The Fab Four

Back in June 1964, with a group of friends from school, I attended my first rock concert. I only have vague memories of the event even though it was faithfully recorded with pamphlets, newspaper clippings  and my ticket in one of my Beatles scrapbooks which my mother tossed out after I left home. I have no photos or ephemera to record that important event in my life's journey.

My memories are vague. I know that a schoolfriend's mother lined up in the city to buy our tickets. I wore a new pair of purple ski pants from Mark Foys topped with a mauve mohair jumper my Mum had knitted. My Dad dropped me off and picked me up from the venue, the Stadium, in Rushcutters Bay. Our seats were located not too far back from the rotating stage and we had a reasonable view. I didn't hear much of the music as, like most fans present, I screamed throughout the show. This article has rekindled some memories for me https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/the_beatles_in_sydney

Fast forward 62 years to last weekend when, thanks to a Christmas present from some of the offspsring, we found ourselves in Sydney's State Theatre waiting for a show by the Fab Four, a Beatles tribute group from the US. 

I loved my trip down memory lane. The boys looked a little like the Beatles and sounded a lot like them. I enjoyed the first half of the show better than the second as, in that they sang their earlier songs from the Sixties. I was able to sing along as I  retrieved nearly word of every song from my foggy old brain. 

In the second half the group concentrated on the later and more psychedelic songs some of which I didn't recall at all. During the seventies I was too busy being a young wife and mother to bother with the Beatles and Rock Music. 

At the start of the show the chap playing Paul invited all present to take pictures during the event. It only took me a few seconds to grab my phone and start snapping. Thanks to the images and video I captured I'll have memories of the concert for years to come. He also invited people to get up and dance. I was pleased when the theatre staff kept the dancers to the side aisle so our view was not impeded. The rules were relaxed by the end of the show when most people stood up and danced at their seats.

Following are some visual memories.