On August 20th 1966, with
just two days before the Beatles arrival in New York City, Gary Stevens and
'The Good Guys' at radio station WMCA invited Beatles fans to take part in a
contest of which winners would attend a Beatles Junior Press Conference and be
able to talk directly with the four pop stars.
75 postcards were drawn out
of a huge bin, and those selected winners receive a seat to attend this Beatles Junior
Press Conference for the chance of a lifetime… to ask the Beatles any question
they’d like. There was a similar contest also held by the official American
Beatles Fan Club, and they had picked 75 winners from their club as well. So,
the entire conference wound up consisting of 150 excited attendees. In just 48
hours, WMCA Radio received 48,000 postcards. John Lennon and Paul McCartney
both confirmed that the idea for the special fans-only event came from the
Beatles, themselves, and held this special fans only occasion on the same day
but separately from the usual Beatles press event for New York City reporters.
Gary Stevens stated just
after the one-of-a-kind affair, "We were cordially invited 75 lucky guys
and gals to attend a special Beatles Junior Press Conference... The (kids) did
a great job, and I'll tell you something, the Beatles got such a kick out of
it. I could tell they were really digging it."
Q: "Paul McCartney, are
you going to get married with Jane Asher?"
(crowd of youngsters’ yell
with excitement)
JOHN: (loudly) "Yay!
Tee-hee!"
PAUL: "Umm, I'm PROBABLY
gonna get married with Jane."
(crowd of girls scream)
Q: "I want to know who
your favorite American group is."
JOHN: "Just one? There's
a lot of them."
PAUL: "There's quite a
few of them, you know. Beach Boys, Lovin' Spoonful, Byrds, Mamas And
Papas."
Q: "I'd like to know,
John, are you making a movie without the other Beatles?"
JOHN: "Yes."
Q: "When?"
JOHN: "When I get home
from doing this."
Q: "Are you gonna have a
lead part?"
JOHN: "No."
Q: "A small part?"
JOHN: "It's... you know.
I wouldn't take a lead part. I wouldn't like to."
Q: "Will they put your
name in the movie? You know, in the umm credits?"
JOHN: (jokingly) "I'm
big enough to get a mench."
(laughter)
Q: "I'd like to ask Paul
when the whole group is going to make their next picture."
PAUL: "The next picture
-- We'll probably make it, I think, early next year. But at the moment the
man's writing a script, and it depends on the script, you know, when we make
it."
Q: "I'd like to ask John
-- Is it true he went around London in a gorilla suit?"
(laughter)
JOHN: "No. That was a
film called 'Morgan.' I've got a gorilla suit, which I've worn about twice to
frighten a few people, and it's too hot."
Q: "I'd like to know --
Do you mean all the lyrics that you write?"
PAUL: "We mean them as
lyrics. But I mean, if we write 'We all live in a Yellow Submarine,' we don't
REALLY mean THAT."
(laughter)
Q: "Paul, is Eleanor
Rigby cryptic? Does it got a hidden meaning?"
PAUL: "No, no. No. It's
just a straight song."
JOHN: (comical voice)
"That ain't no hidden meaning, baby."
(laughter)
Q: "I wonder, being in a
group with four people and becoming famous so young, how you managed to evolve
with separate personalities."
PAUL: "The main thing
is, it's true that we're a group of four people together with an image, but we
don't believe that. We don't take that bit of us too seriously."
JOHN: "We're still us,
you know."
PAUL: "We're still
individuals."
Q: "I'd like to wish
John a happy wedding anniversary."
JOHN: "Oh, thank
you!"
(crowd yells and applauds)
Q: "I want to know if
any of you know Patricia Flater in Cumberland, England."
PAUL: "Patricia
who?"
Q: "Flater. F - L - A -
T - E - R."
PAUL: (pause, then comically)
"Suuuuuure!"
(laughter)
Q: "I'd like to ask
Paul, who is Eleanor Rigby? I read in The Beatles Book that she is a person.
Who is she?"
PAUL: "No, she isn't. It
was just a name. It was nearly gonna be Daisy Hawkins."
(laughter)
Q: "I read that she was
someplace with you fellas -- That she met you."
PAUL: "No, it's not a
real person. It's only imagination."
Q: "In the beginning of
your album (Revolver), right before Taxman, there's a lot of squeaking..."
GEORGE: "It's just the
bit before we recorded it, what happened to be on the tape. That part usually
gets cut off. We thought you'd like to hear it."
Q: "I want to know - How
come you don't have the same 'Help' movie and 'Hard Day's Night' movie here in
the United States... It's not as long... Why did you cut it?"
GEORGE: "United Artists
cut the pieces out of it. Not us."
PAUL: "It's got nothing
to do with us, you see. Other people do that -- Cut it. We just make it."
Q: "I heard that Sid
Bernstein offered you to come back next year. Are you looking forward to
it?"
JOHN: "We never heard
about it."
Q: "What do you think of
miniskirts, and do you think they will go higher?"
PAUL: "Well, I like
miniskirts. I think they're fine. The thing is -- At the moment it's
miniskirts, but in Victorian times people were ashamed to show their ankles,
you know."
(girls giggle)
PAUL: "It's just got a
bit higher, now. It may go even higher. (smiling and rocking his head side to
side) WHOOPIE!"
(laughter)
Q: "George, do you have
a cousin named Maggie?"
GEORGE: "No."
Q: "I'd like to know
what you think of the boys that followed you from the airport last night."
JOHN: (jokingly, in
effeminate voice) "We didn't notice them."
(laughter)
Q: "I'd like to ask any
of you -- Have you seen the Beatles cartoon show?"
RINGO: "Yeah."
Q: "What do you think of
it?"
RINGO: "It's okay."
Q: "Do you think it's a
good portrayal of your character?"
PAUL: "It's not really
like us, but it's fun."
Q: "I'd like to know if
this press conference was your idea or if you're just here because of..."
JOHN: "Ours."
PAUL: "Yeah."
RINGO: "Everybody's
having a good time."
(crowd yells)
Q: "Ringo, where do you
get all your rings?"
RINGO: "Umm, people buy
them for me, you know."
BEATLES PRESS SECRETARY: “One
final question, please.”
Q: "I'd like to know --
How do you decide who is going to sing the lead in any of your songs?"
JOHN: "Whoever knows
most of the words."
(laughter)
Now, another point of view.
Sit back and relive this event as one of the lucky postcard winners shares her
participation at the incredible conference…
Q: "What do you remember
about the Beatles Junior Press conference at the Warwick Hotel in New York City
in 1966? How did that come to be?"
FELICE: “My recollection was
that it was around August 20th that WMCA Radio DJ Gary Stevens announced on his
show that the Beatles wanted to have a press conference with the fans asking
them questions instead of the regular media reporters... that they felt it
would be more fun and that they would finally be asked some different questions
for once. So Gary told his audience that there would be a contest held where
you could win the chance to attend a Junior Beatle Press Conference and ask the
Beatles a question. All you needed to do was mail a postcard with your name,
address and phone number to WMCA Radio Station for a chance to win."
Q: "How many winners
were they going to select?"
FELICE: “Gary said that 75
postcards were to be picked out of some sort of bin, and those winners would be
able to attend this Beatles Junior Press Conference for the chance of a
lifetime… to ask the Beatles any question they’d like. The conference was to
take place just a few days later as I recall. I decided that I would mail seven
cards in so that would give me more of a chance to get picked.”
Q: "There were more
winners than just those 75 selected by WMCA radio, correct?"
FELICE: "Yes, there was a similar contest that
was held by the official American Beatles Fan Club, and they had picked 75 of
THEIR winners from their club as well. So the entire conference wound up
consisting of 150 attendees."
Q: "So you'd have to be
very lucky to be one of the lucky ones."
FELICE: "Yes, it was outrageously lucky. I could
not believe how exciting this opportunity was. Especially for a huge Beatles
fan like me. I adored them, and here I was being offered a chance to win entry
into the same room as them….and even a chance to ask a question. Nothing could
be better than that."
Q: "I can't imagine how
that must have felt... like an overdose of anticipation."
FELICE: "Being a
15-year-old kid from New Jersey, who never got close to winning anything in her
life, and who was totally and completely in love with the Beatles, I ran over
to my neighborhood church and knelt in front of the Sacred Heart statue,
praying desperately to win for three solid hours... because everything happens
in three’s, I was always told. I prayed harder than I ever prayed in my life
with such passion that I actually remember crying and pleading with God because
I wanted to win so bad."
Q: "So you were just
waiting to see what came in the mail then."
FELICE: "Yes, and the
anticipation was overwhelming. The mail arrived, but not a trace of any Special
Delivery mailings. So, I ran to the phone and called WMCA and asked if I had
won the contest. They said, 'No, I’m sorry, but if you didn’t receive the
Special Delivery by now, that means that your postcard was not picked.' My heart sank big time, and I was totally
depressed. I remember crying on my
parents' bed for what I recall was about half an hour straight. Then suddenly,
I hear my Mother coming into the house yelling, 'Felicia, you got something in
the mail.' "
Q: "That must have been
a serious adrenaline rush."
FELICE: “To put it lightly,
yes! I knew it had to be the Special Delivery... the LATE Special Delivery...
but the Special Delivery regardless. I found out after the Conference, that in
just 48 hours, WMCA Radio received 48,000 postcards as I recall, and I was one
of the 75 winners picked.”
Q: "So you went from
total depression, to...."
FELICE: "I was ecstatic.
I have never been happier about anything else in my life like I was at that
moment. It is beyond words how overjoyed I was to win. I worshipped the
Beatles. They were the best thing that ever happened in my life. So winning
this contest was just like heaven."
Q: "What an incredible
moment that must have been."
FELICE: "It was
indescribable. I was so incredibly excited. I then begged my Mother to at least
buy me a good dress to wear... one that looked Jane Asher-like, of course. And
she did, believe it or not. But there was no family camera to bring, so I did
not have a camera with me during the conference, and it turns out that we WERE
allowed to take pictures... something unheard of nowadays."
Q: "So you were looking
mod in your new dress."
FELICE: "Yes, as much as
I could possibly pull off. I remember even ironing my long hair like girls used
to do in the 60’s. I wanted to look so great and 'with it' for the
Beatles."
Q: "What do you remember
about the big trip to New York City that day?"
FELICE: "Besides an
overwhelming amount of anticipation and a feeling of total bliss, I must admit
there was one thing that put a damper on things, and that was being forced to
leave some of my closest girlfriends behind as I was allowed into the
conference. My friends had accompanied me on the bus trip from Hoboken, New
Jersey to New York City, and we were all crazy with happiness up until the
security point where you had to show your two special passes. At that point,
obviously, I was forced to wave goodbye to my friends as I continued on towards
the Warwick Hotel’s entrance. It was a very heartbreaking experience for me not
to be able to take them along. I recall one friend made a tribute book to Paul
and asked that I give it to him at the conference. Believe it or not, I did get
to hand it to one of the managers before the conference began, and I asked that
he give it to Paul. He apparently did, because I saw Paul thumbing through the
book right at the conference table, and he even looked impressed at what he was
reading! Later on, sometime after the
conference, my girlfriend received a response from someone in Paul’s camp
thanking her for the book."
Q: "It must have been a
fan and media zoo outside of the hotel with the knowledge that the Beatles were
inside."
FELICE: "Arriving for
the conference was like arriving at an event where the President of the United
States was appearing along with the Oscar Award Show going on at the same time
and in the same place! That’s how many fans and security surrounded all blocks
around the entire perimeter of that Warwick Hotel area in mid-town Manhattan.
New York literally came to a stop in that section of the City. It was amazing.
The excitement was overwhelming. You could actually feel the air having almost
a thick quality to it, thick with an emotional high and energy, if you know
what I mean. There were fans standing shoulder to shoulder screaming and
carrying on, but being held back by continual barricades separating them from
any hotel entrance. The loud excitement of the fans permeated the New York air,
but as far as I can remember, no 'crazy' incidents to speak of took place, at
least at those moments. I do recall that a day or so before, there was a fan
who threatened to jump off a New York building if she wasn’t allowed to meet
the Beatles. Besides the fans, the press most likely saturated the entire area.
However, my main focus was very concentrated on just getting myself as quickly
as possible into that hotel."
Q: "Beatles events in
earlier years were not as secure as one would have thought... but by August
1966... this was in midst of all the controversy of Lennon's 'Jesus' statement
by this time. How secure was security at the Warwick Hotel that night?"
FELICE: "No one was
allowed past a certain perimeter of the hotel area. All fans and the public
were held back by barricades. Cops were all milling around that section, so I
approached one, doing my best to quietly tell him that I had special passes to
attend a Beatles conference inside the hotel. Obviously, I was paranoid that
some fan next to me would hear and jump me for the passes. Then, when I very
carefully showed him the identifications, he directed me past the barricades
and towards the hotel. This seemed to me to be quite a long walk, in a way, but
I believe it indicated that security’s main objective was to keep everyone far
back from any hotel entrance. When I continued to get closer and closer to the
Warwick door, there were plainclothes guards that approached me to see the
passes again. These men, along with the regular uniformed police, stopped me
around 3 or 4 additional times as I approached the door. When I actually got to the building itself,
they lead me into what appeared to be the back entrance and then down into what
seemed to be a basement. I got a little frightened at that point, thinking,
'Where the heck are they taking us?' At that point, I was in a small group with
some of the other winners that happened to be entering the building at the same
time as me. We were led up a flight, down a hallway, around a corner and
finally into the Warwick Press Conference Room."
Q: "What are your
memories of entering that room?"
FELICE: "When I walked
in, the lights were really bright. They were the kind that you would see on a
movie set. Seeing those lights made it all come together in my mind that this
wasn’t a fantasy, but it really was going to happen. Plus, the room had a
definite buzz to it… an electricity. The kids already in the room were pretty
loud, and there were some adults milling around. The first thing I thought was,
'I’m running for the best seat I can possibly get!' So, I grabbed a seat in the 2nd row, a little
to the left of dead center, and it was around 10 feet away from the Beatles'
conference table. I was thrilled that I got such a good seat."
Q: "What happened
next?"
FELICE: "Before the
Beatles came out, I saw Gary Stevens in the front area. He was making sure
things were going OK. I also saw Brian Epstein and Neil Aspinall walking around
the front area as well. Gary and the other adults were trying to quiet the
screaming kids down. However, everyone
was pretty much continuing to talk and kind of scream, as we were all waiting
for the Beatles to show up. No one was really listening to the adults, and I
think they were starting to get kind of pissed at the kids. Then, we were all
handed a little gift packet. It contained four individual and
professionally-taken pictures of the Beatles that were all personally autographed! I think there might have been one or two
other items as well in the gift envelope."
Q: "What happened as the
Beatles entered the room?"
FELICE: "The 150 winners
went wild with screams when the doors behind the Warwick conference table
opened, and the Beatles all appeared. I remember the four of them kind of
jumping down a step onto the level of the conference table and then taking
their seats. The room went ballistic. Kids were screaming their heads off. It
was magical."
Q: "What were you
thinking and feeling at that moment?"
FELICE: “I cannot really
describe how unbelievable that moment was for me. My idols, right there before
my eyes! And so close, even. About 10 feet away. How amazing the feeling was.
All four Beatles looked even better in person than any photograph or movie I
had ever seen them in. Paul has what I call ‘Liz Taylor hair,’ jet black and
beautiful and darker than all of the photos we’ve all seen. And although he
seemed totally shaven, I recall that he still had this dark 5 o’clock shadow on
his face, indicating how black his hair was. He was divine looking, of
course….amazingly handsome. And John’s hair looked way lighter than photos and
movies had shown. You could tell he was originally a kind of blond kid when he
was very young. He, too, was gorgeous and so sexy and irresistible. It was just
amazing to be in his presence. Ringo and George had a kind of richness to their
faces, really attractive, with Ringo’s big, beautiful, blue eyes piercing
through you, and George’s deep, dark stare making him so appealing. I felt so
incredibly lucky and thankful for this moment that it is truly hard to express
how happy I was in that room.”
Q: "I assume it must
have been chaos trying to hold a teenage press conference with the Beatles in
the same room."
FELICE: "There were
constant pleads from Gary and the other adults and the managers to please quiet
down. The kids, unfortunately, did not listen and kept on screaming. I had
never really been a screaming fan… I was more of a crier. I didn’t believe,
even at that young age, that my loud screaming should be overpowering their
music during a concert or hearing what they were answering during an interview.
So, if I screamed, it certainly wasn’t like most of the girls, lasting through
practically the whole interview. Therefore, those kids were starting to really
piss me off actually, because I just wanted to hear every word that the Beatles
said."
Q: "What do you remember
about the questions and answers?"
FELICE: "The Beatles'
four individual personalities really came out in the way they answered
questions. As all Beatle fans know, John has that sharpness and wit about him,
and Paul is the one who explains answers more fully. George and Ringo tend to
speak up a lot less than John and Paul do. I remember one of the fans
presenting Ringo with a white spider-type toy for his son Zak, and Ringo seemed
very appreciative of her thought. I also remember one of the more outgoing type
fans saying something comical and making all of them laugh, especially John."
Q: "Did you get to ask a
question?"
FELICE: "Yes, I did. I
was extremely nervous about asking my favorite Beatle, Paul, a question. So, as
to not lose it completely, I decided that if I did get a chance, I would direct
a question to my second favorite Beatle, John. Being young and quite shy, I
couldn’t seem to think of an appropriate question, so I resorted to asking if a
certain newspaper article was true or not. This article had stated that John
ordered a guitar from a manufacturer in Hoboken, New Jersey, my hometown.
Thinking that this seemed a bit odd to me that John Lennon would order a guitar
from little old Hoboken, I decided that I would ask John if it were true or
not. I must admit, that if I had been a bit older, I would actually have asked
something different. In any case, when I did ask John the question, there was
so much loud screaming going on from the fans in the room, that he didn’t
understand or hear my full question... I think half due to the kids screaming
and half due to Hoboken being kind of a weird name to throw at an English guy.
I seem to remember being asked to repeat the question multiple times. I noticed
Neil Aspinall wanting to help clarify, leaning over and whispering in John’s ear
that Hoboken was a town in New Jersey. At that point, John said, 'Oh, OK, well
no, that’s not true. And, you shouldn’t believe most of what the papers write
about us. Most of it is not accurate.' "
"At the very end of the
conference, something happened that indicated that the article might have been
half true after all. Unbeknownst to John, and to me, a guy marched up to the
conference table just as the Beatles were leaving and presented John with a
guitar. Apparently, it was a custom-made gift for him from a Hoboken guitar
company to be presented at the conference. So the newspapers got it half
correct because John did not order it, nor did he know anything of this
presentation. Meanwhile, I’m witnessing this taking place, and thinking, ‘Wow,
this must be related somehow to the question I asked John!’. Obviously, there
was no way I would have been allowed to run up to the table and communicate my
thoughts on the subject. The next thing that took place was the Beatles exiting
through the Warwick door behind conference table.”
Q: "What an amazing
experience and wonderful memory that day must have been."
FELICE: "A shy kid from
Hoboken who adored the Beatles more than life itself actually got to sit 10
feet away from all 4 of them for the entire conference and even got to speak
directly to John Lennon! The feeling was indescribable. Remember, especially in
those days; you couldn’t even get remotely close to the Beatles, let alone sit
in the same room and even speak to them! This was heaven for a real Beatles
fan. I had just received the best gift that I ever could have received in my
life. The only thing better would have been to leave WITH the Beatles as they
exited the Warwick Conference Room that day. It was truly the best day of my
life."
Q: "What happened once
the conference was over, and the Beatles made their exit?"
FELICE: “It ripped my heart
out to see them leave. I wanted so bad to run through the same door that the
Beatles were exiting. As all the fans were leaving the press room, one of the
girls -- who I had met while walking into the Warwick -- ran back towards the
table and grabbed the ashtray that Ringo had been using during the conference.
She started running out of the room with it. I grabbed her and begged her for
at least some of the contents. She reluctantly gave me one of Ringo’s cigarette
butts and ashes. I was ecstatic. At that point, we continued exiting out of the
Warwick Conference Room, completely high on happiness. Short of meeting the
Beatles personally, just them and me, nothing could compare to this experience.
I was so very grateful.”
Q: "Did you also have tickets for their 1966
concert at Shea Stadium?"
FELICE: "Yes, I went to
the concert the next day. Believe it or not, I think I went alone, due to my
girlfriend’s parents not allowing them to attend. I recall riding and then
exiting the New York train to Shea and being scared about getting lost, but it
actually wound up being very easy, because I just followed the crowd and the
yellow lines on the subway floor leading everyone to the Stadium. I had really
bad seats, pretty high up in the stands, but was still so thankful that I was
there that day. When the Beatles came out, they looked like four little ants
really, because I was so very far away, but it was still exciting as hell. I
wouldn’t have traded the experience for the world. The feeling in that stadium
was outrageously exhilarating. The screams were deafening, and it sounded just
like an extremely loud jet engine or siren-type noise that was right on top of
you and never, ever stopped through the whole concert. It actually hurt your
ears. I have never heard that kind of sound at any event in my entire life. The
electricity and energy in the air was amazing. Again, a day I will never, ever
forget.
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