Beatles Clocked from Dodger Stadium Exit
UPI
A screaming mob of some 7000 Beatles fans put quite a chink
in the usual iron-clad armor protection of the four mopheads after they
finished their ten-tune concert at Dodger Stadium Sunday night.
The Beatles faithful perhaps in consternation at not seeing
or hearing more of the Liverpool quartet during the brief 30 minute performance
which lured 45,000 into the home of the Dodgers, stormed one of the entrances
to the ballpark before the singing group could be whisked to safety.
Security personnel of army life proportions had tried
unsuccessfully to sneak the Beatles out in two cars through a rear gate.
But the vehicles were met by 200 or 300 teenagers who
promptly halted the Beatles caravan by throwing their bodies in the path of the
autos.
The quick-thinking drivers of the two cars beat a hasty
retreat back into the stadium as the fans ripped off hood ornaments and outside
mirrors as souvenirs.
A second attempt to penetrate the surly crowd in the Beatles
famed armored car was also a bust as the teenagers let the air out of all the
tires on the heavy truck.
The stadium then became a fortress for the barricaded
Britishers as police locked all the gates.
But some youth rolled up a large trash bin and used it as a
battering ram while others kept the guards on the move hurling shoes, belts and
trashcan lids.
Even after the witty Britishers made good their escape form
the stadium in their repaired armored vehicle, the battle was not won.
As the armored car approached the Beatles hilltop hide away
in Hollywood, another mob blocked the narrow street with a car.
When the truck came to a halt about 100 milling fans
surrounded the vehicle, but were soon escorted away by police as the mopheads
ran for the safety of their home.
Sara, when I was in high school in the early '80s my favorite English teacher moonlighted in Security at Dodger Stadium. He knew how much I loved the Beatles–especially John–and he told me the story about he was locked up with them for several hours after the 1966 show. He was a serious jazz fan and didn't really care for rock music, so I think it gave him some sort of pleasure to relay the fact that the Fabs were less than fabulous in their behavior when they were trapped inside the stadium. He clearly let me know that John swore the most and was in the most foul of moods.
ReplyDeleteKnowing what we know now about that tour and that night in particular, it's no wonder John was so surly. I only wish I had known all of this when my teacher told me his story. But it never shook my love for the boys or for John. I still thought he was the coolest ever.