The Beatles arrive in Tokyo, 1966
Published: September 3, 2012
Teruhiko Kikuchi ©Stars and Stripes
Tokyo, June, 1966: The Beatles — George Harrison, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Paul McCartney (from top) — arrive in Japan for five shows at the famed Nippon Budokan concert hall. Stars and Stripes entertainment columnist Al Ricketts wrote about the security surrounding the Beatles' visit, noting that the local police "were bulldog determined that all the Beatles would leave Japan in one piece." Ricketts spent some time visiting with the four "prisoners of love" at their hotel, and showed them a copy of Time magazine with a story analyzing the lyrics of the Beatles' and other popular songs. "Psychologists have tried to analyze our music," Lennon told him. "I don't know why. There's no hidden meaning in our lyrics ... We just write music."
RELATED MATERIAL:
A Stars and Stripes story about the Beatles' press conference in Tokyo.
A Stars and Stripes story about a visit with the Beatles at their well-guarded hotel.
