Beatles in Egypt
As some of you may have noticed, I’m currently enjoying a short holiday in Egypt. I have yet to hear a Beatles tune here, and the locals are asking me who those guys on my t-shirt are. I try to tell them that it’s the Beatles, I tell them the names, I sing a bit of “Yesterday”, but they don’t understand. So I guess, The Beatles are not so well known amomg the natives. But here in the tourist town of Sharm El Sheikh, there is a Hard Rock cafe. And in that restaurant, they have some nice Beatles items on display.
The biggest attraction is this pea coat, once owned by John Lennon, “early in his career”. I can’t think of a photo where he is wearing this, can you? Perhaps at a Christmas show?
Next up, John’s hand written poem “I Sat Belonely”, with the cartoon. This is also an original item, mounted beside his portrait.
Then there’s this gold disc of “Whatever Gets You Through The Night”, once presented to Elton John. I didn’t know the session musicians got these gold discs? Elton is not mentioned on the label, but is clearly present on the record on piano, vocals and general “feel”.
A friend of mine collects the autographed “white album” photos. He has gotten Paul’s and Ringo’s in person, and was given one of John that he had signed while in Denmark in 1969. Now all he needs is George’s. Well, one candidate is this one, found here in Egypt.
The Beatles most definitely had, and still have, a very strong fan base in Egypt. They might not be terribly familiar to the towel boy at the local hotel beach, but the is not a sample reflective of Egyptian musical knowledge.
I never asked any towel boys, I only asked those who were involved in selling and playing music.