Days of casual chats with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in Blackpool

It’s blast from the past time again, linking some famous showbiz names; the Beatles, Freddie Starr, Mike Berry and Lennie Bennett.

It’s sparked off by a couple of Gazette items in the past week.

News that the Mersey Beatles are coming to the Opera House in November reminded me that I could be coining it right now - if only I’d got the autographs of the original Beatles at the old ABC Theatre in 1965.

I was chatting with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in the stalls during the afternoon sound checks for ITV’s live Sunday night Blackpool Show.

Just think - four signatures on my Press invitation would be worth a cruise for two now. Maybe not a cruise - but something exotic next year!

The Beatles twice did Sunday night telecasts from the ABC, on July 19, 1964, and on August 1, 1965.

The group made five Sunday concert visits to the ABC in the summer of 1963, and two visits to the old Queen’s Theatre the same year.

They did two evening shows on each visit but they didn’t do complete concerts. They headlined shows that comprised six acts, closing each show with a short set of songs.

In 1964 the Beatles played two Sunday nights at the Opera House; again it was two shows per visit with crowded supporting bills.

No doubt the Mersey Beatles’ November 21 Opera House show will be the concert that the real Beatles never did in Blackpool.

On two of the Beatles’ 1963 ABC visits the main supporting act was Freddie Starr and the Midnighters and on one of the 1964 Opera House bills the support included singer Mike Berry.

And there we have two links. Freddie Starr became a comedy headliner and a different Mike Berry was the real name of Blackpool Gazette reporter-turned-comedian, Lennie Bennett.

The Blackpool Mike had to change his showbiz name to avoid confusion.

Lennie Bennett became a pal of Freddie Starr and after Freddie’s burn-out from drink and drugs it was Lennie who helped get him back on his feet.

Their agent booked them both on the same bills throughout 1983 and they appeared at the Blackpool Grand at Easter.

Friends of the Grand will remember that Lennie Bennett was one of the many artists in the Royal Performance for Prince Charles, to formally reopen the Grand in May, 1981.

Lennie and Freddie Starr were practical jokers, each trying to outdo the other with outrageous stunts.

The best tale in the business came after the Sun’s page one story Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster. Freddie was appearing at Blighty’s club in Farnworth, so the story goes.

One night Lennie turned up in the queue, armed with copies of the Sun and wads of cash.

He is said to have paid scores of punters to take the newspapers and open them out as soon as Freddie came on stage.

Freddie was met by an expanse of Sun newspapers with the audience hiding behind them.

Boom, boom!