The Beatles: These 2 Spooky Coincidences Foreshadowed Their Personal Lives
The Beatles blazed a path in the music business with a dedication that generations of artists consider a blueprint to success. In less than a decade, The Beatles became one of the most prolific singers and songwriters of the 1960s. Many things could have foreshadowed the success of The Beatles. However, several spooky coincidences would come to fruition later in their personal lives that seemed predestined to happen.
The Beatles’s unsteady road to success made them work harder
The Beatles road to rock and roll stardom was one filled with twists, turns, and upheavals. Championed by their manager Brian Epstein, The Beatles pushed to get signed by a British record company. They honed their chops as live players in Hamburg, Germany. Over two years, the band played around 250 nights. They were superior when it came to keeping an audience’s interest.
However, they couldn’t get signed by a record company.
Decca Records executive Dick Rowe reportedly turned the band down following their audition on Jan. 1, 1962. The Beatles’ ultimate lineup was incomplete at their Decca audition as Pete Best was still the band’s drummer. Epstein replaced Best with Ringo Starr. He worked to clean up their rough image. Most of all, he heavily promoted the band who had a huge local following at the Cavern Club in their hometown of Liverpool.
The Epstein’s and McCartney’s had a surprising connection
McCartney’s passion for music was genetic. His father, Jim, was a musician in his own right and encouraged his sons Paul and Michael to play instruments. A worker in the cotton trade, during off-hours, Jim played in ragtime and jazz bands in Liverpool. He learned how to play the trumpet and piano by ear. At the age of 17, Jim started playing music, reported the website, McCartney. He bonded with his sons by listening to music on the radio and having the boys pick out the different instruments. Jim also taught them the basics of harmony.
One of Jim McCartney’s most advantageous purchases was an upright piano that had a place of honor in the front room of the family’s Forthlin Road home.
In a foreshadowing of the connection the Epstein and McCartney family would have, Jim purchased the piano from Harry Epstein’s North End Music Store (NEMS).
Epstein’s son Brian ran a NEMS store in the city center, located around the corner from The Cavern Club where The Beatles were the house band. Brian Epstein would become The Beatles manager in 1962.
Of the over 55,000 fans at The Beatles Shea Stadium show 2 would go on marry a band member
In the second case of foreshadowing, two of the over 55,000 screaming fans who attended The Beatles August 1965 show would go on to marry the objects of their affection.
The Beatles Shea Stadium gig was huge for two reasons.
It was the first stop on the band’s 1965 U.S. summer tour, and the show was also the first-ever open-air stadium rock concert. The Beatles performed on a makeshift stage near the second baseline of the stadium. They earned a record-breaking payout of $160,000 for their 30-minute set. The show was filmed and eventually aired on U.S. TV in December 1966 as The Beatles At Shea Stadium. Cameras caught the passionate reaction of their followers.
In the audience was McCartney’s future wife Linda Eastman, whom he would marry in 1969. Paul would later say in the documentary series The Beatles’ Anthology, as reported by VCF, “Linda was also there — but as she was a real music fan she was quite (annoyed) with everyone screaming. I think she enjoyed the experience, but she genuinely wanted to hear the show. That wasn’t the deal, though. Not then.”
Also in attendance was at the concert was actor Barbara Bach, who wed Starr in 1981.
