MovieChat Forums > A Hard Day's Night (1964) Discussion > The fans were REALLY young

The fans were REALLY young

posted 11 years ago by elisedfr
24 replies | jump to latest

Funny, when I read about Beatlmania in magazines or websites, the fans are always pictured as teen girls or young women going crazy and wild. Watching this movie, which presents seemingly genuine fans, I was surprised how young most of these kids looked. Yes, there were girls in their late teens-early twenties in the tv show audience, but most of the hysterical ones were barely 12-14 years old looking- or else they looked much younger than their years.
There were also a lot of young boys among the fans, actually (see the scene with the Grandfather trying to sell "autographed pictures").
Anyone else was surprised ? The older girls from this movie seem to react more casually to the Beatles presence: they make eyes at them, flirt, dance and chat...But don't pull their hair screaming and crying lol.

" You ain't running this place, Bert, WILLIAMS is!" Sgt Harris

[–] spyders 11 years ago

elisedfr: "but most of the hysterical ones were barely 12-14 years old looking, Anyone else was surprised?"

I'm not surprised. My brother saw The Beatles perform in Dallas in 1964 when he was 12 years old.

Spyders

[–] elisedfr 11 years ago

Yeah, that's what I mean, you're not surprised because you lived during the phenomenon.
But for those who've only heard from it by hearsay, in magazines, books and such... It's an aspect of the Beatlemania which is not usually highlighted. We always are told about the young ladies screaming their heads off. Not the kids.
Btw I think that's pretty interesting: this films really is a glimpse of how it actually happened (plus all the fun parts).

" You ain't running this place, Bert, WILLIAMS is!" Sgt Harris

[–] spyders 11 years ago

Hi elise,

I think the excitement over The Beatles was at first felt primarily by really, really young people. When we watched The Beatles on Ed Sullivan on Feb 9, 1964, my brother and I were mesmerized by them. My dad watched that show with us and could tell how excited we were but I remember him stating that The Beatles were just a fad and they would be forgotten in a few months.

Despite the fact that we were just children, we somehow knew better than that. I think the hair threw the older people off. It was quite radical for it's day. As The Beatles consistently put out more and more great music, the more older teens and young adults were won over. It didn't take long. By the time the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan in 1965, they were the biggest musical act in the world.

By 1965, "Yesterday" was one of my Dad's favorite songs. It really kind of amazes me that at first we children could see something extraordinary in The Beatles that older people could not.

Spyders

[–] elisedfr 11 years ago

Thank you for your insight on the subject ! It's really interesting-and quite lovely actually.
Indeed, children being more open-minded than grownups it's not surprising they should be more receptive to new kinds of music.

" You ain't running this place, Bert, WILLIAMS is!" Sgt Harris

[–] eddie_willers 11 years ago

By 1965, "Yesterday" was one of my Dad's favorite songs.

My mother got it a little bit earlier.

After dismissing "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You", she heard "And I Love Her" and turned to me and said, "They really are good, aren't they?".

13 year old me rolls my eyes and says, "Yessss...mommmm".

But yeah...."Yesterday" got all the rest.

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

I think the excitement over The Beatles was at first felt primarily by really, really young people.

True! Circa this time of the movie and into the mid to late sixties, there used to be a Beatles Cartoon shown I would think primarily during afterschool television in my corner of the world, that featured many of the Fab Fours current and earlier releases. They were really marketed in a big way to kids. The Monkees of course took a lot of their cues, both musical and marketing, from The Beatles.🐭

[–] MarrG 11 years ago

I agree with your point that nowadays Beatlemania seems to be presented as a phenomenon of young women, not young girls and boys. I was also surprised to see so many children in the audience in this film. Just goes to show how "history" can be reinterpreted over time. And it makes me all the happier to have a movie like this.

[–] stuckup1-1 11 years ago

I was seven when The Beatles were on Ed Sullivan and this film was released. It was the BOYS in the neighborhood/school who went wild for The Beatles! Boys were the ones who had Beatle lunchboxes, it was a point of pride in the second grade. We didn't have the term "air band" then, but boys quickly formed them with lots of "yeah yeah yeah". (Of course, we girls were the fans!) It was the boys and the very young kids who kept the Beatle phenomenon going for so long. Boys HAD to have real electric guitars and drum sets after they saw the Beatles, those are bigger purchases than fan magazines. I cringe when I hear The Beatles described as a "boy band", meaning aimed at teen girls.

The Beatles Saturday morning cartoon show made them many fans among the very young. I used to watch the sing-along portions of that show to write down their song lyrics. I wasn't allowed to buy records until I was 12, but I was allowed to have my beloved little transistor radio.

[–] elisedfr 11 years ago

Completely agree with you! It was wonderful to see 'the real thing' :)
Some of the kids' reactions were really touching and funny as well. Boy, were the four fab adored!

" You ain't running this place, Bert, WILLIAMS is!" Sgt Harris

[–] sherpa50 11 years ago

I turned 14 in 1964 & all my friends were Beatle fans. I hardly remember listening to R&R music before them (I went to Catholic school & was pretty sheltered). A friend gave me the 45 of "She Loves You" & that was all it took. The entire world seemed to change daily - it was an amazing time to be alive. And yes, boys loved them, too. I remember the day I noticed my Italian grandmother (who didn't speak English) tapping her foot to a Beatles record. They got to just about everyone eventually.

I just finished Mark Lewisohn's "Tune In" - highly recommend it to anyone interested in the very beginnings (it goes up to the release of "Love Me Do" & the beginnings of Beatlemania. Next edition due out in 2017. It
s fascinating.

"I bet you write wonderful letters."

[–] eddie_willers 11 years ago

And yes, boys loved them, too.

Fun Fact:

Phil Collins (famous musician In His Own Write ) was a 14 year old "extra" in the concert shoot for AHDN.

[–] psdhart 11 years ago

And yes, boys loved them, too.

just watched it on bbc4, you can see a couple of boys in the audience of the concert at the end

[–] ridge-m-1 11 years ago

Man, you have no frickin' clue regarding Beatlemania, a phenomena that in today's world could never happen again.

[–] elisedfr 11 years ago

Sorry, man, if I was born too late to see it live...But I guess that's a lot of people's fate nowadays!

And there's no harm in asking questions is there ??

" You ain't running this place, Bert, WILLIAMS is!" Sgt Harris

[–] ridge-m-1 11 years ago

Well, it's not your fault you were only a twinkle in your father's eye in '64.

[–] manco82 9 years ago

You mean the Beliebers don't exist?

[–] elrigby65 9 years ago

Yes we were- Best friend and I saw them in Philly 1964. - we were 12

[–] shepardjessica-1 9 years ago

I was 11 1/2 years old when The Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan and then some months later A HARD DAY'S NIGHT came out. The girls LOVED the Beatles of my age and that's why the boys starting liking them (beside the great music, of course).

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6543) 8 years ago

Why be surprised? Boy bands always attract that type of audience.

[–] Cornelia123 (784) 8 years ago

Exactly.

[–] ATG6 (3000) 4 years ago

And they're really old now.

[–] chilidoggg (14597) 4 years ago

How is this surprising? I was 13 when I went to my first concert. And I bought my first music tape when I was 11.