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"We're Going to See the Beatles!": An Oral History of Beatlemania as Told by the Fans Who Were There Paperback – April 1, 2008

by Garry Berman (Author), Mark Lapidos (Introduction), Sid Bernstein (Foreword)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
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“We’re Going to See the Beatles!” presents the story of Beatlemania in America as experienced by their most devoted fans.

“We’re Going to See the Beatles!” includes anecdotes from those who cheered the group as they arrived at Kennedy Airport in 1964, who kept vigil for them outside the Plaza Hotel, and who sat in the studio audience of The Ed Sullivan Show for the band’s landmark first live TV broadcast. Other fans detail what it was like to see the Beatles in one of their rare concerts at such famous venues as Shea Stadium and Candlestick Park.

From the earliest whispers about the band to the Beatles’ appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and from their subsequent tours and albums to their breakup, author Garry Berman has collected stories from the fans who witnessed the hysteria firsthand. Contributors from around the United States also share photographs and mementos to help create a richly detailed and entertaining oral history.

What emerges is a highly personal account of the Beatles and their incredible impact on music and popular culture.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Santa Monica Press
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 0.57 x 8.94 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1595800328
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1595800329
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Almost 45 years after Beatlemania swept the U.S., memories of the Beatles' legendary U.S. invasion during the mid-1960s remain fresh in the minds of those who were there. In this remarkably personal oral history of the Beatles in America, author and fan Berman (Best of the Britcoms: From Fawlty Towers to Absolutely Fabulous) tracked down 42 individuals from all over the country who cheered the Beatles at New York's JFK airport when they first landed in America, sat in The Ed Sullivan Show audience for the Beatles' live television debut, waited in line for hours (repeatedly) to see A Hard Day's Night, and attended concerts during the group's three chaotic U.S. tours. Bridging their tales with breezy narration, Berman succinctly recounts the Beatles' entire history, from 1963 through the solo years and the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison. Though some of them have lapsed in their Beatle fanaticism, all of Berman's subjects realize the significance of their experiences and relate them with gusto. As put by Dale Ford, who saw the Beatles three times in San Francisco, including their final gig, "I was thinking to myself, 'Dale, savor this moment. This is gonna go down in history.' And it did."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When the Beatles first came to America, some girls stole maids’ uniforms at New York’s Plaza Hotel to try to see their idols. Chatty, precocious Linda Binns Liles, then 9, made her way to the press car in the train carrying the band from New York to Washington, D.C., and ended up talking to Ringo Starr for an hour. Such are the memories of the original Beatlemaniacs gathered in this oral history. Later fan recollections can be poignant. Debbie Levitt struck up a conversation with John Lennon as he and Yoko Ono left a coffee shop on the day he was shot to death. Many still can’t explain the hysteria of their fandom: “It was something that just came over us.” A document of historical import, this is also a mostly joyful celebration of an extraordinary phenomenon. Beatles fans, old and new, will adore it. --June Sawyers

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Santa Monica Press (April 1, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1595800328
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1595800329
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.57 x 8.94 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

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Garry Berman

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4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Paul Wetor
5.0 out of 5 stars A Companion To "A Women’s History of the Beatles"
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2022
Verified Purchase
The author of "A Women’s History of the Beatles" said that most Beatles books were written by men, which is true. I enjoyed that book, and this one is just as enjoyable. Instead of the usual group biography, you get a peek into how fangirls (and some boys) felt about the Beatles, especially when seeing them in concert or in person.

It's surprising how some fans were incredibly determined to meet them or see them, one way or another. I especially liked how one female fan was hoping people would be quiet so she could hear the music, then went completely the opposite moments later when the Beatles hit the stage. Or how a 9-year-old girl charmed her way into meeting the Beatles on the train to Washington DC, even ending up for a moment in the documentary "The Beatles - The First U.S. Visit."

These anecdotes are interesting on their own, but together they tell a story that has been ignored until now. I've read most of the Beatle-related books, so this gives me new territory to explore. Was it obsession, was it love, was it instant puberty, or was it all of these things? This book gives a look at Beatlemania from those who felt it deeply.
2 people found this helpful
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D. Ford
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for Beatles' fans!
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2008
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I enjoyed this book so much.  We're Going to See The Beatles!: An Oral History of Beatlemania as Told by the Fans Who Were There I even bought one for my Mother who accompanied me to the last Beatles concert at Candlestick Park. This book recaptures all those memories for me again. I also liked the way the chapters were organized. And having pictures of the fans was a big plus. A fun and easy read. I would say a real must for all of those who ever saw the Fab Four in person or want to read about the fans who had that privilege.
3 people found this helpful
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Strozy
5.0 out of 5 stars fans reliving when The Beatles came to the US
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2008
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This book gets you all hyped up about the 60's so long ago and yet not that long ago. It takes you through city by city of The Beatles US 1964,1965, and 1966 tours. Telling a period in the young lives of this generation what it was like to be turned upside down by the biggest rock group of all time. The book continues through the Apple years,Break-up and Solo years. There are pictures of The Beatles,fans,and memorbila that you wonder if you still have. I also saw them in Forest Hills tennis Stadium in Queens 1964, and Shea Stadium in 1966.
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Kristina Roscart
5.0 out of 5 stars We're Going To See The Beatles ! BOOK
Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2012
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I purchased this for my daughter and she loves it ! She is a HUGE Beatles fan and she has been collecting Beatles stuff since a young age. This book, "We're Going To See The Beatles!" is truly interesting.
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Ralph DeMattia
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2016
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Superbly written and interesting from cover to cover.
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Anyechka
5.0 out of 5 stars A great oral history
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2009
As a second-generation Beatlemaniac, this wonderful book really helped to put me in the mindset of those first-generation fans who actually lived through it. And since my favorite period of theirs has always been their middle period, with their late period next in line, it also gave me a newfound appreciation of their early period, when they were mostly doing pop and being heavily marketed to teenyboppers. The young girls (and a few boys) represented in these pages don't come across as shallow, silly, or superficial at all. They were just young people excited and happy about this new music, which arrived in America at just the right moment to lift them out of their shock and depression over JFK's assassination. And while some of the fans lost interest over the years, no longer being so manic in their devotion, or didn't like their later albums as much as the early pop ones, they all have in common their continued love of The Beatles, this musical love which has constantly grown, evolved, and matured over time while still remaining the same basic love.

There are so many interesting stories in this book, showing the heights to which these young people would go to try to see their heroes, like dressing up in maid outfits at a hotel, running a police barricade, chasing limos, and doing jobs like cleaning a church to make money for concert tickets. I also liked how the fans interviewed did not come across as the typical nostalgic aging Boomers gassing on and on about how great it was to be young in the Sixties. These now-older fans aren't claiming they changed history or going on and on about how they lived through history being made; they're just honestly reflecting on what happened when they were younger, how grateful they are they were the right age at the right time, and what an exciting happy time that was for them.
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David Meyerson, Ph.D.
5.0 out of 5 stars For the rest of us...
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2008
My introduction to Beatlemania was at the age of 10 finding a 45 of "Let it Be" in a stack of 45's in a box a neighbor had put out for garbage. Yup, I guess you could say that I was born a bit too late.

That's where this book comes in. "We're Going to See the Beatles!" brought me right smack dab in the middle of all those crazy kids - mostly girls - who went mad for the Beatles and in so doing ushered in a new era of culture, music, and politics.

Yeah, we all know those cliches. And that's the charm of this book, because it avoids all those looking-back analyses, and also all those glimpses from the hanger-ons, and instead tells the story of the Beatles Invasion through the eyes and hearts of their young and frenzied fans. So while I missed all that, this book made me feel a part of it, and I got caught up in it as if it were happening all over again. I think Berman did an excellent job of piecing together the many first-hand accounts to tell this story directly, without weighing it down with unnecessary commentary. Sadly, it also brings you along for the downward arc of the Fabs, but so the story went, and getting that choking lump in my throat for Lennon's murder made me realize how captivating this story truly is, especially as told by those who lived and breathed it while it was happening.

If you missed seeing the Beatles, do not miss reading this book.
3 people found this helpful
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Alan S. Damann
5.0 out of 5 stars We're Going To See The Beatles
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2008
This book is a great trip back to the early days of Beatlemania. Glad there was so much input from the male fans too as the Beatles impression on us guys is greatly undocumented. A lot of the stories brought back memories I long forgot. I kept saying "Oh Yeah! I forgot about that!" while reading. It's a fun, clever book and I love reading the stories by the people who lived it.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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懐古館守衛長
5.0 out of 5 stars 貴重な、当時の多数のファンによるビートルマニア証言集
Reviewed in Japan on September 10, 2015
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米国で1964年～1966年に、ビートルズ・ブームにもろに遭遇し、彼らのコンサート等に駆けつけた、当時の若いファンがあの頃のビートルマニア体験を語る本です。総勢40人以上の、基本は、有名人ではない普通の米人男女が、貴重な思い出を語るオーラル・ヒストリー。例えば、1961年に、学校での国際文通活動のペンパルとして偶然リバプールの少女を文通相手に選んだ女性がいて、キャバーン・クラブで評判のバンドとしてビートルズを手紙で紹介され、以後、アメリカでビートルズがブレイクするはるか以前に、彼らのレコードを郵送してもらい、すっかりはまってしまった話などなど、米国上陸前のビートルズの音楽との遭遇事例も、登場する話者が語ったまま記述されています。現地の当事者に彼らの言葉で語ってもらったり、情報をファースト・ハンドで収集して編集していく態度が昨今の日本のビートルズ史関連本にはありません。既に日本語で用意された過去マテリアルを再構成したようなビートルズ関連和書にはうんざりしていたので、この本は素晴らしいと思います。
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Stephen M Catchpole
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting for its historical value of a time gone by.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
Worth the read useful as an historical source but only if you can fine it cheap. Otherwise *Revolution in the Head' by Ian MacDonald is the ultimate Beatles book.
One person found this helpful
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