I was one of thousands of young children, mostly female, who in 1964 wagged school to welcome The Beatles in to Australia.
What a fabulous day; even though I didn’t get to see them as we (thousands) waited outside the Sheraton Hotel where they were staying.
It didn’t really matter; it was just a glorious day to be alive!
When Keith and I heard that Paul McCartney was touring our state, Keith bought tickets to one of his shows. I was delighted.
However, one week before the event The C.C. advised they could only give the show two out of ten, for me. Oh boy; what to do?
I told Keith, of course; and asked if we could get a refund. He tried, but it wasn’t possible. The insurance wanted us to be leaving the country, or some other fantastic reason. We reasoned we would still go and enjoy all the moments included in an outing such as – dining out, doing something beyond our usual day to day, being together, which we always love…
The concert started. Within a few minutes I said to Keith. “The C.C. were right.” He nodded.
There were moments we enjoyed. There were many we did not.
Others enjoyed themselves; hundreds dancing and singing along.
I missed The Beatles! He/they sang a few of the old tunes. When they did the stadium roared with glee. Paul stated that he knew when the audience loved the songs he sang because thousands of phones would shine in the dark as they swung from side to side with the melody. This only happened with the older tunes, and not the more modern.
Did we enjoy ourselves?
Yes. Keith and I are extremely fortunate that we enjoy being together regardless of outside events. And I am quite pleased that we got to see a most delightful man doing what he loves to do. It is a memory I shall treasure.
© 2023 Carolyn Page – ABC of Spirit Talk
ABC of Spirit Talk with Carolyn Page 
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Thanks for sharing this! jGot to hand it to him, 80 years old and still performing his magnificent works!
Yes, amazing to be doing a ‘tour’ at all.
We saw the concert Friday night and he was backing up for a second concert last night (Saturday). He heads north for a couple more in November.
A quote from a review:
“McCartney has earned the right to do whatever he wants – he says as much when acknowledging the always relatively subdued audience response to his newer songs (“We don’t care,” he says).”
He ended that sentence with – “We are going to play the music we love.” And they did. It was just music I didn’t love!
C’est la vie. Just being honest…
However, more power to him, for sure!
Wonderful post, Carolyn. What a childhood memory to have.
Hahah… Yes, Michael, it is a wonderful memory indeed.
The strangest thing about that time was the lack of response from the school. I believe The Education Department turned a blind eye to the thousands of truants, thinking it was the best course of action. We, the students at my school, thought all sorts of horrible consequences of our actions would take place the following day. However, not a word was said. We were all, as a collective, so relieved.
Yes, I remember it as though it were yesterday!
We didn’t get to see The Beatles; however, just as we were all beginning to feel extremely disappointed, an Australian band, one loved, walked past us as we were heading to the train station – Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs. Oh, such a delight. We walked with them for a few hundred metres swooning and feeling our day had been worth every dread of future concerns.