My Funny/Sad Story !!!

Introduction

First couple of paragraphs are just a bit of background which you might want to skip, but slightly funny in places and it does give you a better picture of ME and how I got where I am.

I was born in Droylsden, Manchester in 1952 and lived there until I moved to Southport in either 1962 or 1963. Droylsden was a small area with very little in the way of live entertainment, unless you jumped on the "Flying Pig" to Ashton-under-Lyne or Oldham or Manchester city centre. Life back then was so simple, just playing in the streets and fields with my pals Stephen Lloyd and Anne Radcliffe. The "pop" scene was never mentioned and I knew absolutely nothing about what was going on in the "real" world ... I was as green as the hills! I don't even remember saying goodbye to my pals. Woke up one morning and I was no longer in Droylsden I was in Southport ... everything was new.

I went to Holy Trinity Junior School, didn't pass my 11 Plus exams (no surprises there then!) and then went to Christ Church Secondary Modern School in Southport Town Centre. An "all boys" school!!! Quite why I chose that route I'll never know ... probably missed out on a LOT of things whilst there (if you catch my drift).

My time at Christ Church was pretty uneventful ... crap at anything but art ... me and Chris Watson were either first or second in the class every year. Every other subject - especially maths - went in one ear and straight out of the other, without pausing! In later years on a school trip to the Lake District I decided to take the short cut down one particular mountain - Scar Fell - went head first and bit my way down the gravel slope. Couldn't bust and arm or a leg, had to use my face to stop the fall - typical!!!

Something's Different Today !

Anyway, to the plot ... Every day at Christ Church school was predictable to say the least. Not in the least bit interesting and always  in "not in the mood to learn" mode. I just wanted to get out of there and get back to seeing how The Metal Men or Superman or The Green Lantern got on in my latest DC comic books!

The script was the same every day ... go to school - bored ... finished school, get out as quickly as possible and walk down Chapel Street, left into London Street, then right into Wright Street and through the back of the Odeon Cinema car park, through the cars and meet my dad at his hut at the front of the car park - he was the car park attendant.

This happened day in, day out, never faltering - nothing ever happened !!! However, following the script as far as the back of the Odeon Cinema car park, even I could tell there was something different this day. As explained previously, I was as green as the hills, head in the clouds, didn't have a clue about what was happening in the outside world. I had my own little world to exist in.

However, just as I got near to the back of the car park, there seemed to be more people hanging around than usual. Then, when I entered the car par, it was like the place had gone mad. There were kids of my age and quite a lot a little older than me climbing drainpipes, trying to open doors, jumping on car bonnets, shouting and chanting, occasionally screaming.  Even I could work out something was happening, but didn't have a clue what!

Beatlemania ... What's That?

I would assume that the precise date of this particular day would be 26 August 1963 and would have been a Monday as (1) I would not have been at school on the Saturday or Sunday and (2) neither would my dad have been working on the car park, and this was the first occasion I had witnessed this mass hysteria. (As it turns out, it was the first night of a six night engagement at the Odeon for The Beatles).

So, having worked my way through the hundreds/thousands of kids all over the car park, I finally arrived at my dad's hut. He was unflappable but wasn't very happy about what was going on. Then I, without thinking, said to him "What's going on dad?". He replied "Oh some kind of pop concert". "Cor" I said, "Who is it?". "I dunno" and he handed me a flyer/handbill for the show. Once again without thinking I said "Wow, can I get their autographs?". And, without a second thought, said "Aye, come on", locked up his shed and off we both went.

We somehow managed to squeeze past all the crowds, up the concrete steps, close to the concrete ballustrade and up to the left hand door of a group of 6 or 8 doors. There was a guy on the other side of the door who my dad nodded to, and the guy nodded back, and somehow (still don't know how they did it to this day) they managed to open the door VERY slightly, just enough to let me and my dad in, then slam it shut to keep everyone else out.

Back Stage !!!

So there we were, inside the Odeon Cinema, on our own, with thousands of screaming kids locked outside, just me and my dad (and the guy on the door), and not another sole in sight. It was strange! All that noise outside then nothing - total silence!!! Anyway, we entered the rear stalls, went down the steps to the emergency exit door and, instead to going OUT to the left we turned right and headed up and down some more stairs and ended up backstage.

My dad, not one to stand on ceremony AND with his broad Manchester/Lancashire accent, approached the first dressing room.

A couple of knocks on the door, flings the door open ... "My lad wants your autographs!" ... Me standing along side him, clutching my bit of paper (probably one of the flyers) walks towards them. There they were, Gerry and The Pacemakers!!! Wow!!! Offered them my bit of paper and they duly signed it. Great!

Next dressing room, same script: knock knock "My lad wants your autograph" and, there they were, The Fourmost - wow! Waved my bit of paper and they too signed it.

Another dressing room, same script, different personality, another autograph. Next dressing room, same script, another autograph. And the next.

My Close Encounter ...

At the end of the corridor, a slightly different dressing room. This one had a STAR on it!!! It also had a spotlight shining on it!!! (Told you I was quick on the uptake). I said to my dad "Cor, who's in the end dressing room dad?". To which he replied "I dunno, probably The Beatles, they're top of the bill".

Then, to my horror ever since, I said to him "Oh I don't like them, come on, let's go home". So we turned around and went home!!! I was within four feet of actually seeing them backstage, in the flesh, and I actually at that precise moment DIDN'T like them, although I liked all the other acts.

Arrrrrrrgh !!!

To make this funny/sad story even more sad, it was not long after this "close encounter" that I bought my first Beatles LP at a nearby jumble sale for the princely sum of 1/- (5p) AND bought every 45, EP, LP, Book, Tape, Magazine that ever came out afterwards.

So near and yet so far!!!

Not that I would still have had The Beatles autographs, as all the others I DID get have disappeared over the years, but to have actually been THAT close to meeting them and said "no" at the time.

Incredible !!!

Apologies for this being a little long-winded ... no stopping me when I'm in "waffle" mode !!!

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