Beatles memorabilia proves a hit
Beatles super–fan Jeff Black shares some special memories of the Liverpool lads who took the world by storm
Get Jeff Black talking anything Beatles and you’d better find yourself a comfy chair (and maybe a cut lunch), because you’re going to be there for a while.
A scheduled 10–minute interview saw us part company two hours later and I’d only barely scraped the surface of Jeff ’s incredible knowledge of the Fab Four, or the Quarry Men or the Beat Boys or whatever else John, Paul, Ringo and George were known by.
Jeff is a walking encyclopedia on Liverpool’s greatest export and his interest goes far beyond some dusty vinyl sitting alongside his record player.
He owns one of the most comprehensive Beatles memorabilia collections in the country and, with great pride, he pulled back the curtain and shared it with the community last month to help promote the coming From Abbey Road to Empire concert on October 6 (details next page).
Fellow enthusiasts were quick to visit the display at the Credit Union Australia Community Hub in Walton Stores, to unashamedly take a stroll down memory lane and share their own recollections of the Fab Four. Time and again it would bring our interview to a halt.
But I couldn’t be happier.
It was great theatre. Everyone who came in the door had a tale to tell or their own memorabilia to present for appraisal or discussion and Jeff would eagerly hear their story. Then, like a proud parent, he would walk the visitors through his own memorabilia
‘‘ Mums and dads loved The Beatles because they looked so very prim and proper.” — JEFF BLACK
collection — pointing out the intriguing backstory to so many of his unique and valuable pieces. It was a joy to watch Jeff holding court — a veritable Antiques Roadshow here in Toowoomba dedicated solely to The Beatles.
When we could finally get back to the job at hand, Jeff was able to share with me his own early brush with Beatlemania.
“My very first piece was a Paperback
Writer 45, I bought in 1966 as a 13-year-old and I’ve been hooked ever since,” he admits.
It was the first record he owned, and it still sits as an integral piece of his ever-growing collection — a music–based menagerie that contains everything from buttons to posters;
kitsch figurines to promotional guitars; ‘60s teen mags to signed books.
And then there’s his pride and joy, a recently acquired Beatles gold record. “They just don’t come up,” Jeff said. “You don’t see them, so I was amazed to find it online and did a bit of digging to confirm its authenticity.
“Sure enough, it was the real deal and I knew I had to have it, but you need to have deep pockets if you want to secure something like that.”
Jeff says he thinks his wife will forgive him one day, but he argues it’s all part of the mesmerising hold the Fab Four has over people and the universal appeal that touches both young and old to this day.
“Mums and dads loved The Beatles because they looked so very prim and proper in their matching suits and their smart haircuts.
“They were so youthful and so clean cut.
“But, I suspect there were a lot of little Beatles running around the country after the Australian tour,” he chuckles.
Too young to see the group live, Jeff has still had the pleasure of enjoying Paul McCartney in concert three times.
“He has an amazing stage presence and still knows how to entertain a crowd….an incredible talent.
“I truly believe McCartney and Lennon are the 20th century equivalent of a Mozart or a Beethoven.
“They’re composers who have established an incredible benchmark and left a legacy that will last for hundreds of years to come.
“They set the trends that other British bands would try to follow.
“And we were lucky enough as fans to be a part of it.”
Now it’s Toowoomba’s chance to celebrate that rarest of musical genius with the From Abbey Road To Empire concert.
“This is a wonderful concert to assist the Toowoomba Hospital Foundation and Breast Screen Queensland,” Jeff said.
“I’m delighted that my display has been able to bring some attention to the event and also bring back some wonderful memories for Beatles fans.”
In Toowoomba, local musicians will take to the Empire Theatre stage on Sunday, October 6 at 2pm to acknowledge the contribution that The Beatles have made to popular music with the all–Toowoomba production — From Abbey Road To Empire.
All proceeds will be in aid of The Toowoomba Hospital Foundation.
The concert, of more than 30 Beatles songs, with choir, strings and bands will be presented by an array of local talent, from 17–year–old Ella McKay, to internationally acclaimed Gina Jeffreys to James Royal — an expat who trod the boards in London in the ‘60s and recorded for both EMI Records and CBS Records.
For more information about the concert, phone the Empire Theatre on 1300 655 299 or visit www.empiretheatre.com.au