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Wednesday 26 August 2009

She was Just Seventeen and She Loves you, Yeay Yeay Yeay.!!

Dedicated to my friend Scroblene and apologies to those who may have read part of this tale already.

I was just seventeen, if you know what I mean!


One day, whilst being driving through the City of Liverpool we were stuck in a traffic jam. Eventually, we pulled alongside a beautiful, silver, Aston Martin DB6.
Oh joy, if, that wasn't enough, Paul McCartney was driving it and his father was sitting alongside him.

He wound down his window and said 'Hello'.
When I had gathered my equilibrium, I told him how much I loved his latest record.
He asked me if I would like to hear it, then pressed a button on his eight track,
stereo cassette player, a thing unknown in standard cars in those days He and played for me.....
'She Loves You'.
Well, 'You know that can't be bad'. Yeah yeah yeah... I nearly passed out with delight.
He signed a Photo for me, whilst his Dad, proudly looked on.
Thereon, whenever The Beatles sang 'She was just Seventeen', (I Saw Her Standing There), I was convinced it was just for me.

I think most teenagers, particarly from Merseyside, in the 'Sixties' went to the Cavern Club in Matthew Street. My workmates and I used to go frequently during our lunch breaks.
Quite often, in those days Cilla Black was the 'Cloakroom Girl'. She also worked at the snack bar, serving hot dogs and soup. She often used to get up and sing with, whichever group, was playing at the time. She had a belting voice but let herself down with her strong Scouse accent. Not surprisingly, she was the daughter of a docker and lived in 'Scotty Road', where many believe Maggie May hailed from.

If you think Cilla speaks badly now, you should have heard her then.
As the saying goes, 'She was as rough as a Badgers bum'.

Maggie May was a well known 'Lady of the Streets' and plied her trade along Lime Street and the docks, along with her friends. Business was brisk as Liverpool was a thriving Seaport, as it is now but employs fewer people.
There was always a ship in port for Maggie and her chums!

I only saw the Beatles once at The Cavern, just as they were on the cusp of fame.
The atmosphere was electric and we were packed in like sardines. The friend I was with at the time, passed out, and was lifted above heads to get her out into the fresh air.
On reflection, The Cavern must have been a deathtrap. There was only one way in and one way out.

The drummer in the Beatles at that time was Pete Best who's Mother owned the Cazbah Club in West Derby Village in the leafy suburbs of the City. It was never really established why he was ousted by Ringo, I thought he was a much better drummer.

The Mardi Gras, Downbeat and Iron Door Clubs in Liverpool were host to many famous Merseyside groups, including The Searchers, Billy J Krammer and The Dakotas, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Big Three and the ubiquitous Cilla Black.

On the day The Beatles returned to Liverpool, for a civic reception and the premier of their film, A Hard Days Night,
My friend and I were at the front of the crowd, opposite The Town Hall.
The policemen on duty, let us under the barrier to avoid the crush, so we were almost at arms length, when they stepped out of their limousine.
They appeared on the Balcony and the crowd went wild.
My parents swore they could hear the roar five miles away,
in West Derby where we lived.

I was hoarse for days...
That was more than A Hard Day's Night!

Golden days from the life of Trubes.

44 comments:

  1. You have such wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing them with us :-)

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  2. Thank you so much Cherie, and you are the first of my friends to comment.
    I really enjoy looking at your site, I don't often comment because there is little to say..
    It's a breath of fresh air, whenever I look at it.


    Di.x

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  3. that is such a wonderful momment...just last week donnie osmond sang in the hollow of his hand in our mormon church service for his nephew tommy osmond who is going to oklahoma for his 2 year mision,,, ate dinner with us and tommy's grand , kissed her on the cheek, grabbed an helicopter back to vegas to do a show with marie...just sayin...am a friend of thud so i am ok

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  4. Trube....now thats a post! My elder sister was sneaked in to see them by my on duty policeman father,The Beatles were the soundtrack to my childhood and evoke in me very happy memories.

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  5. My goodness! To have been SO CLOSE to the man himself. I couldn't even imagine what it would have been like. I do remember a group of 4 senior boys at our high school putting a band together as though they were the Beatles - they were all the rage then! thanks for stopping by my place and thx for the good wishes. We're SO happy & have set the date for next September 25/10.

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  6. Aww! Thanks Di, I just blog things that I thing my friends will like and also the things that are going on in my life that I think might interest people xx

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  7. Now that's some post Trubes!

    Hellfire. you are the first person whom I knew who ever actually went there - seems strange that, but it was definitely the place for youngsters to dream about.

    (The nearest I ever got to going anywhere like that was the basement in 'The Duke of Marlborough' - now demolished to make a ring road in Ashford - now just demolished...)!

    "I saw here standing there" was a particular favourite of mine too. They actually got a head of steam on the rhythm, which drove the song well - and it was all down to you too!

    Wish I'd known...

    Cilla Black's voice was a bit like tearing an old plastic sack, but we all mostly liked her. She's melt us lads when she sang..."What am I to do...", then the strings swooped down for a second. It actually is still a great few seconds of pop history.

    We all loved Billy J. Kramer too, and he even did a cover of "Do you want to know a secret"! At the same time as The Beatles were singing it too"

    THE BIG THREE! Marvellous!

    Thanks Trubes, that's made my day reading this - I've just found my old pic and am working on it as we speak...!

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  8. What a great post, Trubes!

    As I've commented elsewhere recently, I saw "Macca" when he played Anfield last summer and was very impressed by the performance.

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  9. Wow! Great story, Trubes. Thanks for telling us. I'd love to see a pic of you though.

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  10. Now that's a proper blog post. Not just touching the hem of the great, but having intimate, one-on-one, 8-track private performance.

    Not a lot of people can compete with that.

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  11. Wow !

    I can't believe what I've just read.

    Incredible memories, Trubes.

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  12. Hi Trubes...Wow that is certainly something to remember and now it is in writing...how wonderful that they bothered...and if it wasn't for the traffic jam, you would not have this fantastic tale to share with us!! :-)

    Thank you for your lovely comment, oh let me tell you, when I said yes to coming I thought my friend could come with me....not to be, work has been very very slow for use..so money was an issue... and yes I think Brave is the right word, I thought to myself , I can't go, etc etc, but it has been fantastic, and I have travelled all over the city on my own, to meet up with my wonderful blogger friends, who are now real friends.. :-)

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  13. You missed out the dancing,the Cavern Stomp,and the heat and pouring with sweat and the even better groups,remember being in North John Street when Lennon came up in the back of a White Rolls Royce showing off his piece of Japanese and he was boo'd.

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  14. Oh I am soooo jealous! You spoke to Paul! You saw them in the Cavern! The closest I got was having my photo taken outside the Cavern!

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  15. You were right at the heart of the zeitgeist! Wow!

    Great post, thanks for sharing.

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  16. Hi Putz,good to hear from you. I quite liked the Osmonds, I think they played Liverpool but i didn't get to see them.

    Hi Thud, fancy your dad being a Policeman, he could have been one of the kind policemen that looked after us when The Beatles returned to Liverpool.


    Hi Leslie,
    Yes, it was indeed a very exciting time.


    Di.x

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  17. Scrobs. Glad you enjoyed my post and remember,

    It was, 'With Love From Me To You'.

    There is loads of footage via Google. If you find the clip of, when they returned, we were in the vicinity of the white police horse, at the front of the crowd.
    Judging by the smashing response I've had, I shall write some more about those days.
    Magic moments !
    Thanks for the encouragement...
    I'm on a roll now....
    Di.x

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  18. Hi Lakes, Glad you enjoyed that.
    I would have loved to have gone to the Macca concert but because of my Rheumatoid Arthrtis. I wouldn't have been able to cope with getting to the seating etc.
    I certainly was very lucky to have so much fun, in Liverpool, as a teenager.
    I remember you advising me, when first starting my blog, to write about Liverpool.
    Look out!
    There's a lot more to come!

    Di.x

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  19. Hi Pippy, Thanks for your comments.
    I will post some photo's when Astrid , my youngest daughter gets around, to show me what to do.
    I'm such a dope when it comes to anything technical.


    Hi Idle, Thanks for your kind words, so eloquently written, as ever.
    Just to see an Aston Martin was enough but, to have Paul McCartney driving it. Wow I was mesmerised!
    This has evoked so many memories, I shall write some more soon.

    Hi Kevin...'Incredible memories' indeed, and there's more to follow.

    Watch this space!

    Di.x

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  20. Anne, Good to hear from you...all the way from Paris indeed! I'm so pleased that you're having a lovely time.
    Blogging sure is a good way to make new friends. I hope to meet up with some of mine in the not too distant future!

    Tony, Welcome to my site and thanks for your comments.
    You're quite right, I did indeed miss out The Cavern Stomp, as there is so much more to tell, I shall do another post soon, and of course, mention the other 'cracking' groups, and acts, around at that time.
    I had a boyfriend, around that time, called Tony but went off and joined the Army....Must have been something I said !

    Hello Liz, Good to hear from you.
    On reflection i was so lucky to have such a wonderful teenage. It is sad that Liverpool gets such a bad press. Like all large Cities it has it's problems but it is still a thriving tourist spot.
    Hope all is well down in Wales and George dawgie, is being a good boy!
    Di.x

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  21. Hi Blue Eyes, thanks for your comments, much appreciated.
    Look out there's more to come!

    Di.x

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  22. Thud, said it all for me :)

    He didn't add however, that he appeared on the local news at Macca's side, as his security, when Sir Paul was in Liverpool to open the performing arts college some years back.

    Great post.

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  23. Trubes what a wonderful memory! I have chills just reading your post. Wow!!! My friend saw Led Zepplin in London when they reunited for that one night and saw Paul McCartney in the nose bleed seats a few from hers! He was rocking to Zepplin just like the rest of the crowd good to know what a nice down to earth man he is!I was big into the Beatles when I was 16,17 and used to love to sing "All My Lovin!" That was the song that used to remind me of the green eyed hunk I wrote about on my blog!

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  24. That's an amazing snapshot of life, Trubes. I wasn't so very far away for awhile.

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  25. You know Vino Girl, I nearly ended up as a mature student at the
    Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts,
    I was always on the 'cusp' of things. My daughters' seemed to take preference to what ever I wanted to do Hey Ho!

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  26. Great memories, Trubes! I loved touch as a badger's bum!!

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  27. Lucia, good to hear from you and I'm so glad you like the Beatles.
    I know there are many talented groups, singers and songwriters about, but they are the 'tops'...Good looking, talented, extremely humourous etc, they really had it all. I also loved The Beachboys, such wonderful harmony.
    Di.x

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  28. Good morning James, You've mentioned before that you have lived near Merseyside but have never said, exactly when or where.
    I'm intrigued!
    Arn't you ex miltary?
    My friend Idle is, he was stationed in Liverpool, in command of a platoon of men, during the firemens strike. The men had to handle fires etc, manning the Green Goddess fire engines.
    Di.x

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  29. Hello Flowerpot, Thanks for your comments. Yes, we Merseysiders are full of little witticisms, must be the 'Irish' in our blood!
    The Beatles could be very funny on stage, although, John lennon used to make sick jokes about disabled people, which we didn't like.
    I always felt he could be a bit sarcastic at times.
    He had a troubled childhood, which maybe could explain his, sometimes, odd behaviour.
    Although there was no escaping his raw talent.
    Needless to say, Paul was my favourite!

    Di.x

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  30. Trubes, I simply can't think of anything more exciting that could have happened to a 17 year old than this. You must have been high for months! Splendid. You have totally trumped Idle, who has dined with Imran Khan. Wonderful.

    Thanks for your Calfy congrats too. We are still buzzing with relief. xLilx

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  31. Hi Lils,
    Thanks for your comments. Yes, I was so lucky to bein that traffic jam. Liverpool was such a vibrant place to live then, so much talent amongst the musicians and not forgetting the writers, comedians, poets, artists, sculptors, etc.
    We had some terrific jazz bands and folk singers too....More to come on my next post.
    I am so glad about Calfy being exonerated,
    she seems such a lovely girl,
    you must be very proud of her.

    Di.x

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  32. Lils' I was going to say 'Who's Imran Khan and then I remembered he was married to
    Jemmina Puddleduck, of the Goldsmith clan.
    I see that her brother Zac is getting divorced from his lovely heiress wife, Schezerard.
    it just illustrates, that,

    'Money Can't Buy You Love'.

    Another Tee Hee! Just for Idle!x

    Di.x

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  33. Lovely post my dear trubes...thank you for that...brought back some memories i had long tucked away :)

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  34. Hello Daisy,
    I am so pleased to hear from you and glad you liked my post.
    I can't believe that I havn't written about The Beatles before, they played such a big part in my life.
    There were many more brilliant Liverpool groups in the sixies, which I will write about soon.
    Looking forward to reading more on your site, dear Daisy!

    Di.x

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  35. Pop stars in traffic jams. A big mate of mine when I was at college in Oxford, while not a Scouser, had spent lots of time there - may even have been at Uni there, can't recall. Big thing for Cilla

    Anyway, he recounts the tale of driving into London on the M4, in its early days. Traffic jam develops, they grind to a halt. Roller the same in the next door lane. Mike looks at it. It's Cilla in the back. Opens his window waves and yells at her, "Hi Cilla". Blinds roll down to cover her windows.

    That was that for his Cilla thing :-)

    My younger brother, 11 at the time, bumped into, I think, George and Paul when on holiday with a friend's family in Devon; they were filming Magical Mystery Tour.

    Only person I know who ever saw them said he didn't hear a word they sang. A common experience, I suspect. Not a happy job, cleaning up cinemas and theatres after The Beatles had played there! A lot of mopping up.

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  36. Hello Elby, I'm delighted to hear from you and thanks for your comments.
    Cilla Black only turns on the 'Scouser' act when she's furthering her own gain. Apparently, when she left Liverpool, she had elocution lessons to get rid of her dreadful accent.
    'Common as muck' as my old Mama described her.
    You're right about not being able to hear The Beatles in concert, for the noise of sceaming fans.
    Hence the reason I didn't bother to go and see them, when they were
    wildly famous.
    I preferred to cherished my earlier memories instead.

    Di.x

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  37. P.S. Elby,

    Ha! Whilst I'm sitting here talking about Cilla, it's just been announced, that she is on the This Morning programme on TV, tomorrow.
    She's celebrating 45 years in show business.

    Wow, I didn't think I was that old!
    But then, she is a few years older than Moi!
    Di.x

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  38. And to think I got my kicks in Eric's just across the road from the Cavern.Although, my first memory of music is playing Beatles records on my sister's Dansette.That,and Billy J's Little Children on the transistor radio.What I would give for a trip back in time.

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  39. Good morning Lord Roby,
    Thanks for your comments. Was Eric's the Grapes Pub in Matthew St.
    We 'girls' didn't go into'pubs' until later on and a suitable boyfriend was 'hooked', obviously to pay for our Babychams' and port and lemons'!
    Did you ever go into the Basnett Bar in Basnett St? They used to serve the most delicious crab sandwiches, which were washed down with a glass of creamy headed Guinness....Arh Golden days!

    Di.x

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  40. Wow, Trubes, you saw them at The Cavern?! And spoke to Paul?! Blimey! I didn't know all that about Cilla. I remember reading about Pete Best. I also never knew who Maggie May was. Thanks for sharing these wonderful memories. xx

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  41. Hi Welshcakes, I'm so pleased to hear from you and hope you are feeling a bit brighter.
    It's amamzing what one takes for granted, there was so much going on in Liverpool then, and even now, that it becomes part of the 'norm'.
    I've had such a terrific response from my blogging friends, that I'm just getting together a sequel to this tale,
    Hope you and Simi are well,

    Love Di.xx

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I usually like to reply to your comments but for some reason when i do post a reply it just diappears, any advice would be most welcome,Thanks Di x

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