3 January 1963
Concert:
Two Red Shoes Ballroom, South College Street, Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland
The first night of a four-show Scottish jaunt.
"...a five night trip around various Scottish towns thanks to a contract signed between Brian Epstein and Albert Bonici [through Cana Variety Agency] in November of 1962. The original advert [12 Dec 62] billed the Beatles with the Dave Sisters [Dale] but they took another date. By the end of the month, the Beatles song "Love Me Do" was becoming popular and Bonici then coined, "Love Me Do boys" to promote the band in Scotland...
John took the opportunity to fly back to Liverpool for a few hours, returning to Scotland early on the morning of the 3rd in time to get to the Elgin gig. The Elgin gig was noted for the L-shaped ballroom which meant that some of the audience couldn't see the Beatles on stage...
Thanks to Jimmy Russell and others who remember the '60s music scene in Elgin, I've heard interesting stories about various entertainers such as Lulu, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles...
John, Paul, and George had a bit of history with NE Scotland as they had backed Johnny Gentle in 1960 when they were under fianced. This came to mind when Jimmy told me about their arrive in the Park Cafe which was attached to "Boots" [nickname for the 2 Red Shoes]. The Beatles knew that touring as nearly unknowns meant they'd need to budget themselves, if not "tightening their belts" along the way.
The account goes that Jimmy's daughter was working in the sweetie shop and had called her dad when the Beatles arrived. Besides letting him know they were at the hall, she mentioned and that they had a funny smell about them. According to the story, the fab four had bathed in a nearby river and had the odor of weeds. The story goes that Albert had Jimmy take them over to his house for a proper bath before they performed and again the next day before they went on to Dingwall for their second performances.
Jimmy, recalling the night of the third, said that whilst there were only a few dozen in the beginning of the Beatles performance, there were about 200 by the end of the night. By cover band leader Alex Sutherland's account there were about 80 there but Jimmy was taking tickets. Boots often had larger crowds since kids came from surrounding towns but it was decent considering the weather. The Dingwall gig was said to have a poor showing of less than 20 but the booking was in conflict with a traditional Irish band and it was a smaller hall.
After the performance in Elgin, Jimmy sat with the Beatles for an hour or so whilst they were treated with food and coffee. From what he could remember, they were dressed in black that night and were friendly young men though he didn't think to get an autograph. Though 'Love Me Do' was just hitting the pop charts, most people didn't suspect that they'd have two singles by the end of the month."
Source: http://blogs.myspace.com/david.dills
"Arthur McKerron used to go to the back café of the Two Red Shoes for a meal. He asked the owner's wife who was performing in the dance hall that night and she replied it was "some group called The Beatles".
"The place was deserted," Arthur recalled. "One couple were more or less just walking or jiving around the hall and three or four couples were sitting at tables."
The next day student nurse Adeline Reid and her friend were leaving their boarding house to go to the local hospital when she saw The Beatles hanging out a window of the boarding house next door.
"They shouted at me," Adeline recalled. "John asked me to take his pulse. My face went the colour of a tomato.
"Our landlady proceeded to reprimand them for their cheek. She did not approve of them talking to her girls in such a shocking manner!""
Source: Sunday Post, 25 October 2016
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