We would not at that moment have been surprised to see that guy go down..... On August 19th 1966, The Beatles flew to Memphis Tennessee for two shows at Mid-South Coliseum, the 8th stop along their 1966 North American tour. John Lennons misquoted remarks earlier in the year about the current state of Christianity had caused tensions, especially in the southern states: Protests, record burnings organized by christian radio stations, and anonymous death threats, including a televised threat against the Beatles from a local Memphis Ku Klux Klan member. While there were no issues with the afternoon Memphis performance, hearts stopped as someone threw an exploding firecracker on-stage during the Beatles evening concert. Reportedly, the noise sounded at first like a gun shot, shocking everyone who heard it. Beatles Press Officer Tony Barrow would later recall: Once we did get down to that area, the southern states... a firecracker was let off during the concert in Memphis and everybody, all of us at the side of the stage, including the three Beatles on stage, all looked immediately at John Lennon. We would not at that moment have been surprised to see that guy go down. John had half-heartedly joked about the Memphis concert in an earlier press conference, and when we got there everything seemed to be controlled and calm, but underneath somehow, there was this nasty atmosphere. It was a very tense and pressured kind of day. News of the Jesus statement controversy in America had reached home, and ITV had flown from London to Memphis to interview the group backstage at Mid-South Coliseum. - Jay Spangler, beatlesinterviews.org https://youtube/watch?v=8-ydua3F1Ik
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 11:15:29 +0000
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