George Harrison was right -- we went crazy but it was sure was fun

May 6, 10:24 AMBeatles ExaminerSteve Marinucci

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For anyone who lived through Beatlemania, the memories are forever. For anyone who didn't, reading about it doesn't tell half the story.

Nevertheless, Gary Berman's "We're Going to See The Beatles!: An Oral History of Beatlemania as Told by the Fans Who Were There"  (Santa Monica Press) is a charming collection of memories and anecdotes about what it was really like in those crazy days when, as George Harrison later described it in "The Beatles Anthology," "They used us as an excuse to go mad, the world did."

This is an absolutely wonderful book. The first-hand recollections of the fans, all Americans, covers not only 1964, the real heyday of Beatlemania, but also the followup tours in 1965 and 1966, plus the later years and the breakup. And they all have the charm of a more innocent time that contains memories that will last forever.

Some of the stories are so imaginative you couldn't make them up. One fan who had seen "A Hard Day's Night" over 100 times in the theater recalls one screening where the projector broke down, leaving the movie with no sound. She and her friends provided a live soundtrack of the dialogue for theater patrons from memory.

There are some historic memories, too, from fans who were at "The Ed Sullivan Show" and Shea Stadium, along with many other live '60s shows, along with some priceless pictures of the fans back in the day.

In the foreward that Sid Bernstein, who promoted the Shea Stadium show, contributed for the book, he wrote, "Once stung by a Beatle, you've been stung forever."  Over 45 years later, the memories and stories in "We're Going to See The Beatles!: An Oral History of Beatlemania as Told by the Fans Who Were There" haven't lost their sting.

And we hope they never do. 

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