It looked like opening day at Fort Knox. They weren’t there for gold. All they wanted was a look at a wonderous hair style and weird singing style.
They jumped screamed stamped their feet and waved their arms. Close to 300 screaming Winnipeg teenagers were lined up in front of the Garrick Theatre’s doors this morning waiting for them to open.
The Beatles’ first movie, A Hard Day’s Night, opened there today at noon.
Some arrived at 6.a.m. And they kept coming until at 9 a.m. they stretched from the theatre doors to the lane immediately south of them.
Screams sounding like air raid sirens echoed down Garry St. People rushing to work hurried past quickly – trying to shut out the deafening roar.
One muttered “I’ve never seen anything like it-they must be crazy” Others call it beatlemania.
They were all singing:
“We love you beatles, Oh, yes we do. Yeah Yeah Yaeh
We love you beatles, we will be true
When you are not near us, we are blue
Oh beatles we love you
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Another shouted “One,two, three lets all scream…ahhhhh”
A passerby crossed the street in a vain attempt to get away from the deafening racket.
Then came a chant “We want the Beatles we want the Beatles”
Most in the mob were girls and most were under 15 years of age. They all wore something beatle. Either sweat shirts with a picture of the Beatles on the front, or buttons of various descriptions and sizes, but all bearing a picture of one or more of the singing group.
Some brought blankets and cushions to sit on. Sandwiches and empty thermos bottles were strewn about. And against one wall of the theatre there was a jar of sweet mixed pickles.
“Look at the picture of Ringo – Ahhhb” screamed some one from the back of the mob. The sidewalk was littered with magazines, books and pictures of the long-haired English singers.
In another corner of the mob, a group of Beatle maniacs were preparing a petition demanding the performance of the Beatles in Winnipeg.
I read: “We the forgotten teenagers of Winnipeg demand that the Beatles come here to perform” It will be given to one of the local disc jockeys”
“We want to Beatles we want the Beatles Yeah Yeah Yeah”
