Boxing, The Beatles & More
By William Trillo
I have been looking for a way to segue from boxing to The Beatles and with the grand re-opening of the 5th Street Gym I have found what I have been looking for. You remember the 5th Street Gym located in Miami Beach, the gym that was opened by Chris Dundee in the 1950′s. His brother Angelo became the trainer of note at the gym and from that point on it became the hot spot for all the celebrities in the 60′s. Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Jackie Gleason, Malcolm X, Sean Connery, Frank Sinatra and Sylvester Stallone all made their way through the legendary doors, and so did The Beatles. http://5thstgym.com/
The Beatles met with Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) at The 5th Street Gym on Miami Beach in 1964. The Beatles feigned and stumbled over Ali punches for the cameras that day. Unbelievably The Beatles originally didn’t want to take the photos but obviously agreed to some shots that are now classics. Can you imagine the regret many would have felt if the 60’s poster children for Anti-war & Peace did not pose for these once in a lifetime shots? I can’t.
The Beatles’ first live American performance after their televised appearance on the CBS Ed Sullivan Show was February 11th, 1964 at the Washington Coliseum. Because of the set up in the Coliseum, the Beatles were performing on a boxing ring stage and had to move their equipment around on stage a few times in order to give everyone in the audience a chance to see them. Ringo was seen moving his own drum set around on stage between sets. I guess the boy’s didn’t have roadies yet. I doubt Ringo moved his drums on his own after that.
Next on my little Beatles meets Boxing Magical Mystery Tour is the wax statue of Sonny Liston in his boxing robe, borrowed from Madame Tussauds’ Wax Museum. Liston stands next to The Beatles wax figures on the cover of their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. One of the albums famous cover designers Peter Blake remembered, “And then we went to Madame Tussaud’s where I heard Sonny Liston would probably be melted down soon. He was no longer world champion, and so I got him and I still have him.”
I am not a huge memorabilia guy, but how sweet would it be to have that statue?
Fast forward to 1973, The Beatles had broken up and the Fab Four were now solo acts. That is when Paul McCartney released the classic Band on the Run album. For those of you old enough to remember the album artwork was “The Band” attempting to make a prison break when they are caught against the wall by the guards powerful spotlight. “The Band” is caught and frozen in time on the epic album cover photo. Among those in “The Band” are McCartney and wife Linda along with an eclectic cast of characters that included Brit actor Christoper Lee who made a run as Dracula in the 70’s, James Coburn who although as American as Apple Pie, he was one of the most visible members in the shot. And then there was John Conteh, the former World Light Heavyweight Champ who hailed from where else…Liverpool.
At the time McCartney frequented the fights on a regular basis so it was only natural to put one of his hometown blokes on the cover.
Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you I have 2 passions, Boxing & The Beatles. Come into my office and usually some Beatles tune is playing in the background. Hanging on my walls are old boxing credentials, Beatles posters and McCartney tickets.
It’s no wonder that my daughter Christina who is an aspiring singer has become quite fond of covering Beatle tunes. She did it last year at The Beatlefest West in San Francisco and will be performing again in San Francisco this year at Beatlefest West 2010.
The Fest will be over John Lennon’s 70th birthday celebration on October 8-10 and is a must see for any Beatles Fan. From a bevy of Beatles Tribute acts to a marketplace full of Beatles goodies this is the place to be.
You can log on to http://www.beatlesfestwest.com/ to purchase tickets for the fantastic weekend. If you purchase tickets before the end of the month you will get $50 off the entire weekend by using the code Beatlesradio in the promo box.
Yeah, I know…kind of a shameless plug but what else would you expect a Father to do?
