This weekend marks 60 years since Beatlemania took New Zealand by storm.

In June 1964, The Beatles touched down in New Zealand as part of their historic world tour, playing sold-out shows in Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch.

To mark this anniversary, the new book When We Was Fab: Inside The Beatles Australasian Tour, has been released.

Rock historian and co-author Andy Neill says the hysteria from fans was unlike anything the nation had seen before.

"This was this new force that was coming over from the other side of the world, this new pop force. It wasn't only just the music - which of course, was extremely fresh and original and vital - but it was also the look."

LISTEN ABOVE

This weekend marks 60 years since Beatlemania took New Zealand by storm.
In June 1964, The Beatles touched down in New Zealand as part of their historic world tour, playing sold-out shows in Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch.
To mark this anniversary, the new book When We Was Fab: Inside The Beatles Australasian Tour, has been released.
Rock historian and co-author Andy Neill says the hysteria from fans was unlike anything the nation had seen before.
"This was this new force that was coming over from the other side of the world, this new pop force. It wasn't only just the music - which of course, was extremely fresh and original and vital - but it was also the look."
LISTEN ABOVE

News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your Sunday morning listening covered with The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin on Newstalk ZB.

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Andy Neill: rock historian and author on his new book recapping The Beatles' Australasian tour

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman - more brilliant, gentle crime from the author who gave us The Thursday Murder Club. He’s taking a break from that series and has started a new one, centred around a family - Amy, who’s a bodyguard, her father in law Steve – a quiet, eccentric homebody ex cop - and his son Adam. There’s a charming wit and interplay between the characters – and a globe-hopping plot - which makes this a real pleasure to read.

Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell - Pamela Churchill Harriman was a fascinating figure – she married Winston Churchill’s son Randolph – it was not a success – but was recruited as a courtesan to secure useful information for the British government during WW2. She eventually moved to America and married twice more , eventually being appointed as the US ambassador to France. Her story is remarkable, she was a singular figure.

LISTEN ABOVE

<p style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin: 16px 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;">We Solve Murders by Richard Osman - more brilliant, gentle crime from the author who gave us The Thursday Murder Club. He’s taking a break from that series and has started a new one, centred around a family - Amy, who’s a bodyguard, her father in law Steve – a quiet, eccentric homebody ex cop - and his son Adam. There’s a charming wit and interplay between the characters – and a globe-hopping plot - which makes this a real pleasure to read.
<p style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin: 16px 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;">Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell - Pamela Churchill Harriman was a fascinating figure – she married Winston Churchill’s son Randolph – it was not a success – but was recruited as a courtesan to secure useful information for the British government during WW2. She eventually moved to America and married twice more , eventually being appointed as the US ambassador to France. Her story is remarkable, she was a singular figure.
<p style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin: 16px 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap; vertical-align: baseline; font-kerning: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;">LISTEN ABOVE

Whitcoulls Recommends: We Solve Murders and Kingmaker

Over in Hawaii, tourism officials are looking to encourage Kiwi tourists to check out their island community for the summer.

Hawaiian Airlines has brought back their direct seasonal service to New Zealand and they're encouraging travellers to support local communities through their latest global campaign.

BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton says the new 'The People, The Place, The Hawaiian Islands' is designed to showcase the region's food, music, culture and local events.

LISTEN ABOVE

Over in&nbsp;Hawaii, tourism officials are looking to encourage Kiwi tourists to check out their island community for the summer.
Hawaiian Airlines has brought back their direct seasonal service to New Zealand and they're encouraging travellers to support local communities through their latest global campaign.
BloggerAtLarge writer Megan Singleton says the new 'The People, The Place, The Hawaiian Islands' is designed to showcase the region's food, music, culture and local events.
LISTEN ABOVE

Megan Singleton: BloggerAtLarge.com writer on Hawaiian Airlines bringing back routes for summer season

In this week's edition of the Sunday Panel, 818 director Chris Henry and Capital director Ben Thomas joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week - and more!

Daylight saving has officially kicked in - how do we feel? Are we excited for the warmer weather?

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has unveiled some new changes to speed limits, with all blanket reductions on local streets, arterial roads, and state highways set to be reversed by July next year. Do we agree with these changes? 

Over 35,000 people took to the streets in Dunedin to protest the Government pushing pause on the city's new hospital project. What do we make of this?

LISTEN ABOVE

In this week's edition of the Sunday Panel, 818 director Chris Henry and Capital director Ben Thomas joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the week - and more!
Daylight saving has officially kicked in - how do we feel? Are we excited for the warmer weather?
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has unveiled some new changes to speed limits, with all blanket reductions on local streets, arterial roads, and state highways set to be reversed by July next year. Do we agree with these changes?&nbsp;
Over 35,000 people took to the streets in Dunedin to protest the Government pushing pause on the city's new hospital project. What do we make of this?
LISTEN ABOVE

Andy Neill: rock historian and author on his new book recapping The Beatles' Australasian tour

In 1 playlist(s)

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips