After the Beatles released their album Rubber Soul at the end of 1965 and then recorded Revolver,
they decided to embark on a world tour. These two albums contained
music that, according to the group members, was quite difficult to
perform onstage. That challenge was, however, overshadowed by a crisis
that the band faced in the Philippines when their very lives were at
risk.
In July 1966 the
Beatles toured the Philippines and unintentionally snubbed First Lady
Imelda Marcos. Accustomed to high praise if not worship, she invited the
group to attend a breakfast reception at the Presidential Palace in
Manila, expecting the group to attend without hesitation. When the
Beatles were presented with the invitation, however, they asked their
manager, Brian Epstein, to politely decline it on behalf of the group,
with an explanation that it had never been their policy to accept such
“official” invitations.
Soon
after, the band realized that the Marcos regime had rarely heard “no”
from anyone–and there would be consequences. Imelda Marcos was
infuriated when she found out that her grand planned party of 200 guests
would not include the Beatles as special guests. Interestingly enough,
the Philippine television and radio stations broadcast the snub. Shortly
after, all of the Beatles security police suddenly disappeared. Epstein
called for an interview, trying to make an apology on Chanel 5 at the
Manila Hotel. But when his interview was about to be aired, the
state-controlled channel blacked out.
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| The Beatles in 1965, celebrating a Grammy win |
The hotel where the group stayed was
attacked by angry fans, so the Beatles and their entourage had to
swiftly make their escape to the Manila International Airport on their
own. Reportedly, while they were walking down the halls of the hotel,
the staff lined up and shouted angrily at them in Spanish and English.
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| Photograph of The Beatles as they arrive in New York City in 1964 |
When they approached the terminal and
tried to move through, little groups of demonstrators came up, grabbing
at the Beatles and trying to hit them. The band members were pushed
around by the hostile crowd and their road manager, Mal Evans, suffered a
few physical injuries as he was beaten and kicked. Later, Ringo Starr
stated that people from the crowd were spitting at them. The Beatles
managed to join a group of nuns and monks, and, trying to hide among
them, checked in for their flight as quickly as they could. Other
members of their entourage were also physically attacked, suffering
small injuries.
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| Photograph of Imelda Marcos |
The Beatles said later that they couldn’t even differentiate between the
angry mob and the police who were carrying guns and also tried to
attack them. Lennon reported that he was hearing people screaming, “You
are treated like ordinary passengers!” as they pushed the band members
and their team around. He noted that actual “ordinary passengers” were
not treated as badly.
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| Imelda Romualdez-Marcos with former President Ferdinand Marcos and family during the 1965 inauguration |
Paul McCartney said, “When we got on the plane, we were all kissing the
seats. It was a feeling as if we’d found sanctuary. We had definitely
been in a foreign country where all the rules had changed, and they
carried guns. So we weren’t too gung-ho about it at all.” Ringo
reportedly remembered being afraid of going to jail.
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| The Beatles wave to fans after arriving at Kennedy Airport. |
Once the group boarded the plane, Epstein and Evans were ordered off,
and Evans feared that he would be imprisoned or even executed. Epstein
was forced to pay tax authorities £6,800, the money they had made from
their Manila shows, and also had to sign the tax bond verifying the
exchange before being allowed back on the plane.
John Lennon said about the Philippines, “If we go back, it will be with an H-bomb. I won’t even fly over the place.”
