Brisbane • Afternoon show

From State Library Blogs, June 29, 2012:

[…] The Beatles arrived at Brisbane airport just after midnight on 29 June where they were greeted by thousands of screaming fans. Over 200 uniformed police lined the tarmac with 20 detectives mingling in the crowd. Due to the swell of the crowd one of the restraining fences shielding the VIP area was reported to have started bending. Six girls were treated by ambulance workers; 2 for hysteria and 4 who fainted in the crush.

Paul McCartney was first to step off the plane and onto the gangway, followed by John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. They stepped on to an awaiting table-top truck and began a tour of the fence line to acknowledge the crowd.  The excitment was marred by an unfortunate incident when a handful of attendees at the back of the crowd threw a barrage of eggs, tomatoes, orange peel, newspapers and a cushion at the Beatles. Paul McCartney later remarked “We were disappointed at the egg throwing…it was all so pointless.”  Due to this incident the Beatles did not make any further public appearances outside of their concert performances. It was reported that John Lennon said,  “No more unscheduled public appearances we’ve had enough eggs. As long as we’re in Brisbane it’s just here [Lennon’s Hotel] and the [Festival] hall for us.”

There were four concerts played by the Beatles at Festival Hall over two nights (29 & 30 June 1964). There were several support bands including The Phantoms, Johnny Devlin and Sounds Incorportated. The Beatles were the last act, performing for 30 minutes of the 90 minute show. Approximately 5,000 fans attended each of the four concerts. A reporter from the Brisbane Telegraph newspaper stated “mostly you could hear the drum beats from Ringo, the guitars sometimes and all the time the non-stop screams. You couldn’t hear the Beatles sing…. Every time they opened their mouths, so did the crowds..”.  The Governor ofQueensland, Sir Henry Abel Smith and his wife Lady May attended one concert and stated “We thoughly enjoyed last night…we were nearly deafened but everyone had such a good time”. […]

Brisbane Festival Hall

This was the 1st concert played at Brisbane Festival Hall.

A total of 4 concerts have been played there • 1964 • Jun 29 (Afternoon show)• Jun 29 (Evening show) • Jun 30 (Afternoon show) • Jun 30 (Evening show)

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