Charles
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I am a retired teacher, sixty-two years of age who has had a life time interest in popular music dating right back to the release in 1955 of Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock". I spend much of my time writing, playing bass guitar and preparing quiz questions for the Trivia Nights which I conduct for charities and other worthy causes.
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When the break up was announced it was almost anti-climactic. There had been reports and rumours circulating for nearly a year and, to add to this, John Lennon had already released a solo album - "Live Peace in Toronto" and Paul was about to release his first solo effort.
I have happier recollections of the 1967 Beatles. In March 1967 I was an eighteen year old teacher at a rural Queensland primary school and the Beatles (and my lengthening hair) were my links with the 'civilized world'. On the day that the "Strawberry Fields Forever/ Penny Lane" was to be released both for airplay and in the shops I took my small red transistor radio to work and, as soon as I dismissed my Grade Three class for Morning Tea, I opened the top draw of my desk and heard the wonderful strains of "Strawberry Fields" on the local radio for the first time. The rest of the day passed in a blur and when I arrived home, there in the mail was my pre-ordered copy of the new single. It had found its way to my remote post code.
Four months later I arranged for my sister back in Brisbane to collect my copy of the "Sgt Pepper" album, also on the day of its release. I literally wore out that first copy of "Pepper" and had to buy another copy a few years later by which time the wonderful gate fold sleeve had been replaced. However, the new sleeve also included the song lyrics, a concept which had been another revolutionary feature of the album when it was released in July of 1967.
About one month after the release of "Sgt Pepper" I attended a University of Queensland Vacation School for teachers from remote parts of the state. I surreptitiously snuck my little portable gramophone into my room at St Leo's College and turned the volume down when I put "Pepper" on the turntable lest the thirty and forty somethings with whom I was sharing the corridor should become distracted from their studies. To my enormous surprise, the main topic of conversation at dinner tables throughout that week was the new Beatles' album. Truly, things had changed! A revolution was taking place.