Seven Anecdotes from the 1963 Roy Orbison/Beatles Tour

Orbison in 1987

Tuesday, when I wrote about Tim Hatfield's When We Find Ourselves In Times of Trouble, an anecdote came to mind related to Roy Orbison when he toured England with The Beatles in 1963. Naturally this sent me on a search to find and share it. It didn't take long to find what I had recalled. It was also fun to find some additional memorable gems.

When I was young, I did not immediately take to Roy Orbison. I put him in a box with all those other 50s stars who seemed from a different era--guys like Elvis (whose B-movies were silly to me), Jerry Lee Lewis (who married his 13-year-old cousin) and (I'm sorry) Johnny Cash. Over time, however, I heard stories about Orbison's influence. For example, Bruce Springsteen said he learned how to write songs from Roy during a 15 hour ride in the back of a truck. In the 90s I myself eventually came under his spell. Yes, I was late to the party, but that cat could sing.

Here are seven short stories from that 1963 tour that speak volumes. For context, the Beatles' U.S. tour began in early 1964.

Orbison’s Initial Bewilderment: “What’s a Beatle?”
When Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, invited Roy Orbison to tour with the band, Orbison reportedly asked, “What’s a Beatle?” Fresh off hits like “Only the Lonely” (1960), “Crying” (1961), and “In Dreams” (1963), Orbison was a major star in the UK but unfamiliar with the Fab Four’s quirky name and Mersey Beat style. His fan club president wrote to him, explaining that the Beatles were No. 1 in England and the tour would boost his exposure. The rapid cultural shift toward Beatlemania--and the British Invasion that followed--caught even established artists off guard.

Orbison’s Sunglasses Become Iconic

Orbison 1965

Orbison’s trademark dark sunglasses, now synonymous with his persona, were cemented during this tour. Due to poor vision (hyperopia, astigmatism, and strabismus), Orbison relied on corrective lenses. He had lost his regular glasses on a flight to Alabama before the tour and performed in prescription sunglasses. In England, he continued wearing them onstage because he hadn’t replaced his regular pair yet. Photos from the tour appeared in newspapers, and his management embraced the look, making it a permanent fixture. This accidental style choice shaped Orbison’s enigmatic image, contrasting with the Beatles’ youthful, clean-cut appearance. The takeaway: chance events can define a public persona.

Orbison Silences Screaming Beatles Fans
I thought this to be an impressive story. Each night, Orbison faced roaring crowds of Beatles fans clamoring for their idols. To counter this, he ingeniously instructed his band to play the opening song very softly, forcing the audience to hush to hear him. Once quiet, Orbison captivated them with his powerful three-octave voice and emotional ballads like “Crying” or “In Dreams.” 

George Harrison recalled standing backstage, listening to Orbison perform encore after encore, thinking, “How are we going to follow this?” Ringo Starr was more blunt: “It was terrible, following Roy. He’d slay them and they’d scream for more.” In Glasgow, the crowd chanted “We want Roy!” so fervently that John Lennon and Paul McCartney physically held Orbison back to prevent more encores, allowing the Beatles to take the stage. 

This is the anecdote that I was looking for initially, showcasing Orbison’s commanding stage presence and the Beatles’ anxiety as they navigated their ascent, revealing the tension between established talent and emerging stardom.

By way of contrast, it brings to mind a story about Jimi Hendrix opening for the Monkees. In Jimi's first U.S. road tour his band was the opening act for a Monkees tour. During the 8th show Hendrix couldn't take it any more and walked off the stage mid-act as the teeny-boppers screamed for their TV stars. 

Songwriting Rivalry on the Tour Bus

The tour bus became a creative battleground where Orbison’s songwriting sparked friendly competition with the Beatles. Paul McCartney recalled watching Orbison at the back of the bus, strumming his guitar and crafting songs like “Pretty Woman” (released in 1964). McCartney said, “He would play us his song, and we’d say, ‘Oh, it’s great, Roy. Have you just written that?’ But we’d be thinking, ‘We have to have something as good.’” 

This rivalry inspired McCartney to begin composing “All My Loving” on the bus, later refining it on a venue’s piano. John Lennon, influenced by Orbison’s earnest delivery, modeled “Please Please Me” (released 1963) on Orbison’s “Only the Lonely,” though it was sped up for the final recording. Orbison’s presence pushed the Beatles to elevate their craft, contributing to their early songwriting evolution. It also reflects the collaborative yet competitive spirit of the early 1960s music scene.

Jellybeans Pelt the Beatles
Beatlemania was in full swing, and fans expressed their fervor uniquely. After George Harrison mentioned in an interview that he liked jellybeans (likely jelly babies in the UK), fans began pelting the Beatles with them onstage. During the tour, the band was bombarded nightly, with jellybeans raining down as they performed hits like “Twist and Shout” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” This became a hallmark of their 1963 performances, both painful and amusing, as the candies stung when thrown with force.

Nevada Bob Gordon, a Seattle police officer in the 60s, has some fun stories about when he was assigned to protect the Beatles at their Seattle concert on their first U.S. tour in '64. The jelly bean bombardment evidently followed them to America it seems, as he reports in this account of that night: Nevada Bob Meets The Beatles and 14,000 Screaming Beatles Fans.

Orbison’s Amplifiers from Jim Marshall
A lesser-known but significant moment involved Jim Marshall, founder of Marshall Amplifiers. During the tour, Marshall gave Orbison two amplifiers, which were later shipped to the U.S., becoming the first Marshall amps in America. This gesture reflects Orbison’s influence as a respected artist, bridging UK and U.S. music scenes. For the Beatles, who later used Marshall amps extensively, this moment foreshadowed their adoption of cutting-edge equipment to amplify their sound amid screaming crowds. It also underscores the tour’s role in connecting musical technologies across continents.

Backstage Bonding and Lifelong Friendship

Despite the competitive undertones, the tour fostered genuine friendship. A backstage photo from May 1, 1963, shows the Beatles, Orbison, and Gerry and the Pacemakers posing together, with Ringo visibly thrilled to be near Orbison, his idol. The Beatles admired Orbison’s voice and songwriting, having covered his “Dream Baby” in a 1962 BBC radio performance. Orbison, in turn, was impressed by their energy and encouraged them to tour the U.S., though he declined to manage their 1964 American tour due to scheduling conflicts. 

This bond later culminated in George Harrison inviting Orbison to join the Traveling Wilburys in 1988, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. According to Orbison’s son, Roy Jr., Harrison knelt humbly to ask Orbison to join, a gesture of deep respect. Their mutual admiration transcended the tour’s rivalry, shaping long-term collaborations.

Sources:
KUTX 98.9--This week in Texas music history
Beatles Anthology
with a little help from ChatGT