The Beatles have always had some kind of connection with France. While the country might have been somewhat cold towards the Fab Four at first, eventually, their love for France was reciprocated.
“We would walk miles from our hotel,” recalled Paul McCartney when talking about the hitchhiking holiday he and John Lennon took, which found them in Paris. The two were originally planning on going to Barcelona, but settled on staying in the French capital. “We’d sit in the bars, looking good, [saying] this is us in Paris!” he said.
The trip was more than a fun little holiday for the two of them, it wound up being an incredibly important moment for the band. In Paris, as well as soaking up the culture, the songwriting duo met up with their friend Jurgen Vallmer, whom they originally met in Germany. He showed them round the city, showed them the sights, introduced them to his friends, and also convinced them to start combing their fringe forward. This move would subsequently inspire the famous Beatles haircut, which eventually became popular around the world.
Lennon and McCartney also went to a gig in the Olympia Theatre to watch Johnny Hallyday, without realising that they’d be back themselves to perform a range of shows in 1964. This came after Beatlemania, when the band had finally seen success around the world and were dominating the charts in various countries. There was something infectious about The Beatles and the way that they played so that audiences everywhere, the moment they heard them, were hooked.
“When I heard The Beatles, I knew what I wanted to do,” explained Ozzy Osbourne when discussing the band and their influence. “My son says to me, Dad, I like The Beatles, but why do you go so crazy? The only way I can describe it is like this: ‘Imagine you go to bed today and the world is black and white, and then you wake up, and everything’s in colour. That’s what it was like!’ That’s the profound effect it had on me.”
This was a mindset that was shared around the world. People everywhere, upon listening to The Beatles, heard more than just good music. They were a light in a dark world, something that gave people permission to have fun again after growing up in a post-war country. However, while many countries took to The Beatles easily, France were a bit slower in understanding the hype.
So, what was going on?
There was no specific reason that The Beatles originally struggled to win over French audiences. There was a big cultural difference between the art that was doing well in France compared to that which was making it in England. As such, there was a much slower appreciation of The Beatles. This was reflected in chart sales, but also in the reaction to some of The Beatles’ original gigs.
However, The Beatles, following experience in Germany and plenty of work, had a really tight live show, and following their first few gigs in France, they were able to win over the crowd.
Once they had played on The Ed Sullivan Show, it became clear to everyone watching that the band had a live sound unlike anything else out there. “It transformed America,” recalled Steve Van Zandt. “On February 8th, there were no bands in America; on February 9th, we had Ed Sullivan, and on February 10th, everybody had a band in their garage. It was literally overnight.”
It seems that audiences in France were also susceptible to these excellent live shows. The Beatles first went out to France as a band in January 1964. They played the Olympia Theatre from January 16th to February 4th. The audience were slightly subdued initially, but the band’s live performance managed to capture the excitement that was circulating around the world, and eventually, The Beatles tapped into the French market the same way they tapped into plenty of others.
Cultural differences might have originally stunted The Beatles’ acceptance, but they pushed through such a rough patch.
