It was 53 Years Ago Today, The Beatles went to Manila and Played

...53 years ago on July 4, 1966 The Beatles held two sold out concerts at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium with a combined attendance of 80,000. A lunch was set by imelda marcos at Malacañan Palace at 11 am, same day with 300 children waiting to see The Beatles. An hour before the party, a delegation came to the Manila Hotel to fetch The Beatles. Brian Epstein - The Beatles' manager declined the invitation on the grounds that no earlier arrangement had been made. The 4:00-pm concert which I attended was okay though the sound system of the Rizal Stadium was pretty bad plus the screaming of the audience sounded like a 707 jet plane taking off that we can’t hardly hear The Beatles. The 8:30-pm concert was worst, it was learned that some cables of the sound system were unhooked and there were no sound on some of the speakers. From the investigation, it was learned it was a sabotage in retaliation of Malacañan due to The Beatles "lunch snub” of Malacañan. 

Following day after their concert, The Manila Times ran the headline: "IMELDA STOOD UP!” Philippine promoter Ramon Ramos took advantage of the situation and refused to pay the Beatles for their performance, in the first place he was the one who committed to imelda marcos that he’ll bring The Fad Four in Malacañan even it was not in his contract with The Beatles. Bomb and death threats were telephoned to the deluged British Embassy and to the Fab Four’s hotel suite. When the Beatles were scheduled to depart, all security detail assigned to the boys were withdrawn leaving them extremely vulnerable. They were literally kicked and jostled as they left their hotel and totally harassed all the way to the airport. Things were no better there where the airport manager has also removed all security for the Beatles. They went so far as to shut down the power to stop the escalators, forcing the boys to scale several flights of stairs with their own luggage, only to face an angry mob of 200 goons from Malacañan brutally manhandling them. Ringo was literally floored by an uppercut and kicked on the ground, he suffered a sprained ankle and had to be helped to the customs area while Mal Evans and Brian Epstein were injured as well. Alf Bicknell The Beatles official chauffeur suffered a cracked rib and a spinal injury.

The concert promoter Ramon Ramos never gave the payment due the Beatles after their Manila performances, they were mugged at the airport, their plane was held for a long time at Manila’s airport cuz Malacañan demanded Brian Epstein to pay tax from the concert which they were not payed for their performance. The whole Beatles entourage were afraid for their lives, they saw from the plane’s window they were surrounded by heavily armed military men. So Epstein paid the tax that was demanded and gave “grease money” to the goons just to allow their plane to leave and promised not ever again to comeback, which they kept.
- ka tony

4th - July, '19