Wednesday, 16 December 2015 15:20

Did The Beatles Spend A Day In Gran Canaria In 1963?

The Beatles drove around Tenerife in a Gran Canaria registered car, but did they visit the island itself? The Beatles drove around Tenerife in a Gran Canaria registered car, but did they visit the island itself? Astrid Kirchner

The Beatles' 10-day holiday in Tenerife is famous thanks to Astrid Kirchner's candid photographs, but we think they spent one day in Gran Canaria as well. Here's why...

The eyewitness account

In Peter Stone's book "A Cultural History of the Canary Islands" he describes meeting The Beatles in 1963 not in Tenerife but in Gran Canaria. Stone worked for the Hotel Parque in San Telmo, Las Palmas at the time and describes how The Beatles spent one night at the hotel in May 1963.

When we heard Stone's story we were surprised to say the least. How could the world's most famous band spend a day in Gran Canaria and nobody even notice? And why would they come to Gran Canaria for a day when they had spent their holiday in Tenerife.

But the possibility of a The Beatles visit (well, Ringo, George and Paul; John Lennon stayed in Torremolinos) to Gran Canaria was too much to ignore so we delved into the history of their trip.

A delay on the way

We know that they flew from Barcelona to Tenerife on April 29th, 1963, and found a reference in this press article about their trip.

"El 29 de abril de 1963, Ringo Starr, George Harrison y el propio McCartney aterrizaban en la isla, vía Barcelona y con un día de retraso".

"On April 29th, 1963, Ringo Star, George Harrison and Paul McCartney landed on the Islands (Tenerife) after a day of delay".

Where was that delay? 

The most logical explanation is that their flight from Barcelona to Los Rodeos airport in North Tenerife was diverted to Gran Canaria due to low cloud.

Los Rodeos airport is notorious for poor visibility and back in the 1960s there was no South Tenerife airport. 

Given Stone's eye-witness account, it seems likely that the three Beatles spent a night in Gran Canaria between Barcelona and Tenerife. They may only have whizzed up the road to the hotel, then left the next day, but hey, The Beatles were in Gran Canaria.

What's next?

We'll do everything possible to check this out, starting with the Hotel Parque. Do they still have their records? Or can we access the island's immigration records for the end of April 1963? 

We'll keep you posted.

Alex Says: Thanks to Gran Canaria blogger Matthew Hirtes for bringing Peter Stone's account of meeting The Beatles in Gran Canaria in 1963.

Published in History

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Tip of the day

  • The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!
    The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!

    If there is one thing we hate it is visitors being tricked in Gran Canaria. In the past we've warned about overcharging at Gran Canaria chemists, and rip off electronics shops in resorts. 

    In this Tip Of The Day we return to the island's chemists or rather, to the island's fake chemists.

    A chemist in Gran Canaria is called a Farmacia and always has a green cross sign. Farmacias are the only place tobuy medicine in Spain, even basics like paracetamol.

    However, there is another kind of shop in Gran Canaria that looks and sounds like a chemist but doesn't sell medicine. This is the Parafarmacia and it also uses a green cross sign.

    A parafarmacia is a herbal medicine shop that is not allowed to sell any normal medicine such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or antibiotics. 

    Instead, parafarmacias sell herbal alternatives to medicine but don't have to prove that they work and they can charge whatever they want.

    We recently heard from a visitor to Gran Canaria who went into a parafarmacia and was charged 40 euros for a herbal alternative to Ibuprofen. It was only when they read the label that they realised what had happened. 

    To locate a genuine farmacia, see this website and search within your municipio (Puerto Rico is in Mogán, Playa del Inglés is in San Bartolomé de Tirajana). At weekends and on fiesta days many farmacias close but there is always one open, known as the farmacia de guardia, in each municipio.

    Search for the nearest one to you with this tool

    Lex Says: To keep costs down, see this article for the way to ask for generic medicine rather than expensive branded alternatives. 

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