Beatles Monument in Blokker, Netherlands

The Beatles monument stands on Zuiderdracht in Oosterblokker, part of the Drechterland municipality next to Blokker in North Holland. It is a 3 by 4 metre concrete record sleeve by Groningen sculptor Harma Heikens, unveiled on 6 June 1999. It marks the Beatles' only public concerts in the Netherlands, two shows held in Blokker's auction hall on 6 June 1964.

Two short shows in a vegetable auction hall

On 6 June 1964 the Beatles were early in their first world tour, and they played two shows in Blokker. The venue was the auction hall "Op Hoop van Zegen", where local growers sold vegetables and fruit. It is now the Westfriese Beurs. The concert was organised by Ben Essink, whose father was the mayor of Blokker. According to Oneindig Noord-Holland, the two sets added up to no more than about 25 minutes. A radio DJ who was there said all he could hear was one long scream.

Ringo Starr was not in the line-up. He had tonsillitis, and Jimmie Nicol played drums from 4 June until Starr rejoined the band in Melbourne on 14 June.

Blokker is often called the only time the Beatles performed in the Netherlands. That's true of public concerts. On 5 June, the day before, the band taped a VARA television appearance at Treslong in Hillegom and took a boat trip on the Amsterdam canals.

An LP record with a radio and a VOX amp

Advertising man Gert Elzinga came up with the idea in 1994. He set up Stichting The Beatles in Blokker with Peter Schaper and Ron Koster. Local businesses paid part of the cost, along with the municipalities of Drechterland and Hoorn and the Province of North Holland. The foundation puts the total at 100,000 guilders.

Harma Heikens, a sculptor from Groningen born in 1963, designed it as a concrete record sleeve 3 by 4 metres, set on a platform like a small stage. A radio sits at the front and a VOX speaker cabinet at the back, so walk round to see both sides. The colours are light blue and soft pink. The titles of the eight songs the band played in Blokker are part of the design, and "Yesterday" roses grow in the bed around it.

Former DJ Willem van Kooten unveiled the monument on 6 June 1999, 35 years to the day after the concert. For the 50th anniversary a second text was added: "The Beatles Place - Blokker - 1964 - 6 juni - 2014".

The drummer who wasn't there

The original design showed the four famous Beatles, which meant Ringo Starr was on a monument to shows he had missed. Oneindig Noord-Holland pointed out the irony. The foundation says the monument was altered in 2013 to show Jimmie Nicol instead. We found no second source for that change, so treat it as the foundation's own account.

Other Beatles concert sites are in the memorials list, among them the Cavern Club and the Indra Club in Hamburg. Every record is also on the map.