I Was Actually There on ABC and ABC iview S1E4 – When the most famous musicians on the planet flew into Adelaide on 12 June 1964 on an Ansett-ANA jet, they had no idea that the biggest crowd they would ever witness was waiting for them.
The Beatles made their way through the streets surrounded by 350,000 screaming fans – more than half the population of the city.
Explaining the hysteria, then 14-year old Beatles fan, now actress, Kate Fitzpatrick says, “You just got sucked along with it. You can understand those cult things where they all drink Kool-Aid.”
It wasn’t just the teenagers who were swept up. After a hard-fought campaign and 80,000 residents signing a petition to get the group to come to the sleepy city, almost everyone surrendered to Beatlemania. “The wives of the mayor and the councillors were like school kids, desperately trying to get to The Beatles,” says assistant tour manager, Malcolm Cooke. “It was strange that grown people would behave in this way”.
Stranger still are some of the rituals the Beatles were subjected to, including an introduction to a 17-year-old female Ringo Starr look-alike.
Adele Minns reflects back on her unusual encounter with the band. “John [Lennon] stood up and gave me his seat. He said to me, you’re prettier than Ringo,” she recalls.
“Paul McCartney offered me a cigarette. I was just sitting there. I was just in too much awe being with them.”
These interviewees reflect on a very different Australia of 60 years ago — one that was isolated and at the dawn of a revolution. This joyous moment affected them as profoundly as a disaster or tragedy might.
Production credit:
A Docker Media Production for ABC. Created by Kirk Docker, Jon Casimir, Aaron Smith. Director, Kirk Docker. Co-Series Producers, Loni Smith and Josh Schmidt. Line Producer, Megan Nass. ABC Commissioning Editor, Julie Hanna. ABC Head of Factual, Susie Jones.
I Was Actually There on ABC and ABC iview – Tuesday 30 July at 8:00pm
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Listen to TV Central podcast with creator Kirk Docker HERE
I Was Actually There on ABC and ABC iview S1E4
