Unless you’ve had a blanket ban on media for the last month, you’ll be well aware that Taylor Swift is in town. The pop idol has just swept Melbourne off its feet, filling the MCG three times in a row, and is about to do the same to Sydney.
The fever generated by Swift’s tour of Australia brings back memories, for those old enough, of Beatlemania takinf our land by storm when the Fab Four came in 1964.
I am not quite old enough (born the following year), but I do remember a story Mum always told of my older brother Jamie being swept up in the craze.
Still a month away from his third birthday, he was extremely keen to hear news of the Beatles arrival in Melbourne. Listening to a live radio broadcast Jamie screamed, “The Beatles are here! The Beatles are here!” Once he knew they’d arrived, he turned around and went back to playing in the backyard. It was probably years before he could name an actual song, but he was swept up in the mania regardless.
I’m seeing similar stories unfold as Taylor makes her way up Australia’s east coast. I’m also hearing tales of woe – specifically of heartbroken ‘Swifties’ who have missed out on getting a ticket to one of her concerts.
Such stories of heartbreak occurred when the Beatles toured, and similar ones have played out over the decades – perhaps not all with quite the same publicity – when other big music acts have toured Australia.
My heartbreak equivalent came in 1978 as a 13-year-old when I was unable to secure a ticket to see the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. ELO are no longer my favourite band as they were then (although I still love them), but that one burns to this day.
Who was your ‘Taylor Swift’ when you were young? Do you have a story of concert heartbreak?
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