The Steers’ chance first meeting took place at the height of Beatlemania in Dunedin and involved clambering through an opened window and a brush with the law.
More than 60 years later, music is still something they enjoy, performing as a musical duo at many of the city’s rest-homes.
Peter, 80, and Evelyn, 82, Steers celebrated their wedding anniversary with their four children, and an army of grandchildren, at Glenfalloch Gardens last weekend.
Mr Steers said June 26, 1964, was the most "magical of nights".
The couple met 61 years ago after the first Beatles concert in the Dunedin Town Hall.
Mr Steers had gone to the 5pm show and headed to the Octagon afterwards where he spotted a nurse he was friends with in the crowd.
That was when he was introduced to nurse Evelyn Harvey, and they hit it off.
Over coffee, the group devised a plan to sneak into the second Beatles concert later that night.
Mr Steers jumped through a bathroom window and got to enjoy the show once again — Mrs Steer was not so lucky.
"It was just one of those adventurous things ... but Evelyn went through the wrong door and got thrown out by the police."
The next few days Mr Steers was calling everyone he could think of to find "Evelyn, the nurse from Duntroon".
"I thought she wouldn’t remember me, but she did."
They went on their official first date not long after and, 16 months later, the pair were married.
They had four children, who have since flown the nest far and wide, one landing in England, two in Australia and another in Rotorua.
"We live a quiet sort of Darby-and-Joan type of life in a way," Mr Steers said.
Mrs Steers trained as a nurse, took a break while the children were young, and returned to work once they were a little older, working in a nearby rest-home before retiring about 60.
Once both were retired, the question of what to do with their days came up.
Mr Steers said they got into performing "accidentally".
"There was this dear woman — Peggy King — she would just light up people’s hearts, so warm and encouraging."
Mr and Mrs Steers went to the Francis Hodgkins Retirement Village to sing her a song for her 90th birthday.
That turned into numerous songs being sung dedicated to many of the residents.
"It was just a little fun ... but then the activities lady came over and said, ‘Would you entertain here?’ So its grown like topsy," Mr Steers said.
Mrs Steers did the harmonies while Mr Steer played the guitar and took the solos.
However, Mr Steers and the audiences they play for have been trying to get Mrs Steers to take a solo — without luck, so far.
These days, the couple perform between 180 and 200 shows a year at many of Dunedin’s rest-homes.
"The residents there are, without a doubt, one of the loveliest audiences you can play for — music is a tonic for people remembering old sensations and old memories."
The couple often performs covers of popular songs from around the 1950s and ’60s.
"Some Matt Monroe, Shirley Bassey, Tony Bennett, for sort of quieter songs, and a bit of Elvis, some Perry Como, Connie Francis and Cleo Lane."
He said the crowds were often "reflective" when they were performing.
