6 April 1963
Concert:
Pavilion Gardens Ballroom, St John's Road, Buxton, Derbyshire
"You were no one unless you danced to the Beatles. Before they filled theatres with seats, Beatlemania filled dance halls. I saw them in Buxton. I handed in all my savings of £5 in exchange for an autograph of Paul McCartney - a girl lost an eye in the scrum, a terrible tragedy, but I shall never forget when those curtains opened. The atmosphere was utterly electric, the sound different. Every boy there wanted to be and sing like a Beatle. Every girl wanted to be a Beatle's girl.
It sounds trite but those who did not experience dancing with the Beatles live can never possibly understand why everyone else - Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls, Madonna, Oasis - are also-rans.
Rodney Hylton-Potts"
Source: The Sunday Times, 7 September 2009
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