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That Mersey Sound: Beatles at the Stadium
Title:
That Mersey Sound: Beatles at the Stadium
NFSA ID
9243
Year
1964
Courtesy
Cinesound Movietone Productions
This newsreel special of the 1964 Beatles tour captures footage of the band in Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand, concert excerpts and the attendant 'Beatlemania’.
This clip begins with news footage of the Beatles standing on a balcony in Melbourne, waving to fans in the streets below. Paul McCartney plays with a boomerang and laughs with the crowd. The Beatles song 'Love Me Do’ is on the soundtrack while a sequence of Beatles albums, photographs and tabloid headlines are shown. Commentator Ken Sparkes describes the 'Beatlemania’ and the extensive merchandising that has accompanied it. Beatles fans are filmed outside the Sheraton Hotel in Kings Cross along with equally enthusiastic followers of Polish-American piano virtuoso Arthur Rubinstein (1887–1982) who is seen smiling as he is mobbed by the crowds. The Beatles arrive at Wellington Airport in New Zealand. John Lennon plays with a stuffed kiwi and Paul McCartney gives a traditional Maori greeting. Summary by Poppy De Souza
Historical news footage of significant cultural or social events can serve as a collective memory as well as a document of the times. This newsreel combines the live footage of the Beatles and their fans with shots of Beatles merchandise, pictures and headlines as the commentator contextualises the pop culture phenomenon of 'Beatlemania’. The story then moves back to scenes from the Beatles tour, including fans in Australia and New Zealand. Sparkes’s commentary observes the playfulness of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney in their interactions with the crowd. This clip is from the first half of the newsreel and is a prelude to the highlights from the Beatles concert at Sydney Stadium. The musicians are friendly and funny. By the end of the newsreel they are also shown to be extraordinary performers.
Notes by Poppy De Souza
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.