Screaming fans pack Winnipeg airport to glimpse The Beatles at historic 1964 stop
Aug. 18 marks 55 years since the brief stopover on band's first North American tour
Sunday marks 55 years since the fab four made a whole lot of Winnipeggers twist and shout without singing or strumming a single noteduring their little visit to thecity.
The Beatles landed at the Winnipeg airport on Aug. 18, 1964. Their brief stopover on the tarmac was punctuated by screams and cries from the droves of young fans who flocked to the airport to greet them.
"It's the first place that they ever set foot in Canada," said music historian John Einarson. "They didn't come and play, they didn't come and perform, but they came for the fans ... and fuel."
Einarson said the band's plane left London for San Francisco to start their first North American tourand stopped in Winnipeg for a routine refuelling on the way.
Beatlemania had alreadyswept theworld. The British band's first hit, Love Me Do, was a chart-topperand they had played The Ed Sullivan Show.
What might have been a quiet stop turned loud after broadcaster Bob Burns at CJAY TVlearned The Beatles were on the way. He put the word out on local radio about an hour before the band landed, said Einarson.
Unlike many rock stars today whofly in private jets, The Beatles took commercial planes everywhere, albeit in first class. Nobody knew whether they were going to get off the plane, buttheir Winnipeg fan base lept at the opportunity to catch a glimpse.
Behind a fence off the runway, frenzied fansscreeched and clutched Beatles' albums in their hands as they watched the band step out from the plane and wave.
They were only grounded for 22 minutes, but it was a notable moment nonetheless for Winnipeg and Canada, said Einarson.
"There was nothing bigger in the news in 1964 than The Beatles," he said."It made history."
Watch The Beatles 1964 stop in Winnipeg:
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With files from Bruce Reeve
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