All together now -- Beatlefest 1995

  After 21 years, Beatlefest is still going strong -- as are Beatles record sales.

 

late 1969, the band name ``Johnny and the Moondogs'' appeared on the Fillmore East marquee as a front band for one of the name groups scheduled to appear. A delirious buzz went through the East Village. For those who knew the name, it was a secret message that just couldn't be ignored.

Whether it was someone's idea of a joke or an actual event that was later canceled, the name was taken down a few days later, leaving a deep disappointment among many of those who knew ``Johnny and the Moondogs'' was one of the names used by the Beatles before they skyrocketed to fame. Many people then believed that the Beatles had sought to play the Fillmore before breaking up. Others claim the Beatles wanted to play live once again, but didn't want to draw attention to themselves by performing under their real name.

Then and now, ``The Beatles'' conjures up not just a rock-and-roll band, but an era freedom and awe that will not likely return in our lifetime, something so special that people now gather yearly at the Beatlefest to try and recapture a little of what was lost. The magical mystery tour of music, film and memorabilia will stop at the Meadowlands Hilton March 17-19.

For some of us, the Beatles touched our lives even when we didn't want them to. A friend of mine once told me the Beatles ruined his life. Their success as musicians and songwriters allowed him to believe he could build a profitable career as an artist.

``If wasn't for the Beatles, I would probably be in an office somewhere, married with children, and living in the suburbs,'' he said. ``Instead, I'm struggling to follow a dream.''

There has always been something special about the Beatles which other rock-and-roll bands lacked, a cultural aspect that changed the nature of our lives. All my friends grew their hair to look like the Beatles, some even managing to disguise their ``Beatles cuts'' with fancy hairstyling tricks. They could go to school with an apparently normal haircut -- just a shade too long -- then with a few flicks of the comb, they looked like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison or -- if you had the nose for it -- Ringo Starr.

During my youth, the worse punishment my family could inflict was to threaten to cut my hair. I was offended when the Beatles broke up. It felt like a divorce in my own family, and for years afterwards, I clung to the hope that they would reunite, the way children often hope their parents will. While I gave up the issue in the mid-'70s when other things preoccupied my life, like work and survival, I was touched again my John Lennon's re-emergence at the end of the decade, and utterly devastated at hearing about his murder. Any diehard Beatles fan can remember the moment they first heard of the death, the way many babyboomers remember where they were when they heard of the death of John  Kennedy in 1963. John Lennon's death ended an era that no reunion could bring back. Without John Lennon there was no Beatles.

 

 

 

A magical mystery tour

 

In 1974, while I was in the middle of earning my bread and butter, there were people who wanted to preserve the Beatles Era in a far more significant manner, trying to create a Woodstock-type gathering for people who needed to keep a bit of Beatlemania in their lives. These people were offended by Broadway's version of Beatlemania.

The world then seemed to be trying to fill the gap that was left by the Beatles breakup in 1970. Record companies began to market other groups under the dubious label ``The New Beatles.'' This label was attached to Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Frampton and a dozen or more other groups including -- if you can believe it -- the Bay City Rollers.

Mark Lapidos, organizer of the first Beatlefest -- and every one since -- had the unique perspective of managing the hottest and most comprehensive music store in the state. The Sam Goody Store in Garden State Plaza was no top 40 record sales place, but a mecca for fans of rare jazz, rock and other records. On its shelves were some of the finest records ever made.

As manager, Lapidos met thousands of fans and musicians, and knew the impact from the loss of the Beatles, not only in the music industry, but in the hearts and minds of fans now struggling to find alternatives. But in 1974, music had become largely directionless, with many of the surviving '60s bands now following threads of music into country, glitter, pop and punk rock.

``It was the 10th anniversary of the Beatles arrival in America, and I thought we should be doing something besides sitting around,'' he said. So in a move that echoed Beatles manager Brian Epstein's a decade earlier, Lapidos went to John Lennon and asked for the man's blessing.

``He told me, `Why not. It's a good idea. I'm a Beatles fan, too,' '' Lapidos said. ``So I dug into my savings. I never had a second thought about it. I never looked back. It never occurred to me that I might lose money. I knew that there were plenty of people out there who felt just like I did about the Beatles. My aim was to bring out people who respect the music, and maybe bring back a little sense of wonder.''

It was, according to Lapidos, a huge success, so large that after the first Beatlefest, it became a yearly event, not just here in the New York metropolitan area, but in Chicago and L.A. Since then, Lapidos has managed to meet almost all the essential people who helped the Beatles in their rise to the top, as well as all four of the Beatles.

The event has been amazingly popular, a bonanza of Beatles stories, trivia, memorabilia, records, collectibles and, of course, fans. The gathering, Lapidos said, is one in which people come together for a weekend to remember and to be glad.

``Yet I think the whole thing was summed up by John Lennon's 1979 message to the fans,'' he said. ``It went straight to the heart of everything. John said: `The music is the thing.' It's the music that brings people to the Beatlefest. It is the music that has made fans out of people who weren't even around when the Beatles were together.''

It is a sound that still sells.

Capitol Records, which just released a new collection of original and cover tunes called  ``Live from the BBC,'' reports that the collection has gone quadruple platinum since the CD's release in December.

And the old Beatles albums have never stopped selling. ``All of them are steady sellers,'' said a representative from Capitol's New York office.

Exact sales figures are largely an industry secret, though the L.A. office was willing to give out a list of albums that went platinum, the ones that sold over a million copies. It was an easy task. They all did. Most of them sold many times the platinum standard. Most of the Beatles singles did, too.

In fact, Beatles music sales in total so eclipse the market that no other musical performer can accumulate half the numbers. Not Led Zeppelin. Not Michael Jackson. Not even the legendary Elvis. ``Abbey Road,'' the best-selling Beatles album, has gone nine times platinum and is still the strongest seller.

 

Long and winding road

 

The Beatlefest itself has become a place where people who love the Beatles can come, revel in memories and music for a weekend, and then go home, a kind of yearly pilgrimage in remembrance of a thing so special and unique that only this generation will ever really know what it felt like. Some of the yearly visitors come from as far away as West Virginia, Maryland and New Hampshire, or as close as Bloomfield, N.J.

The East Coast version has found what appears to be a permanent home in Secaucus. ``We've been at the Meadowlands Hilton Hotel since 1980,'' Lapidos said.

Many of the interviews for the recently broadcast ``Making of Hard Days Night'' were filmed at the 1994 Beatlefest. The film ``Backbeat'' also premiered at last year's event.

As the old Sam Goody's was a mecca for music, Beatlefest is a mecca for those seeking to know more about the Beatles, or those who simply want to indulge in a little nostalgia. Special guests will include Geoffrey Ellis, former music director for North Eastern Music company, under which the Beatles were produced. Stu Sutcliffe's sister, Pauline, will also be among the guests, as will Paul McCartney's stepsister, Ruth, and her mother, Angie. George Harrison's sister, Louise, a frequent guest, will also be there, as will a number of authors, radio and music personalities.

If the past is any indication, fans can expect non-stop Beatles music, and multiple TV screens broadcasting the movies, TV appearances, film interviews and wacky clips. Fan can also expect merchandising that in itself is a blast of former Beatlemania.

If you think Beatles-related items from socks to soap is out of fashion, come to the show at the Meadowlands Hilton in Secaucus and find out. Lapidos said he has a large catalogue and mail-order business from Beatles items, but said the show is more than that and people can expect great things this year as they have in the past.

For many of the people who will be going to this year's Beatlefest, it is this feeling of youth they will be seeking, a touch of nostalgia as well as a gathering of people for whom the dream is not yet over. Activities will start at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, noon on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $16 for Friday, $21 for Saturday or Sunday.

``People should expect to have a great time, a lot of fun, learn about some Beatles history they don't know and even those who just want to see what it's all about,'' Lapidos said.

 

Got to get you into my life

 

Kathy Gerdsen, a Bloomfield resident, is going to Beatlefest to renew old ties, not with other Beatles fans, but with the family of George Harrison -- with whom she says she maintained correspondence up until a few years ago since 1964.

``As long as there are Beatles fans there's always going to be Beatlemania,'' she said.

Gerdsen said she met the Beatles after one of their concerts in the Atlantic City Convention hall. She had been in the hall with the rest of the screaming girls, then when leaving the hall, noted that there were two ambulances parked by one of the backstage exits.

``Most people thought the Beatles had already left,'' she said. ``But I saw the ambulances and went towards them. It was a chance thing. I climbed on the back of the ambulance, turned around, and bumped straight into Paul. He was leaning against the gurney. The police pulled me off.''

Yet, she got to talk to them as the rest of the Beatles climbed into the ambulances. George and Ringo climbed into one. John joined Paul in the second.

``Before they left,'' she said, ``I asked George how I could keep in contact with them. He told me to write his parents at Macketts Lane, Liverpool and that's what I did.''

Over the years, Gerdsen wrote faithfully and said she grew close with George's parents, Harry and Louise.

``Then in 1974, George came to Madison Square Garden to do a concert with Ravi Shankar. I got a post card from his father to meet them at the Plaza Hotel.''

She said she spent the day with George's father and his brother, Pete, took photos, and later continued correspondence and telephone conversations.

``George's father passed away several years ago. George's brother, Harry, sent me notice,'' she said. Although she continued communicating for a while, correspondence eventually faded out.

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