Eight Days a Week: The Beatles' Tour of New Zealand, 1964

For a memorable week in June 1964, the Beatles toured New Zealand, giving concerts in the four main centres and changing life as we knew it for ever. For teenagers of the time, it was the most exciting week of their lives. Teachers were ignored and parents defied as thousands of young people devised ingenious ways of seeing their idols.

For this book Graham Hutchins has interviewed dozens of people who were directly affected by the visit, from fans who attended the concerts and people who accompanied the Beatles on tour, to contemporary musicians and John Lennon’s Kiwi relations. The visit of the Fab Four is remembered through the reminiscences of these eyewitnesses, and through a mass of photographs and memorabilia that illustrate the text. The author also assesses the long-term impact the Beatles made on New Zealand music and on society at large. Full of memories and nostalgia, this is the ideal souvenir of one of the most remarkable weeks in New Zealand’s history.

As a teenager in 1964, Graham Hutchins became a huge fan of the Beatles and collected all their records as they were released. He attended the Beatles’ concert in As a teenager in 1964, Graham Hutchins became a huge fan of the Beatles and collected all their records as they were released. He attended the Beatles’ concert in Auckland, an experience he has never forgotten, and formed a would-be Beatles band with some schoolmates, a group that still performs together on special occasions.

In the years since, Graham has written many books, including ‘Great New Zealand Railway Journeys’, ‘Last Train to Paradise’, ‘Once Upon A Cowpat’, ‘It’s Just A Game’ and ‘Stop the Train! I Want to Get On’. Among his other published works are several on rugby, cricket and railways. He lives in South Waikato with his wife Jenny.

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