Around 5,000 fans greeted The Beatles as their aeroplane from Dunedin landed in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 27 June 1964.
The fans were also lined up along the route The Beatles’ limousine took to the Clarendon Hotel in Christchurch, where the group was staying. At one point a 13-year-old girl threw herself in front of the car, bouncing off the bonnet and onto the road. The Beatles took her to their hotel, gave her coffee and made sure she was unhurt.
At the hotel some male fans hid in a closet, intending to cut The Beatles’ hair in an attempt to impress their girlfriends. They were discovered before they could encounter the group, but the men got away down the fire escape.
The Majestic Theatre was an Art Deco cinema dating from 1930, and hosted a number of music performances during the 1960s including The Kinks, The Dave Clark Five and Manfred Mann. In 1970 it became a nightclub and was later converted into a church.
The Beatles performed two shows at the Majestic. These were The Beatles’ only concerts in Christchurch, and their final ones in New Zealand.
They played the same 11-song set at both shows: ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, ‘You Can’t Do That’, ‘Till There Was You’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘Boys’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘This Boy’, ‘Long Tall Sally’ and Twist and Shout.
Hello. Thought I’d leave this comment just in case anyone ever decides to do a pilgrimage of venues the Beatles performed in.
Sadly, the Majestic Theatre no longer exists as a result of the earthquake that hit the city in February 2011. It stood for a while afterwards, but because of the heavy damage it had to be demolished.