It Was 35 Years Ago Today (4/28/74)

By

8

lennon74.jpgApril 28, 1974, New York City. It was an unseasonably warm Sunday (as it is today, here). It was warm enough to wear my new Capitol Records 10th Anniversary Beatles T-Shirt to Central Park to see John Lennon and Harry Nilsson talk for about 15 minutes on the main stage to support the March of Dimes Walkathon. 100,000 people were there and it was the shirt that led me directly to John (The pretty full story has been told previously). That was the day I met with John and told him my idea of a Beatles Fan’s Celebration. He got all excited about it and I will never, ever forget his exact words. John said, “I’m all for it. I’m a Beatles Fan, too!” With that one 15 minute meeting, my germ of an idea started to take definite shape. I think he liked the fact that I was a true fan (who also happened to work in a record store) and not some big corporation person. A little more than 4 months later, the first Fest was held at the old Commodore Hotel in NYC and over 8,000 fans were in attendance. John, true to his word, donated a signed guitar of his for the Charity Raffle. He wanted to come down and pick the winner in person, but on that day decided to go out of town. We even had a microphone for him set up in the balcony, with a path in through the kitchen. We didn’t tell a soul about it, but we were ready! I wish he had the chance to see it, but I did get to tell him all about it, in person, a little later that year. The convention was the cover story of Rolling Stone in their 10/24/74 issue, with the heading “Strange Rumblings in Pepperland”. The cover had a Beatles Lunch Box on it and the story was written by Joel Siegel. It has been a truly amazing 35 years and I feel privileged to be able to present the FESTs still in 2009! It is quite clear now that The Beatles music will live forever and the pure joy of The Beatles has been successfully passed

Share

8 thoughts on “It Was 35 Years Ago Today (4/28/74)”

  1. I remember that Rolling Stone and I even remember that ad for Beatlefest. I remember thinking, “why don’t we ever get cool stuff like that here in Chicago”……and voila 1977 you brought us Beatlefest.

    Thank You Mark for all those wonderful years. I’ve made a lot of friends and it’s great to be with other Beatle people for a weekend who TOTALLY understand you.

    Hope we make it through another 35, wheelchairs and all!

    See you in August.

    Jamie

  2. Thanks, Mark for 35 years of Fests. I didn’t win any raffles that first Fest, but I did get to tap, with the permission of the lucky winner,the tabla that George donated

  4. i used to go to the beatle fests in the 1980’s and the 1990’s….but unfortunately the FEST FOR BEATLES fans is no longer fun….it has lost it’s intimacy and innocence. John Lennon would not be happy to see what has happened….. What started out as a great concept has turned into a greedy money hungry business…You have lost the “soul” of the Beatlefest. I for one am outraged at the ticket prices…lousy food and all the “new” Beatle products you sell at your table. But as W.C. Fields used to say…”There is a sucker born every minute”
    I, FOR ONE, will never return to your fest…
    Because I am a “true” Beatles and John Lennon fan!
    Have you ever noticed that in all the years of the Beatlesfest you’ve had every Tom,Dick and Harry who knows how the Beatles wiped their asses and picked their noses…and all these so-called famous people who had something or other to do with the Beatles and now they have all these stories to tell and books to write and THINGS TO SELL!….but YOU’VE NEVER HAD A BEATLE COME TO A FEST! Do you know why????
    Because a Beatle would never be part of a Beatle “rip-off”…that’s why…
    Live long and prosper….Mark…

    A true Beatles fan

  5. I AM ALSO VERY HAPPY THAT YOU STARTED THE FEST. I HAVE BOUGHT QUITE A FEW ITEMS FROM THE FEST NEWSLETTER YOU SEND OUT AND ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO IT.

    IT MUST BE A DAUNTING AND LOVING TASK TO GET OUT SO MANY SHIRTS, GAMES, GLASSES, PUZZLES (CAN’T WAIT TO GET THE “SGT. PEPPER’S”) MESSENGER BAGS, PURSES, ETC. (I CHOULD GO ON FOREVER, BUT I THINK YOU GET THE JIST OF IT!!!!)

    THANKS AGAIN, FOR THE INCREDIBLE JOB YOU GUYS ARE DOING — NOW I HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET TO LIVERPOOL AND CIRQUE DU SOLEIL, BEATLES, LOVE IN VEGAS. I GO ON LINE TWICE A WEEK, STILL PRICES ARE HIGH FOR ME BECAUSE I’M LIVING ON SSD — I AM DETERMINED THOUGH, SO I KNOW I’LL GET THERE SOON!!!

    PEACE AND HAPPINESS, LISA

  6. Very cool story – I had not heard that before. You write well; you should pen the catalog and the narratives more often.See you again in Chicago,Mark!!!

  7. This will be my first fest, but I am concerned about the commercial aspect of it. I’m not poor, but very money conservative and somewhat minimalist. I will be bringing my children 18, 8 and 5 who are HUGE fans(just like mommy). We will not be buying any ridiculous paraphenalia, and we will be packing snacks and water. The girls will most likely MAKE fan shirts. We’re coming for the comradery and the love of the music not the stuff:)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.