The Beatles' Manila Leg

THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE BEATLES’ CONCERT TOUR IN MANILA

by Restituto R. Ramos

February 17, 2017. Revised January 19, 2020

It has been more than half a century since the Beatles’ first and only concert here in the Philippines on July 4, 1966, when they played two sold-out shows at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila with a combined attendance of 80,000, with the evening concert registered 50,000 paying audience, reportedly the largest number of people the Beatles played to in a single day, rivaled only by the concert they gave at Shea Stadium in New York City on August 15, 1965. Yet, the full story of what really happened to the Fab Four after they allegedly “snubbed” a reception in their honor hosted by the then- First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos at the Malacañang Presidential Palace remains controversial and still rather largely unclear to this day, mainly due to conflicting and exaggerated accounts. The Beatles claimed that the courtesy call was not part of their official itinerary and were unaware of it until a group of men came on the morning of July 4 to fetch the Beatles and take them to the Presidential Palace. But the Beatles were still in bed, exhausted by the activities of the previous day, which included a press conference at the Philippine Navy Headquarters at Roxas Blvd and a reception held on board a yacht owned by the prominent Elizalde clan moored at the Manila Bay. Everybody knows what happened after that; the verbal and physical harassment suffered by the Beatles at the Manila International Airport as they tried to fight their way through a hostile crown to their plane as they struggled to leave the country on their day of departure. But questions remain, like the exact culpability of the concert promoters for this fiasco.

To get to the bottom of this, I decided to conduct a short interview of the man who was officially identified as the promoter of the Beatles’ Manila concert tour, Mr. Ramon Ramos Jr., who incidentally happens to be my uncle.

But let us first get a backgrounder of the whole story. The Beatles’ concert here in 1966 was part of an international concert tour which took the Band from Germany, to Japan and finally, the Philippines, which was their last stop in Asia. From Tokyo, they flew to Manila via Hong Kong, finally landing on Philippine soil for the first and last time in the early afternoon of July 3, 1966. From the Airport, the Beatles were taken by car to the Philippine Navy Headquarters for the standard press conference with the local media. Afterwards, they were put aboard a motorboat which took them to the private yacht named Marina, owned by Don Manolo Elizalde, said to be a friend of the concert promoter, Ramon Ramos Jr. Initially, despite the heat and the mosquitoes, the Beatles welcomed their stay in the yacht moored some miles offshore at Manila Bay for it offered some privacy. But when their hosts told them that they plan to let them stay there until early afternoon of the next day, they immediately objected, for they need to be at the concert venue at least two hours before the start of the program to ensure that all the lengthy concert preparations are followed.

Finally, at 4AM, they finally disembarked from the yacht, exhausted and checked–in at the Manila Hotel. At was at this point when their troubles began. The Beatles were still asleep when some a half a dozen uniformed aides in khaki uniforms appeared at the door of Vic Lewis, who is the NEMS booking agent of the Beatles during their Asian tour. The aides were demanding to know when the Beatles would be arriving at “The Party”. Lewis was surprised and answered, “I know nothing about a party.” He then directed them to the Beatles’ Manager Brian Epstein, who was then having a late breakfast.

They found out that the First Lady, Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, wife of then-President Ferdinand Marcos, was to hold a party and invited 300 children to meet the Beatles. Epstein politely declined the invitation and refused to wake up the Beatles who badly needed rest in order to prepare for their concert. He later learned that while they were in Tokyo, Peter Brown, the Executive Director of NEMS Enterprises, recounted that the tour agent, Vic Lewis, did receive the invitation sent by Telex from the Philippine Promoter, Cavalcade Promotions, but failed to respond to it. It is also not clear if this invitation was relayed to Epstein. Another account is that the tour’s publicity person, Tony Barrow had received the invitation while in Tokyo but also never responded to it. He also claimed that Epstein received the invitation the night before the concerts but remained non-committal. It seems that Cavalcade Promotions took this silence as an acceptance and told Malacañang to go ahead with preparations despite the lack of any firm commitment from the Beatles and their entourage. Some other accounts is that Cavalcade Promotions was forced to promise Malacañang that they would deliver the Beatles the next day, but held back in informing Epstein early enough, for he was then throwing a tantrum due to the seemingly prolonged stay of the Band members in the yacht.

After the Malacañang aides left empty-handed, Brown also narrated that Epstein received a call from the British ambassador to the Philippines, who urged him to reconsider for all the help and protection they were receiving in Manila was courtesy of the President. But Epstein adamantly refused.

It is said that Epstein’s decision not to attend Marcos’s party is rooted in one bad experience of the Beatles back in 1964, during the first trip of the Beatles to the US. Their first stop was Washington. DC, where the Beatles were compelled to attend an official function in honor of the British Embassy. The Beatles felt that during this function, they were treated like freaks. The function was attended by some drunken aristocrats and condescending diplomats, where people demanded their autographs and some were even surprised that they could write their own names. John Lennon left the embassy spitting out curses on the event. One lady approached Ringo with a scissor and stole a lock of his hair. This resulted in Epstein making it a NEMS policy that henceforth, the Beatles would no longer accept invitations to attend all official functions tendered by diplomats, dictators or royalties. But apparently, this did not sit well with the tenants of Malacañang, as would be seen later.

Later in the day, just after the Beatles had their matinee show, Epstein and Lewis were at the Manila Hotel watching television and to their horror, the local news came out with Mrs. Marcos wandering at the Palace grounds visibly irritated. The newscaster announced that the Beatles never showed up at the party supposedly held in their honor. The 300 children who were war orphans and cripples were all disappointed after they were told that the Beatles were not coming.

Attempting damage control, Epstein called up at once the manager of the government-owned TV station and requested that he be given a chance to explain to the public what happened. Accompanied by Lewis, he immediately rushed to the TV station and was promptly placed in front of a camera. The regular programming was interrupted to accommodate this. But just as Epstein was about to read his prepared statement to apologize and set the facts straight, the TV station received a call from Malacañang and the audio of the interview was cut. Therefore, the public never got to hear what Epstein said.

After the evening concert, the Beatles returned to the Manila Hotel and it went on normally, unaware of what happened at Malacañang and the brewing problem that awaited them. Tony Barrow recalled that their police escorts back to the hotel were withdrawn and the gates were locked against their convoy. This left their stationary limousines at the mercy of organized troublemakers who pressed menacingly against the car windows, rocking their vehicles and yelling insults against the Beatles which they cannot understand. Harrison also recalled that, “it was a negative vibe. We were being bullied.” Eventually, the gates were opened and they sped away. Barrow also recalled that once back at the hotel, they warned the boys to lock their doors and we did the same. Exhausted from their twin concerts, the Band members slept early, for they were scheduled to fly to New Delhi, India the next day.

In the middle of the night, three police officers took Vic Lewis and brought to a police station, where he was lengthily interrogated by two stern men who demanded to know why the Beatles failed to attend the party of Mrs. Marcos.

The following morning, the Beatles rose early to get dressed and prepared to leave for the airport. One of their assistants, Neil Aspinall, ordered breakfast for all six of them. After waiting a while, they began to wonder why their breakfast hadn’t arrived. Their calls to the hotel desk were unanswered. Their other assistant, Mal Evans went down to the lobby to check what was wrong. He found the lobby to be unusually silent and deserted. All the police offers and security personnel they had since their arrival were all suddenly gone. In front of the hotel were the two limousines rented by the Beatles and with their two solitary drivers. The usual police escorts were missing. Evans was able to get a hotel personnel at the front desk but the guy seemed irritated. It was at this point that Evans realized that someone with authority has pulled out all the room service of the hotel from the Beatles including bellhops. He then saw a newspaper at the lobby which had the headline “BEATLES SNUB PRESIDENT.” He quickly returned to the Beatles’ suite with the newspaper, where the TV was on and the Beatles were watching the morning news which reported them snubbing the party at Malacanang.

Also, a little past eight in the morning a man wearing a shiny suit carrying a brown briefcase arrived to hand-over a letter to Epstein, saying: “Here is the bill for the income tax due on The Beatles’ fee.” Puzzled, Epstein retorted that their contract with Cavalcade, as with most concert promoters outside the UK, was very precise on the matter of local taxes. The responsibility for payment belonged to the promoter. Ramon Ramos Jr. was contractually liable for the settlement of any tax bills. But the taxman insisted that the full fee was taxed as earnings regardless of any other contracts. His words were confirmed by the headline of the Manila Daily Mirror which reads: BEATLES TOLD: PAY NOW, LEAVE LATER. The newspapers carried hostile headlines such as FUROR OVER BEATLES SNUB DAMPENS SHOW and IMELDA STOOD UP: FIRST FAMILY WAITS IN VAIN FOR MOPHEADS. According to a palace spokesperson, The Beatles had 'spit in the eye of the First Family.' It was also reported quite erroneously that The Beatles had requested an audience with Imelda Marcos in the first place, the one press story that brought forth hollow laughter from the boys. In other words, this meant that the Beatles and their party could not leave without paying tax on their earnings from the concerts. The sad thing is that they never earned anything from the gig for the promoter Ramon Ramos Jr. refused to pay them for their performance. Epstein had to hurriedly fork out P74, 750 (around $18,000) of his own funds to settle the matter.

With their bellhops gone, their three assistants, Tony Barrow, Vic Lewis and Mal Evans had to load by themselves all their equipment and luggage into a rented van. KLM flight 862 bound for New Delhi, India was waiting for the Beatles at the airport. Without anyone helping them in loading their equipment, they feared that they would not be able to catch their flight. Epstein called the KLM office who connected his call directly to the plane’s pilot via Skyphone (Skyphone is an air-to-ground public phone service that was introduced in March 1962). Epstein frantically pleaded with the pilot not to leave without them for they feared for their safety if they were stranded in Manila. The pilot agreed to wait but only up to the point that he does not have to refuel to reach New Delhi. Otherwise, if he comes to that point, he will have to take-off with or without the Beatles.

Hastily getting into their vehicles and departing afterwards for the airport, the drivers seemed to lose their way once or twice while driving, with the morning traffic slowing down their progress towards the airport. Once at the terminal, their harassment continued, being forced to carry their own baggage with no single porter offering to help them. They made a hasty dash for the departure area, but were confronted by mob of 200 angry and jeering Filipinos determined to manhandle them. The Beatles and their aides were summarily kicked, punched, spit on and yelled with angry epithets like “We treat you like ordinary passenger.” Ringo was literally floored by an uppercut and got kicked on the ground. He also got his ankle sprained and had to be helped to the customs area. Mal Evans and Brian Epstein were also injured. The escalators were also shut off, forcing the boys to scale the stairs lugging all their equipment. As they finally neared the KLM plane, bruised and bloodied, a large booing crowd jeered and mocked them, yelling “Beatles, alis dyan!” (Go Home Beatles!). This account was disputed by the then-President of the Local Beatles’ Fan Club, Josefa Leorado, who recounted in a casual conversation with this author that she was there at the airport following the Beatles but never witnessed any of them being hurt physically and it was only their staff members who actually got hurt by the frenzied mob.

But even after boarding the plane, an announcement came over the intercom, calling for manager Epstein, their press agent and the Beatles’ personal assistants, Evans, Barrow and Aspinall, in which they were told that they could not leave for their passports were not stamped upon arrival so Barrows, Aspinall and Evans were called out of the plane to explain to immigration and clear matters before they were all finally allowed to leave, further delaying their departure by about 40 minutes. The pilot of the KLM plane was by then already very much irritated by the delay and he said he had waited enough and that he needs to take off without Barrows and the others. Epstein kept on begging for him not to leave for Barrows and the rest might end up in jail if he gets left behind in Manila and by doing this, Epstein kept the pilot busy until Barrows and the others finally returned to the plane, enabling it to depart at last. As the plane was slowly pulling away from the terminal, the angry mob was allowed out of the terminal where they continued to shout curses and shake their fists to the plane. As the aircraft was preparing to take off, Epstein began saying, apparently blaming himself for their Manila fiasco: “How could I let this happen to the boys?” I’ll never forgive myself. I put the boys in physical danger.” It was at that point that Vic Lewis appeared before him and asked Brian, “Did you get the money?” The money, which was 50 percent of their talent fee, was inside a brown bag, while the other half was deposited in London as a guarantee of their performance. This enraged Epstein, who shouted at Lewis, “Who was it that screwed up the party invitation?” Don’t talk to me about money!” Losing his cool, Lewis shouted, “I’ll talk to you about money.” He proceeded to grab Epstein by the throat and said, “I’ll kill you!” Luckily, while the plane was taking off, they were able to pull Lewis’s hands from Epstein’s throat and force him down the aisle.

Now, let us examine closely and try to see what really happened on those days the Fab Four were here more than half-a-century ago and with my uncle Mr. Ramon Ramos Jr. finally giving his side.

As narrated earlier, the business entity in charge of the Beatles’ concert tour here was Cavalcade Promotions, which had already brought in several foreign acts to perform here (among them Matt Monro, the Dave Clark 5, Peter and Gordon and the Everly Brothers) even prior to the Beatles.

My uncle described his role below:

“I was actually only the financier even if I was listed as the President. Cavalcade Promotions was run by Rafael Corrales (a brother of iconic singer Pilita Corrales-RRR) and Bobby Grimalt as general manager and assistant manager respectively. Both men are now deceased. I simply gave them the money they needed for they were the ones who have the inclination to engage in showbiz-related projects. Cavalcade managed to bring in several international acts for successful performances like the Everly Brothers, Shirley Bassey, the British invasion acts of that era like the Dave Clarke Five, Peter and Gordon, Matt Monro and of course, the Beatles. Most of these acts performed at the Araneta Coliseum while the Beatles held their show at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in order to accommodate a larger audience. For the Beatles’ Manila concert, I gave as down payment, $50,000.00 which I never recovered.”

In short, Mr. Ramos is saying that he only provided the necessary funds in order to finance the holding of the performances. He gave his business partners, Rafael Corrales (a brother of popular singer Pilita Corrales, who was also one of the front acts of the Beatles’ concert) and Bobby Grimalt the complete freedom to manage entertainment-related projects.

Therefore, they were totally in charge of the Beatles’ concert tour here. Both these men are also long deceased.

This concise explanation by my uncle finally absolved him of any responsibility for this fiasco. All the engagements and incidents concerning the Beatles’ tour here, which was not only the concert but also the infamous “courtesy call” by the Beatles, a courtesy call which never was, were all handled by Corrales and Grimalt.

After Cavalcade Promotions successfully negotiated for the Beatles to come here in Manila after their tour of Japan, then First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos wanted very much to have the Band pay a courtesy call at the Presidential Palace. When this was relayed to them by the Malacañang staffers, Corrales and Grimalt decided to send the invitation by telex to Tokyo, Japan where the Beatles were then performing. However, no response was received and the two promoters, Corrales and Grimalt assumed that the invitation was accepted and told Malacañang to proceed with the preparations even without a definite word from the Beatles and their entourage. By assuming acceptance of the invitation without even an acknowledgment, the stage was set for this fiasco for Malacañang naturally had to rely on the word of the promoters. My uncle also narrated that he never knew beforehand of the decision to put the Beatles on the yacht of Don Manolo Elizalde for as he said, it was Corrales and Grimalt who managed their itinerary here. Since both Corrales and Don Manolo Elizalde were Spanish-speaking, it was of course easy for the former to agree to put the Band in the yacht to be partied by the Elizaldes and the Manila elite who were their friends.

With regards to the report that he refused to pay the Beatles for their performance, he recounted that:

“I remember that security was suddenly withdrawn, enabling many people without tickets to enter, which disappointed and angered those with paid tickets. This made me unable to recover my investment, especially the $50,000 down payment of the Beatles. Therefore, I was not able to pay the balance of the Band’s talent fee.”

This narrative corresponds with the account of both Harrison and Barrow given earlier when they noticed their police security has been already withdrawn at the end of their evening concert, with organized troublemakers shouting curses at the Beatles and shaking menacingly at their cars.

Now, with all these narratives, and my uncle finally giving his side, lets’ try to connect all these like a jigsaw puzzle to find the real score more than half-a-century afterwards.

The Beatles arrived in Manila from Tokyo in the early afternoon of July 3, 1966 and where promptly whisked by car from the airport to the Philippine Navy Headquarters for the obligatory press conference and from there to the Elizalde yacht. They were unaware that their Philippine promoters, Cavalcade Promotions, have arranged a courtesy call for them at Malacañang the next day upon the request of the First Lady. They had sent a telex to Tokyo informing them of the invitation to the Palace. Receiving no answer, the promoters assumed acceptance and told Malacañang to proceed with the invitation. Apparently, this was a mistake, as later events would prove. The Beatles’ tour manager, Vic Lewis admitted receiving this telex (another narrative by Tony Barrow said it was him), but for some reason failed to relay it to Epstein, which prevented the Band from making the decision to accept or reject it before reaching Manila. Also, when the Band was already in Manila and staying at the Elizalde’s yacht, the Promoters, who were forced to promise Malacañang that they would deliver the Beatles to the luncheon hosted by Imelda Marcos scheduled the following day at the Palace, held back at informing Epstein of the invitation for they were afraid he might turn it down, for he was then throwing a tantrum due to the intention of the Elizalde’s to keep the Band at their yacht until an hour before their afternoon concert.

One more account, by Bill Harry, in his book, “The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia has acknowledged the existence of an invitation from the Promoters for the Beatles to pay a courtesy call on the First Lady, but it was scheduled for 3PM of the following day, an hour before their scheduled matinee concert. But the promoters did not pursue this invitation, for the Beatles wanted to be in the concert venue at least two hours before the concert. A further mix-up occurred when the Palace set the meeting at 11AM as reported in The Manila Times, unaware of the scheduling problem. Whether anyone ever attempted to settle matters and whatever transpired in this effort, given the lots of miscommunication between the Beatles Management and the Philippine promoters remains unknown to this day.

So, when the Palace aides arrived to fetch the Beatles from the Manila Hotel and take them to the party at Malacañang, they knew nothing of it and were still asleep, exhausted from the previous day’s activities and were of course, a no-show at the First Lady’s party, given Epstein’s refusal to wake them up, for he said they needed rest for their performances later in that day.

By analyzing these events, four reasons were deduced which led to this fiasco.

First, the schedule of the Beatles was simply too hectic during this concert tour. After their arrival, they were taken to the Philippine Navy headquarters for the Press Conference, followed by their stay at the Elizalde family’s private yacht, which lasted until 4AM the next day, and it was only after that when they managed to check-in at the Manila Hotel for a much-needed rest, before waking-up to prepare for their first concert in the afternoon. Such punishing schedule did not give them time to even make a guest appearance in a local television show, considered this was the norm among visiting foreign entertainers. So, when the invitation for the Malacañang luncheon was brought up, it was simply not possible for it to be accommodated into the Beatles’ official itinerary.

Second, the local promoter, Cavalcade Promotions, committed a blunder when it sent the telex about the invitation to the Beatles’ entourage while it was still in Tokyo, and assumed its acceptance even when no one responded to it. When it consequently advised Malacañang to prepare despite the absence of any confirmation by the Group, it set the stage for the fiasco. When the dust settled after the controversial tour, Cavalcade Promotions went broke. Its general manager, Rafael Corrales said: We are liquidating our company. We lost money bringing the Beatles here. We don’t know how much we lost yet until we liquidate and gone through all our company assets”. Corrales insists that they were able to secure an appointment from the Beatles to pay a courtesy call to Mrs. Marcos and added that the social secretary of Mrs. Marcos confirmed the appointment. Corrales also adds that it was the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, who refused to keep the appointment. But the facts say otherwise, and that the management of Cavalcade led by Corrales committed a fatal mistake of sending the invitation for the courtesy call to the Beatles while still in Japan and receiving no response, merely assumed that the Band had agreed to the invitation. For this, Corrales and his business partners have only themselves to blame. . It was also strange why Corrales and Grimalt never even attempted to make an overseas call to the Beatles’ management to confirm if their invitation for this courtesy call would be accepted or not.

Third, the additional blunder on the Beatles’ side, was the failure by either Vic Lewis or Tony Barrow to relay the invitation sent by telex to Brian Epstein, who, in behalf of the Group, could have decided whether to attend or not the Palace luncheon party even before they stepped on Philippine soil. But whatever Epstein or the Group’s decision is the question if it will be accepted by Malacañang or not even if given early enough is unclear

. It is also obvious that Epstein was blaming Lewis for the fiasco during that heated exchange inside their plane as it was preparing to take-off for New Delhi at the end of their visit.

Fourth, was Imelda Marcos’ attitude which ultimately led to this for she was used to getting her way all the time, including her obsessive desire to meet and entertain international celebrities and she did not care at all for any dissent, a premonition of her dictatorial ways with her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos after Martial Law was declared six years later, in 1972. It could also be said that the incident sheds light on how the Marcos regime began. As a Beatles’ commentator wrote concerning the Manila concert of the Group:

“Some have argued that Ferdinand Marcos began as a well-meaning and inspiring leader, but eventually lost his way after getting a taste of power. But the Beatles’ Manila nightmare, which took place a year after Marcos first became president, paints a different picture . For it shows that, just shortly after getting a taste of power, the Marcos and Imelda were already more than willing to abuse it, flaunt it and turn against anyone who ever dared to defy them, even a group of world famous musicians.” Indeed, some Beatles historians believed that the Beatles were invited to Manila not just to play music to its fans. It was if the whole thing was a savvy political set-up for the Beatles to implicitly endorse the Marcos government. The luncheon party hosted by Mrs. Marcos was an excellent opportunity for a photo-op where the Beatles would be seen having a lively chat with Madam Marcos, ambassadors, senators and their cronies. The 300 specially invited children being entertained by the Beatles would be a clever distraction from the actual motive of this courtesy call. Both the local and international media would surely cover the event, generating images of the Beatles sharing tea with Mrs. Marcos and shaking hands with government diplomats would project an image to the world that the Beatles were endorsing the soon-to-be dictatorial Marcos regime.

But the Beatles’ refusal to go through this charade frustrated the Marcoses, particularly Imelda, who left no stone unturned in expressing her displeasure over the Band. Some, like DJ Danee Samonte (who made a name for himself in recent years by promoting performances by oldies acts like the Cascades, Peter and Gordon and Chad and Jeremy) have suggested a contrary view that Madam Marcos would never do such a thing as to harass the Beatles on their departure, which he get from a casual conversation with the former First Lady. He narrates her making this following statement:

“ “Being a big fan of The Beatles, I made representation with the Philippine promoter to invite them to lunch at Malacañang Palace so that I can personally welcome them to our country together with my family and friends who are also big fans. Honestly, I was disappointed with their non-appearance but later understood that there was a miscommunication and bore no grudges.

“When I heard they were being manhandled at the airport on their departure, I immediately ran to the airport to have it stopped. I remember reprimanding the airport manager Mr. Willy Jurado.

“I would never dream of hurting the world’s No. 1 band. Whatever motivated the people to treat them that way was not my doing. They could have done it out of sympathy and I think it was wrong. I abhor violence.”

In support of Mrs. Marcos’ assertion, Samonte adds:

“ Listening to her narration cleared the issue in my mind and I fully believe she had nothing to do with it at all. Logically speaking, had she professed anger and contemplated revenge, she could have had the concert cancelled and deported them outright but she didn’t. What happened at the airport could have been sympathetic action from overzealous people who felt insulted by the snub and reacted accordingly.

Another factor that instigated the violence was how the press blew the issue out of proportion.

“ Knowing Mrs. Marcos personally and her advocacy for motherly love coupled with her love for music, The Beatles would have loved her had that lunch on July 3, 1966 happened. I’m positive about it because I’ve seen how she charmed my artists, from Air Supply, Matt Monro Jr., John Ford Coley to Sir Cliff Richard, with whom she did a spontaneous duet over lunch. So there it is, after 45 years, the truth and I hope the issue against Mrs. Marcos is laid to rest .”

. But in analyzing the sequence of events, it is impossible for all those measures imposed to give the Beatles a hard time on the day of their departure to have been implemented without somebody with authority giving the orders, like the withdrawal of room service, bellhops, security and even basic airport courtesies, and the mob jeering and physically harassing the group and their entourage, a clear premonition of the coming Marcos dictatorship, which had no tolerance for any dissent whatsoever, as later events would indicate.

This was seconded by a writer of a letter named Edgar Cruz of Pandacan, commenting on three articles in the Philippine Daily Inquirer by historical journalist Ambeth Ocampo on the Beatles’ Manila concert:

“The Beatles embarked on their last US concert tour one month after the Manila incident. After that, they decided to terminate all live performances. This made the Manila concert important…..In a sense, the 1966 concert helped force the Beatles to move to a new phase of their artistic career, what became known as ‘the studio years.’ This phase produced the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band LP. For Filipinos, having failed to realize the implications of the airport incident involving the Beatles, we had to suffer the consequences of a twenty-year autocratic rule.”

In the end, Sir Paul McCartney, now one of the last two surviving members of the Group, looks back at their harrowing experience in a more positive light. For denying the Marcos dictatorship an opportunity to use the Beatles in a cheap propaganda stunt, the band actually did the right thing. They managed to defy what turned out to be a corrupt and brutal conjugal dictatorship. As McCartney explains in a video clip:

“When we found out that it was Marcos and what he had been doing to his people, and Imelda and what she’d being doing, and the rip-off that the whole thing apparently, allegedly was, we were kind of glad to have done it.”

Indeed. For John, Paul, George and Ringo, we’ll all sing with you: “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” and “Na, Na, Na, Na. Na, Na, Na.”

For your defiance of the dictatorship, and having suffered for it, even it unwittingly, and despite being non-Filipinos, I think you deserve to be honored by the Filipino People, even with a slot at the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani.

Footnotes:A Hard Day’s Night in Manila: The Beatles’

The Beatles arrive in Manila, Philippines. Comments excerpted from “The Beatles’ Anthology (1995) by George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Neil Aspinall and Tony Barrow.

My uncle and former promoter of the Beatles’ Manila concert in 1966, Mr. Ramon Galvez Ramos Jr., passed away on August 9, 2018, about a year and a half after my interview with him on February 12, 2017 regarding this controversial concert tour.