Another Beatles Christmas Shows

Screams, screams all the way for Beatles – Cliff scores at Palladium

Anyone who intends to hear the Beatles in “Another Beatles Christmas Show” at the Hammersmith Odeon can forget it. For the last thing you can do is actually hear the Beatles.

The screamers were there in force on the opening night, and at the slightest glimpse of a Beatle leg or an arm during the several sketches which they take part in before closing the show, produced screams which almost took the roof off.

But what was audible in their closing spot underlined that they are so far ahead of anything else in the pop field. Like old soldiers, the Beatles will never die. They’ll just retire unbeaten.

Lennon’s “I’m a Loser,” staunchly in the Bob Dylan manner, was the musical highlight of a programme which took in most of their hits and “Baby’s In Black”; “Everybody’s Tryin’ To Be My Baby” and Ringo’s feature “Honey Don’t” from the new LP.

The supporting cast is heavily weighted with talent — it contains Freddie and the Dreamers, Elkie Brooks, the Mike Cotton Sound, Sounds Incorporated, Mike Haslam, and the Yardbirds.

Elkie Brooks, accompanied superbly by Mike Cotton, is a show-stopper, and in any other company than the Beatles would undoubtedly have been the star of the show.

From Melody Maker – January 2, 1965

Beatles XMAS SHOW

For three weeks (December 24 to January 16) thousands of Beatle fans have crammed into the Hammersmith Odeon twice nightly to watch the Fabulous Four appear with a host of other talented artists in their highly successful Christmas Show.

Little has changed. The minute the Beatles were due on stage each night there was a mass rush to the front of the theatre, and it was only the local police — working overtime no doubt — that prevented the fans from climbing onto the stage itself. The atmosphere was still there — now perhaps even more so, for the Beatles are now signified as having conquered the world which made their presence not only eagerly awaited by the younger fans, but also by the adults in the audience.

The complete cast assembled two days before the opening, and the boys each turned up casually dressed and seemed really pleased to see each other after each had gone their separate ways a few weeks before, in search of a rest.

George had spent his time in Nassau, and as soon as he reached the Odeon received a Bronze medal in the post awarded for his fishing! He had caught a 30 pounder in a competition while on holiday on board a ship, and gave it to the captain.

Paul went back to Liverpool and spent a quiet few weeks with his father and stepmother. Ringo, as you all know, was in hospital having his tonsils out, while John was concentrating on the development of his new house.

First Day

ANYWAY, there they were — back at work again. On the first day of rehearsal the boys generally made friends with everyone and gagged about the stage mimicking various people, taking everything in around them, and generally getting used to the place they could call “Home” for three whole weeks.

Opening night was Christmas Eve—and utter chaos prevailed backstage. Understandably those connected with the show were apprehensive and could be seen running in a dozen different directions.

And, as one might expect, the Beatles dressing room was the centre of attention. In fact, it was the same every night of the show’s run from start to finish. If the boys weren’t recording taped messages for overseas transmission to Australia, Canada and the States, then Jimmy Saville would be knocking on the door with several fans who desperately wanted to meet John, Paul, George or Ringo. And then there was the stage door man regularly trying to make his way in with an armful of autograph books, and of course, the inevitable stream of journalists and photographers.

When they got a break, the Beatles ate. And what did they have? Your imagination might conjure up great lavish spreads for artists of their standing, but you would be wrong. A typical meal was simply egg, sausages, chips and peas! And John Lennon one night made a funny crack as to how in the old days they used to virtually live on eggs and sausages, and now, two years and many successes later, they were still eating the same course.

Now you’ve been backstage, join me in the stalls of the spacious Hammersmith Odeon, just five miles from Piccadilly Circus, heart of London’s West End, and five minutes from the famous Palais ballroom, home of the Joe Loss Orchestra. Above the huge stage, which has featured, in the past, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry and Ella Fitzgerald among many others, are heads of John, Paul, George and Ringo reproduced in hardboard, each wearing a Christmas bonnet and smiling down at the audience throughout the show.

The lights are dimmed, the curtain is raised, and Jimmy Saville appears. He gets everything under way by introducing the Mike Cotton Sound, who kick off with a swinging version of Georgie Fame’s hit “Yeh Yeh.” Michael Haslam, one of Brian Epstein’s more recent discoveries, joined the group on stage and impressed particularly with his version of the lovely “Scarlet Ribbons.” The Yardbirds were next on the bill and caused frenzy with their wild style of R ’n’ B.

Beatle Explorers

Ray Fell, who was himself born in Liverpool, shared the compering with Jimmy Saville, and came on stage to tell of four explorers making their way across the icy North in search of the Abominable Snowman. The sketch saw the four Beatles dressed in Antarctic-type costume and had the audience in stitches.

Freddie and the Dreamers followed with a wonderful stage act that was really entertaining. They started off with “Rip It Up” and “Bachelor Boy” and did a bit of comedy, with guitarist Bernie Dwyer ordering Freddie off-stage whilst the group went into “Cut Across Shorty.”

The second half of the show was set alight with a punchy performance from Elkie Brooks, who looks set for a very bright future.

Then came Sounds Incorporated who provided a twist-beat backing while saxophone player Griff West danced, pranced and displayed some great acrobatics on stage.

They’re On

A little bit of patter from Ray Fell, a very funny compere, an appearance by Jimmy Saville — and they are on!

Dressed in midnight blue mohair shirts the Beatles leapt into “She’s A Woman” with Paul taking the vocal accompanied by shrieks from every girl in sight. Paul introduced the next number “By Gracie Fields…” he said as John Lennon mouthed the odd lyrics of “I’m A Loser” with appropriate gestures into his microphone.

George, who had spent the last two numbers alternating between deep concentration on his guitar work and a few typical George grins at the people in the front row, now moves up to the mike and announces his big vocal of the night “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby.”

A handful of “Sha la la’s” by John Lennon into the mike, and he’s joined by Paul for “Baby’s In Black.”

Then Ringo, outlined against the very striking skyscraper backcloth, performed his usual “impossible” nightly feat of providing a beaty bit of drumwork combined with a strong vocal of “Honey Don’t” while the others move out of limelight to let him be centred in the main spotlight.

John moved back into the spotlight singing solo in “Hard Day’s Night” with harmony from Paul, and George then returned to the front to announce “I Feel Fine” and thanking everyone in the audience who had bought the disc.

After their chart-topper, came a raving version of “Long Tall Sally” to bring to an appropriate finale a dynamic act from the boys. The show over, the curtain was drawn despite cries of “Don’t go…” from the audience, which is now completely on its feet.

If you weren’t there just put on their latest LP “Beatles For Sale” close your eyes and let your imagination do the rest.

From The Monthly Beatles Book – February 1965

BEHIND THE SPOTLIGHT

In 1964 John Lennon had bought a Rolls Royce for himself, though he vowed he wouldn’t ever be keen on driving. But generally speaking the Beatles bought nothing for each other at Christmas time. John delivered the “message” behind their thinking… “We’ve never bothered about giving each other presents, and there’s no point in doing it now that we’re in the money and can afford everything we need.”

But there were gifts galore for the Beatles… presents from their fans. And they had another happy surprise when the results of the usual December poll organised by a top musical newspaper were announced.

They literally galloped away with the “British Vocal Group” section… New Musical Express readers gave them 13,161 votes and the Rolling Stones were left well behind with only a half of that total. The rest were nowhere. But every section, apart from that for girl singers, represented how strong the Beatles were at this Yuletide scene of 24 months ago.

“Hard Day’s Night” was the second biggest favourite record of the year. The boys were fifth in the instrumental unit department. John Lennon was second to Cliff in the “British Vocal Personality” section… no mean feat for a group member. They were top group in the world by a heck of a lot from the Rolling Stones—John and Paul each got in the top twelve male world solo singers.

Just as a matter of interest, it was the Everly Brothers who succumbed to the Beatles in the World Group section the previous year. All the big record stars in the world were badly mauled once the Liverpool lads built their popularity.

We know how readers like to recall the charts of a year or so ago… and you might like to know the groups involved in the charts just two years back, at this Christmas-time. The Beatles topped with “I Feel Fine”… then there were the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, Freddie and the Dreamers, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Pretty Things, Shadows, Searchers, Rockin’ Berries, Herman’s Hermits, the Four Pennies, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, Sounds Orchestral. You don’t need to be reminded of the ones that dropped out of the reckoning since then—or the ones that have stayed the course. It just pinpoints, once again, the tremendous popularity of the Beatles.

Christmas, 1964, for the Beatles was a period of planning for their special Xmas show. But, as ever, pop papers looked for an angle, trying to recall personal anecdotes about the boys. We specially liked the one about the boys when they were flying from Montreal to Key West, Florida. Ringo, at ease for about the first time on the aircraft, hurled a cushion at somebody else in the party. In no time, a pillow fight de-luxe started, while outside the snow and wind peppered the plane.

Suddenly a voice came over the intercommunication unit. “You’re behaving like a bunch of children. This plane is in danger of crashing unless you sit quietly. It is vital that you fasten your seatbelts…” Everybody did just that. There was a sort of Cathedral quiet over the whole travelling unit. Then, from the flight-deck, appeared the well-known figure of Paul McCartney. It was his voice using the inter-com. And that grin of satisfaction on his face expressed his delight at having scored, and scored big, over his mates!

Anyway, back to the Christmas scene itself. George was happily ensconced in his bungalow in Surrey. John, of course, had his house, but George found that his “pad”, costing some £20,000, was easier to adapt because the previous owners had laid it out well.

Proud Owner

George was a very proud houseowner. He showed us round, round a spotlessly clean home, fitted with the very latest in electronic devices. It was mostly decorated in pure white, and the furniture was very mixed in design. He usually had plenty of flowers on show in each room. The bathroom was somethin’ else! Absolutely modern, very spacious, pink-tiled. George owned up that he’d made quite a few alterations to this department.

“I really love comfort,” he said. “I enjoy staying in big hotels but there is always the feeling that something—maybe it’s just the home business—is missing. Here I have all the comfort of, say, the George Cinq Hotel in Paris, but I know also that it’s home.”

Looked great—all of it. There was a massive deep-freeze with massive hunks of pork and lamb on show. Said George: “I like fairly simple food, always have. But I find I can’t get away from the record-player long enough to do my own cooking so I have someone who looks after me.”

So George relaxed in comfort and Christmas got nearer and everything was fine, except for the fan-club secretaries. They were knee-deep in presents and cards and even requests from fans all over the world who wanted, “DESPERATELY,” to get hold of Ringo’s tonsils. The drum-star had, of course, by then been divested of his tonsils, in University College Hospital, and at least a thousand fans wanted them, pickled preferably. And there were many others who expressed their fears that his voice would be changed by the operation. Twelve fans sent Ringo a cable: “You’ve really started something here in America. Everybody now wants their tonsils out. But please don’t let them hurt your nose.”

He did manage to take time off to record the usual special message of cheer for the fans. There were no less than 70,000 of these special records sent out in Christmas, 1964, and that was actually five thousand more than the total fan-club membership!

Oh, yes—something about the Christmas under review is worth recalling. When it comes to Christmas shopping, it’s obviously much more difficult for a Beatle than for any other man on earth. But Paul, John and Ringo devised their own methods of getting round the usual scenes. They more or less took over a big Knightsbridge store, near Ringo’s flat, from 6.30 in one evening. There were five assistants, and a doorman… just to serve the three Beatles.

We’ll be talking about the Beatle Christmas show in the next edition… it’s worth saving because of the incredible successes it enjoyed. But even before it was open, there was a tremendous tribute to the boys, given at an annual Showmanship Luncheon of the Rank Organisation. Managing director Kenneth Winkles rose in the chair-of-honour at the plush Dorchester Hotel and paid tribute to the Beatles’ successes of the previous year—and for their film A Hard Day’s Night.

He said: “The Beatles, by their efforts and their popularity, have helped the organisation turn the tide from a loss to a profit. And it has enabled us to continue with our policy of putting out pop-show one-nighters round the country…”

So the Beatles even handed out their own Christmas presents to the big-business of show-business!

Christmas, then, was largely a matter of work and planning for the Beatles back in 1964. This year, it’s different. They are able to take a bit of time off, to be with their families.

And when the festivities have worn off, we hope you’ll join us for a few more behind-the-spotlight revelations next month.

From The Beatles Monthly Book – December 1966

BEHIND the SPOTLIGHT

As January, 1965, came in, the Beatles were in their old familiar positions… top of the charts (“I Feel Fine”) and the key talking point of the nation via their jam-packed “Christmas Show,” which ran for three weeks at the Odeon Cinema, Hammersmith. Pictures of the lads, dressed in Eskimo gear for one sketch in which they met Abominable Snowman Jimmy Savile, flashed through the pages of even the most august newspapers in the land.

SELL OUT

What a show that was at Hammersmith. It was a sell-out success right from the moment the box-office opened. It had some of the spirit of pantomime but any friend of the Beatles knew that they would never stick to anything remotely traditional.

They threatened the safety of the theatre roof by causing ear-piercing cheers every time a Beatle arm or leg or head appeared in one of the sketches. And what’s more the supporting bill was exceptionally strong… Freddie and the Dreamers, the Mike Cotton Sound, Sounds Incorporated, Brian Epstein’s then new balladeer Mike Haslam, the Yardbirds and Elkie Brooks who was in such devastating form that if the Beatles hadn’t been in top nick she would have landed the honours. Poor Elkie, who fast became a favourite with the Beatles, has, incidentally had a lot of throat trouble in recent months—otherwise we’re sure she’d be right up there in the popularity polls.

The Beatles’ act? Well, for collectors of Beatle lore, they did “I’m a Loser”, which John tackled on a Bob Dylan kick; “Baby’s In Black”; “Everybody’s Tryin’ To Be My Baby”; Ringo stepped vocally forward for “Honey Don’t”; “I Feel Fine”; “She’s A Woman”; “A Hard Day’s Night”—and elsewhere in the show the inevitable “Twist and Shout” and “Long Tall Sally”.

If the Beatles did well, the ticket touts did better. They were flogging ten shilling seats for four times that amount. Hammersmith has never since seen so much action over such a long time.

It was the Beatles’ second dabble at a lengthy Christmas show. And as we now hear about the criticised “shortage” of Beatle live shows, we also think on what would have happened at Hammersmith had that show gone on, like a West End production, for as long as there was an audience willing to pay to go in. That Christmas show of ’64 would probably have run right through the year until Brian Epstein was forced to change the title to “Beatle Christmas Show 1965”.

SUPREMACY

Actually though, the Beatle supremacy was better underlined in this way. During 1964, they’d been top of the charts for a total of fourteen weeks through the year. They couldn’t help laughing at the fact that second best in this particular list was their old mate from the days of the Cavern, Cilla Black.

Backstage at the Hammersmith Odeon was, as they say, somethin’ else. Never, said the management, have there been so many potential gate-crashers. Old friends of the Beatles managed to get through… but the stage-door screening was done with the same ruthlessness as if organised by M.I.5. John established a new criterion for party acceptance: “How many people are going to be there that we haven’t met before?” he asked. He was in very much a festive meeting-new-people mood.

We remember Ringo engulfed in an enormous woollen sweater with head- and arm-holes for two persons, and four giant initials “P, R, J, G” all over the massive chest. A fan sent it to the boys from Sweden. True to form, the boys wore it in an ad-libbed routine on stage that very night. Cynthia Lennon was in much demand, being pumped about how she’s spent Christmas with John. “Very quietly,” said she. “We just exchanged a few novelty presents and John had a good rest.”

THEY’RE UNIQUE

Brian Epstein was often there, still looking pleased and proud of his “boys”. A few journalists asked him, formally, how long he felt the Beatles could go on at this level of popularity. He shrugged, stretched his arms open wide, said: “They are unique. They have such distinctive personalities that I can’t see any individual Beatle ever losing his appeal. But as a group? Well, I’d say at least two or three years right at the very top. After that, I’m convinced they each have magnificent careers in films.”

Towards the end of the Hammersmith show, the boys were out at parties most evenings after the programme. Often Brian Epstein drove them himself in his new Bentley Continental. Ringo was the keenest dancer at all parties, showing astonishing agility in the latest crazes, despite admitting himself to be “dead knocked out with tiredness”.

But as January, 1965, came slowly to a halt, there was a lot of urgency for John and Paul, who had to complete the songs for the upcoming film. John actually afterwards nipped off for a ski-ing holiday in the Alps with Cynthia and recording manager George Martin. Paul stayed in London to complete HIS side of the song-writing. George also took a holiday, but Ringo decided that he’d spend a lot of time house-hunting. He said: “I’ve been spending a ruddy fortune on maintaining a flat in London and now I think I should find a proper pad of my own.” Needless to say, estate agents fell over themselves once this little bit of information was printed in a London evening paper!

At this stage, John and George were the house-owners. Paul had bought property for his father and new stepmother, and furnished it too, but he also had thoughts of a complete new home for himself. A sartorial note from Paul at this time: “I’ve just bought a dead old-fashioned jacket, with wild lapels and it’s black with very wide chalk pin-stripes.” No need to stress, we suppose, that this sort of styling has been followed by umpteen people, including stars, throughout the land!

What everyone even remotely interested in the Beatles wanted to know was what plans they had for 1965… and “remotely” interested included even the people who thought that, perhaps, Beatle-concert attendances might drop a bit. No such problems, for the boys had to go to America, had to make a film (possibly at this time even a third movie in the autumn) and they had to undertake a short European tour. They were genuinely perturbed that they might not get out round the country on a massive one-nighter scene, but as ever they had total confidence in Brian Epstein.

One surprise single out in Britain was “If I Fell” and “Tell Me Why”… a surprise because it comprised two L.P. tracks previously issued as a single only for overseas markets. But dealers had specially imported it for British fans… so EMI capitulated and it picked up substantial fan-following even among those who’d got it on the album.

But the boys enjoyed their short individual breaks from the business. We’ll tell you what next month…

From The Beatles Monthly Book – January 1967

BACK IN THE CRIMBLE ROUTINE

THE BEATLES’ SECOND CHRISTMAS SEASON OPENED 35 YEARS AGO

Early in December 1964, Mal Evans held up a couple of the four fur-trimmed jackets that The Beatles would be wearing for an “abominable snowman” sketch in their forthcoming Christmas show. Laced up to the neck with leather thongs and fitted with shaggy hoods, the outfits looked as though they would keep a polar explorer warm all the way to the Arctic Circle. Grinning broadly, Mal announced: “Eppy says these are your stage suits for the next tour. You’re going to Eskimoland, lads.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me,” said George.

Since the group’s first hugely successful London Christmas Show at the Finsbury Park Astoria Theatre twelve months earlier, the Beatles had appeared at the Paris Olympia and New York’s Carnegie Hall, simultaneously held all top five chart places in Billboard’s US chart of best-selling singles, played to 73 million viewers on America’s Ed Sullivan Show and given sell-out concerts in 25 US cities. They had also toured in Denmark, Holland, Australia and New Zealand, filmed A Hard Day’s Night and recorded their fourth album, Beatles For Sale. Finally, billed by promoter Arthur Howes as “the world’s top disc stars” they had completed a 27-date autumn concert tour of Britain with Mary Wells at the top of their supporting bill.

YULETIDE ROUTINE

Tackling a second Christmas show, presented by Brian Epstein at Hammersmith’s Odeon Theatre, was something John, Paul, George and Ringo looked forward to — but it was no big deal. “We’re just getting back in the old yuletide routine” John told a reporter. One of the music papers echoed the Beatle’s thoughts, calling this “a repeat of last year’s formula of music, laughter and traditional pantomime.” A bonus for the boys was that Hammersmith’s proximity to their homes made it possible for them to sleep in their own beds with their own partners throughout the festive season, a very special treat after spending so much of the year on the road.

Original Lennon drawings of simple nude figures holding sprigs of holly, slightly less bizarre than his usual stuff, adorned the front and back covers of the official souvenir programme for Another Beatles Christmas Show, and copies left over after the three-week season sold out very quickly to readers of The Beatles Book for three shillings (15p) each. Ticket prices ranged from around 40p to the normal prices for seats in 1964.

Like their first Xmas show, the second was devised and produced by Peter Yolland, who was very upset when he found out that he only had three days to rehearse the Beatles and put the whole production together. In fact the boys couldn’t have started much earlier because Ringo was recuperating after an operation to remove his tonsils and George did not fly home from a holiday in Nassau until December 19th. Recalling how most of the Beatles dialogue had been drowned out by the yelling of the fans throughout the previous Christmas show, Yolland proposed to use projected sub-titles to make the dialogue in this year’s sketches visible if not audible. John told Brian Epstein he thought it was “a daft idea”.

The set would be dominated by glittery Christmas trees. As in 1963, one girl singer was to be featured in the cast, Elkie Brooks this time rather than Cilla Black because she’d already spent most of 1964 in London’s West End at the Palladium. Jimmy Saville, the Beatles’ favourite DJ at the time, compered the Hammersmith show, but he really got on the boys’ nerves during the run, because he kept bringing groups of young fans to visit them in their dressing room while they were preparing to go on stage. “Eppy” also promoted one of his latest signings, ballad singer Michael Haslam, in the Beatles’ show, along with Sounds Incorporated, a really excellent band that he’d just taken under his management.

On Christmas Eve the show opened, horrendously under-rehearsed, but raring to go, with Jimmy Saville introducing the Mike Cotton Sound and their lively version of the Georgie Fame hit single Yeh Yeh, currently at the top of the charts, performed against a wall of constant screaming from the fans who were impatient to see the Fab Four. Cotton’s band stayed on to accompany crooner Michael Haslam as he sang Scarlet Ribbons, again to a barrage of shouting by several thousand Beatles’ fans. The Yardbirds fared a bit better with their big-impact R & B sound because they were well-known, particularly to Londoners.

Liverpudlian comic Ray Fell came on to explain the sketch that would follow, saying that this was the tale of four intrepid explorers who were trekking across icy polar wastelands in search of the Abominable Snowman. The audience reaction was immediate and uproarious — not because of any brilliantly witty dialogue between the boys and “abominable” Jimmy Saville, but simply because The Beatles had finally appeared on stage. After the first Beatles’ sketch, Manchester’s Freddie And The Dreamers managed to drag the fans away from the Fab Four for a few moments by bouncing into Little Richard’s mid-fifties hit, Rip It Up.

The second half opened with the Mike Cotton Sound backing the fabulous Elkie Brooks, a relative beginner at the time but one “who looks set to have a very bright future” as one reviewer understated it. But virtually no one would have satisfied the fans at this point in the show but the four stars of the show. The superb Sounds Incorporated brought the emotion-charged atmosphere of anticipation and uncontrolled excitement to boiling point — they knew precisely what to do, because they’d just toured the UK with the Beatles and knew all about preparing an audience for John, Paul, George and Ringo.

At last the fans got the Christmas treat they’d been begging for as the Beatles moved to microphones in several bright spotlights and half an hour of sheer ecstasy got under way. All the right titles were in the programme from She’s A Woman to Twist And Shout, from I’m A Loser to Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby, from Baby’s In Black to A Hard Day’s Night. Umpteen thousand decibels of continuous high-pitched screaming and eleven Beatle hits later it was all over.

The boys left their guitars on stage for Mal to pick up and raced back to their dressing room where they tucked into lukewarm helpings of greasy eggs, sausages and chips washed down with scotch and Coke before doing it all again for the second house audience. After that the boys were out through the stage door and into their waiting limousine while the audience was still shouting for an encore to follow Long Tall Sally.

From The Beatles Monthly Book – December 1999