August 22, 1964 - Royal Canadian Air Force Station & Empire Stadium, Vancouver

Taped: Saturday 22 August 1964

The show began at 8.14 and The Beatles came on at 9.23. Despite the long show, many reporters still thought that The Beatles' 29-minute set was too short. William Littler, in a grumpy piece in the Vancouver Sun, said, "Seldom in Vancouver's entertainment history have so many (20,261) paid so much ($5.25 top price) for so little (27 minutes) as did the audience which screamed at The Beatles in Empire Stadium Saturday night."

Three attempts were made to smash the ten-foot high stadium gates, and it finally buckled under the strain seconds after The Beatles began their performance, but only a dozen or so fans managed to get in before police and ushers got it closed again and held it shut with their bodies. Their exit was timed to perfection. They completed 'Long Tall Sally', bowed low while unstrapping their guitars, bolted from the stage into waiting limousines and with motorcycle outriders, they were out of the stadium fewer than 30 seconds from their last note. The Beatles drove straight to the airport where they caught a plane to Los Angeles.

Thousands of teenagers left their seats and rushed the stage, crushing hundreds of young girls against the restraining fence. Dozens of girls suffered broken ribs and hundreds were treated for hysteria and shock.

How I Didn't Become a Beatle: Liverpool in the 1950s and 60s

by Brian James Hudson

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Liverpool was an exciting place to be a university student. For Yorkshire-born Brian Hudson, it was a joy to be on Merseyside at a time when the Cavern Club was just one of many Liverpool clubs where live music could be enjoyed. A jazz enthusiast and a keen drummer, Brian tried to find work for the university jazz band at the Jacaranda Club. Unable to persuade the owner, he was invited instead to join two guitarists and form a new beat group, Cass and the Cassanovas, later to become part of the Beatles story. Brian's decision to leave the group to focus on his studies and devote his leisure time to university jazz may have steered him away from a life in rock & roll, but it allowed him to remain on the Liverpool scene, meeting and getting to know many of its most colorful characters. Many entertaining, amusing, and sometimes deeply touching anecdotes are recounted here, sure to strike a chord with anyone who remembers the city during the heady days of Liverpool Sound. Accompanying the text are a wide variety of photographs, which have as a backdrop a rapidly changing Liverpool.

The Beatles: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song, 1967-70

by Steve Turner

There was rich praise for the original edition of "The Beatles Stories Behind The Songs Book", including Steve Matteo in "The Music Paper" describing it as, 'One of the most readable and illuminating books ever written about The Beatles', and in his autobiography, "Many Years From Now", even Paul McCartney acknowledged Steve Turner's work. Where is Penny Lane? What was the inspiration for "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"? Steve Turner shatters many well-worn myths and adds a new dimension to the Fab Four's rich legacy by investigating the events immortalised in The Beatles' music and now occupying a special niche in popular culture's collective imagination.

December 12, 1968 - Rood Wit Blauw

Taped: Thursday 12 December 1968
Aired: Wednesday 15 January 1969

The Beatles: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song, 1962-66

by Steve Turner

There was rich praise for the original edition of "The Beatles Stories Behind The Songs Book", including Steve Matteo in "The Music Paper" describing it as 'One of the most readable and illuminating books ever written about The Beatles'. In his autobiography, "Many Years From Now", even Paul McCartney acknowledged Steve Turner's work. Who was 'just seventeen' and made Paul's heart go 'boom'? Was there really an Eleanor Rigby? Steve Turner shatters many well-worn myths and adds a new dimension to the Fab Four's rich legacy by investigating the events immortalised in The Beatles' music and now occupying a special niche in popular culture's collective imagination.

Making Sense of Dylan's 1963 Newport Folk Festival Appearances

Recently released on DVD, The Other Side of the Mirror is an important visual record of Bob Dylan's 1963 appearances at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Unfortunately, the DVD's booklet contains errors when it comes to identifying dates for the performances and the official Dylan site is of no help, listing only two songs from the opening night (July 26). Luckily, the audio for the festival still survives, allowing for the complete reconstruction of Dylan's sets. It turns out he performed on all three days of the festival that year and on two of those days, he played songs that failed to make the final cut of The Other Side of the Mirror. The full Dylan set lists for Newport 1963 are assembled on the Live Show Archive Bob Dylan page.

That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966-1970

From Revolver to Let It Be, That Magic Feeling: The Beatles Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966—1970, continues the chronicle of the group’s spectacular career from its creative zenith to its irrevocable split

As the Beatles moved into the mid and late 1960s, their collective and individual musical talent and innovations evolved at an unparalleled pace. Like its companion volume, Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles’ Recorded Legacy, Volume One, 1957—1965, this unique work thoroughly chronicles all known and available Beatles recordings during this period of incredible creative growth.

Have you ever watched a Beatles film clip and wondered:
• Where was that filmed?
• Is any more of that footage available?

Have you ever heard a Beatles interview and asked:
• When was that taped?
• Where’s the best place to find the complete recording?

That Magic Feeling answers these and thousands of similar questions. With more than 500 entries, it includes recording sessions, concerts, newsreel footage, press clips, TV and film performances, home movies, radio interviews, documentaries, studio outtakes, home demos, and alternative mixes–all of which are given complete coverage for the first time.

Author John C. Winn has spent two decades poring over, scrutinizing, organizing, and analyzing hundreds of hours of audio and video recordings and compiling them into a digestible chronological framework, creating the ultimate reference guide to the Beatles’ legendary musical and cultural evolution.

“[An] impressive tome . . . marvelous.”
—Mark Lewisohn, author of The Complete Beatles Chronicle

“[A] beautifully written study of every Beatle sound ever to reach the public . . . highly recommended for anyone wishing to learn more about what the Beatles played, sang and said.”
—Walter Everett, author of The Beatles as Musicians

“Not only extraordinarily useful, but a joy to read.”
—Allan Kozinn, author of The Beatles

The FBI: Watching The Mike Douglas Show

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

New York, New York
February 25, 1972

Jerry Clyde Rubin

On February 22, 1972, Jerry Rubin appeared on the Mike Douglas Television Show which was aired on Channel II, Columbia Broadcasting System, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. John Lennon, formerly with the Beatles musical group, and his wife were co-hosts on this show. This program was tape recorded and pertinent statements made by Rubin are included in this memorandum.

Mike Douglas introduced Jerry Rubin stating his feelings were quite negative concerning Rubin but that John Lennon wanted him on the show.

John Lennon stated that Rubin was not at all like his image as he and his wife were not like their image. He stated he found something in Rubin that was artistic.

Mike Douglas asked, "What is Jerry Rubin thinking about these days?"

Rubin stated, "Glad you asked that! We're going to support Nixon for President, because by going to China he is furthering communist revolution throughout the world, and also encouraging communism at home. Anything to get elected! Even though it's not appreciated by the right wing, it's appreciated by the left. I'm just kidding! What he has really done is automate the war in Vietnam so that its machines killing people create a situation where 43 people can be murdered at Attica, create a situation where four kids can be killed at Kent State and people are afraid. The atmosphere of the country is one of his debts. I think the administration did this, and he is the symbol of it. And so I'm working very hard with people all over the country to defeat Nixon."

When questioned about the "Movement," Rubin stated that "the way the movement has changed is the pressure is so heavy that if anybody does anything, gets arrested, jailed, killed, that people are very pessimistic."

Douglas stated he had heard that Rubin was against drugs and this was the reason he was in favor of having him on the program. Rubin stated he was not against drugs but against heroin. Rubin stated, "the police are the protectors of the heroin trade, and heroin is used against Black people and against some white people right now, as a killer drug. Too many young kids are taking downers and heroin, because they see no future for themselves in this country, they see no hope in changing the country, they see no decent life in which they can be creative and express themselves, so they shoot into their veins and take a pill. And that's the society's fault, as it offers no alternative. As a revolutionary movement, we've got to give an alternative."

When questioned about voting, Rubin stated that all young people should vote as a block, just like women should vote as a block. "We've got to get Nixon out of the White House because we've got to stop the automated war in Vietnam. It's power if we vote together. We shouldn't vote for any candidate that doesn't automatically withdraw everything from Vietnam. And we ought to go to both Conventions in Miami and San Diego and non-violently make our presence felt and stand on the issues. If we do anything any other way, we'll be killed."

When questioned as to what he thinks is right in this country, Rubin stated that what's right is the fact that there are people in the country who want to change it. He stated that what he thought was beautiful about it, is that the children of America want to change the country and are going to.