Spector ready to rock with Beatlemania again

THE FEST FOR BEATLES FANS

Ronnie Spector, Earl Slick, Greg Hawkes, Mark Hudson, Brett Hudson, Nancy Lee Andrews and Terri Hemmert

- 5 p.m. to midnight today, noon to midnight Saturday and Sunday

- Hyatt Regency O'Hare, 9300 W. Bryn Mawr, Rosemont

- Tickets, $32 today, $47 Saturday and Sunday

- (866) 843-3378; www.thefest.com

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Ronnie Spector looks back and thanks her lucky stars that she wasn't a casualty of Beatlemania.

Think New York, Shea Stadium, 1965, one of the most famous of all Beatles performances. The Ronettes, with Spector as lead singer, weren't on the bill, but took the opportunity to see their close friends in concert.

"[The fans] knew the Ronettes and the Beatles went out together all the time," remembers Spector, who will be in Rosemont as a special guest today through Sunday at the annual celebration of all things fab, the Fest for Beatles Fans. "We were leaving with Scott Ross [radio personality and one of the MCs at the show] and Jerry Schatzberg [then Ross' manager], and someone shouted, 'There they are! The Ronettes!' And there I was. The car rocking back. I'll tell you, it was the scariest moment of my life."

Spector will be sharing stories of the Fab Four and singing with the house band, Liverpool, during the event that annually draws about 8,000 people to the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. Her new album, the U.S. release of "Last of the Rock Stars," is due out in November, with some extras that she couldn't talk about.

"It's a secret," she said.

She has no shortage of stories, starting with meeting the Beatles in England before they hit America in 1964 while she was touring with the Ronettes, whose string of hits included "Baby I Love You," "Be My Baby" and "Walking in the Rain." The Ronettes were the tour headliners, with the Rolling Stones and Yardbirds also on the bill. She became fast friends with John Lennon, with Lennon -- who always called her "Ronnie Ronette" -- quick to offer a hand when her recording career had stalled in the 1970s.

"He wanted to help me. He loved my voice. So he introduced me to [producer] Jimmy Iovine, who introduced me to Bruce Springsteen, and that's what got me back out there in the rock 'n' roll world. Springsteen put me on his tour. So I have all of that, to look back and thank John Lennon."

In between, she recorded for the Beatles' Apple label, with the George Harrison-written and produced "Try Some, Buy Some" providing a solo hit."

"We sit down at the piano, and we start going over this song, and it's 'Try some ... buy some.' And I'm wondering, what is it that I'm trying to buy? It's the most weird song for the 'Be My Baby,' 'Walking in the Rain' girl. I said 'George, what kind of lyrics are these?' And he said, 'I don't know, either, and I wrote it.'"

As for fan conventions, she does only one.

"Just the Beatle fest," she says. "Because I love them."

Photo: Ronnie Spector ;