Details
- Country: France
- City: Paris
- Location: Olympia Hall
Location
Location: Olympia Hall
Timeline
Concert Jan 18, 1964 • France • Paris • First show
Concert Jan 18, 1964 • France • Paris • Second show
Concert Jan 19, 1964 • France • Paris • First show
Concert Jan 19, 1964 • France • Paris • Second show
January 19, 2 a.m.
A day or two into the Paris trip, we were all having a drink, and George said, “That sure was some pillow fight we had the other night.” My ears perked up: a pillow fight. But there was another newspaper guy sitting there. I’m thinking, I know the bastard’s heard this, so I register it in my head for when I’ve got the four of them—alone. I file it away and let a few nights pass.
It was two in the morning, just me and the Beatles in John’s room. Everyone else had left. They were in their nightclothes. They’d ordered up food and whiskey. And Epstein came in. He had big news: “ ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ just made it onto the charts in the US.” They erupted in cackles. They were beaming. Then he put the icing on the cake: “And next month we’re off to America. You’re going to be on The Ed Sullivan Show.” (The song had just entered the Billboard 100 at number 45. By February 1, it would climb to number one.)
So I saw my opening. I suggested they celebrate with a pillow fight—like the one George had mentioned. John immediately shot it down: “No. It’ll make us look silly.” But I kept my eye on John, who started slinking off. And just as I lifted my camera, John sneaked up behind Paul and pow, whacked him in the head with a pillow. Paul’s drink went flying, and they were off.
They went at it. Quite vicious, letting off steam. If one went down, the others would pile on, like dogs fighting over a scrap of meat. Paul was smacked down, dazed, and John went right behind him, bang. Back and forth. Paul got the worst of it. Two rolls of Tri-X 120 film later—a total of 23 frames and one blank—they were exhausted.
In one frame, three of them were in midair above Paul on the bed and they were in a perfect tumble of pajamas and pillows, and I got it, a kind of waterfall of Beatles. I was using a Rolleiflex 120, which has a two-and-a-quarter-inch negative, so it’s pin-sharp clarity, with depth running through the blacks and whites. I knew it as I photographed: This was what I’d come for—the number one rock-and-roll band in the world having a pillow fight.
I’ve been a photographer for 70 years, and the pillow fight is one of my favorite photos. It’s a fun picture. It has access. It has intensity and fame and pure joy. And irony: grown men in their pajamas, acting like kids. It shows the greatest band in history at their giddiest moment of greatness. And it can never be repeated.
But most of all, I love it because it didn’t just mean the Beatles were going to America. It meant that I was going with them.
Harry Benson – From The Beatles Stormed America in 1964. I Was With Them, Day and Night | Vanity Fair, January 17, 2024
Olympia Hall
This was the 7th concert played at Olympia Hall.
A total of 39 concerts have been played there • 1964 • Jan 16 (Second show) • Jan 16 (First show) • Jan 17 (Second show) • Jan 17 (First show) • Jan 18 (First show) • Jan 18 (Second show) • Jan 19 (First show)• Jan 19 (Second show) • Jan 20 (First show) • Jan 20 (Second show) • Jan 22 (Second show) • Jan 22 (First show) • Jan 23 (First show) • Jan 23 (Second show) • Jan 24 (Second show) • Jan 24 (First show) • Jan 25 (Second show) • Jan 25 (First show) • Jan 26 (Second show) • Jan 26 (First show) • Jan 27 (First show) • Jan 27 (Second show) • Jan 29 (Second show) • Jan 29 (First show) • Jan 30 (Second show) • Jan 30 (First show) • Jan 31 (Second show) • Jan 31 (First show) • Feb 1 (First show) • Feb 1 (Second show) • Feb 2 (First show) • Feb 2 (Second show) • Feb 3 (Second show) • Feb 3 (First show) • Feb 4 (Second show) • Feb 4 (First show) • 1972 • Jul 16 (Afternoon show) • Jul 16 (Evening show) • 2007 • Oct 22
Setlist for the concert
First show
Written by Chuck Berry
Written by Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell
Written by Phil Medley, Bert Russell
Second show
Written by Chuck Berry
Written by Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell
Written by Phil Medley, Bert Russell
Third show
Written by Chuck Berry
Written by Luther Dixon, Wes Farrell
Written by Phil Medley, Bert Russell
