Beatles Rouse ‘Em $1 Million
By Joe Rose
Alameda Times Star
September 2, 1965
A million dollars richer, including
a cool $120,000 they picked up from their Bay Area admirers, The Beatles left
San Francisco yesterday morning for London, promising (or threatening) to
return here again.
It all started Tuesday afternoon when the
fearsome foursome arrived at a broken down, inconspicuous spot at the far north
end of San Francisco Airport. A busload of press was on hand to meet them and
greet them. They did with a flurry of camera flashes and the hustle of
microphones.
From the airport, they were rushed by waiting
limousines to a trailer outside the Cow Palace. Here, they prepared for the two
shows. The first performance began half an hour late, which only led to added
enthusiasm.
Once the Beatles hit the stage, shrieking,
which could only be identified with the arrival of the Beatles on stage, broke
out. The only way to describe this noise is a high-pitched scream, steady in
massive volume, which has the intensity to drive the same person batty.
Within moments, the first girl
broke through the scattered police lines and made it atop the seven-foot-high
stage. She was quickly scooped up by Beatles bodyguards and hustled off the
stage. In the ensuing pursuit by fans, which followed, one girl managed to
tackle her idol as the other three played on.
After the performance had concluded, several
other girls were hauled off unconscious by police. When the Palace was finally
cleared of first show stragglers, the Beatles held a press conference in which
they were accused of purposely exciting the girls whom they find dangerous, and
in return, the Beatles pointed out the police protection (in number) and
knocked the sound system in the Cow Palace as being very poor.
Between the afternoon performance
and the night show, an elaborate enclosure was made about the stage area, and a
great number of extra police were placed on duty. But again, in the night
performance, excited girls broke through the line, much as they were in a bonzai
attack.
The Beatles spent a peaceful night
at the Cabana Motor Hotel in Palo Alto (if you can call having 5,000 screaming
teenagers outside most of the night peaceful) at a cost of $400, and left
yesterday morning for home.
To get out of San Francisco. The Beatles
really had to sneak. Down a back fire escape, into a large truck they went.
Then they met a scheduled airplane at the executive ramp and flew to the United
States, a little richer.
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