BEATLES-RELATED INFLUENCES,
ENCOUNTERS & PERFORMANCES
Feb. 9, 1964 - Peter was introduced to the music of The Beatles by his cousins, who had several of their 45's that they played over and over for him, proclaiming them to be "the best band in the whole wide world!" That same night, he watched, along with the rest of America, The Beatles' 1st performance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" and was forever hooked on their catchy up-beat music, their unique look and irreverent British humor. Shortlly after that fateful broadcast, his mother, Jennine, bought him a hard-to-play, cheap acoustic guitar, which he slowly & painfully learned how to play. Over the years, he joined and formed many bands (see the "Musical History Tour `65-`06" page) and continues to perform today, both as a solo artist & as part of The Traveling Beatleburys. He has also kept up his collection of "All Things Beatle" by buying each & every book, 45, EP, LP, 8-track, cassette, CD, video, & DVD that The Beatles have put out, both as a group and as solo artists. This page is dedicated to Peter's "Beatles-related" influences, encounters and performances, over the years, since that magical mystery night in 1964!
- "Long time ago when we was Fab!"
- 1964 / 1970's -
Feb. 9, 1964 - Peter saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show at his cousins house, and the mania began . . . .
Aug. 30, 1964 - Peter's future wife Judy, her sister Margo & their mother Joan saw The Beatles live in concert, at Convention Hall / Atlantic City, NJ.
1965 - "Performed live" several times at West Broad St. Elementary School in the 6th grade, as the "Fake Beatles", miming to records, with wooden replicas of their guitars.
1969 - Formed the band Headwater on lead guitar & vocals.
Nov. 1, 1969 - Attended 1st rock concert: The Who performing "Tommy" at Vets. Memorial / Columbus, OH.
July 3, 1972 - Attended Badfinger & Rod Stewart/Faces concert at the Akron Rubber Bowl / Akron, OH.
Sept. 30, 1972 - Attended Billy Preston concert at Mershon Auditorium / Columbus, OH.
March 6, 1974 - Attended Badfinger concert at The Agora / Columbus, OH.
Dec. 1974 - Had tickets to see George Harrison & Friends in Cleveland, OH, but the show was cancelled due to bad weather.
March 3, 1975 - Attended John Entwistle & Ox concert at the Agora / Columbus, OH & met Entwistle the following day at Magnolia Thunderpussy Records.
June 14, 1975 - Attended the Rolling Stones concert (w/ Billy Preston on keyboards) at Municipal Stadium / Cleveland, OH
March 12, 1976 - Attended Jeff Lynn/ELO concert at Vets. Memorial / Columbus, OH.
May 27, 1976 - Attended Paul McCartney & Wings concert at the Riverfront Coliseum / Cincinnati, OH.
Feb. 18, 1977 - Attended Jeff Lynn/ELO concert at Riverfront Coliseum / Cincinnati, OH.
April 17, 1977 - Attended Beatles Convention at The Agora / Columbus, OH.
1978 - Joined The Top Hat Band on rhythm/slide guitar & vocals.
1979 - Attended "Beatlemania Live" concert/production at the Palace Theater / Columbus, OH.
~ Photo of Judy in 1964 (C) 2006 by Judy Conrad. All rights reserved. Photo of Peter in 1970 (C) 2006 by Peter Conrad. All rightes reserved. ~
- 1980's -
1981 - Interviewed several times on the radio about the song, "Inspectin' The City," that he wrote & recorded w/ Top Hat Band and received strong airplay on local Columbus radio stations.
1982 - Began working at an oldies collectable shop, Bent Back Records, in Columbus, OH and met WLVQ-FM-96's British-born DJ, Russell Carey. Russell's 3-hour Sunday morning radio program, "Psychedelic Sunday," was sponsored by Bent Back, and Peter supplied him with rare recordings by The Beatles & other artists for his show for the next 5 years. He also arranged & recorded two theme songs for "Psychedelic Sunday", which were both played thru-out the run of the show.
1983 - Met and became friends with Joey Molland of Badfinger. During this time, Joey lived & recorded his 1st solo LP, "After The Pearl," in Columbus and also worked part-time at Bent Back Records(!!). He jammed once with Joey on acoustic guitars, and attended several Beatle conventions & gigs where Joey sat in with other bands.
Aug. 25, 1983 - Helped to organize the "20th Anniversary Of British Rock" concert, sponsored by Bent Back Records, at Vets. Memorial / Columbus, OH, featuring Badfinger (w/ Molland, Mike Gibbins & Bob Jackson), Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer, Herman's Hermits & The Troggs. All of the Bent Back employees had front row seats and mingled backstage with all of the artists, before, during & after the show.
1984 - Attended Donovan concert at the Cleveland Agora, in Cleveland, OH and met Donovan after the show.
1985 - Joined The Unexpected on rhythm/slide guitar, keyboards, harmonica & vocals. This band gained a large following in the Columbus/OSU Short North area.
1987 - Formed The Cellar Dwellers on rhythm/slide guitar, keyboards, harmonica & vocals.
March 27, 1987 - Met ex-Beatle Pete Best for the 1st time, at the WLVQ-FM radio station, where Russell was conducting an hour long interview with Pete for his Sunday morning program.
March 28, 1987 - Attended the Beatles Alive `87 convention at the Newport Music Hall / Columbus, OH, featuring guest speakers Pete Best, Sid Bernstein and the tribute band "Beatlemania Live".
June 1987 - Contributed rare Beatles music & background information for Russell's nationally syndicated 3-hour radio special, "It Was 20 Years Ago Today", celebrating the 20th anniversary of the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" LP.
June 4, 1988 - Attended Ravi Shankar concert at Mershon Auditorium / Columbus, OH & met Ravi after the show.
July 31, 1989 - Attended Ringo & His All Starrs concert at the Blossom Music Center / Cincinnati, OH.
~ Photos of PC w/ Joey Molland in `83, Pete Best in `87 & Ravi Shankar in `88 (C) 2006 by Peter Conrad. All rights reserved. ~
- 1990's -
Feb. 12, 1990 - Attended Paul McCartney's World Tour at the Richfield Coliseum / Cincinnati, OH.
July 20, 1990 - Attended Paul McCartney's World Tour at Cleveland Stadium / Cleveland, OH.
Aug. 20, 1992 - Attended Ringo & His All Starrs concert at the Ohio State Fair / Columbus, OH.
May 5, 1993 - Attended Paul McCartney's World Tour at Riverfront Stadium / Cincinnati, OH.
Jan. 1, 1994 - Became a solo acoustic performer.
Aug. 21, 1994 - Had front row/center tickets for the Bob Dylan concert at the Ohio State Fair / Columbus, OH.
July 31, 1995 - Attended Ringo & His All Starrs concert at the Riverbend Music Festival / Cincinnati, OH.
Nov. 19, 1995 - Interviewed live at 11pm, on WSYX-TV Ch. 6 in Columbus, OH, immediately after the airing of the 1st night of the 3-part "Beatles Anthology" on ABC, for his reaction to hearing the "new" Beatles song "Free As A Bird".
July 1996 - P&J went to Memphis, TN, visited Elvis' grave at Graceland, and went to Sun Studios where Peter was photographed sitting on Ringo's drums. Ringo had recently recorded some sessions there and donated this drum set to the studio.
1997 - Joined The Pedestrians on rhythm/slide guitar, keyboards, harmonica & vocals. This band gained a large following in the Columbus area and released their only CD "Living On Dreams" that same year.
Sept. 1997 - Became the host of the "Sat. Night Electric Open Stage" at the Dolphin Lounge / Gahanna, OH.
1998 - Formed PCB (The Peter Conrad Band) on rhythm/2nd lead/slide guitar & vocals.
Feb. 22, 1999 - Attended Ringo & His All Starrs concert at the Schottenstein Center / Columbus, OH.
Sept. 1999 - Released the Beatles-influenced, all original, solo CD "Dream Come True", which received positive reviews locally & internationallly on the internet site www.garageband.com, which was originally founded & sponsored by Sir George Martin.
Oct. 1999 - Mark See's CD, "Creatures Of Habit" is released, with Peter playing harmonica, organ & backing vocals on 3 tracks.
~ Dolphin Lounge Open Stage ad from Columbus Alive newspaper (C) 2005. All rights reserved. Photo of the "Dream Come True" CD (C) 1999 by Peter Conrad. All rights reserved. Photo of PC on Ringo's drums @ Sun Studios, Memphis, TN (C) 1996 by Judy Conrad. All rights reserved. Photo of PC @ "D`Fin" (C) 1998 by Judy Conrad. All rights reserved. Thirsty Ear Tavern Open Stage Ad from Columbus Alive newspaper (C) 1998. All rights reserved. Photo of PC @ the Thirsty Ear (C) 1999 by Judy Conrad. All rights reserved. ~
- 2000 - 2004 -
2000 - Joel Guild's solo CD "Side Show" is released with Peter playing rhythm guitar & harmonica on 2 tracks. That same year, the live CD compilation, "Live At LeahFest 2000" is released, with PCB performing Peter's song, "Omega."Dec. 1, 2001 - Was inspired to write the song "Goodbye George" while watching news coverage on TV about the passing of George Harrison. George's music, as well as his views on spirituality and religion, had always touched & inspired Peter more than any other artist. The phrase "Goodbye George" kept appearing in all of the different news coverages shown that day.
Feb. 2002 - "Goodbye George" was recorded at "Safe @ Home Studios" in Columbus, OH with the help of several local guest musicians and released as a CD single by Peter Conrad & Friends.
June. 2002 - After hearing "Goodbye George", promoter Gary Jacob invited Peter to perfom in Cleveland, OH at Abbey Road On The River's (AROTR) "Tribute To George Harrison".
Aug. 9-11, 2002 - Performed several solo sets at the 3-day AROTR Beatles-Fest / Cleveland, OH and sang "Goodbye George" at the "Tribute To George", backed by the Canadian band All You Need Is Love. The show also honored George's sister Louise Harrison, and during the fest, Peter & Judy (P&J) became friends with her. Another new friend they met was Paul Saltzman, who was at the Mararishi's meditation camp in Rishikesh, India in 1968. His book, "The Beatles In India", contains the photos he took then & his journals.
Oct. 2002 - Was one of 35 finalists in WLVQ FM-96's "Columbus Rock Idol" contest, with his song, "Goodbye George".
Oct. 10, 2002 - Attended Paul McCartney's "Back In The U.S." show at the Value City Arena / Columbus, OH
Nov. 2002 - Invited to appear on "Breakfast With The Beatles" on Dayton, OH's WTUE radio station to perform and talk about "Goodbye George" on the 1st anniversary of George's passing.
Dec. 5, 2002 - Organized, hosted & performed with PCB at the "Tribute To George Harrison" benefit show at the Thirsty Ear / Grandview, OH. The show featured local Columbus musicians and raised $3,000 for the Columbus Cancer Clinic. On the day of the show, Peter was interviewed on WLVQ FM to promote the benefit.
Aug. 8-10, 2003 - Performed 5 times at the 3-day AROTR Beatles-Fest/ Cleveland, OH, as a solo artist and with Ira Krime on drums & Michael McRavage on bass. Was one of 5 finalists in the "We Hope We Passed The Audition Contest", but the winners were Sam & Ken (aka: Two Of Us). Met Liverpudlian & former Beatles promoter Sam Leach, who said that "Goodbye George" was "excellent and very poignant". P&J also spent time with Louise Harrison & Paul Saltzman, both of whom were featured speakers.
Sept. 2003 - Invited by Louise Harrison to perform at the benefit concert "It Was 40 Years Ago Today" in Benton, IL. celebrating George's 1st visit & impromtu performance in America in Sept 1963.
Feb. 9, 2004 - Hosted & performed with PCB at the "40th Anniversary Celebration" of The Beatles' 1st appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show" at the Dolphin Lounge / Gahanna, OH.
May, 2004 - P&J spent 2 weeks in the UK. In Liverpool, Peter performed a 1 hr. set at the Cavern Club, was filmed performing at Strawberry Fields & at Mendips and met ex-Wings drummer Steve Holly at the Cavern Pub. In London, Peter performed "Pinball Wizard" at the Hard Rock Cafe's Vault, playing one of Pete Townsend's donated acoustic guitars.
July 2004 - Performed solo for the "Rockin' Memorial Benefit" at the Thirsty Ear / Grandview, OH. Peter played songs by George Harrison, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix + 2 of his own. Peter was interviewed earlier that day on WLVQ FM-96 to promote the show which raised $1,000 for the Columbus Cancer Clinic.
Aug. 6-8, 2004 - Performed 10 times as a solo artist, with Two Of Us & with John MacCarfrae's Beatles-themed seminars, "All You Need Is Success, at the 3-day AROTR Beatles-Fest / Cleveland, OH. One of the seminars was presented at Cleveland's Public Hall Auditorium, on the same stage that The Beatles played in 1965, with Peter performing solo & with Gary Lee thru-out the 2 hr. program.
Nov. 2004 - Performed a solo acoustic set at Stanley's Pub / Cincinnati and an electric set w/ PCB at Ruby Tuesdays / Columbus, OH. Both of these shows were part of the "Beatles-Music Multi-Fest" benefitting Adopt-A-Landmine. Peter was interviewed on WLVQ-FM-96 to promote both of these shows.
~ Photos of PCB (Peter, Ira, Michael), P&J w/ Louise, Sam Leach, & Paul Saltzman (C) 2003 by P&J Conrad. All rightes reserved. Photos of PC at Strawberry Field, the Cavern & P&J crossing Abbey Road (C) 2004 by P&J Conrad. All rights reserved. ~
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- 2005 - 2009 -
April 2005 - Released his 2nd solo CD, "Half Alive", which featured 8 original studio songs and 6 live Beatle songs from some of Peter's performances at various AROTR's.May, 2005 - P&J returned to the UK for 2 weeks. In Liverpool, Peter, w/ John MacCarfrae on tambourine, performed a 90 min. set at The Cavern Club and P&J were given a personal guided tour of The Casbah Club by Roag Best. In London, P&J met former Abbey Road/Beatles engineer Jeff Jarrett at the Abbey Road Cafe. They missed seeing & meeting Sir George Martin at Abbey Road Studios by 10 minutes!
May 25, 2005 - Attended the Pete Best Band & Billy J. Kramer concert at The Basement / Columbus, OH & talked with Billy, Pete, Roag & the band backstage after the show .
Sept. 2005 - Gave up hosting the "Sat. Night Electric Open Stage" at the Dolphin Lounge / Gahanna, OH, after 8 years & over 500 "Open Stages".
Feb. 2006 - PCB drummer Ira Krime passes away at the age of 55 & PCB is officially broken up.
May 27-29, 2006 - Performed 6 times as a solo artist & with Two Of Us at the 3-day AROTR Beatles-Fest / Louisville, KY. Louise Harrison was one of the guest speakers this year and P&J got to spend time with her. Featured band, The Smithereens, performed a brilliant 90 min. set of Beatles songs + a few of their own.
May 26-28, 2006 - Performed 8 times as a solo artist, w/ Two Of Us, and w/ The Traveling Beatleburys at the 3-day AROTR Beatles-Fest / Louisville, KY. Peter & Two Of Us performed "Handle With Care" in the "Concert For George" on Sunday. The guest speakers that P&J met this year were The Beatles' 1st manager, Alan Williams, & Pete Best, who signed Peter's 12-string acoustic guitar after the Concert For George.
June 2006 - "Goodbye George" is added to the play list on the inter-net radio site "Hara Rama"
Sept./Oct. 2006 - P&J returned to the UK for 3 weeks and spent 3 days in Paris. In Liverpool, P&J went to "The Beatles Story" museum, spent time with the MacCarfraes & with Mrs. Grose, who lives in Ringo's old house in the Dingle. They were supposed to meet up w/ Alan Williams at The Grapes, but were unable to do so">
April 27-28, 2007 - Performed w/ The Traveling Beatleburys at the Dolphin Lounge in Gahanna, OH as a "warm up gig" for the up-coming Abbey Road On The River (AROTR) shows.
May 24-28, 2007 - Performed a total of 12 times as a solo artist (accompanied by Kevin Ashba on keyboards & vocals) & w/ The Traveling Beatleburys at this 5-day AROTR-Beatles-Fest in the Belvedere Festival Park & Galt House Hotel / Louisville, KY. Also met ex-Wings guitarist Denny Laine who performed on Sun. May 27, w/ The Cryers.
June 2, 2007 - Performed as a solo artist & w/