Cynthia backstage with John at CBS Studios during The Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in New York City, February of 1964.
This post is about the concerts Cynthia attended, mostly for The Beatles and with... Before I began, I want to acknowledge that I figure Cynthia has been to more concerts than I write here. I'm only using what's been written, heard, or said publicly. I don't know what first concert she went to, however by the time Cynthia started to date John she was clueless on Rock and Roll. She knew classical music, as she admitted in A Twist of Lennon. Cynthia definitely got an educated by sitting at John's side and listening to him play with Paul and George during lunch break from school... to have a better imagery, think Yoko Ono in the studio and replace her with Cynthia in a room at art college in the cafeteria. When John, Paul, and George (soon Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best) had their gigs, Cynthia would watch them play unless the neighborhood was too rough and dangerous that she'd be unable to attend. Obviously, The Casbah, The Cavern, and Jacaranda Club were it.
"George and Paul both thought it was a great laugh that John was so keen on Cynthia, the lovely girl who used to go to art school with him. Even then, four years before they married, they were crazy over each other. Cyn used to travel thirty miles a night from her home in Hoylake just to sit by the stage of the Casbah, listening to John, playing with us."
Ken Brown
Cynthia continued to watch The Beatles played live, including during her visit in Hamburg, until she got pregnant and married John. Brian literally banned Cynthia to watch so that John being married wouldn't alienate fans, and to protect her from fans that could be confrontational and threatening. After she had Julian, obviously she still couldn't watch her husband perform except on television. I do think Cynthia did see the Beatles performing in Bournemouth in August of 1963 to celebrate her first anniversary with John. Another thing to note is her place at the venue: yes, Cynthia has had her fair share from the audience, however, once The Beatles succeeded to bigger clubs, venues, and TV appearances, Cynthia found a spot in the wings where it may have been safer from the mania. She attended the concerts at Carnegie Hall and Washington Coliseum during The Beatles first United States visit in February of 1964, including their The Ed Sullivan Show appearances. When John's sisters visited, Cynthia took Julia and Jackie to see The Beatles perform. To avoid them getting crushed and harmed by the fans rushing to the stage, John made sure they were pulled out to safety and watch the show from the wings. Afterwards, Cynthia took them home as they were too young for the after party. I think Cynthia also attended their last Liverpool concert at Liverpool Empire Theatre on December 5, 1965; it was mentioned that several family members (including Pattie Boyd) were there so there's probability that she was there. I don't know when or where Cynthia last saw The Beatles perform live as they retired from touring in August of 1966 and their final performance on the rooftop happened after their divorce.
Question: Has your wife ever seen one of your concerts?" (Interview 1965)
"Yeah, she used to see a lot of them. She hasn't seen us for quite a bit, though. She enjoys 'em, but it's so... She gets to see us when we stay somewhere in England and do a show" John
Question: Do you ever get any critiques from her on them?”
“Oh yeah. Well, she used to come ’round with us a lot and say, ‘You were lousy tonight,’ you know. ‘You’re pulling those faces’ …she doesn’t like me fooling around. Clowning, you know. She says ‘Why are you always pulling them stupid faces?’ On TV, you know, I usually pull some kind of face. She doesn’t like that. She wants me to be straight, you know.” John
"More or less. She is the quiet type and won't come around when there are screaming crowds and such has been the case for the past year."
John, 1964
Cynthia and John at the Richmond Jazz Festival at Richmond Athletic Grounds, Surrey, on August 8, 1965
"The Richmond Jazz Festival, we went along to see the Animals, 'cause they were doing something new. They were singing with a big band backing them. But we never got to see it, 'cause we got attacked. As usual you know, big crowds. We thought it was going to be jazz fans, and they wouldn't bother us. But they weren't all jazz fans there."
John, 1966
The Beatles with Cynthia and Mal Evans watching The Jimi Hendrix Experience perform on January 4, 1967
Cynthia, John, and Ringo Starr with Brian Epstein's reflection on the car window while attending a Chuck Berry concert of February 19, 1967
George Harrison, Pattie Boyd, Cynthia and John watching The Beach Boys perform.on behalf of UNICEF in Paris
Obviously, The Beatles aren't the only band Cynthia saw live; in the Cavern she saw Rory Storm & the Hurricanes and Gerry & the Pacemakers performed as well other local bands. I'm not sure on the exact date, however John and Cynthia, with George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, his girlfriend Veronica Johnson, Tony Carricker, his girlfriend, Paul McCartney, and his girlfriend Dot Rhone went to see Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Billy Fury, Joe Brown, Georgie Fame, The Tony Sheridan Trio & Billy Raymond at Empire Theatre in Liverpool during the dates of March 14-19, 1960. A little over a month later, on April 17th, Eddie Cochran died in a car accident.
On August 8, 1965, John, Cynthia, George, and Pattie went to the Richmond Jazz Festival at Richmond Athletic Grounds, Surrey, with performances by Alex Welsh, Brian Auger & The Trinity, Chris Barber, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Johnny Parker, Ken Colyer's Jazz Band, Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen, Long John Baldry, Ottilie Patterson, The Animals, and The Spencer Davis Group. I've heard that they went more so just to see The Animals perform, and maybe Spencer Davis. However, they were spotted by the crowd and left early.
1967 seems like a big year for concerts:
January 4 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience at Saville Theatre with Mal Evans
January 29 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Who at Saville Theatre
February 19 - Chuck Berry at Saville Theatre with Ringo Starr and Brian Epstein
June 4 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience at Saville Theatre with Paul, Jane Asher, George, Pattie, Peter Asher, and Mick Jagger. This is believed to be when Jimi performed a cover of just released Sgt. Pepper within a few days.
December 15 - UNICEF gala featuring The Beach Boys in Paris
I am definitely certain that Cynthia saw her own son Julian in concert many times; most notably on August 3, 1989 at the Beacon Theatre with Sean and Yoko (already posted!).
On January 14, 1990, Cynthia attended Paul McCartney's concert at the Wembley with his wife Linda on keyboards.
Well, those are the concerts Cynthia attended to be known. As mentioned before, I believe Cynthia saw way more, like The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Bee Gees, Lulu, Cilla Black, Elton John, maybe Queen, and so on.
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