"Nobody with any sense would pay and queue for a ticket just to stand on a seat and scream and not hear one sound from the stage": it turns out George Harrison's mum had her doubts about The Beatles

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By ( Classic Rock ) published

Mrs Harrison's thought's about her son's career are revealed in letters to be auctioned later this month

Some Beatles fans screaming in 1964
(Image credit: William Lovelace)

Later this month, a series of letters written by Louise Harrison, mother of The Beatles' George Harrison, will be auctioned at the Liverpool Beatles Memorabilia Auction. The 25 letters contain details about Mrs Harrison's relationship with the band, and reveal that she was not entirely delighted by the attention they received.

"Last Wednesday I went to Manchester, and I was disgusted at the way the so-called fans just screamed through the whole of The Beatles' act," wrote the exasperated Mrs Harrison. "Nobody with any sense would pay and queue for a ticket just to stand on a seat and scream and not hear one sound from the stage."

"I was really ashamed I was a female," she added.

Mrs Harrison corresponded with many Beatles fans around the world during Beatlemania, and the messages included in the auction include one in which she writes, "I'm so busy I could scream! 3000 letters to answer at least!".

The 2023 Liverpool Beatles Memorabilia Auction, which features over 300 lots, will take place at Cato Crane Auctioneers in Liverpool on Saturday August 26 from 10am. 

Items up for grabs include a copy of the December 1965 edition of Playboy magazine featuring a Beatles cartoon strip (estimated price: £30-£40), a small heart shaped Beatles' occasional table (£80-£100) and locks of actual Beatle hair from George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (£300-£400 each), which, presumably, one can use to clone some new Beatles once DNA science allows. 

Fraser Lewry
Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.