Post by yerblues1968 on May 27, 2008 0:52:08 GMT -5
Sam Leach promoting his book,
The Birth of The Beatles
published November 1999.
MY TWO-YEAR ROLLER-COASTER RIDE THROUGH POP HISTORY ...
Liverpool Echo
by Jade Wright
May 26, 2008
SAM Leach sits in the back room of the pub he shared with his four friends 45 years ago, regaling tourists with tales of days gone by.
John, Paul, George and Ringo may no longer pop into The Grapes for a pint, but day after day Sam recalls their adventures in the Mathew Street pub for Beatles enthusiasts.
For the lucky few he’ll even sign a picture of himself with his old mates.
He was The Beatles’ first major promoter – they played for him on 49 occasions – and his connection with Liverpool’s most famous sons is now allowing him to help some of the world’s poorest children.
Sam was inspired by the Osmond Family on a recent Children's Miracle Network event at Disney World Orlando.
“It was brilliant,” says Sam. “I made many new friends there.
“Every year the network pay for 17m operations for underprivileged kids who otherwise couldn't afford one.
“In my own small way I help by supplying my books and posters to auction at their fund-raisers.”
Sam has been working to bring the network to Liverpool, and plans to host a trip to bring the Osmonds to the city.
“Jimmy and Donny are very nice,” he says. “They both said they’re looking forward to coming over here. They already have a network in London, but Liverpool has nothing, which seems a shame.
“We raise more for kids here than anywhere else. Liverpool was traditionally thought of as a poor city, but we’re not poor in heart.
“I talked about it with Jimmy and Donny and they said: ‘We have got to come to Liverpool.’
“The power of The Beatles still gets me these invitations,” he explains. “Everywhere I go, people want to hear about them.
“All the kids at the Children’s Miracle Network were saying they had met one of The Beatles. They thought I was John.
“You would be amazed at how many people want to know more about The Beatles. From children who weren’t born at the time to the older generation, they captured people’s imagination around the world.”
Sam says that the city doesn’t do enough to promote its most famous sons.
“We’ve got Mathew Street and now the Hard Day’s Night hotel, but I still think there could be more to celebrate them,” says Sam, with a sigh. “I don’t know, I know so many people come here every year to see the home of The Beatles, but we could have so many more.”
Sam knows more than most about it.
Every weekday afternoon he sits in a back room at The Grapes signing copies of his book, and entertaining tourists with tales of his days with the Fab Four. Sam acted as their promoter and booked them in their early days at New Brighton's Tower Ballroom.
Sam Leach, the original Beatles promoter, signs copies of his book,
The Birth of The Beatles at The Grapes, Mathew Street, Liverpool.
“One night we had 4,600 people in that old ballroom,” he says fondly. “They were magical days.”
He first met the band in January 1961.
“I was looking for new bands to appear at the Cassanova Club which I'd just opened in Liverpool's city centre,” he explains, eyes sparkling, a grin spreading across his face.
“I’d heard about a new group called The Beatles, who had just returned from Hamburg.
“It was a dirty, rough, place. A drunken lad bumped into me and asked ‘Do you want a fight, la?’ I said ‘No mate, I think the fighting’s over there.’ And it was ... when you looked round there were fights breaking out all over the place.
“I was about to leave when the sound of the William Tell Overture blasted out.
“Wondering why classical music was being wasted on this lot, I hesitated and turned towards the puny little stage. Bob Wooler's immaculate voice announced excitedly ‘It's The Beatles‘ and the curtains fell apart. They were falling to bits anyway.”
He laughs. It’s an old story, but he tells it like it happened yesterday.
“Within seconds I was hooked. The five black leather-clad figures had an energy like nothing I’d ever seen.
“John, looking like a big Ted himself, kicked off with Slow Down. Then Paul bounced up to the mike and tore into Rip It Up. George shuffled shyly to the fore and did a comic version of I'm Henry The Eighth I Am. Stuart, back half turned to the audience, mumbled Wooden Heart. Without ever looking at the screaming girls, Pete pulled the mic towards him and did a creditable version of Matchbox.
“I was totally hooked; a prisoner of The Beatles. Their rich, wild sound seemed to pulse right through my body, reverberating around the room.
“By now everyone was watching in total awe.
“After the show finished, I followed them into their dressing room – a ladies toilet converted for the night. Excitedly waving my bookings diary, I told John and Paul: ‘One day lads, you're going to be as big as Elvis.’ That quote is credited to a lot of people, but if you ask Paul, he’ll tell you I was the first to say it.
“John looked at me as though I was insane and muttered to Paul: ‘We've got a right nutter here.’
Paul, knowing who I was, smiled and said: ‘Yes ... but he's got a club and work for us.’
The Casanova Club in St. Maryleborne,
London, England UK.
“I gave them 12 bookings there and then and for me this began a two-year roller-coaster ride through rock 'n' roll history. They made their debut for me at the Cassanova Club on February 9, 1961.
“Three years later, February 9, 1964, they were on The Ed Sullivan Show.”
www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-life/liverpool-lifestyle/2008/05/26/my-two-year-roller-coaster-ride-through-pop-history-100252-20973259/