Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The fans















I often wonder about who were the fans that took these fan photos. What is their story? Beatle fans for the most part are just normal folks, but there is something about the Beatles. Something about those 4 men that just make us totally do crazy stuff. That crazy stuff might be to spend large amounts of money on some rare item for a collection or it might mean waiting outside Abbey Road Studios or a Beatles home for a glimpse of them. Or as some of these photos show, it might even meant running up on stage and touching a Beatle! But how did those who take the photos get so lucky? Was it just a case of being in the right place at the right time? Was it hours upon hours of waiting and calculating? Was it a mixture of all that and more? Beatle fans are some of the best people in the world!

John in the fall of 1980











This collage was on display at the fest for Beatlefans in Chicago 2008. I love photos of John from 1980, especially during the making of Double Fantasy. I tried to take individual photos, but the glare wasn't helping. Still...I enjoy these photos so much! Thank you to whoever took them.

Mal Evans


Not a true "fan photo" but still one of my favorites. Julian and Mal in the Teacups at Disneyland in 1973. Photo taken by May Pang.


George and Mal during the Sgt. Pepper era



Paul and Mal with fans during the Sgt. Pepper time










I love Mal Evans. After the 4 Beatles, Mal is my next favorite Beatles person. He just seemed so kind and caring. You read these stories about fans waiting outside EMI and Mal would bring them tea and chat with them about what the Beatles were doing that night in the studio. I would love to see some of the photos of Mal fans have taken back during that time. Mal spoke at the 1974 Beatlefest in NYC. According to what I have read, he was really nervous and was oinly going to show some home videos he made and leave. But he got such a warm reception from the fans that he stayed and talked for a long time. I would love photos from that as well. I think I mostly love Mal because he reminds me of my Grandpa who passed away in 1994. They look similar....same glasses, height and weight. Same look in their eyes that tells you that when you peel away the rough exterior, there is a true teddy bear inside.


Monday, March 30, 2009

New photos


I am in love with this John photo!!!










Photos scanned or located in the last week of March 2009








New finds on ebay











I am 100& an ebay junkie. I have been since 1997. You can find a load of great candid and rare Beatles photos on ebay. You just need to know what to type in the search box and have a lot of patience with it. I do actually purchase photos from ebay as well. But here are some that I found in March 2009.

Curly Haired George




I think George with the curly hair is too cool for school!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

When I met a Beatle....sort of







I am still holding out to meet Paul or Ringo someday. I don't know how it will happen, but I still have hope. In the meantime, I enjoy meeting various other "Beatle people." I get teased a lot for it, but it is alright because it makes me happy. This past October I met someone who was a Beatle once in his life....Pete Best! And while he is not Ringo, I was still pretty excited to met him because he is an important chapter in the Beatles story. He was playing a concert during the George Harrison Beatles Festival in Benton, IL (which is about 2 hours south of where I live). I attended the festival and then I seriously snuck into the sound check that Pete was doing. It is amazing when you look confident and act like you belong how people doing question you. After the sound check, I got Pete to autograph one of his books for me as well as pose for a photo. The concert was really good. I was happy that the Pete Best Band played a LOT of songs from Beatles Anthology 1 disc. Pete did not sing at all. One of my biggest surprises was that Roag Best (Neil Aspinall's son) was also playing drums with the band. Too cool!






Not exactly a fan...



These are some of the Fred Seaman photos..while Fred is not exactly a fan, he was John personal assistant in the late 1970's and 1980 and took some nice candid photos....
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Photos from a fan book











Thursday, March 26, 2009

John at the Dakota






















I love John Lennon. I have loved him for 20 years and I will always love him. The saddest thing is that I was only 4 years old when he died and so I never had the chance to meet him. So instead I just live through those who had that amazing opportunity. John would occassionally stop and say hi to fans in the late 1970's and in 1980 while he was living in the Dakota. When I was at that famous building in New York City in 2000, I decided to not think about the awful thing that happened there, but instead focus on the good. And I thought of the fans standing outside and John coming down and signing an autograph or two and have a photo taken of him.