On arrival at John F. Kennedy Airport on 7 February 1964 there was unprecedented hysteria which extended to the streets of New York and the Plaza Hotel.  Their first American press conference was held at the Airport.  A man who would become their friend in the USA, disc jockey Murray the K was also at the conference.
 

 


Q: "What do you think of Beethoven?"

RINGO: "Great. Especially his poems."

(laughter)

M.C: "There's a question here."

Q: (yelling over the crowd noise) "Would you tell Murray the K to cut that crap out?"

BEATLES: (yelling, jokingly) "CUT THAT CRAP OUT!"

PAUL: "Hey, Murray!"

(laughter)

REPORTER: "Is that a question?"

M.C: (attempting to calm the chaos) "Will you be quiet, please."

FEMALE FAN: "Would you please sing something?"

BEATLES: "NO!"

(laughter)

RINGO: "Sorry."

M.C: "Next question."

Q: "There's some doubt that you CAN sing."

JOHN: "No, we need money first."

(laughter)

Q: "What do you think of the comment that you're nothing but a bunch of British Elvis Presleys?"

JOHN: "He must be blind."

RINGO: (shaking like Elvis) "It's not true!! It's not true!!"

JOHN: (dances like Elvis)

(laughter)

Q: "Does all that hair help you sing?"

PAUL: "What?"

Q: "Does all that hair help you sing?"

JOHN: "Definitely. Yeah."

Q: "You feel like Sampson? If you lost your hair, you'd lose what you have? 'It'?"

JOHN: "Don't know. I don't know."

PAUL: "Don't know."

M.C: "There's a question here."

Q: "How many of you are bald, that you have to wear those wigs?"

RINGO: "All of us."

PAUL: "I'm bald."

Q: "You're bald?"

JOHN: "Oh, we're all bald, yeah."

PAUL: "Don't tell anyone, please."

JOHN: "And deaf and dumb, too."

(laughter)

M.C: "Quiet, please."

Q: "Are you for real?"

PAUL: "For real."

JOHN: "Come and have a feel."

RINGO: (laughs)

Q: "Listen, I got a question here. Are you going to get a haircut at all while you're here?"

BEATLES: "NO!"

RINGO: "Nope."

PAUL: "No, thanks."

GEORGE: "I had one yesterday."

(laughter)

RINGO: "And that's no lie, that's the truth."

PAUL: "It's the truth."

Q: "You know, I think he missed some."

JOHN: "Nope."

GEORGE: "No, he didn't. No."

RINGO: "You should have seen him the day before."

Q: "What do you think your music does for these people?"

PAUL: "Uhh..."

JOHN: "Hmmm, well..."

RINGO: "I don't know. It pleases them, I think. Well, it must do, 'cuz they're buying it."

Q: "Why does it excite them so much?"

PAUL: "We don't know. Really."

JOHN: "If we knew, we'd form another group and be managers."

(laughter)

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