6 July 1966: The Beatles' First Trip To India

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The day after their troubled trip to the Philippines came to an end, The Beatles arrived in India for the first time (aside from a very brief stop in Calcutta on the morning of 8 June 1964).

The 1966 Indian visit following a brief refuelling stop in Bangkok, early in the morning of 6 July 1966.

Although they had hoped to spend time in India resting and discovering the country’s music, their stay was anything but relaxing. Six hundred fans greeted their arrival at Delhi Airport in New Delhi, and the Oberoi Hotel, where they stayed, was soon surrounded.

The Beatles in India, 1966

Before the tour was planned, I had an arrangement made that on the return journey from the Philippines to London I would stop off in India, because I wanted to go and check it out and buy a good sitar. I had asked Neil if he would come with me, because I didn’t want to be in India on my own. He agreed, and we had booked for the two of us to get off in Delhi.
Somewhere between leaving London and going through Germany and Japan to the Philippines, one by one the others had all said, ‘I think I’ll come, too.’ But we got to Delhi and, after the experience in the Philippines, the others didn’t want to know. They didn’t want another foreign country – they wanted to go home.
I was feeling a little bit like that myself; I could have gone home. But I was in Delhi, and as I had made the decision to get off there I thought, ‘Well, it will be OK. At least in India they don’t know The Beatles. We’ll slip in to this nice ancient country, and have a bit of peace and quiet.’
The others were saying, ‘See you around , then – we’re going straight home.’ Then the stewardess came down the plane and said, ‘Sorry, you’ve got to get off. We’ve sold your seats on to London,’ and she made them all leave the plane.
So we got off. It was night-time, and we were standing there waiting for our baggage, and then the biggest disappointment I had was a realisation of the extent of the fame of The Beatles – because there were so many dark faces in the night behind a wire mesh fence, all shouting, ‘Beatles! Beatles!’ and following us.
We got in the car and drove off, and they were all on little scooters, with the Sikhs in turbans all going, ‘Hi, Beatles, Beatles!’ I thought, ‘Oh, no! Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but Beatles have nowhere to lay their heads.’

George Harrison Anthology

The Beatles managed to sneak out using the hotel’s rear exit, and did some sightseeing and shopping.

Delhi was a really funny feeling. I’m sure a lot of people have had this experience when they go there. In the parts of New Delhi that were built by the British, it isn’t the little streets you might expect: we were on big wide roads, dual carriageways with roundabouts.
The amazing thing was that there were so many people out there. All the roundabouts had hundreds and hundreds of people sitting in the dark, a lot of them squatting in groups, including old guys with pipes. There were crowds of people everywhere. I was thinking, ‘God! What’s happened?’ It was as if the Superbowl was on, or there’d been a big disaster, with all the people milling around. Then you get to realise that’s how it is – there are a lot of people there.

George Harrison AnthologyPage last updated: 6 July 2023

Also on this day...

2019: Paul McCartney live: BC Place, Vancouver
2018: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Salle Des Etoiles, Monte Carlo
2012: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Fox Theatre, Atlanta
2011: Paul McCartney launches design competition for graphic designers and illustrators
2010: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: American Music Theatre, Lancaster
2010: Apple Records’ remastered back catalogue to be released
2008: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville
1992: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Empire Theatre, Liverpool
1990: Paul McCartney live: RFK Stadium, Washington, DC
1973: Wings live: Odeon, Birmingham
1971: Mastering: Imagine by John Lennon
1969: John Lennon and Yoko Ono leave hospital in Scotland
1964: World première of A Hard Day’s Night
1963: The Beatles live: Memorial Hall, Northwich
1962: The Beatles live: Riverboat Shuffle, MV Royal Iris, River Mersey
1961: Mersey Beat launches
1957: John Lennon meets Paul McCartney

Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.

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1 thought on “The Beatles’ first trip to India”

Can anyone please point to the exact 1966 article in the ‘Times of India”, that contains this story.
Please let me know.
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