THE Beatles’ visit to Glasgow in 1964 lives long in the memory.

For one Times Past reader, there was a surprise in store when his favourite band came to town – and a mystery he has yet to solve.

Glasgow Times:

Phil Quigley explains: “I am 80 years of age and the memories of the Beatles’ visit to Glasgow are still vivid in my mind.

“I was working as a gent’s hairdresser near Charing Cross at the time and during the usual chit chat with one customer, he asked me if I liked the Beatles.”

He adds: “I said, yes, of course and when he took his wallet out to pay, he offered me a ticket for the Glasgow concert, which knocked me out.

“He apologised and said he only had one ticket, but I gratefully accepted it. He wouldn’t take any payment for it and said ‘just give the money to charity’, which I did.”

Glasgow Times:

Phil, who lives in Rutherglen, still has no idea who the benevolent gentleman was. He adds: “I was in a daze all day.”

When he got to the concert, the first thing Phil noticed was there were not many men in the audience.

“And when the boys came on the stage, the audience erupted – the noise and screaming were incredible,” he adds.

“You could not hear the music, it was unbelievable.

“Not long after they hit the big time, one of The Beatles said in an interview they liked Jelly Babies. During the Glasgow concert, bags and bags of these sweets rained down on the stage. It was incredible.”

In fact, it was George Harrison who said the band loved Jelly Babies, a statement he would live to regret. Not only were the Fab Four sent boxes of the sweets in the post, they were continually pelted with them on stage.

In a letter to a fan in 1963, Harrison said: “Think how we feel standing on stage trying to dodge the stuff, before you throw some more at us.

“Couldn’t you eat them yourself, besides it is dangerous. I was hit in the eye once with a boiled sweet, and it’s not funny.”

For Phil, the surprise chance to see The Beatles on stage is something he will never forget.

READ MORE: Screaming, fainting, multiple arrests - when Beatlemania came to Glasgow

Phil smiles: “All in all it was quite a night. I still have the ticket somewhere – it was 17/6, which at the time was probably a bit dear…in today’s money, it would be 87 and a half pence.”

The Beatles kicked off their final tour of the UK with two shows at the Odeon on Renfield Street. The world’s most famous group had decided to play the Odeon because it could seat 6000 fans. They had previously played the city in October 1963 – at the time, the Evening Times reported that screaming from the crowds meant almost no one in the audience could hear anything they played.

*Did you see The Beatles play in Glasgow? Were you the kind ticket-giver who made Phil’s day?

 

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