BRIAN Kendall's new book on the Beatles Our Hearts Went Boom (The Beatles’
invasion of Canada) has just been released by Penguin.

the beginning

“Th 10 comparison | with any other crowd Tre seen. These people have
lost albability to think.” — Vancouver police inspector Bud Erristaton on
the night the Beatles plaved Empire Stadium

IN 1964 the Beatles made their only appearance in
Vancouver during the Pacific

National Exhibition. Aug. 22 to

be exact.

Every year the PNE books headline
performers to appear during the cun of
the fair, Beck and Michael Hutchence’s
INXS were among the bands that played
this year. Joni Mitchell, Fela Kuti and
many others have also been part of the
end ‘of summer fun. In °64 the Empire
Stadium show was the Beatles first-ever
Canadian concert.

On the same 32-show, 34-day tour they played two shows cach
at Toronto’s Maple Leaf. Gardens and Montreal's Forum. Brian
Kendall recaptures the time in his new book Our Hearts Wene Boom
(The Beatles Invasion of Canada), which is the first time anyone has
documented the Canadian experienc

Kendall’s latest work is a departure from his previous published
efforts, which were primarily concerned with sports figures such as
pitching ace/war hero Phil Marchildon and goalie Terry Sawchuk.
The author’s contacts did help though in that the Eastern Canadian
dates on the Beatles 64 tour were held in hockey arenas and he had

to the photos of Gardens photographer Joe Black of Graphic
STS.

“Most people have never heard of Black’s photos. The majority

have never been published before,” says Kendall. The images are invaluable as they doc-
t Toronto’s reaction to the group from the April line-up to buy tickets to the actu-
al concerts in Septembe

The book also u Yoronto and Montreal dailies to

today — the only televised cov-
chartered Electra refueled in the

photographs from Vancouver,
augment the story. TV was n major presence as it
erage he includes is from Winnipeg's CKY. The band’
Prairie city on its way to San Francisco. BCTV surprised him during an interview with
some historical footage they shot so that might make it into the second edition.

Kendall researched the era through newspaper accounts and personal inte
talked to between 40 and 50 people for the book. They ranged from private citizens to
cclebrities of the era such as Vancouver DJ Red Robinson and Toronto press photogra-
pher Boris Spremo.”

Other interviews include Peter Miniaci of Toronto’s Beatlemania Shoppe, Beatles
memorabilia collector Andrew Croft, former Beatles fan-club president Trady Metcalf and
one-half of Toronto's fanatical Manea twins.

Along with Red Robinson the major source of information on tac Vancouver concert
was aman named Jim Beckstead. Kendall found him through a Globe and M
als ad requesting information on the Beatles. To classify Beckstead as a “tir
it mildly.

In August of 1964 Winnipeg internist Dr. Lou Beckstead, his wife Vera and their two
children, nineteen-year-old jim and ten-year-old Sharon, came to Vancouver on vacation.
They not only were booked into the Beatles’ hotel (the Hotel Georgia) but Lou, com-
pletely out of character, had bought the family tickets to the Beatles concert.

The Vancouver shaw, by the way, never did sell-out with just over 20,000 arrending
the event. The PNE barely broke even on the event with tickets priced from $3.25
to $5.25.

“In my opinion, there just weren't enough twelve-to-titteen-year-old girls to go
around,” Red Robinson told Kendall. “Not in Vancouver anyway. The slightly older
kids would catch on to the Beatles soon enough. But in 1964 most of their follow-
ing consisted of very young girls.’

is putting

NEWS photo Mike Wakefield

io Mt Main Sig!

North Vancouver

Toronto Star

POLICE hold back the crowd surrounding Toronto’s King Edward Hotel during the band’s stay
there in September of 1964. The hote! would host them twice more during later tours.

Vancouver was the fourth city on the rour (after San Francisco, two shows in Las Vegas
and Seattle) and the build-up for the band was making the authorities nervous. Hotel
Georgia manager Peter Hudson ordered that no onc under the age of 21 was allowed in
the hotel without an adult, The band had reserved the rweifth floor for its entourage.

Jim Beckstead took photos of the growing crowd outside from a hotel window. The
police had to rescue a Ringo impersonator who was hired by CFUN to drive around ia a
convertible wearing a Beatle wig. In the end the band never did make it to the Hotel
Georgia. Brian Epstein decided to keep everybody in Seattle and fly into Vancouver on
the day of the show.

Beckstead provides a good picture of what ic was like at the Hotel Georgia and
Robinson fills us in on the ‘actual show, including his famous es change with Lennon when
Epstein sent the local DJ/MC_ out to calm the crowd. “Several times during the show the
stadium’s floodlights were switched on as a warning to the fans,” Kendall writes. Despite
Robinson's pleas * “the bedlam continued and the Beatles had no choice but to keep going.
The situation was already dangerous cnough, Who could guess what might happen if
group suddenty walked off the stage?

The other acts for the Vancouver show included the Righteous Brothers and Jackie De
Shannon. New Orleans legend Clarence “Frogman”™ Henry performed on the bill ir
Toronto and Montreal. The tirst North American tour ended on Sept. 20 in New York
with the band having played to more than 350,000 people.

“When T thought of writing the book the w ‘hole idea came to me instantly, including
the title,” Kendall. “I cook the idea to my editor Cynthia Good at Penguin and she'd
sat in the second row at vronto concert.”

The rest is history. Well-written, informative and just in time for Christmas.

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