From the Beatles to Boy George, Adelaide turns out to greet pop stars

Adelaide has a huge track record of turning out to welcome iconic pop stars – so why not bring Taylor Swift to town?

Taylor Swift could expect a rousing reception if she brings her tour to Adelaide, if the city’s past pop star welcomes dating back to the days of Beatlemania are anything to judge by.

The US country-turned-pop singer’s Eras Tour is shaping up to be one of the most lucrative in history, on track to be the first to cross the staggering $1.5bn ($US1bn) revenue mark worldwide.

Swift’s tour will take in 52 shows across the US and another 54 cities around the world – but, at present, Adelaide will not be among them.

Which means Tay Tay will, in turn, be missing out on one heck of a greeting from South Australia’s Swifties.

The Beatles arrive in Adelaide during their Australian tour in 1964 – John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Nicol and George Harrison.

The crowd on King William Street for The Beatles’ welcome at Adelaide Town Hall in June 1964.

When the Beatles visited Adelaide to perform a series of concerts at Wayville’s Centennial Hall on June 12 and 13, 1964, an estimated 300,000 people – a third of the city’s then population – turned out to greet them.

Crowds lined Anzac Highway all the way from the airport and jammed city streets to catch a glimpse of the original pop idols, giving the Beatles their largest reception anywhere in the world.

And they didn’t even have Ringo with them. Starr, who was recovering from an illness, was replaced by drummer Jimmy Nicol for the Adelaide leg of the tour.

Crowds line the streets of Adelaide for British pop band The Beatles’ arrival in June, 1964.

British pop band The Beatles with radio announcer Bob Francis in Adelaide on June 12, 1964. File photo.

The late Adelaide freelance photographer Vic Grimmett, who was assigned to cover the Fab Four’s visit for the Australian Women’s Weekly, recalled on the tour’s 40th anniversary that the turnout was “unreal”.

“The crowd was absolutely unreal in King William St. You’ve never seen anything like it,’’ Mr Grimmett, who died in 2017, said.

He recalled the excitement of being “flat out” following the Beatles in a taxi from their airport arrival, to their reception at Adelaide Town Hall, a press conference at the South Australian Hotel, their concerts at Centennial Hall and the band’s departure the following day.

The Beatlles’ press conference in Adelaide: Jimmy Nicol, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Photo: Vic Grimmett

Tearsheet from Adelaide newspaper "The News" dated 12 Jun 1964 with headline "Beatles Here!" about British pop group The Beatles visiting Adelaide on Australian tour.

Original poster for the Beatles’ Adelaide concert on the 1964 Australian tour.

Similarly, when fellow UK band Culture Club was at the peak of its popularity 20 years later, more than 10,000 fans packed into Rundle Mall to catch a glimpse of its gender-bending singer Boy George … and the group wasn’t even playing here.

Adelaide was left out of Culture Club’s national tour but 25,000 fans signed a petition to bring the band here.

UK band Culture Club in Rundle Mall, Adelaide, in 1984. Picture: Greg Walsh

Culture Club visit Adelaide. Singer Boy George waves to the crowd of fans in Rundle Mall 05 Jul 1984.

Singer Boy George (right) of Culture Club with then SA Premier John Bannon (left) in Rundle Mall, Adelaide, on July 5, 1984. Picture: Advertiser Library

As a result, Boy George and fellow band members Roy Hay, Mikey Craig and Jon Moss made a three-hour visit on July 5, 1984, to appear on the escalator walkway which stretched across Rundle Mall at the time, alongside then Premier John Bannon and Countdown pop show host Molly Meldrum.

“Some people think there’s something wrong with you if you like dressing up and enjoying yourself – well that’s bullshit, okay,” Boy George told the crowd.

George then led the crowd through a singalong of the band’s hit Karma Chameleon, before returning to Melbourne to play a concert there that night.

Culture Club also skipped SA on a subsequent tour, and it wasn’t until 2016 – 32 years later – that it finally performed its first concert in Adelaide. It will return to play Adelaide Entertainment Centre on September 11.