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5 Things You Didn’t Know About “A Hard Day’s Night” (& Where To See It In Nashville)

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It’s been a hard day’s night/holiday weekend.

Actually, judging from all your #blessed instagrams of you crazy kids cliff jumping, boat riding, barbecuing, etc., we’d say the majority of Nashville had a pretty fantastic Fourth of July weekend. Wanna keep the good times rolling? John, Paul, George, and Ringo have got just the thing.

The Beatles may be British, but America has a long-documented love affair with the Fab Four. In fact, the boys from Liverpool even spent some significant time in Nashville (the recently closed white cinderblock Sylvan Park Restaurant on 46th was their favorite diner for a piece of pie when they were in town). To honor the 50th anniversary of their debut film “A Hard Day’s Night” (in which they play exaggerated versions of themselves), we thought we’d give you some little known facts/pieces of trivia to look for when you inevitably go see it at Belcourt tonight! We just love you (yeah, yeah, yeah) and you know that can’t be bad. Here we go – 5 things you probably didn’t know about A Hard Day’s Night:

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A baby-faced Phil Collins was an extra.

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Look at that face! Who would’ve thought that the schoolboy cheering for The Beatles in the “You Can’t Do That” scene would go on to record a song for the Tarzan soundtrack with *NSYNC (okay, yes, he’s done more important things than that, but still)? A young Phil Collins was an extra, but most of his sequence was cut for the film. He was, however, asked to record some commentary on the DVD release of “You Can’t Do That: The Making Of A Hard Day’s Night”. So who knows? Keep signing up to be an extra on Nashville and you might end up a world class musician that gets to do a commentary on a particularly dramatic episode featuring Connie Britton. That’s how it works, right?

Ringo’s forlorn performance was more genuine than you thought.

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Ringo was praised for his solo performance by the River Thames where he generally just looks like he is acting his little heart out and channeling his inner rockstar sadness. The truth? Ringo had a rough night out the evening before, and was suuuuuper hungover. Someone get that dude a greasy burger and some coffee, stat.

The movie premiere was a monumental occasion in more ways than one.

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First, look at those lads. British musicians in tuxes swoon! Not only was the movie premiere in England their first feature film debut (and the only film they would do in black and white), but it was the 7th year anniversary of John Lennon and Paul McCartney meeting for the first time after a performance by John’s first band, The Quarrymen, at the annual Garden Fete. Glad that meeting happened! Just look at that pre-psychadelic, pre-band strife dynamic duo. Magic.

The song “A Hard Day’s Night” was the result of some friendly competition.

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The movie had a lot of titles (ex: Beatlemania), but none of them felt right till Ringo coined the phrase “a hard day’s night” to describe the need for rest after a long day. The boys took it to the studio (who didn’t like it) and tested it on young Beatles fans (who loved it). As soon as the title was given the green light, Paul and John began a race to see who could come up with the accompanying song the fastest. On April 13, 1964 – the same day Lennon recorded his iconic bathtub scene – he wrote the song “A Hard Day’s Night” in one sitting. And that’s why he’s a legend, kids.

George Harrison found his bride on the set.

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Pattie Boyd, one of rock and roll’s most famous muses (she inspired the track “Something”, written by none other than George Harrison), was featured in several scenes in “A Hard Day’s Night”. She and a friend were schoolgirls chatted up by Paul in the train scene, and she sits next to Paul smiling and singing “I Should’ve Known Better”. However, it was Harrison who stole her heart, and after meeting on set they were married 18 months later, and they stayed married for ten years. And look at that coat she wore to their wedding! Gurl had style.

There you go, y’all! It’s going to be Beatlemania at Belcourt tonight, and we highly suggest you put on your British best and head to the theatre to take in the antics of the Fab Four. We’ll see you there, and for all your Nashville adventures (happy hours, concerts, film screenings, sporting events, etc.) we got you covered with Wannado. You can’t buy our love.

 

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