TODAY, not Yesterday, marks 60 years since the Beatles finished their sell-out tour of the Channel Islands with a concert at Springfield ballroom.
And Jersey-based tribute band ‘The Beantles’ will at this weekend’s Battle of Flowers be remembering when John, Paul, George and Ringo brought ‘Beatlemania’ to Jersey in August 1963.
The Fab Four, who were then on the precipice of superstardom, had not long returned from their first tour of the United States when they landed at Jersey Airport on 6 August.
After concerts in Jersey on 6 and 7 August, they took a short trip to play in Guernsey, before returning for two more on 9 and 10 August.
The band received £1,000 for the four Jersey concerts, which were organised by local promoter Les de la Mare earlier in March.
Tickets for the show cost between 17/6d (87p, worth around £22 today) and 10 shillings (50p – now worth £12).
While Kensington Place is now in the news for another reason – as a government-owned site soon to house new hospital facilities – it was then the site of the Revere Hotel, where the Liverpudlian quartet stayed.
Film footage emerged in 2004 of the group relaxing with friends and fans at the poolside, taken by the band themselves.
This weekend, four local musicians – Oliver Rybarczuk, Dan MacFarlane, Jordan Rondel and Tom Rolls – will come together to perform as ‘The Beantles’.
Battle of Flowers chair Russell Labey said: ‘They may be impersonating the Fab Four but their sound is incredibly authentic and we wanted to commemorate a real coup for Jersey to attract the Beatles to Springfield Stadium just as they hit superstardom.’
Mr Rybarczuk, the ‘John Lennon’ of the group, said: ‘We all grew up listening to the Beatles’ music.
‘Being a musician, the Beatles’ songwriting, and their impact on music, is very important. They were a historically pivotal band.
‘For our performance, because it’s the 60th anniversary, we’ll incorporate a lot of material they had from that era, like She Loves You, Love Me Do. But we’ll also play some later material too.’
He added that he believed it would be ‘beneficial’ for Jersey to once against have venues – such as Springfield and Fort Regent – to host famous acts.
The tribute band will perform at the Battle of Flowers on Friday from 5pm to 7pm and 8.15pm to 9pm, and from 9pm to 10.30pm on Saturday.
