In the early 1960s, Australia was still besotted by 50s American rock’n’roll and surf music.
Young music lovers would stomp and twist across dance floors the country over, and artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, Ricky Nelson and Bobby Rydell played packed houses around the country.
But the world’s musical landscape was changing, thanks to four young men from Liverpool. And one meeting in July 1963 made sure that Australia would not be left out.
Kenn Brodziak had barely even heard of The Beatles when he sat down with the band’s representatives to discuss bringing them to Australia.
The Australian concert promoter — who had cut his teeth in theatre before booking tours for the likes of Dave Brubeck, Gene Krupa, and Lonnie Donnegan — had partnered with Dick Lean of Stadiums Limited, who owned most of the country’s large capital city venues. Lean wanted Brodziak to bring something fresh and vibrant to Australia to tap into a younger market.
“It was at Dick Lean’s insistence that Kenn look for something for the kids,” says Greg Armstrong, co-author of the new book When We Was Fab: Inside the Beatles Australasian Tour 1964.