“The Beatles said in their fan magazine after the tour they were pleased with the reception from the fans in Manila,” he said.
“And there are still fans in the Philippines who name their children after Beatles songs.”
As it turned out, the visit to the Philippines marked the band’s penultimate tour.
“What happened in Manila wasn’t so much a nail in the coffin more a bag of nails,” the author said.
He said they were moving on creatively and becoming tired of being on the road, a month later releasing their album Revolver.
“It was technically more sophisticated and would have been harder to play live given the technology of the time,” Guerrero said.
Leigh added: “They just hated touring by then – hence they created a fictitious band, Sgt Pepper.
“They were operating in a new territory and you can see that all the major acts were wondering about what was coming next – Presley, Stones, Dylan.”
The president and his wife were also going through a transition – from being described by Life magazine as the “JFK and Jackie of Asia” to Ferdinand and his regime becoming synonymous with corruption and human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, Imelda’s massive indulgences became legendary, with stories abounding including her 3,000-strong collection of designer shoes.
It was, perhaps, a meeting between music royalty and Filipino extravagance that was destined never to have happened, Leigh said.
He added: “Looking back of course, the Beatles were glad not to have met the Marcos family.”