I was another Beatle in 1963 (From Echo)

I was another Beatle in 1963

11:30pm Friday 21st January 2011 in Memories

THE story of the Beatles’ visit to Southend in 1963 has often been told. It’s less well known there were in fact eight Beatles in town that day – and I was one of them.

There was considerable concern about the perils involved in getting the Beatles into the Odeon cinema, where they were due to perform on stage.

A huge, excited crowd had built up around the stage door. The atmosphere was at fever pitch. There was concern the situation could get out of control. The Fab Four could be mobbed, even injured or killed in the stampede.

The solution was a diversion.

Myself and three other local men were dressed in Beatles costumes, and settled in the back of a limo.

On cue, the limo began to proceed down Southend High Street, which was still open to traffic in those days.

The diversion worked like a dream. Large sections of the crowds swarmed into the High Street to see their gods. While this was going on, the real Beatles, who had been hidden in a storage shed, were smuggled into the Odeon through a back door.

My memory of the car journey has faded, but I do recall being given a pound for my services as a Beatle lookalike, and feeling extremely pleased with the pay level. Years later, after the Beatles had split up, Paul McCartney returned to Southend to perform with his wife at the Cliffs Pavilion.

I was one of four journalists selected to interview him. The interviews were recorded worldwide for MTV.

I managed to grab the majority of the time available because Paul seemed very interested in recalling that original Southend Beatles concert.

He certainly had very clear memories of that shed.

JOHN GILES, retired Echo reporter