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The Documentary: When the Beatles didn't meet Imelda

When the Beatles didn't meet Imelda

18/12/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - The Documentary, When the Beatles didn't meet Imelda

The disastrous visit to the Philippines by the Beatles in 1966

The disastrous visit to the Philippines by the Beatles in 1966, when the band famously refused an invitation to lunch from the then First Lady Imelda Marcos.

The story of the disastrous visit to the Philippines in 1966 by the most famous band on the planet, the Beatles, and the international incident which followed after they refused an invitation from the now infamous First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. 55 years on, for the first time, Filipino fans, witnesses at the palace, DJs and journalists, as well as the last surviving member of the Beatles' management team, tell the story as it happened.

Filipino-British presenter David Guerrero hears from the young teenage Filipino fans, now in their 70s, who, unexpectedly, did get to meet three of the Fab Four at their hotel; and from Peter Brown who was part of the Beatles' team in 1966, as well as from a hostess who looked after the Beatles on a luxury yacht. They explain what really happened on the ill-fated trip, which led to the Beatles being hounded out of the country.

On 4 July 1966, the Beatles played to their biggest one-day crowd at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, where 80,000 people attended two concerts. However, the Beatles' visit to The Philippines was overshadowed by an incident that hit the world's front pages - when the band famously refused an invitation to lunch at the Philippine Presidential Palace from the then First Lady Imelda Marcos. The next day at the airport, official-looking thugs gave the band and their entourage a rough send-off and scared the wits out of the touring group.

Foreground image: Images of John Lennon (Credit: Bettman via Getty Images), Paul McCartney, George Harrison (Credit: Cummings Archives/Redferns via Getty Images), Ringo Starr (Credit: Bettman via Getty Images) and Imelda Marcos (Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Background image: Images of murals depicting the Beatles in Barangay 330, Santa Cruz, Manila (Credit: Lynaya Jorge and John Medina)

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