Originally Posted by: john of MT

I was glued to the TV set for that Sullivan episode. A few days later the Beatles gave their first American concert less than ten miles from my house. My mother asked if I wanted tickets... and to my shame and enduring regret, I said "no."

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[br][br]Australia still being very much the 'child of Empire' country back in the early 1960s, unlike America we were aware of and enjoyed The Beatles on our airwaves, in our record stores, on television and in newspaper media from the very outset of their emergent sucess in Britain in October 1962 with "Love Me Do" (#7) followed by "Please Please Me" which took them to #1, their first of a seemingly neverending stream of #1s for the decade that was the 1960s. [br][br]I was too young to be permitted to attend their 1964 Australian concert tour, but was very aware of it. One couldn't not be. As it turned out -from the report of a friend of mine who was there, which I think I related an aeon ago in another GT post, attending those early concerts including those in America, one may as well have not and saved the price of the ticket as after their first 10 seconds, all that could be heard for the entire duration of any song was the girls frantic screaming in unison! One only has to watch this kind of newsreal of the day to comprehend the enormity and impact of Beatlemania sweeping Britain and Australia throughout 1963 and 1964.[br][br]

[br][quote=john of MT][p]Yes, I'm an old fart but I have learned. I have spent the last couple decades trying to catch the old fart music makers before they move off. I caught Paul's concert here but, given his seemingly frequent visits, I skipped B.B. King twice and now it's too late. Nearly the same story with Johnny Winter (although I have a guitar he once played).[br]

[br][br]Ain't 20:20 hindsight just grand -if too late?[br][br]There was a thread running in a forum in which I participate requesting all to list bands from the 1960s of which all the core members considered that band in its heyday are still alive. An inexorable reminder of memento mori, that list is short.