TMN RETRO REPORT: The Beatles visit Australia – 1964

It’s quite possibly the most important visit to these shores by a group of Brits since Captain Cook sailed the Endeavour into Botany Bay in 1770. The arrival of John, Paul, George and (replacement Ringo) Jimmy Nicol on a rain-soaked June morning in 1964 wasn’t just the arrival of touring popstars, it was the apex of one of the greatest tectonic shifts in Australian music history.

The Beatles’ conquest of Australia had begun modestly enough, 12 months before they touched down, when From Me To You peaked at #9 on the Singles Chart in June 1963. A number of chart appearances came and went for the group before finally, in the last week of 1963, they reached the top of the chart with I Want To Hold Your Hand. They remained in the number one position with a succession of singles until just before their one and only visit began on 11 June. Australia was The Beatles’ for the taking.

As with other parts of the world where Beatlemania had already struck, the Fab Four’s arrival to Australia signalled a changing of the guard in what was heard, what was sold and what was cool. The teen idols, instrumental bands and slicked-back, greased-up rockers who had dominated the charts in the late fifties and early sixties were soon seen as…….

The above article is an excerpt only of a much broader feature in the June issue of the Australian Music Industry Quarterly. To read the full article in your free copy click here