August 11 in the Beatles History

** The following events in Beatles history all took place on August 11. **

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Beatles * [J] John * [P] Paul * [G] George * [R] Ringo * [O] Other
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1961
The Beatles perform at the ****rn Club - a night show.

1962
The Beatles perform at the Odd Spot Club, Liverpool.

1963
The Beatles perform at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool.

1964
The Beatles in the recording studio (Studio Two, EMI Studios,
London). Works begins on The Beatles' fourth album ("Beatles For
Sale", not yet titled). They begin and complete recording of the
track "Baby's in Black", in 14 takes of the full song and 13
ad***ional takes of the guitar intro.

1964
The Beatles' first feature film, "A Hard Day's Night", opens in the
US. It is a big hit with fans, and critics give it very favorable
reviews.

[J] 1966
In Chicago for the beginning of The Beatles' final US tour, John
Lennon, at a press conference, makes a nervous apology/explanation
for his 'Beatles bigger than Jesus' remarks. Lennon's comments
about contemporary religion, which had appeared over five months
previously in London's "Evening Standard", were quoted out of
context in the July 29 issue of the US teen magazine "Datebook".
What Lennon had actually said was, "Christianity will go. It will
vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that, I'm right and will
be proved right. We're [The Beatles] more popular than Jesus
Christ now. I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or
Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick
and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
Reaction in the US is so negative that Brian Epstein even considers
cancelling The Beatles' tour, fearing that one or more of The
Beatles will be assassinated. A number of radio stations in the US
(22 by some counts, 30 by others, although probably no one knows
for sure just how many) ban Beatles music, though other stations
play even more Beatles music than before to show contempt for the
outburst of religious hypocrisy. Now, at a press conference
preceding what will prove to be The Beatles' final US tour, Lennon
is visibly shaken by the hate mail he has been receiving and by the
condemnations from fundamentalist groups in the US. Under pressure
from reporters determined to force an apology out of him, Lennon
tries reason, explanation, and puzzlement to clarify what he had
said and to illustrate how the remarks had been taken far out of
context. But that isn't good enough, and John ends up apologizing
in the most half-hearted manner possible, even though he isn't
really sure why he is doing so. John remarks, in part, "I suppose
if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have
gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not
anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I was not knocking it. I
was not saying we are greater or better...." Nonetheless, John's
'apology' is an important gesture, and the media and much of the
public "accept" it, confident that he'd learned some kind of lesson
(about tyranny of the majority, perhaps). Of course, there are
die-hards, mostly in the southern 'bible-belt' who will accept no
apology--they've been looking for a tar-brush with which to smear
The Beatles since 1964, and they aren't going to let go of this one
so easily. Beatles concerts on the following tour will be marred
by demonstrations by the KKK, telephone death threats, and
firecrackers being thrown on stage. Anti-Beatles fever will spread
to Spain and South Africa, where The Beatles are banned from the
airwaves. Overall feeling is perhaps best summed up by the "London
Catholic Herald", which opines that John's comments, while
"arrogant", were ".still probably true." [Note: some sources give
August 12 as the date of the press conference].

1969
The Beatles in the recording studio (Studios Three and Two, EMI
Studios, London). John, Paul, and George record the "She's so
heavy" harmony vocals for "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". Then
backing vocals are overdubbed for "Oh! Darling" and 'Here Comes the
Sun".

[J] 1971
During the London Art Spectrum, which runs Aug. 11-31 at Alexandra
Palace, five of John and Yoko's films are screened: "Cold Turkey",
"The Ballad of John and Yoko", "Give Peace a Chance", "Instant
Karma", and "Up Your Legs Forever".

[J] 1971
John and Yoko participate in a London demonstration against British
policy in Northern Ireland and also against the prosecution of the
e***ors of "Oz" magazine on the charge of obscenity.


Hasta La Vista