THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512290759
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER AND JANELLE LA BOUVE, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Valerie V. Lawley, a Great Bridge mother of two, is a part of Fab Four history.
She, her sister and several other friends from Flushing, N.Y., attended the historic Beatles concert at Shea Stadium on Aug. 15, 1965.
Top New York disc jockey Bruce ``Cousin Brucie'' Morrow, took a photograph of Lawley, 48, and her mates screaming for John, Paul, George and Ringo. That photo, considered to be one of the top symbols of Beatlemania in its frenetic prime, has been displayed in exhibits and books for the past 30 years.
Because of the photo and the revival of Beatlemania, thanks to the recent ABC television three-part ``Beatles Anthology'' and two-disc set of the same name, Lawley, her sister, Pamela Volponi, and original high school friends - Inge Kettler, Birgit Tonneson and Linda Stobel - recently appeared on nationwide television as guests on ``Good Morning, America.''
Lawley, now a secretary for Manpower, moved to Hampton Roads 20 years ago and has lived in Chesapeake for eight years.
As a teenager in New York, she and her high school buddies from Flushing High School saw the famous rock group on three different occasions: at Forest Hills in 1964, at the famous Shea Stadium concert that changed the face of rock shows forever, and then once again at Shea the following year.
Lawley and her friends collected and still own tons of Beatles memorabilia, buttons and fanzines. They even played hooky from school in September 1964 and descended on Kennedy International Airport with hundreds of other fans to see the Mop Tops leave the country.
``We were there to see them go home to England,'' she said. ``We waved to them, and they waved back at us.''
But her place in Beatles history is forever preserved in that famous photo by ``Cousin Brucie.''
Thanks to Kettler's father, who worked for Shea Stadium at the time, the friends were able to secure front-row seats for the 1965 concert. Tickets for that concert sold for a whopping $5.50 each.
``We got the tickets in February, and we counted down the days until the show,'' Lawley said. ``We got the best seats, right behind the dugout. There were lots of photographers there taking pictures of the crowd. We saw `Cousin Brucie' there, but didn't realize he took that photo.''
Now, 30 years later, due to the renewed interest in all things Beatles, the screaming began once again for Lawley and her friends.
`` `Cousin Brucie' was on `Good Morning, America' (to promote the three-part ABC ``Beatles Anthology'' mini-series) and we all saw the photo on the television screen. I recognized myself and my friends,'' Lawley said.
Lawley said Tonneson's daughter, who was living in New York, phoned Morrow's headquarters at WCBS radio in New York City simply to ask for a copy of the photo. She spoke to Morrow, one thing led to another, and before you could say ``Strawberry Fields Forever'' he had five of the friends, including Lawley, flown to the city to appear on ``Good Morning, America.''
``Mr. Morrow was very excited because he has had this photo in exhibits for 30 years and always wanted to meet the people in the photo,'' Lawley said. ``Birgit called me, and we called Inge and Linda.''
Kettler, Tonneson and Stobel still live in New York City and Volponi now lives in Atlanta. WCBS flew Lawley and her sister to New York for a reunion. Two of the friends declined because they didn't want the publicity.
Lawley said she and her younger daughter, 14-year-old Jennette, stayed at her mother's house in New York for four days. The station took them out to breakfast and to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.
``They were all really very gracious and very generous at `Good Morning, America,' '' Lawley said. ``It was a thrill. We were very nervous. But Charlie Gibson came out and introduced himself to us and was very friendly. We all sat down and got ready for the camera. It all happened so fast.''
In spite of a free trip to New York City, being on national television, having a reunion with old friends and reviving Beatles memories, Lawley said the best thing about the entire affair was the good created by the ``Cousin Brucie'' photo.
``This photo has been in galleries and has raised a million dollars for children's charities,'' she said. ``I didn't know that. That's what so wonderful about it. That photo is a real treasure to me.''
Lawley still treasures her Beatles memories and is still a huge fan. Now she sees her two daughters becoming Fab Four fans as well.
``My daughters play Beatles records all the time,'' she said. ``Both my daughters are second-generation fans.''
Lawley said she, her sister and her friends lived their lives around Beatles records and threw parties on the singers' birthdays. They avidly collected Beatles fan magazines and souvenirs.
``I feel like I'm part of Beatles history because the photograph,'' she said. ``It's so famous, and I didn't even know about it. It's incredible that there was so much interest in the photograph and in us.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Pamela Volponi and Valerie show a photo of themselves at Shea
Stadium, screaming for The Beatles.
by CNB