Beloved by such towering figures in our pop cultural landscape as Peter Jackson, Daniel Johnston and Chris Knox, the influence of The Beatles has loomed large like a melodically psychedelic umbrella over multiple generations of music buffs. Launched during King’s birthday weekend, When We Was Fab: Inside The Beatles Australasian Tour 1964 is a new book by Beatles experts Andy Neill and Greg Armstrong, the product of exhaustive research into the Fab Four’s epochal visit to Aotearoa and Australia. A “brim-filled, ready-made one-stop-shop glossy full-colour coffee-table deluxe book of stories with nearly 1000 images relating to those wild few weeks,” the publication is out now in sync with the legendary tour‘s 60th anniversary — which saw John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr perform in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin during the screaming peak of Beatlemania.
Authors Neill and Armstrong are participating in two very special The Beatles When We Was Fab – Celebrating 60 Years Since their NZ Tour events this month at Auckland’s Big Fan and Masterton’s Hedley’s Books, speaking with music historian, John Baker “alongside a video collage from the book and tour. Plus the opportunity to meet and swap stories with other Beatles fans.” An unmissable evening unpacking our pop-cultural heritage for anyone who’s ever loved a Beatles tune, head along and grab a signed first edition copy on the night (you can also order the book via Hedley’s Books HERE)…
60 years ago, on the 22nd of June 1964, The Beatles began their NZ tour with sold-out shows in Wellington followed by Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch. Join us to relive the memories, the music and the hysteria of the Fab Four’s NZ tour as told in the new book, ‘When We Was Fab: Inside The Beatles Australasian Tour’.
The culmination of a lifetime’s research by Beatles experts, Andy Neill and Greg Armstrong, ‘When We Was Fab’ unearths rare photos, stories and memories sure to wow even the most dedicated Beatles fan.
First edition copies of ‘When We Was Fab: Inside The Beatles Australasian Tour 1964’ will be available to purchase and have signed by the authors on the night.
The Beatles When We Was Fab – Celebrating 60 Years Since their NZ Tour
Saturday 22nd June – Hedley’s Books, Masterton (4pm to 6pm)
Tuesday 25th June – Big Fan, Auckland (wheelchair accessible, 7.45pm to 10pm, doors open 7pm)
Auckland tickets on sale HERE via UTR
Here’s footage from the 1News archive, documenting The Beatles’ 1964 tour of Aotearoa…
