From Ed Sullivan to the Montreal Forum

A scrapbook of the early days of Beatlemania

On Sunday, Feb. 9, 1964, the Beatles burst onto the North American scene with a vengeance.

The Fab Four had been rocking the pop charts in Britain and Europe for months, with such hit singles as Love Me Do, released in 1962, followed by Please Please Me and She Loves You, and savvy North American disc jockeys had begun playing their music. But it was that first television spot on the Ed Sullivan Show, the prime venue for the hottest new acts and old standards at a time when channel-hopping was unheard of, that really launched the Beatles on this continent.

What was it about the working-class lads with the matching suits and floppy hair that so captivated the world and spawned Beatlemania, transforming young girls into screaming hysterics and leaving teenage boys to swoon at guitar shops?

Everyone seemed to have a theory. For those old enough to remember that first grainy TV appearance, there are also fond memories and souvenirs of what it was like to be young and mad about the Beatles.

Here are photos, news clippings, and testimonials from that frenetic year. Hover over items to read more about them.

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FEBRUARY 1964

The Beatles performed on three consecutive Sundays on the Ed Sullivan show, officially launching Beatlemania. Photo by RB/Redferns

Peggy Curran: "I was six. I watched the Beatles on Ed Sullivan like everyone else on the planet. My mother didn’t like their music — she was more of a Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra person. But she had screamed with her friends when Sinatra and Johnnie Ray came to town, and she told us the Beatles were going to be the next sensation. Even then, we liked news in our house." AP file photo

Diane Renzo: "I remember my sister and I watching them the first time and not being sure about them and how their hair was sooo long. But by the third appearance, we were completely hooked." Photo by Express Newspapers/Getty Images

Katherine Crowe: "I remember the first (Sullivan) show most clearly, especially the captions that were displayed as each Beatle was shown individually on camera. I particularly remember John Lennon’s, which had his name and then, ‘Sorry, ladies, he’s married!’ or something to that effect." Courtesy of Katherine Crowe

Noreen Speirs:

"Watching Ed Sullivan was a regular event on Sunday evening in our home. I remember watching all their appearances on Ed Sullivan. Goosebumps. I was 14 at the time and fell in love with the music and the Beatles themselves."

MARCH 1964

The Times of London describes music by the Beatles as being characterized by "pan-diatonic clusters, flats of medium key switches and aeolian cadences."

APRIL 1964

Trading cards with pictures of the band were popular among teenage girls at the time. Katherine Crowe amassed hundreds of them. Courtesy of Courtesy of Katherine Crowe

Katherine Crowe:
"The cards came in bubble gum packs... I just kept buying them as much as my very limited resources allowed me." Bernie Goedhart/The Gazette

MAY 1964

Noreen Speirs: "I was one of the lucky ones to pull off a ticket. (Paul McCartney and I share a birthday, so that sealed it for me — he was my favourite.) The most amazing thing was the cost. Amazing seats ... Row 10, to the left of the stage. I begged my mother to let me go; she thought it was a waste of money. I bought my ticket with my own money. Best money I ever spent." Courtesy of Katherine Crowe

JULY 1964

The Beatles return home in time for the British première of their first movie, A Hard Day’s Night.

In an interview, Paul McCartney says the band will not perform in South Africa or anywhere in the U.S. where there is racial segregation.

AUGUST 1964

A Hard Day’s Night opens in Montreal on Aug. 14 at the Capitol and Dorval cinemas.

Katherine Crowe: "I loved the movies. I saw Help! more often than I can remember, usually with a friend. We had seen it so often that we could recite from memory entire scenes of dialogue." Courtesy of Bernie Goedhart/The Gazette

SEPTEMBER 1964

Montreal gripped with Beatlemania as local concert approaches. From Gazette archives.

Set list for the two Montreal concerts, as printed in the Beatles in Montreal exhibit at Pointe-à-Callière museum. They played for 28 minutes:
You Can’t Do That
All My Loving
She Loves You
Things We Said Today
Roll Over Beethoven
Can’t Buy Me Love
If I Fell
Boys
A Hard Day’s Night
I Want to Hold Your Hand
Long Tall Sally

Poster for The Beatles' appearance at the Montreal Forum on Tuesday, September 8th, 1964.

The Beatles at the Montreal Forum. Gazette file photo.

Although tickets could be had for $4.50, only the evening show sold out. Gazette file photo.

In this photo which ran in September 1964, an unidentified fan presented a telegram of welcome to (left to right) Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Gazette file photo.

Diane Renzo:

I will always remember that matinee concert and how excited we all were. I saw McCartney in 1992 with the same girls I had gone to see the Beatles with. I still have a T-shirt with Paul’s face on it.

Noreen Speirs: "I have to say it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. When they came on stage, it was mayhem. You got caught up in the moment. The screaming started and didn’t stop. I screamed the whole time, and the next day lost my voice." Photo courtesy of Katherine Crowe

George Morris, then better known as CKGM rock DJ Buddy Gee: "I was invited to introduce the Beatles at the Forum concerts, together with Dave Boxer, my rival on CFCF, and Michel Desrochers, who hosted a rock show on CJMS... When we got to introduce the Beatles, that’s all we said. After that, it was 11,500 screaming 14-year-old girls. It was one of the most frightening experiences of my life." Courtesy of George Morris

LASTING EFFECT OF THE BEATLES

Malcolm Desjardins, 18, is such a Beatles fan that he adopted Paul McCartney's early look: 'I listen to the Beatles every day. If I am experiencing an emotion about anything, anything at all, the Beatles have written a song that perfectly portrays that emotion. I think the main reason they have written timeless music is because they write about people and what people think and feel.' Courtesy of Malcolm Desjardins

Katherine Crowe:

"Through the fan club, I would receive a monthly magazine and other materials, such as posters. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of those materials anymore. I don’t know how or why it is that I managed to hang on to these cards, but I did!"

Noreen Speirs: "I have never been affected so much by any group. They were four of the most talented individuals who came together. Their music evolved over time. Their songs are classic. The lyrics are amazing.
Unfortunately, I do not have any Beatles memorabilia. I remember my son asking me if I had saved my ticket stub. If only I had been wiser back then." Courtesy of Katherine Crowe

Peggy Curran: "My aunt Kathleen, who lived with us at the time, worked at Simpson’s downtown. Soon she was bringing home fun memorabilia — a Beatles blanket, Beatles coffee mugs, Beatles wigs." Peggy Curran/The Gazette

Peggy Curran: "The wigs vanished long ago, but I still have a mug and a very rare early Beatles album, which I won when I did the Twist to Chubby Checker at my cousin Nancy’s wedding." Peggy Curran/The Gazette

Peggy Curran: "My sister Colleen, ever the producer, got my cousins, Kathy and Sandra McGlynn, together in our basement in Ville d'Anjou for a jam session. It went like this:"

Put together by Peggy Curran, Jordan Zivitz,
Roberto Rocha, Mick Côté, and Jeanine Lee