater. F.L.A.T.E.R.

Paul McCartney: Suuuure!

Q: I’d like to ask Paul, who is ‘Eleanor Rigby’? I read in The Beatles Book that she is a person. Who is she?

Paul McCartney: No, she isn’t. It was just a name. It was nearly gonna be Daisy Hawkins.

Q: I read that she was someplace with you fellas, that she met you.

Paul McCartney: No, it’s not a real person. It’s only imagination.

Q: In the beginning of your album, right before ‘Taxman’, there’s a lot of squeaking.

George Harrison: It’s just the bit before we recorded it, what happened to be on the tape. That part usually gets cut off. We thought you’d like to hear it.

Q: I want to know – How come you don’t have the same Help! movie and Hard Day’s Night movie here in the United States. It’s not as long. Why did you cut it?

George Harrison: United Artists cut the pieces out of it. Not us.

Paul McCartney: It’s got nothing to do with us, you see. Other people do that, cut it. We just make it.

Q: I heard that Sid Bernstein offered you to come back next year. Are you looking forward to it?

John Lennon: We never heard about it.

Q: What do you think of miniskirts, and do you think they will go higher?

Paul McCartney: Well, I like miniskirts. I think they’re fine. The thing is, at the moment it’s miniskirts, but in Victorian times people were ashamed to show their ankles, you know.

Paul McCartney: It’s just got a bit higher, now. It may go even higher. Whoopie!

Q: George, do you have a cousin named Maggie?

George Harrison: No.

Q: I’d like to know what you think of the boys that followed you from the airport last night.

John Lennon: We didn’t notice them.

Q: I’d like to ask any of you – Have you seen the Beatles cartoon show?

Ringo Starr: Yeah.

Q: What do you think of it?

Ringo Starr: It’s OK.

Q: Do you think it’s a good portrayal of your character?

Paul McCartney: It’s not really like us, but it’s fun.

Q: I’d like to know if this press conference was your idea or if you’re just here because of…

John Lennon: Ours.

Paul McCartney: Yeah.

Ringo Starr: Everybody’s having a good time.

Q: Ringo, where do you get all your rings?

Ringo Starr: Erm, people buy them for me, you know.

Q: I’d like to know, how do you decide who is going to sing the lead in any of your songs?

John Lennon: Whoever knows most of the words.

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Interview with Felice LaMastra, who attended the junior press conference, by Jay spangler (from Firsthand Account of the Beatles Junior Press Conference, New York City 8/22/1966 – Beatles Interviews Database)

Q: “What do you remember about the Beatles Junior Press conference at the Warwick Hotel in New York City in 1966? How did that come to be?”

FELICE: “My recollection was that it was around August 20th that WMCA Radio DJ Gary Stevens announced on his show that the Beatles wanted to have a press conference with the fans asking them questions instead of the regular media reporters…  that they felt it would be more fun and that they would finally be asked some different questions for once.  So Gary told his audience that there would be a contest held where you could win the chance to attend a Junior Beatle Press Conference and ask the Beatles a question. All you needed to do was mail a postcard with your name, address and phone number in to WMCA Radio Station for a chance to win.”

Q: “How many winners were they going to select?”

FELICE: “Gary said that 75 postcards were to be picked out of some sort of bin, and those winners would be able to attend this Beatles Junior Press Conference for the chance of a lifetime… to ask the Beatles any question they’d like. The conference was to take place just a few days later as I recall. I decided that I would mail seven cards in so that would give me more of a chance to get picked.”

Q: “There were more winners than just those 75 selected by WMCA radio, correct?”

FELICE:  “Yes, there was a similar contest that was held by the official American Beatles Fan Club, and they had picked 75 of THEIR winners from their club as well.  So the entire conference wound up consisting of 150 attendees.”

Q: “So you’d have to be very lucky to be one of the lucky ones.”

FELICE:  “Yes, it was outrageously lucky. I could not believe how exciting this opportunity was. Especially for a huge Beatles fan like me. I adored them, and here I was being offered a chance to win entry into the same room as them….and even a chance to ask a question. Nothing could be better than that.”

Q: “I can’t imagine how that must have felt… like an overdose of anticipation.”

FELICE: “Being a 15 year old kid from New Jersey, who never got close to winning anything in her life, and who was totally and completely in love with the Beatles, I ran over to my neighborhood church and knelt in front of the Sacred Heart statue, praying desperately to win for three solid hours… because everything happens in three’s, I was always told.  I prayed harder than I ever prayed in my life with such passion that I actually remember crying and pleading with God, because I wanted to win so bad.”

Q: “So you were just waiting to see what came in the mail then.”

FELICE: “Yes, and the anticipation was overwhelming. The mail arrived, but not a trace of any Special Delivery mailings.  So I ran to the phone and called WMCA and asked if I had won the contest.  They said, ‘No, I’m sorry, but if you didn’t receive the Special Delivery by now, that means that your post card was not picked.’  My heart sank big time, and I was totally depressed.   I remember crying on my parents’ bed for what I recall was about half an hour straight. Then suddenly, I hear my Mother coming into the house yelling, ‘Felicia, you got something in the mail.’ “

Q: “That must have been a serious adrenaline rush.”

FELICE: “To put it lightly, yes! I knew it had to be the Special Delivery… the LATE Special Delivery… but the Special Delivery regardless.  I found out after the Conference, that in just 48 hours, WMCA Radio received 48,000 post cards as I recall, and I was one of the 75 winners picked.”

Q: “So you went from total depression, to….”

FELICE: “I was ecstatic.  I have never been happier about anything else in my life like I was at that moment.  It is beyond words how overjoyed I was to win.  I worshipped the Beatles.  They were the best thing that ever happened in my life.  So winning this contest was just like heaven.”

Q: “What an incredible moment that must have been.”

FELICE: “It was indescribable. I was so incredibly excited. I then begged my Mother to at least buy me a good dress to wear… one that looked Jane Asher-like, of course.  And she did, believe it or not.  But there was no family camera to bring, so I did not have a camera with me during the conference, and it turns out that we WERE allowed to take pictures… something unheard of nowadays.”

Q: “So you were looking mod in your new dress.”

FELICE: “Yes, as much as I could possibly pull off. I remember even ironing my long hair like girls used to do in the 60’s.  I wanted to look so great and ‘with it’ for the Beatles.”

Q: “What do you remember about the big trip to New York City that day?”

FELICE: “Besides an overwhelming amount of anticipation and a feeling of total bliss, I must admit there was one thing that put a damper on things, and that was being forced to leave some of my closest girlfriends behind as I was allowed into the conference. My friends had accompanied me on the bus trip from Hoboken, New Jersey to New York City, and we were all crazy with happiness up until the security point where you had to show your 2 special passes. At that point, obviously, I was forced to wave goodbye to my friends as I continued on towards the Warwick Hotel’s entrance. It was a very heartbreaking experience for me not to be able to take them along. I recall one friend made a tribute book to Paul and asked that I give it to him at the conference.  Believe it or not, I did get to hand it to one of the managers before the conference began, and I asked that he give it to Paul.  He apparently did, because I saw Paul thumbing through the book right at the conference table, and he even looked impressed at what he was reading!  Later on, sometime after the conference, my girlfriend received a response from someone in Paul’s camp thanking her for the book.”

Q: “It must have been a fan and media zoo outside of the hotel with the knowledge that the Beatles were inside.”

FELICE: “Arriving for the conference was like arriving at an event where the President of the United States was appearing along with the Oscar Award Show going on at the same time and in the same place! That’s how many fans and security surrounded all blocks around the entire perimeter of that Warwick Hotel area in mid-town Manhattan.  New York literally came to a stop in that section of the City. It was amazing.  The excitement was overwhelming.  You could actually feel the air having almost a thick quality to it, thick with an emotional high and energy, if you know what I mean.  There were fans standing shoulder to shoulder screaming and carrying on, but being held back by continual barricades separating them from any hotel entrance. The loud excitement of the fans permeated the New York air, but as far as I can remember, no ‘crazy’ incidents to speak of took place, at least at those moments. I do recall that a day or so before, there was a fan who threatened to jump off a New York building if she wasn’t allowed to meet the Beatles. Besides the fans, the press most likely saturated the entire area, however, my main focus was very concentrated on just getting myself as quickly as possible into that hotel.”

Q: “Beatles events in earlier years were not as secure as one would have thought… but by August 1966… this was in midst of all the controversy of Lennon’s ‘Jesus’ statement by this time. How secure was security at the Warwick Hotel that night?”

FELICE: “No one was allowed past a certain perimeter of the hotel area. All fans and the public were held back by barricades. Cops were all milling around that section, so I approached one, doing my best to quietly tell him that I had special passes to attend a Beatles conference inside the hotel. Obviously, I was paranoid that some fan next to me would hear and jump me for the passes. Then, when I very carefully showed him the identifications, he directed me past the barricades and towards the hotel. This seemed to me to be quite a long walk, in a way, but I believe it indicated that security’s main objective was to keep everyone far back from any hotel entrance. When I continued to get closer and closer to the Warwick door, there were plain clothes guards that approached me to see the passes again. These men, along with the regular uniformed police, stopped me around 3 or 4 additional times as I approached the door.   When I actually got to the building itself, they lead me into what appeared to be the back entrance and then down into what seemed to be a basement.  I got a little frightened at that point, thinking, ‘Where the heck are they taking us?’ At that point, I was in a small group with some of the other winners that happened to be entering the building at the same time as me. We were led up a flight, down a hallway, around a corner and finally into the Warwick Press Conference Room.”

Q: “What are your memories of entering that room?”

FELICE: “When I walked in, the lights were really bright.  They were the kind that you would see on a movie set.  Seeing those lights made it all come together in my mind that this wasn’t a fantasy, but it really was going to happen.  Plus the room had a definite buzz to it… an electricity.  The kids already in the room were pretty loud, and there were some adults milling around.  The first thing I thought was, ‘I’m running for the best seat I can possibly get!’  So I grabbed a seat in the 2nd row, a little to the left of dead center, and it was around 10 feet away from the Beatles’ conference table.  I was thrilled that I got such a good seat.”

Q: “What happened next?”

FELICE: “Before the Beatles came out, I saw Gary Stevens in the front area.  He was making sure things were going OK.  I also saw Brian Epstein and Neil Aspinal walking around the front area as well.  Gary and the other adults were trying to quiet the screaming kids down.   However, everyone was pretty much continuing to talk and kind of scream, as we were all waiting for the Beatles to show up.  No one was really listening to the adults, and I think they were starting to get kind of pissed at the kids. Then, we were all handed a little gift packet.  It contained four individual and professionally-taken pictures of the Beatles that were all personally autographed!  I think there might have been one or two other items as well in the gift envelope.”

Q: “What happened as the Beatles entered the room?”

FELICE: “The 150 winners went wild with screams when the doors behind the Warwick conference table opened and the Beatles all appeared.   I remember the four of them kind of jumping down a step on to the level of the conference table and then taking their seats. The room went ballistic.  Kids were screaming their heads off.  It was magical.”

Q: “What were you thinking and feeling at that moment?”

FELICE: “I cannot really describe how unbelievable that moment was for me. My idols, right there before my eyes! And so close, even. About 10 feet away. How amazing the feeling was. All four Beatles looked even better in person than any photograph or movie I had ever seen them in. Paul has what I call ‘Liz Taylor hair,’ jet black and beautiful and darker than all of the photos we’ve all seen. And although he seemed totally shaven, I recall that he still had this dark 5 o’clock shadow on his face, indicating how black his hair was. He was divine looking, of course….amazingly handsome. And John’s hair looked way lighter than photos and movies had shown. You could tell he was originally a kind of blond kid when he was very young. He, too, was gorgeous and so sexy and irresistible. It was just amazing to be in his presence. Ringo and George had a kind of richness to their faces, really attractive, with Ringo’s big, beautiful, blue eyes piercing through you, and George’s deep, dark stare making him so appealing. I felt so incredibly lucky and thankful for this moment, that it is truly hard to express how happy I was in that room.”

Q: “I assume it must have been chaos trying to hold a teenage press conference with the Beatles in the same room.”

FELICE: “There were constant pleads from Gary and the other adults and the managers to please quiet down.  The kids, unfortunately, did not listen and kept on screaming.  I had never really been a screaming fan… I was more of a cryer.  I didn’t believe, even at that young age, that my loud screaming should be overpowering their music during a concert or hearing what they were answering during an interview.  So if I screamed, it certainly wasn’t like most of the girls, lasting through practically the whole interview.  Therefore, those kids were starting to really piss me off actually, because I just wanted to hear every word that the Beatles said.”

Q: “What do you remember about the questions and answers?”

FELICE: “The Beatles’ four individual personalities really came out in the way they answered questions.  As all Beatle fans know, John has that sharpness and wit about him, and Paul is the one who explains answers more fully. George and Ringo tend to speak up a lot less than John and Paul do.  I remember one of the fans presenting Ringo with a white spider-type toy for his son Zak, and Ringo seemed very appreciative of her thought.  I also remember one of the more outgoing type fans saying something comical and making all of them laugh, especially John.”

Q: “Did you get to ask a question?”

FELICE: “Yes, I did. I was extremely nervous about asking my favorite Beatle, Paul, a question. So, as to not lose it completely, I decided that if I did get a chance, I would direct a question to my second favorite Beatle, John. Being young and quite shy, I couldn’t seem to think of an appropriate question, so I resorted to asking if a certain newspaper article was true or not. This article had stated that John ordered a guitar from a manufacturer in Hoboken, New Jersey, my hometown. Thinking that this seemed a bit odd to me that John Lennon would order a guitar from little old Hoboken, I decided that I would ask John if it were true or not. I must admit, that if I had been a bit older, I would actually have asked something different. In any case, when I did ask John the question, there was so much loud screaming going on from the fans in the room, that he didn’t understand or hear my full question… I think half due to the kids screaming and half due to Hoboken being kind of a weird name to throw at an English guy.  I seem to remember being asked to repeat the question multiple times. I noticed Neil Aspinal wanting to help clarify, leaning over and whispering in John’s ear that Hoboken was a town in New Jersey. At that point, John said, ‘Oh, OK, well no, that’s not true.  And, you shouldn’t believe most of what the papers write about us.  Most of it is not accurate.’ “

“At the very end of the conference, something happened that indicated that the article might have been half true after all. Unbeknownst to John, and to me, a guy marched up to the conference table just as the Beatles were leaving and presented John with a guitar. Apparently, it was a custom-made gift for him from a Hoboken guitar company to be presented at the conference. So the newspapers got it half correct, because John did not order it, nor did he know anything of this presentation. Meanwhile, I’m witnessing this taking place, and thinking, ‘Wow, this must be related somehow to the question I asked John!’. Obviously, there was no way I would have been allowed to run up to the table and communicate my thoughts on the subject. The next thing that took place was the Beatles exiting through the Warwick door behind conference table.”

Q: “What an amazing experience and wonderful memory that day must have been.”

FELICE: “A shy kid from Hoboken who adored the Beatles more than life itself actually got to sit 10 feet away from all 4 of them for the entire conference and even got to speak directly to John Lennon! The feeling was indescribable. Remember, especially in those days, you couldn’t even get remotely close to the Beatles, let alone sit in the same room and even speak to them! This was heaven for a real Beatles fan. I had just received the best gift that I ever could have received in my life.  The only thing better would have been to leave WITH the Beatles as they exited the Warwick Conference Room that day. It was truly the best day of my life.”

Q: “What happened once the conference was over and the Beatles made their exit?”

FELICE: “It ripped my heart out to see them leave. I wanted so bad to run through the same door that the Beatles were exiting. As all the fans were leaving the press room, one of the girls — who I had met while walking into the Warwick — ran back towards the table and grabbed the ash tray that Ringo had been using during the conference. She started running out of the room with it. I grabbed her and begged her for at least some of the contents. She reluctantly gave me one of Ringo’s cigarette butts and ashes. I was ecstatic. At that point, we continued exiting out of the Warwick Conference Room, completely high on happiness. Short of meeting the Beatles personally, just them and me, nothing could compare to this experience. I was so very grateful.”

Q:  “Did you also have tickets for their 1966 concert at Shea Stadium?”

FELICE: “Yes, I went to the concert the next day.  Believe it or not, I think I went alone, due to my girlfriend’s parents not allowing them to attend. I recall riding and then exiting the New York train to Shea and being scared about getting lost, but it actually wound up being very easy, because I just followed the crowd and the yellow lines on the subway floor leading everyone to the Stadium.  I had really bad seats, pretty high up in the stands, but was still so thankful that I was there that day. When the Beatles came out, they looked like four little ants really, because I was so very far away, but it was still exciting as hell.  I wouldn’t have traded the experience for the world. The feeling in that stadium was outrageously exhilarating. The screams were deafening, and it sounded just like an extremely loud jet engine or siren-type noise that was right on top of you and never, ever stopped through the whole concert.  It actually hurt your ears. I have never heard that kind of sound at any event in my entire life.  The electricity and energy in the air was amazing. Again, a day I will never, ever forget.

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Last updated on September 20, 2023