The last time Paul McCartney performed in Vancouver, Colin Hartridge was there - at the Beatles concert at Empire Stadium in 1964.

At the time, Hartridge was 13 and already a fan of the Fab Four.

His mom was also a big fan, and gathered up the family to drive from their home in Whalley to the concert venue.

"She was 40 at the time, which was considered old for a pop-music fan back then," said Hartridge, who has vivid memories of that hot August day. "It's all sort of embedded in my memory."

They paid $4.20 a ticket to see the Beatles, who played for about 25 minutes before bolting for their limos. The sound was horrible, he said, thanks to screaming girls and a lousy PA system.

"We could barely make out what they were playing," Hartridge recalled. "They played 'Twist and Shout' first, so we knew that right away. And they did 'A Hard Day's Night,' which was probably their newest song at the time."

He still has the fold-up plastic binoculars the family bought at his first concert, but not his ticket stub.

"I wish I did have the ticket, because it would probably be worth some money," he said with a laugh.

That Beatlemania experience in 1964 led Hartridge to become an avid concert-goer; later, he saw Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Led Zeppelin and many other bands.

However, he's not prepared to spend big money on a ticket to see McCartney's return to Vancouver, at B.C. Place on Nov. 25.

"You know, I never really cared for Paul McCartney's solo stuff, the stuff he did after the Beatles - it was too fluffy for me," said Hartridge, who still lives in Whalley and works in the Now production department.

Hartridge continues to gig as a drummer with the band Sparkling Apple, which has released a new CD of songs and performs at Donegal's pub in Surrey on Dec. 1.

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Now staff

tzillich@thenownewspaper.com