Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim Cushman on May 31, 2017 at 9:56am

Hey Phil...Great early autographs...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Phil Spilsbury on May 31, 2017 at 10:52am

Thanks Jim. 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Macca Fan on May 31, 2017 at 11:30am

love the early stuff, thanks for sharing

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Phil Spilsbury on May 31, 2017 at 12:42pm

Cheers, my friend Paul got these back in 1962 and 1963 meeting the Beatles at three concerts. Three of these are from a gig he saw them at in late 1962 at the Plaza Ballroom in Handsworth. He was an avid autograph collector so although they were not that big and well known then he still went to the gig. He remembers them arriving in a van and they invited him inside and he went back stage with them and got these autographs. McCartney then asked Paul if he wanted to hang around for the soundcheck but Paul declined and left !! - remember they were just another Liverpool band at that stage and not massively known in Birmingham. he did come back later for the gig and he recalls there was no more than about 30 in the audience. Can you believe it? A few months later they returned to Birmingham in January and performed on their first national TV broadcast on a music show on Thank Your Lucky Stars which was shot by ATV at their studios in Aston. My mother used to work at those studios and Paul was also in the audience. He met them two further times, once in March 1963 on the Chris Montez/Tommy Roe tour and then a final time in June when they toured with Roy Orbison and Gerry and the Pacemakers. After that they were massive and you have to potentially question any autograph that wasn't taken face-to-face as everyone from roadies to management learned how to do the autographs. 

• ▶ Reply