But one that aptly fits the life events surrounding author Janice Mitchell who has now come forward with the mind-blowing circumstances surrounding the title of her book. Not the usual description to hang onto a 16-year-old female fan of The Beatles, circa 1964. I don't want to say too much more because it will spoil the story, except to say that there was a stark difference between the girls' encounters with law-enforcement in London (which more closely resembled that of Ringo's scenes in A Hard Day's Night in which he was offered tea) versus their reception in Cleveland.Īnd yes, it should be a major motion picture on par with Titanic. Mitchell seems to have had the same knee-jerk observations on British life that I had, namely that people do not ask nosy personal questions (like "What do you do?"), or generally act like used-car salesmen. Like I said, though these "cool" guys they met found it ridiculous that the girls were on a quest to meet the Beatles at any of these places ("They only play the Palladium now!") they entered into the spirit of it and aided and abetted their ambition to get as far as Liverpool (which allowed them to see the real England, if only for a short time). (Strange considering that the book I read before this one - Con Man – had me thinking that these two Mid-Western teenagers, fresh off the plane and not speaking a word of “English” slang, were going to get ripped off or lured to a life of vice.)īut no! A great time was had by all as they got taken out to places like The Crawdaddy, Ronnie Scotts, The Scene, The Flamingo, the Marquee, The 100, The 2is. It thus reminded me that, even sophisticated Londoners, were nice overall and did not have an evil agenda when they spoke to you. After all, it seems they only splurged on one night at a SoHo boutique hotel, an umbrella at Harrods, and some boots on Carnaby Street.Īnyway, it mirrored my own experience in London (in the '80s - And yes, I went to both Liverpool and Hamburg because of the Beatles so I can relate on every level). Considering you hear impossible stories about salaries in the '60s (like about workers making 5 Pounds a week or buying Biba dresses for 3 Pounds), I was surprised that their money was almost gone after three weeks. They had about $2000 in total which would have translated to - I forget how many - pounds. I am surprised I never heard about this because it made national news here and in Britain. My Ticket to Ride, is the tale of two high school girls from Cleveland who cleaned out their "college fund" bank accounts and flew to London to see the Beatles. In this memoir, she looks back with fresh insight on the heady early days of Beatlemania and an era in America when young women exercising some control over their lives presented a serious threat to adult society. Warned by responsible adults to put it all behind her, she doesn't speak of her extraordinary adventure for more than fifty years. Adventure and newfound freedom end abruptly when Janice is apprehended by London police and hauled home to Cleveland and an unforgiving juvenile justice system. But unbeknownst to them, the runaways have become international news-and a hunt is on. On their own for the first time-in Beatleland-they explore a new city, a new culture, and a new life, visiting the hippest clubs of Soho, meeting some nice English boys, and hitchhiking to Liverpool. With a friend, she hatches a bold plan to escape their dreary lives and run away to London to meet the Fab Four. They and their music stir in her an ecstatic new sense of freedom. A true-adventure, coming-of-age tale set in the exhilarating first wave of Beatlemania It's 1964, and 16-year-old Janice is struggling in a grim foster home in Cleveland when she falls suddenly, deeply in love.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |