"WE HATED THE PHILIPPINES!" - THE BEATLES

When i heard Ringo utter those words "i hated the philippines!" my heart just stopped. isama mo pa dyan yung sinabi ni George "it was the most terrible experience ive ver had" plus ito pa ang malupit dyan! john & paul stated "we had no plans of coming back to the philippines". ouch! ang sakit sakit! if they only knew now that filipinos back then were such worship followers of the marcos regime then they would decide to make a comeback! but that can never happen cos as we all know john and george had already passed away. man! even either one of them (paul & ringo) decided to come visit here for a concert or even just for a vacation, im telling you i will make a huge poster of them.no. that will be a terrible idea. i will make pala a BILLBOARD OF THEM hangging along recto, manila covering the whole UE! kahit 20K ang pinaka malayong ticket KAKAGATIN KO YUN MAKITA KO LANG SILA IN-PERSON! kkidnappin ko si lucio tan mag ka pera lang ako makapunta sa concert nila LOL.but then again thats impossible cos they strongly vow to themselves that they will never go back here. but seriously, i couldnt blame they if they hate the philipines or the filipinos (specifically) that much. here's an article about what really happen during their visit here in the philippines.

"On July 3rd, the day prior the show, The Manila Sunday Times reported that the Beatles were invited to join the President and Mrs. Marcos (with their 3 children) to their Malacanang Palace at 11am. The Beatles knew nothing of this appointment, hearing only of a request for a short "pop-in" at the palace at 4pm which they respectfully declined due to the fact that their first show started at 4pm! The Beatles claimed they never received the earlier 11am invitation.

Much to the Beatles surprise, the palatial tyrants were extremely angered at the Beatles neglect and the morning after the concert, The Manila Times ran the headline "Imelda Stood Up!!". The ramifications were to become serious. Philippine promoter Ramon Ramos refused to pay the Beatles for their performance! Bomb and death threats were telephoned to the deluged British Embassy and to the boys hotel suite. Brian Epstein was so distressed with the situation he arranged for a press conference from the hotel to apologize for the misunderstanding. BUT...as fate would have it, some unforeseen static blipped out his interview from most all TV screens in the country! (more than a few thought it was probably more shenanigans by the Marcos clan).

Pulling more strings the next day when the Beatles were scheduled to depart the country, Misael Vera, Philippine Tax Authority, insisted the group could not leave the country until every penny of the taxes owed them was paid! Of course, they never got paid anything but Brian hurriedly forked over a bond out his own funds for P.74,450 (around $18,000) to settle the matter.

To make matters worse, all security detail assigned to the boys were withdrawn leaving them extremely vulnerable. They were literally kicked and jostled as they left their hotel and totally harassed all the way to the airport. Things were no better there where the airport manager has also removed all security for the Beatles. They went so far as to shut down the power to stop the escalators, forcing the boys to scale several flights of stairs with their own luggage, only to face an angry mob of 200 Filipinos brutally manhandling them! Ringo was literally floored by an uppercut and kicked on the ground. He suffered a sprained ankle as well and had to be helped to the customs area. Mal Evans and Brian Epstein were injured as well. Alf Bicknell suffered a cracked rib and a spinal injury.

When they finally approached the plane, a large booing crowd jeered and mocked them chanting "Beatles Alis Dayan!" (Go Home Beatles!) Once in the plane, some scraping government officials "decided" the Beatles were NOT authorized to leave the country due to inaccurate "check in" procedures days earlier... This led to another 40 minute wait on the Tarmac while Mal & Tony Barrow went back to the terminal to clean up the necessary paperwork. Only minutes after the Beatles angrily departed, did the press run a statement by President Marcos stating "Their was no intention on the part of the Beatles to slight the first lady or the government of the Republic Of The Philippines". Obviously a bit too late to do the Beatles any good.

The Beatles vowed to NEVER return and it's a vow they kept. It was, indeed, the scariest moment they ever experienced! Their next stop was India, for a planned few days of quiet and rest, but greeting them at the airport and their hotel were more than 600 screaming fans. They returned to England on July 8th. Five weeks later, on August 11th, they flew to Chicago to start their last American tour which, as we all know too well, had its own looming troubles. Needless to say, the Beatles clearly needed the break they gave themselves at the end of August when they performed their last live concert performance at San Francisco's Candlestick Park."

- PC/MM 1998

our generations today may not really get me for having such an ancient taste when it comes to music, but thats me. i dont know for such reason why am i so fascinated with the types of musics back then.LedZep, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix just to name a few, but having said that THE BEATLES will always be my NO.1 top pick pang 2nd siguro si JIMI HENDRIX. even my dad find me weird cos he was just a baby when the time the beatles conquered the world during the 60's. theres only 2 persons that i have talk to and shared interest with with the beatles, that is Anthony who should i really give credit for cos he was the one who influnce me to their music, i was 3rd year high school back then and the other one was Tristan who i met in UE a B.A student he just graduated last march. i remember pag may inuman kami nila tristan kasama yung iba tropa kaming dalawa lang ni tristan ang nag kakaintindihan kasi sila di nila naggets ang music namin, we always sing along to the tune of "STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER"(one of my favorite Beatles song) hay i miss those times pre! but aside from them there is NONE! i feel such a loner now that tristan is gone in UE. if anyone out there who also has a brilliant taste of music (what i meant by brilliant ITS THE BEATLES) come out! talk to me for Christ sake! lol.