Woke up, fell out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And looking up I noticed I was late
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat (1)
…then I met my friends and Curtains Up colleagues Sharman, Stuart and Bugs for The Beatles in Montreal exhibit at Pointe-à- Callière Museum, a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Beatles and the concert held here almost 49 years ago.
Upon entering the press conference I was handed my kit, and feeling lucky that I was able to experience this before everyone else, I thought to myself;
Hold your hand out you silly girl
See what you’ve done
When you find yourself in the thick of it
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you
Silly girl(2)
The exhibit is actually a precise timeline of the 12 or so hours that the Beatles spent in Montreal for their double concert on September 8th, 1964. The darkened maze winds you around and around, with every single minute of their Montreal stop printed on walls, accompanied by looped videos, trinkets, clothing and a special scrapbook created by our very own Sharman Yarnell who attended the concert at the tender age of 10. The well-preserved book, perched in a glass case contains the actual concert tickets, newspaper clippings and poetry written by the young Sharman in homage of her adored Ringo.
Sharman has an interesting connection to the concert; At still 9 years of age, she snuck out of the house (she lived in the West Island at the time) in the middle of the night to take a train downtown in order to stand in line to purchase tickets. She swears this was out of character, but she bunched up pillows to make her bed look as though someone was sleeping in it…and stole away into the dark urban night. She was actually one of the first 10 people in line and she purchased a ticket with 2 of her little friends who met her and helped hatch the sinister (but brilliant) plan. Lo and behold her incredulous and exasperated Mother found out, confiscated the tickets and waited until the very day of the concert to let her know if she would be allowed to attend. (That must have been one sweaty, hand-wringing summer for little Sharman…but awesome parenting on her Mom’s behalf)
Sharman goes on to say; “That morning she held out the ticket ALONG WITH A SECOND ONE. She had bought me a ticket for the afternoon show to go along with the evening one!” Ok, her Mom was cool, too.
For more of this incredible story, you can find it on page 18 of the souvenir book available at the Musée gift shop.
Should you decide to visit the exhibit (and I recommend that you do) bring reading glasses if you need them. There is a lot of reading. A lot. But it’s also interactive; you can sing karaoke, stand with life-sized cut-outs for a cool photo-op and listen to the actual ’64 concert (sans screaming teenagers) on headsets. Also for your visual enjoyment are famous prints by Richard Avedon, a comprehensive collection of down-to-the-millimeter reproductions of the guitars used by the Beatles, locks of hair, signed photos and original pastel portraits by artist Nicholas Volpe.
Beatles tunes are always playing in the background, which is fine with me because, I gotta tell you…
Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music
Any old way you choose it
It’s got a back beat, you can’t lose it
Any old time you use it
It’s gotta be rock and roll music
If you want to dance with me (3)
The super-star piece at the core of the exhibit is the famous Rolls Royce Phantom V; Originally delivered in black in ‘65, but in 1967, John Lennon had it repainted by Steve Weaver to resemble a gypsy caravan. It was also loaned out to the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. It was auctioned through Sotheby’s in 1985 to Canadian millionaire Jim Pattison for $2.29 million…the most expensive car ever auctioned at the time. It’s a sight to behold at 19 feet long, and it has its own phone number, as John had it equipped with a Sterno Radio telephone in 1965.
It’s rumored that John’s driver once overheard him on the car phone saying (about a conversation with Yoko);
I told a girl that my prospects were good
And she said baby, it’s understood
Working for peanuts is all very fine
But I can show you a better time
Baby you can drive my car
Yes I’m gonna be a star
Baby you can drive my car
And maybe I love you (4)
The exhibit also includes stories, pictures, clothing and records by the local up-and-coming musicians in Quebec during the era. They were dubbed Yé-yé groups. Such bands were; Les Baronets, Les Quatre Français, Les Bel-Air and even female bands like Les Beatlettes. They were all emulating the style and energy of the Fab 4, hoping to catch some of their stardust and rise to fame like their idols.
(Exposition-LesBeatles-BANQ-JLFrund5)
At that time, my own father was the lead singer in a rock and roll band in the Eastern Townships called ‘The Thunderbirds’. They too covered Beatles songs and my Dad recounted many funny, raucous and surprising stories about how music was changing the fabric of society in the sixties. The Thunderbirds knew some success, played on TV and even had a fan club. Dad was the same age as George but his favourite Beatle was Paul. He listened to them his entire life, always finding new things to like and every so often re-discovering aspects of certain tracks almost forgotten.
So to Dad, who lost his battle with brain cancer this past year, and to all of you who fondly hold on to the incredible memories, vinyl, scrapbooks and memorabilia of these four gifted, wonderful human beings….I leave you this;
There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all (5)
For more info, group rates, hours, ticket prices, etc., go to;
http://pacmusee.qc.ca/en/exhibitions/the-beatles-in-montreal-50-years-later
(1) ‘A Day in the Life’ (1967) Lennon-McCartney
(2)’Martha My Dear’ (1968) Lennon-McCartney
(3)’Rock and Roll Music’–cover (1964) written by Chuck Berry (originally released in 1957)
(4)’Drive My Car’ (1965) Paul McCartney with contributions by John Lennon
(5)’In my Life’ (1965) John Lennon with contributions by Paul McCartney
