It’s no hidden secret that Elvis Presley and The Beatles didn’t exactly see eye to eye. While the Liverpudlians grew up idolising him, their meeting was precisely why people say never meet your heroes, and ‘The King’ also later became obscenely bitter about the success of the Fab Four.
The summit between the two giant cultural behemoths came in the summer of 1965 after Beatlemania took America by storm. Elvis wanted to see what all the fuss was about for himself and agreed to let the band visit his residence. As The Beatles enjoyed a break from commitments in their diaries, the group initiated a trip to Bel Air, and a suitably bizarre evening ensued.
However, the unlikely pairing didn’t immediately hit it off. According to The Beatles’ former press officer, Tony Barrow, who was also in attendance, the small talk didn’t take long to wear thin. He told the BBC: “There was this embarrassing silence between the mega-famous five, stood there facing each other, with very little of import being said”.
Thankfully, Elvis had a brainwave and decided to orchestrate a jam session, removing all of the awkward tension from the room. Barrow recalled: “Up to that point, the party really had been a bit lifeless and unexciting. But as soon as Presley and The Beatles began to play together, the atmosphere livened up”.
