Pendleton Girl Describes Reaction
to Singing Group
By Donna Fisher
East Oregonian
August 26, 1965
Donna Fisher of Pendleton took a Made to Order press card
with her when she went to Portland to hear the Beatles last weekend. She was
crowded from the jammed press conference
the moaners held, but came up with this story anyway.
The Portland Memorial Coliseum was
filled with screaming teens Sunday. The two Beatles performances held 20,000
fans.
Many fans gathered at the Coliseum
hours before the Beatles arrived in their five-seat limousine. As they neared
the Coliseum on Broadway, the screaming began. Police had warned the teenagers
before the Beatles arrived that if they tried to break through, the car would
not pass by the scheduled area. The fans were orderly, and only one girl ran
past the police after the car entered. She was ushered back to the crowd.
Running, screaming, sobbing, and yelling broke
out as the frantic fans ran to get inside the Coliseum. The first performance
started at 3:30 pm. King Curtis and his band, Cannibal and the Headhunters,
Brenda Holloway, and Sounds Inc. appeared first.
When the Beatles ran on stage, the crowd went crazy, but they did keep the proceedings orderly. Only a few fans tried to break through the line of police and were thrown back into the audience. Those who were caught taking flash pictures were to give up their cameras. But for minutes after the Beatles appeared, flashes were going off everywhere.
The Beatles were very much at ease
during the afternoon show. They were very outgoing toward the audience, except
for Ringo, who only smiled once. At one point, George stopped during a song and
waved wildly to the fans at the right.
The greatest outburst of screams came when
they sang “A Hard Day's Night,” “Help” and “I Want to Be Your Man”.
Following the afternoon show, a
press conference was held, and the Beatles stayed in the emergency entrance for
nearly an hour until they found a hidden exit.
Before their last performance, they were taken
to a cafeteria to meet the Beach Boys for dinner. They entered through a
delivery ramp underneath Lloyd Center and proceeded to a private room beneath
the restaurant to eat. The manager told me he had served them a drink and
talked to them for a few minutes before they left for the second appearance.
It was said their 8pm performance
wasn't as long or as exuberant as the afternoon show. After their last song,
they were rushed out of the Coliseum, less than a minute ahead of the fans.
Near midnight that night, the Beatles flew toward Los Angeles to meet more fans
who were anxiously waiting for them.
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