Winter Tales #4 - A Magical Mystery Tour

The date is Boxing Day 1967 and I face a dilemma: do I stay in and watch the premiere of the specially-made-for-television Beatles' extravaganza Magical Mystery Tour? Or, do I tag along as a roadie with my mates' group to a gig they are playing at the Memorial Hall in the small North Yorkshire market town of Kirkbymoorside?

The upside is the gig could be fun. The downside is the group's bus is one of a fleet of Bedford vans that by day the bass guitarist's dad uses for his wet-fish delivery business. Early evening gigs are always a nightmare as we are often away in the van before it has been hosed out properly from the day's deliveries. All that water also doesn't do much for the vehicles' structural integrity either!

These, it should be noted, were in the bad old days when vehicle MoT tests were a joke and most garages were happy to take your money and give you a test certificate if the vehicle's number plates matched the registration certificate. Indeed one of the vans' floors was so badly corroded that to prevent the body from collapsing over the rear-wheels, the backdoors had been welded closed with a strip of steelwork. I know 'elf 'n' safety would have a fit these days. (BTW if our van had been used for transporting toffee – see picture – rather than cod and haddock, life would have been far more pleasant.)

In the event, I went with the band. And I'm glad I did, because it was probably the best gig they ever played. OK, they broke up not long after so that's not saying too much but on the night everything was perfect. 

Afterwards, while were sitting in the backroom of the Memorial Hall, drinking mugs of builders tea and eating plates of potted-meat sandwiches (or they may have been bridge rolls) the local vicar, who had organised the event and booked the band, paid us the ultimate compliment. "You were great," he said, "there were no fights tonight."

I've long ago forgotten the name of the band. The Beatles broke up over 40 years ago. And I've still never managed to see the Magical Mystery Tour film.