Thursday, April 27, 2017

"I've Got My Beatles Movie Ticket..."


I discovered this circular piece of Beatles ephemera/memorabilia among Mom's stuff. She was 16 when The Beatles landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport1 in February 1964, on their way to The Ed Sullivan Show. Thus, she was the perfect age to be a passionate teenage fan of the lads from Liverpool and grow up with them, through their many phases.

George Harrison was her favorite Beatle.

The Beatles ephemera has a diameter of 3¾ inches and is printed on paper stock similar to that of a postcard. There are other references to this particular item existing in the form of a button/pin. Perhaps this one was originally part of a button, too.

The "I've Got My Beatles Movie Ticket Have You?" phrasing recalls the idiomatic — and, in the eyes of some, grammatically questionable — "You've Got A Friend In Pennsylvania" state advertising slogan and license plate of the 1980s.2

The "Beatles Movie" referred to is 1964's A Hard Day's Night, a musical-comedy that ended up as a critical success despite the fact that its overwhelming purpose was simply to serve as a vehicle for Beatles songs. In the 2012 book Beatlemania: Technology, Business, and Teen Culture in Cold War America, André Millard writes:
"Cinemas and radio stations began promotional campaigns that made buying a ticket for the Beatles' film an event, and the lucky fans who had camped out all night got special badges that said 'I've Got My Beatles Movie Ticket, Have You?' A Hard Day's Night was an exceptional film in many ways, but it worked best as a substitute for the live performances and sense of intimacy that was central to Beatlemania. The film opened simultaneously in over five hundred American cinemas in the summer of 1964 — perfectly placed between two American tours."
So, Mom apparently acquired the circular badge that summer and tucked it away, among her cherished possessions, for 53 years.

Related Beatles note #1

In the realm of ephemera that is much more rare, Atlas Obscura's Sarah Laskow reported today on a little sketch that John Lennon left behind after moving in the 1960s. Look familiar? Can you even imagine coming across that in your house?


Related Beatles note #2

The Lancaster Barnstormers, one of our local Atlantic League baseball teams, are hosting their home opener at Clipper Magazine Stadium tomorrow night. They're having a Beatles-themed opener, which will include an appearance by Ringo impersonator "Ringer Star" and these nifty tie-dye T-shirts for fans...


Footnotes
1. John F. Kennedy International Airport was originally Idlewild Airport, before being renamed for the late president.
2. Grammar Girl says "have got" is perfectly acceptable English.

1 comment:

  1. Coincidentally, I just finished watching "A Hard Day's Night" today. I've always been a bigger fan of "Help!" (I know, sacrilege among Beatles fans) and had never watched it HDN all the way through. Enjoyable, but I still have to go with "Help!" as the more enjoyable of the two. I guess because it has a more involved story line.

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