Police and Fans Play Beatle Football (New York City 1966)

 

Police and Fans Play Beatle Football

By Kathy Parker

Hartford Courant

September 3, 1966

    The excitement of our trip to the Beatles concert at Shea did not begin with the appearance of the Beatles themselves. It started on the highways outside the city, where cars passed us displaying signs, "To the Beatles", "Beatles forever," "We love the Beatles."

     Inside the halls of the stadium, I could feel the tension. We took our field-level positions just four rows behind the police barriers. Busloads of police patrolled the field and parking lot. Behind us rose a towering wall of fans. Huge signs suspended from the railings flapped in the breeze. Many took note of John and Cyn's anniversary. 

    Every few minutes, a helicopter chopped overhead, and tremendous screams went up from the crowd. Last year, the Beatles arrived by helicopter.

     Just before showtime, the throng swayed toward one end of the stadium, where a red truck was backing into the lower level; the Beatles were inside. The 7:30 p.m. show began at 8:15 p.m. with the Remains. Other acts included the Cyrkle and the Ronettes. The crowd was impatient. People were standing on their chairs. 

    All the announcer said was, "And now...." and the crowd went wild. The announcer asked for a few bars of "We Love You, Beatles. Oh, yes, we do." The crowd sang in remarkable unison, 45,000 strong.

 One Beatle... two Beatles, three, four. Could I really be seeing them? Everyone climbed to the armrests on their seats. Faces were washed with tears. Girls clutched each other for balance. Some fell backward into the crowd. Lines of police moved in and stood like toy soldiers along the barriers. Field glasses were selling better than hot dogs. 

    About halfway through the concert, someone got through the ropes. Several policemen ran after the girl. Gradually, more and more people tried the same thing as groups of police rushed first to one place, then another, playing Beatle football, tackling fans.

     Suddenly, it was over. The Beatles waved a hurried good night, and ran off the stage into a station wagon. As the car sped across the field, hundreds in the lower level rushed outside. A huge trailer truck was concealing a hole in the fence where the Beatles' car would exit; the truck moved. The Beatles drove through. They changed into the Wells Fargo truck and roared out across the parking lot. Throngs ran down the stadium ramps and out into the night, chasing along the zigzagging trails of the Beatles. Later, the Fab Four switched to a limousine and drove to the airport, where they boarded a plane to the West Coast to enter the lives of 1000s of other American teenagers.

Written by Gail Andrews:

     I  too went to see the spectacular show at Shea. There was some excitement during the show when fans spotted two of the Lovin' Spoonful in the audience. The Beatles wore beige suits with light blue striped shirts and sang 11 songs. Paul introduced the first song and said the initial "hello," which brought screams from the stadium.

     I don't know what it meant, but Paul and John kept referring to the year 1948 as they introduced the songs. Paul seemed to be in an exceptionally happy mood, but John, George, and Ringo were quiet. The security measures were more than needed, as only eight fans tried to reach the Beatles. The performance ended abruptly, and the Beatles were whisked away in a gray station wagon with New York license plate number 97368.

Ranks Revere to Candlestick Sound (San Francisco, 1966)

Ranks Revere to Candlestick Sound

By Cynthia Grant

New Register

September 2, 1966

    The ranks of the reluctant fathers inched along bumper to bumper in the slow lane. The tolerant mothers chauffeured back seats loaded with 14- and 13-year-old girls, while more daring teenagers filed through the fast lane, and all headed for the Beatles' concert Monday night.

     Moving into Candlestick Park, the crowd was obviously a show in itself. Boys' hair hung longer than the girls' and curlier. Mod clothes, definitely in fashion, ranged from sleeveless purple halters to Indian moccasins and headbands.

     Good seats were filling quickly. Center field remained empty, but about 26,000 found their way inside. Sitting in front, three 12-year-old girls looked and pointed, insisting they had sighted the Beatles. Screams arose, and the whole park stood as the armored car, which the Beatles would leave the park in, pulled up to the stage empty.

     For the audience, the show began not with the preliminary acts, but with the Beatles. It was the Beatles everyone wanted to see. The Remains led off the show, followed by Bobby Hebb of "Sunny" fame. The Cyrkle and the Ronettes followed. All were entertaining. The crowd applauded politely for each number. 

    The tension began gripping as the Beatles' approach was nearing. Suddenly, they stepped out of the Giants' dugout, all the Fab Four decked in green suits, screaming, waving, shrieking, cheering; the crowd went wild. The four young men stepped briskly to the stage, waving and smiling at the crowd.

     "Rock and Roll Music" led off the show, and the crowd continued their noisy tribute, standing all the while. After about three numbers, Burns' cops sat the crowd down. Other songs done included "Nowhere Man," "She's a Woman," "If I Needed Someone, ""I Want to Be Your Man" (with Ringo), "Yesterday" and "Long Tall Sally". All 11 songs at 9:25 p.m. and ending three minutes after 10. The show was over. 

    The sound had been excellent, clear, and loud. Compared to the Cow Palace fiasco of last year, the crowd itself was well behaved. Two girls were removed from the field, only one via a stretcher. One rush was made as boys swarmed over the center field fence. Apparently warning the Beatles, the crowd shrieked as they surged in from Willie Mae's pasture. After the first abortive try, another assault was made with the same results. Burns police snapped the youth. 

    Enjoying the happenings, Ringo glanced over his shoulder at the intruders, while John muttered, "They're coming this way! They're coming this way! Head them off!" to the harried officers, away from any of the four. A wave of frenzy swept through the crowd as the 20,000 girls sprang to their feet, screaming and waving. As the Beatles sang, cameras flashed like spotlights. Screams and cries shook the air and blended with the fantastic sound, while bodies rocked or jumped up and down.

     From "She Loves You" to "Eleanor Rigby", their current number one record, the crowd actions expanded. When the 10:30 farewell came, the park was on its feet, giving the last thunderous ovation. The armored car, surrounded by the Burns patrol, pulled away. Fans fled for the exits. The Beatles obviously not to return, but the exit and remembrance solidified the devotion. And parents, adults, non-believers, etc. You only had to be there to know it wasn't as bad as all that.
 

Armor-Plated Beatles Brave Shea (1966 New York City)

 

Armor Plated Beatles Brave Shea

By Edward Benes & Richard Henry

The Daily News

August 24, 1966

    Beatlemania hit New York again yesterday. It was like war games, especially the evening's climax. The Beatles invaded Shea Stadium in an armored car, and then all hullabaloo broke loose. As in almost all war games, there was lousy weather, hot and humid when it wasn't raining. Nevertheless, armies of young people surged bravely to and fro all over town, sinking their quarry, the mop-top quartet of rock and rollers. 

    Innocent citizens lost their dignity in shoving throngs, or had their eardrums dented by volleys of shrieks. Battalions of cops and teams of medics were on alert at Shea for bulging bedlam. There was flag waving by youngsters in the stadium who flaunted banners proclaiming their adoration of Ringo, or Paul, or John, or George (the beloved Mets were forgotten last night.)

     There was resort to a decoy unit and a sneak sortie to get the Beatles safely out of their midtown hotel when it came time to go to Shea. The ruse worked like this: At H hour, 5:40 p.m. two limousines pulled in front of the Hotel Warwick's main entrance on 54th Street near Sixth Avenue, and the hundreds of fans behind barricades riveted their eyes hungrily on the hotel door, but around the corner on Sixth, a motorcade of four limousines, one police prow car, and one unmarked cop car pulled up to another hotel entrance. The Beatles dashed out with their entourage and grinned to sharp-eyed fans across the street before ducking into the cars. Only two young girls managed to break free from the barricades and get close enough to snap pictures.

     A group of construction men, seated on the back of a truck, were more interested in the girls than the Beatles. Some customers inside a drugstore looked curiously out the window, and then the Beatles took off. But at the Queen's Safety District Police Station and the Old World's Fairgrounds, they shifted from their limousines to Wells Fargo red armored cars. A squad of sweating cops clung to the armor-plated vehicles like blue-clad leeches. The time was 7:30 p.m.

    Before the Beatles went on stage, four recording acts- the Ronettes, the Cyrkles [sic], the Remains, and Bobby Hebb thumped and chanted to amuse approximately 45,000 music lovers, who filled all but Shea's upper tiers. As 200 city cops and 250 private police patrolled, as three first aid stations were manned on each balcony as a doctor stood nervously at an Elmhurst City Hospital ambulance. The noise and the tension swelled, but there was no reports of injury. 

    And then.....and then ......at 9 p.m. Liverpool's contribution to modern culture emerged on stage. The Beatles themselves! GAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! The concert shrieked from 45,000 throats was deafening. 1000s of girls and boys and little kids and young mothers and fathers stood to get a look and stayed standing for an hour while the Beatles performed before taking off for Los Angeles. 

    Neither the standing nor the presence of young parents was surprising. Hundreds, including housewives escorting their children, had been standing for hours yesterday afternoon outside the Warwick. 500 stood hoping to see the Beatles. Outside Shea, 2000 hopefuls waited. 

    Two housewives from Astoria, Queens, Mrs. Betty Kristen Noble and Mrs. Elsie Robbins, showed up each with a young daughter at 10 a.m. They explained that they did not want the girls to go alone. Two other housewives from Saddle River, New Jersey, showed up with five girls. The housewives, Mrs. Ralph Berry and Mrs. Timothy Tamblin, arrived at 4 p.m. to beat the traffic. Mrs. Berry and Mrs. Tamblin both said they were not dragged there by the girls. "We love the Beatles ourselves", they said.

     The youngsters who waited outside the hotel got no glimpse of the mop tops during the day. The quartet remained in its 28th-floor suite, resting up for the big doings last night. 

Fan's Dad as the Luck

Patricia Donovan, 16, a Beatle-loving Brooklynite, probably got all upset with her dad, Howard, for not taking her to work with him last night instead of letting her go with her mother to the Beatles' concert. Donovan had bought concert tickets for his daughter and wife and himself, and gave his own ticket to his father-in-law when he suddenly was called into work. But it turned out that on the job he drove the Beatles to Shea Stadium in an armored car.

Flash! City Girls See the Beatles (1966 Cincinnati)

Beatles fans in Cincinnati near the stadium in 1966 

 

Flash! City Girls See The Beatles

By Larry Smith

The Herald-Times (Indiana)

August 23, 1966

"We saw the Beatles. I mean, we really saw them!" Debbie Zimmerman, a 15-year-old Bloomington High School sophomore, not only saw the Beatles, but she got into their Cincinnati hotel room and out with a piece of lettuce, with French dressing on it and some hair that "just had to be Ringo's."

     Debbie, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Zimmerman, 2212 La Jacque Lane, and two friends, Kathy Yates and Donna Glasgow, both 15 and BHS sophomores, bought tickets last May for last Saturday's Beatles show in Cincinnati. 

    The girls arrived in Cincinnati Saturday morning around 10 a.m. to await the 8 p.m. show that night. Mr. Zimmerman and the three girls set out to find the Beatles' headquarters. A Cincinnati newspaper story said the Beatles were supposed to be staying in the Vernon Manor Hotel on the sixth floor.

     Mr. Zimmerman called the hotel and asked for room accommodations for the night. It just so happened there was a suite available on the fifth floor. The hotel lobby was full of waiting teenagers since the night before, all waiting to catch a glimpse of their idols, but Debbie and her two companions, with their hotel room key in hand had proof that they belonged there, started the long walk up to the sixth floor to really see the Beatles. 

    The policemen sent them back down the stairs, but all was not lost. Debbie, Kathy, and Donna would not give up until the Beatles were on their way out of town. The outdoor performance was rained out Saturday night, and the Beatles' manager, Ken Douglas, announced that travel arrangements would be changed and that a performance was set for "right after church" Sunday. 

    Kathy said that about 4o'clock Sunday morning, a noise woke her, but she didn't find out until later that it was the Beatles themselves, still up and partying on the floor above. The girls were up by 6:30 Sunday morning, still planning on seeing the Beatles. Shortly before noon, the luggage for the Beatles' entourage was brought to the ground floor lobby, and Kathy said, "I touched it. I ran my hands over John's suitcase, and I touched George's clothes." A guard finally chased them away. 

    Then, from out of nowhere, Debbie's father appeared and told her to follow him to the sixth floor. There were only about 15 people there, mostly hotel employees. Debbie and a hotel maid were the only two females. Then it happened. The door opened, and out came John Lennon. Debbie said, "He's my favorite, and I screamed 'hi' three times, and he walked by and said 'hi' back." George and Ringo and Paul followed. 

    By this time, Debbie was in a state of shock. After the Beatles had left the hotel, Kathy and Debbie talked the maid into letting them see the hotel where the Beatles stayed. That's when they found the piece of lettuce, and Debbie found a tuft of hair that "just had to be Ringo's", and Kathy found some shed hair in a bedroom, and it "just had to be John's." There were some burnt matchsticks too. Debbie said, "The Beatles look so different in person. Their hair is so long."

Din of Iniquity to Some Thrill More Than 20,000 (Memphis 1966)

 

Din of Iniquity to Some Thrill More Than 20,000

By Edwin Howard

The Memphis Press

August 20, 1966

    The songs are ended, but the melee lingers on. The melee is Beatlemania, and if anything, it's worse today because 20,128 Memphisians, Mid Southerners, and hundreds of Outlanders have now actually seen and sort of heard the Beatles like in person.

     For five hours yesterday, the swinging Liverpudlians and their fellow travelers, the Ronettes, the Cyrkle, the Remains, and Bobby Helm [sic] turned the Colosseum into a den of iniquity, in the opinion of another 8000 Memphisians and Mid-Southerners who attended a religious rally at the auditorium protesting Beatle John Lennon's recent alleged anti-Christian statements. Another 600,000 or so Memphisians stayed away altogether, perhaps expressing the opinion that what the Beatles brought to Memphis was a DIN of inequity. 

    Whatever it was that emanated from that seven-foot-high Colosseum platform, it certainly, in the words of another British entertainer of some years ago, "split the ears of the groundlings, who, for the most part, are capable of nothing save inexplicable dumb shows and noise." One of the first aid men was offering earplugs to special duty policemen before the first show and finding several takers.

     Actually, Beatle music can be quite pleasant if you can hear it, but the crowd of 12,539 at last night's performance effectively drowned them out even with their Super Beatle Vox guitar amplifiers turned up full blast. Their "Yesterday" is as haunting a ballad as even an old fellow of 40 could wish. "I Want to Be Your Man" has a fine driving rhythm, and they're first-rate musicians, but the consistent obbligato of screams from the Beatles' entrance to their departure from the stage 40 minutes later made it hard to tell one tune from another. 

    Among the others were "Paperback Writer", "Nowhere Man," "If I Needed Someone", "What Can the Matter Be," and "I Feel Fine." The show was an hour and 35 minutes old before the Beatles were introduced by MC Johnny Dark of WMPS, George Klein of WHBQ did the honors at the 4o'clock show, attended by 7589. 

    The crowd was patient and responsive to the preliminary performers, of whom the Cyrkle, a clean-cut American group, seemed to me to score the highest. Negro singer Bobby Helm [sic], formerly of Nashville, got a good round of cheers for his current hit, "Sunny." But all this was as the whisper of a laconic mute to the bedlam that greeted the Beatles' mere appearance, let alone performance. A single word from John, Paul, or George, (Ringo just sat there grinning and drumming) was enough to send the constant fortissimo of audience approval crescendoing into ear-shattering shrieks of pure ecstasy. 

    The audience toll was rather less than one might have expected. Only six girls passed out and had to be taken to the aid station during the two shows. The first customer of the day, about 1130 a.m., was a girl with a purportedly twisted ankle. When a friendly aid man said he'd have to tape it and send her home, she got up indigently and walked out without a trace of a limp.

     Shortly after the Beatles appeared for the evening show, a firecracker exploded on the main floor, and Julie Wilson and Nick Isch, both 16, of Bates, Mississippi, were rushed out and to the aid station by police. Julie had a laceration on her leg from the explosion. Nobody seemed quite sure whether the pair had set off the firecracker themselves, or someone else had tossed it from above. There was a bomb report during the afternoon show, but the bomb seen under the stage turned out to be a resin bag. 

    Like everything else connected with the Beatles' ten-and-a-half-hour sarjoun in Memphis, the 7p.m. press conference was an instance of organized pandemonium. It was certainly no place for a newspaperman. Most of the press seemed to be teenage girls representing this or that small-town weekly or radio station, and the crying crush occasioned by the Beatles' appearance was enough to make an old news hand tear up his press card. 

    A few cogent questions were asked and coolly answered. Lennon, asked about the rash of Beatles record bans following Datebook magazine, quoting him as saying the Beatles are more popular than Jesus, and said, "I don't mind people banning our records or not liking them. That's their right to ban them or not play them or play them, but a lot of the banning seems to have been for publicity. They seem to be lifting the bans now because they've got their publicity, but they still seem to need to play our records. "

    Asked if he had mentioned religion in his two published books, Lennon said, "Yes, there's a little on religion in both, and people could make more of them than anything in that magazine, because I'm as serious about my writing as anything. It's not flippant."

     On why they didn't come to Memphis to record one of their albums earlier this year: "Little things kept getting in the way, like money. We wanted to come. A couple of tracks would have been much better if we had come. We wanted Steve Cropper, a guitarist for Booker T and the MGs, to A&R direct the session. He's the best we've heard."

     On why John is going to be in a movie, How I Won the War, by himself without the others: "Because this fellow rang me up and said, 'You want to be in a movie by yourself without the others?'"

     On the Bible Belt:  "We've never heard of it before we came. It's just a tag like the Mop Top Four. It doesn't really mean anything."

     The Beatles departed Memphis at 12:12 a.m. today on their chartered American Airlines Electra for Cincinnati. They and their troop took $71,957.60 with them. 65% of their shows. 110,704 gross. The Memphis promoters, Early Maxwell Associates, paid all Memphis expenses out of the remaining $38,746.40. About 50 fans were at the airport, at the Air National Guard gate, to see the Liverpool Longears off. Two carloads made it onto the runway, but were chased off by security police. Well, that's Beatlemania for you. Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Show by The Beatles is a Scream (1966 Memphis)

 

Show By The Beatles is a Scream

By Thomas BeVier

The Commercial Appeal

August 20, 1966

     Emily Strider, hands folded, face emotionless, and sweet 16, yawned as the Remains bounced their music, with the help of seven amplifiers, off the walls and ceilings of the Colosseum. And then it happened: the Beatles pranced on stage in their gray mod suits with red vertical stripes and abbreviated jackets. Emily, who drove to Memphis early yesterday afternoon from her home in Charleston, Mississippi, started to cry. Then she started to scream. Then she started shaking her head wildly and pounding her knees with her fists. It was a commentary on uninhibitedness. Just sort the sort of thing Jerry Leighton had been talking about earlier when he was trying to figure out the difference between a nickel and a quarter.

     Leighton is a disc jockey from England who is traveling with the Beatles on their tour of the United States. His is a "pirate station", one of several that operate on ships off the English coast because commercial stations aren't allowed in England. "The Beatles are a phenomenon", he said, in the studied accent of a true Englishman. "I asked them once how it felt to be a phenomenon. They said it didn't feel anything."

     With help from the Yankee Press, Leighton was able to figure out how to operate the cigarette machine, and just then Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager, walked by. "Give me two seconds," he was asked. "Two seconds. My life is spent giving people two seconds," he said. 

    His quick comment was that yes, the Memphis performance is very important to us, because of the John Lennon comment that the group is more popular than Christ. The Ku Klux Klan made its opinion known by picketing at the Southern Avenue entrance to the Colosseum grounds. The sheets and hoods lent an incongruous touch to the stream of bell-bottom trousers, paisley shirts, and high-heeled boots worn by the Beatles' faithful who filed by. There were 7,589, mostly girls and almost all teenagers, at the first performance, and another 12,539 at the second. 

    You couldn't hear the Beatles for the screaming. Before they came on stage, there were threats that anybody leaving his seat would be thrown out. It worked, and Early Maxwell, Memphis promoter of the show, was glad. "This was a real test," he said. "I've never had so much security (80 policemen) at an event; not even Bob Hope.

     Security started at 1:45 p.m., when the chartered American Airlines Electra with the Beatles and their entourage touched down on the military side of the airport. Only 10 Beatle Bugs managed to slip by guards. One, Charles Hardy, 19 Of 4931 Montgomery, even infiltrated the press corps and got a hurried, almost legible autograph from Paul McCartney for his persistence. 

    One of those meeting the plane was a harried man of about 45 from Washington.  He was Campbell Bowles, the group's advance man. "No, you can't ride in on the bus with them," he said. "No, we don't allow exclusive interviews. Yes, I am tired." Someone asked him his opinion of the Beatles and their music. "No comment," he said sharply.

500 Scream Welcome to Beatles to Malton (Toronto 1966)

 

500 Scream Welcome to  Beatles to Malton

No writer listed

The Globe and Mail

August 17, 1966

    The mop-haired Beatles arrived at Malton Airport at 125 this morning, one hour late, in a chartered flight from Philadelphia, where they performed last night. Their departure from Philadelphia was delayed by fog. 

    About 500 screaming teenagers turned out for a 10-second glimpse of their heroes at the airport. Some arrived as early as 6p.m. and waited to get choice viewing positions, with their faces jammed against a wire fence. 

    Four customs men boarded the plane as soon as it touched down. Within five minutes, the Beatles, led by Ringo Starr, emerged. The young people screamed, cheered, and sobbed. The Beatles were taken to a deserted hangar, where they entered a car and were gone within two minutes.10 minutes later, a 14-year-old fan, Carol Mary Wood, was still sobbing and shaking from the experience. 

    Beatle fanciers began to gather at the King Edward Sheraton Hotel downtown, hours before the Liverpoolians were due to arrive. They sat on the hotel steps, mingled with guests in the hotel lobby, and wandered around the corridors. A few stood at the door to the hotel's Oak Room, listening to the music issued forth. Most were teenage girls, wearing the standard bell-bottom pants and shell rig. The young males were mostly a little older, and not a Beatle haircut was to be seen among them. 

    Three sisters from Ashtabula sat on the trunk of their gold-colored Mustang and gazed wistfully at the facade of the hotel, armed with press passes that they hoped would admit them to the Beatles' press conference today. The girls were driven up from their Ohio home by their mother. "Mom doesn't mind; she's as crazy as the rest of us," said one of the daughters. 

    The girls and their mother refused to give their names. The trio who drove to Toronto and to other Beatles Tour cities last year were part of a crowd of hundreds of mini-skirted, Carnaby-clothed teenagers who wandered in and around the hotel early this morning. Subdued groups of fans squatted on the sidewalks, listening to portable radios and chanting Beatles songs while waiting for their idols to arrive. Police were out in scores at the front and rear entrances of the hotel. All of them were instructed to be evasive about which door the Beatles would use.

The Old Beatle Magic (Toronto 1966)

 

The Old Beatle Magic

By Art Lewis

The Toronto Telegram

August 18. 1966

    Screaming fans of the Beatles literally shed blood for their idols at a Toronto airport farewell today. Several girls cut their arms while lunging against a barbed-topped fence, as 250 teenagers screamed a goodbye to the Liverpool mop tops as they boarded their plane. About 1,000 broke through police cordons behind the King Edward Sheridan Hotel as police escorted the Beatles to the airport after their two performances yesterday at Maple Leaf Gardens. None of the girls were badly hurt at the airport incident. 

    The Beatles were taken from downtown Toronto in a police paddy wagon. "I saw them! I saw them!" Screamed the ones who caught a glimpse. 

    Their performance in Toronto allowed them to take back $100,000 to bolster the sagging British economy. Although they made as much money as in 1964 and in 1965, their 35-hour Toronto stay was a placid affair compared to the mob scene then. Whether it was Beatle John Lennon's recently much publicized comment on Christianity or just the natural decline of all pop music groups, The Beatles didn't draw the crowds this year the way they have in the past. Show business insiders are predicting this will be their last North American tour. 

    Crowds outside the Gardens and the King Edward Sheridan Hotel were tiny compared with the 1000s that mobbed the mop-headed singers during earlier visits. Police said everything went smoothly with few incidents. One 19-year-old youth was arrested at the Gardens and charged with causing a disturbance. Another youth was ejected from the Gardens during the afternoon performance after he climbed down a wired screen behind the stage and fell to a ramp 15 feet below. And another youth was struggling so violently, police had to handcuff him before carrying him out.

     During both performances, girls made frantic runs up the aisles for the stage and were carried out screaming by police. More than 100 Saint John ambulance workers treated 167 people, including a 77-year-old woman. The gray-haired little old lady was from Port Hope and had slipped on her way to her seat. With tears in her eyes, she begged Saint John workers to let her go back because she didn't want to miss the Beatles. 

    Most of the others were teenage girls treated for hysteria. 15 were sent to the hospital. Seven treated during the matinee performance were back again with hysterics during the evening show. One Garden usher reported a 16-year-old girl approached him with $50 cash in her hand, which she offered in return for getting her into the dressing room backstage. 

    Unlike past shows, which were sold out, there were several thousand empty seats at the evening show. A Garden official said 16,000 of the 18,000 tickets were sold. Beatle fans caught few glimpses of their idols, except for two 30-minute stage appearances. They were spirited from their hotel to the Gardens and back in a police paddy wagon. Admission to their between performances press conference at the Garden was rigidly screened during the performance. 

    Screaming girls threw everything available on the stage, including lipstick cases, love notes, earrings, rings, pens, papers, cups, clothing, and a screwdriver. 

    Over at the hotel, about 35 police officers kept an all-night vigil, as the keener fans, many who had taken rooms in the hotel, kept up their attempts to sneak up to the Beatles' eighth-floor suite. Two enterprising girls were caught by police when a hotel employee noticed the dirty clothes in his hamper began to move. Dozens of less imaginative fans crept up the back stairs, only to run into the arms of police at the Beatles' floor.

Beatle Fans Back Idol's Remark (1966)

 Beatle Fans Back Idol's Remark

By Lisa Cronin

The Morning News

August 16, 1966

    Eight Wilmington area girls think Beatle John Lennon was not far wrong when he said the group is more popular than Jesus, and they're out to prove it tonight. The eight will be driven by Frances J Nicoletti of 312 Silverbrook Drive, Elsmere, father of one of them, to attend the 8p.m. Beatles concert at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. 

    With them will be a hand-painted sign proclaiming, "We luv you, Beatles," "Beatles or bust," and "Beatles 4-ever." The girls say they hope to show the Beatles that their fans are still loyal, despite the controversy caused by Lennon's remark.

     Several radio stations across the country banned Beatle Records to protest the comment. "I think that they were misinterpreted," said Marlene Konopka, 15, daughter of Mister and Missus Henry Konapka, of 323 Osborne Road, Elsmere, "but they still are basically right," she added.

     "Yeah, you just put a Beatles concert next to a church and see which gets more people," another chimed in. The girls said they were relieved that the controversy didn't cause the cancellation of the Philadelphia concert. Each wrangled $5.25 from her father to attend.

     Lennon later apologized for his remarks at a Chicago news conference on August 11. "I think that the whole thing was unfair, but I love him twice as much since he apologized," said Mary Ellen Medkiff, 14, daughter of Mister and Missus Samuel L. Medkiff, of 1322 Clifford Road, Oak Hill.

     Tonight the girls plan to arrive at least an hour early, and hope to attract the Beatles' attention with flashing lights. They say they're taking along other Beatles' equipment, such as Beetle dolls, sweatshirts, books, and posters. "I know I'll get to meet them," said Debbie Berry, 12, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Albert G. Barry, of 302 Taylor Road, Elsmere. "I'd like to kiss every one of them and then melt at their feet."

     The other girls are Gail Schmidt, 12, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Schmidt, of 205 Rosemount Drive, Elsmere, Marie Nicoletti, 12, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Francis J. Nicoletti, Georgine Mellon, 15, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Albert E. Mellon, of 1047 Wagner Drive, Woodland Heights, Linda Rattle, 15, daughter Mister and Missus James Rattle of 110 Valone Road, Valone Village, and Charlotte Godfrey 14, daughter of Mister and Misses John A Godfrey of 902, Highland Avenue, Marshalltown. 

    Debbie Berry added that she likes the Beatles more than she does her own boyfriend, but would she like to marry one? "No, I don't think so." Came the reluctant answer.

Welcoming Back the Beatles

 

10,000 Beatles Fans Foiled in Manila (1966)

 

10,000 Beatles Fans Foiled in Manila

Associated Press

July 4, 1966

    The Marines, a helicopter, 25 motorcycle police, an armored car, and an airline pilot combined to avoid 10,000 Beatles fans at Manila Airport yesterday. The fans, many carrying pictures of their heroes, waited for several hours in the broiling sun for the group to arrive from Hong Kong, but when the Cathay Pacific Jet landed, it stopped at the end of the 1000-foot runway, almost a mile from the terminal.

     Then cars took the Beatles along the runway, escorted by motorcycle police, with sirens screaming and red lights flashing, and followed by two ambulances and an armored car. The armored car stood by in case the Beatles were mobbed and needed rescuing. The ambulances were there in case fans were injured. A helicopter directed the convoy to the gate which had the fewest fans. Tearful girls hurled themselves at the cars in the hope of stopping the convoy, but no one was hurt. 

    The convoy sped to the Philippine Navy headquarters on Manila Bay foreshore, where Marines stood guard. A seven foot launch took the Beatles out into the Bay. "It's safer for the Beatles out there than on shore," said Mr. Vic Lewis, a Beatles representative.

     The Beatles are to give two performances at the 100,000 seat open-air Rizal Football Stadium tonight. President Ferdinand Marcos, his wife, and their three young children were reported to be flying from the island of Leyte to see the show .

    Tomorrow, the Beatles are to take a KLM flight back to London. Before leaving Hong Kong, the Beatles said they considered their Japan tour a success, despite some anti-Beatles movement. "There was always some opposition," said Paul McCartney. 

    In Tokyo, the Beatles had been taken by car from their hotel to the aircraft steps. About 80 car loads of fans followed until police stopped them at the airport entrance. From midnight until the group left yesterday morning, the 1,000 police on duty turned away more than 2,000 teenagers under elaborate police guard.

     The group saw little of Japan. They said they enjoyed working before Japanese audiences, although they were "less responsive and more polite" than those in most other countries.

Riot Set Off by Beatle Fans in W. Germany (1966)

 

Riot Set Off By Beatle Fans in W. Germany

Reuters

June 27, 1966

    Thousands of rioting West German fans of the Beatles turned the heart of Hamburg into a battlefield Sunday night as they broke windows, threw tear gas bombs, and caused traffic chaos. Police reinforcements with dogs and loudspeakers barricaded streets around the hall where the British pop group was performing, while ticketless fans roamed the center of West German's largest city. 

    Appeals for the teenagers to clear the streets were met with a chorus of yells, and police began drenching them with fire hoses. Fans replied with tear gas bombs, and police eventually moved in with dogs and nightsticks to disperse the crowds during the riot.

     Teenagers smashed store windows in an elegant shopping center, broke streetcar windows, and tore down trolley wire contacts. An official said 40 youths were arrested by late evening. 

   By late evening, the city was quiet again as police vans patrolled the streets. The Beatles are at the end of a four-day tour of West Germany

The crazy concert

 Here is another photo from the crazy San Francisco 1965 evening concert.   I am not sure why the photographer chose to circle Paul and John but it is a great shot!  

Beatlemania Rages On! (1965)

photo copyright held by Sara Schmidt 

 

Beatlesmania Rages On!

Written By Eugene Gilbert

The San Bernadeno County Sun

December 25, 1965

    Hold your ears, Dad. Beatlemania once thought a passing fad, apparently, is here to stay, and hip teens now see the long hairs from London as pace setters and a whole new trend of music yet to be explored.

     Some of them assert that Elvis Presley is for old people. "The Beatles are kings," says Ricky Flake, 15, of Pomona, California. A whopping 75% or 821 of 1100 teenagers we interviewed agreed with him. The reason, as dad may suspect, very considerably.

     16-year-old Jay Gartman of Miami, Florida, likes them because "they've calmed down a good cultural music." Jay's classmate Alex Dawns, 16, thinks the Beatles are "neat dressers."

     17% of our teenagers pick Presley over the Beatles. Presley is the hip swinging, guitar-playing gyrator who rocketed to fame and millions in the 50s and at 30 is still going strong. Those who prefer Presley are usually the older teenagers, those young enough to have been at the hair-tearing hero worship stage a few years ago, and the Presley fans look with mock disapproval at the Beatles bandwagon.

     "I remember Presley when he started, and I always enjoyed him," said Gary Lautenberg, 19, of Flushing, New York. Vince Lowney, 16 of Geneva, New York, says "Presley, at least sings."  And Clinton Weimeister, 18, of Baltimore, says he prefers Presley because "he's American."

     There's some dissension in the Beatles ranks over who has had or will have the greatest influence on pop singing. A solid 48% or 528 of the 1100 say the Beatles' influence is the strongest, and another 21% or 229 teens pick Presley, perhaps giving him more credit for age.

     A quarter percent of those polled choose various other English singing groups, as well as Sonny and Cher, Bob Dylan, and Herman's Hermits.

     "Presley actually started modern pop singing and thus has had a greater effect," says Clayton White, 17, of Capertino, California. Some agree with Clayton, some don't, depending on when their conception of pop music begins. 

    For 12-year-old Kim Phillips of Lincoln, Nebraska, "The Beatles' idea of music is the best in a long time, and a far greater influence than Presley."  Linda Goldberg, 13, of Pennsauken, New Jersey, says "the Beatles are the greater influence in music because no one can top them. "

    In Miami, 14-year-old Norma Harina says, "The Beatles are new and something different. Presley is for old people."

     In 10 years, when Norma, Linda, Gary, and Vince are parents, maybe there will be a new trend towards chamber music. Meanwhile, relax, Dad, those long hairs and their offshoots are well entrenched.

It's Your Jobs -- We Choose The Beatles (1995)

 

Fans in the rain in Slough with the Beatles banner made from a stolen sheet-- November 5, 1963

It's Your Jobs -- We Choose The Beatles

By Jane Young

Burnham and Taplow Observer

December 15, 1995

    The Beatles ' new single, "Free as a Bird", featuring vocals recorded before John Lennon's death, looks set to top the charts this month. Despite the slating it has received by critics, the single cannot equal past glories, and fans might prefer to remember the Beatles as they were in their heyday, when riotous, fawning fans crowded the streets of Slough. 

    The world's most famous pop band were at the height of their powers when they played two shows at the Adelphi Theater on Tuesday, November 5, 1963. The group had just made an appearance on The Royal Variety Show, where John Lennon told "those in the cheap seats, clap your hands. Those upstairs just rattled your jewelry. "

    According to a music biz anecdote, the Queen spoke to band members after the show and asked what they were doing next. The mop top pop stars said they were "playing a gig in Slough," which HRH replied, "Oh, really, that's just down the road from me."

     Though the Queen didn't turn up for the concert at the Bath Road venue (Now the Gala Bingo Hall), more than 80 policemen were called to control crowds who ran riot outside. 100 of fans surged against cordons around the theater, hoping for a glimpse of their idols, and fireworks were thrown at policemen trying to hold them back.

     Inside the theater, the super group played two 25-minute sets, including "Twist and Shout," "From Me to You "and "She Loves You", but most of the music was drowned out by screaming female fans.

     Patrick Alford, who now runs music nights at a Slough club, the Wheatsheaf, was one of the lucky ones who got into the gig. "I remember George Harrison coming on and saying, 'It's nice to be here in Slug.' That's the honest truth. His Liverpudlian accent was so thick he couldn't say Slough.

     "The gig was a family outing for me. I was 13, and went with my brother and four sisters. It was freezing, and I remember we turned up in the morning to see if we could sneak in and catch the band rehearsing or get an autograph. But security was too tight. 

    "We were in the 4s 6d seats, and couldn't hear a thing. As soon as the Beatles played the first chord,  everyone just went bananas, jumping up and down, drumming their feet, shouting, waving their arms like mad. It was a small venue, and the majority of the audience were girls. They all started screaming, and I have never heard anything like it. They completely drowned out the music. It was an amazing gig," he said.

    After the show, 2000 fans swarmed out of the Adelphi, and those who had been stuck outside in the rain all night tried to mob the stage door. But just 30 seconds after the curtain fell, the Liverpudlian rockers had been whisked away in an Austin Princess protected by two Jaguar police cars. 

    One girl broke free of the crowd and ran straight in front of the convoy. She was grabbed by a policeman and pulled to safety. 

    Miraculously, there were no arrests or injuries that night. Ambulance men treated 11 girls who had fainted. One said she had left Windover at 6:30am to get to Slough and had not eaten all day. 

    Fans had started to arrive outside the Adelphi at 9:30am, including a band of girls from Warren Field School and Slough High School who marched down High Street with a banner chanting their own Beatles song to the tune of "Onward Christian Soldiers."

     Madeline Heritage made the banner from an old sheet she had pinched from her home on Swallow Street, Ivor Heath. But she told the reporter from The Observer at the time that her mother wouldn't mind, because she was a Beatles fan, too. 

Battle for a Beatle Kiss (London 1965)

 

Battle for a Beatle Kiss

No Writer listed

Western Daily Press

December 13, 1965

    Up went the curtains, and up rose 5,000 teenage girls from their seats in the Finbury Park Astoria, London. The Beatles were making a one-night stand there. More than 1000 girls in the stalls moved forward several rows, but were barred from the stage by a shoulder-to-shoulder cordon of uniformed policemen and police women. 

    Two girls got through and over the orchestra pit. One got her arms around Ringo's neck and stole a kiss before being jerked off. The frustrated remainder swooned in the aisles or stood on the backs of the seats, raining jelly babies, dolls, and even a top hat onto the stage.

     Twenty girls were carried out for medical treatment, and the police had difficulty in removing about 100 others who felt unable to leave their seats between the two performances. Forty more girls were wriggled out from various parts of the building, including some under a pile of policemen's top coats.

     Said a Beatles veteran, " Beatlemania is worse now than it was two years ago."

23 Girls Gate-Crash Beatles Show (London 1965)

 23 Girls Gate Crash Beatles Show

No Writer Listed

Evening Post

December 11, 1965

    The officials at a London cinema where the Beatles were playing last night got a shock just before they opened the doors to more than 3,000 teenage fans. For already inside the cinema were 23 girls-- three of them fast asleep. None of the girls had a ticket. 

    "How they got in? I don't know," said a commissioner. No one knew how long the girls had been inside the cinema, the Hammersmith Odeon, but they were escorted out before the show began. 

    The Beatles show was the last in a week long nationwide tour.

     Their first house spot went with its usual din-- screaming girls standing on seats, and inaudibility. The group's performance of their latest single "Day Tripper," and "We Can Work It Out,"  and numbers from their new LP. Rubber Soul had an ecstatic reception. 

    One of the visitors to the show was comedian Jimmy Tarbuck, who, like the Beatles, comes from Liverpool.

     Score for the first house: two rows of seats wrenched from their bases, and seventy-three cases of fainting. The second house was half an hour late in starting to allow time for the theater staff to re-bolt some of the seats which were dislodged and overturned. 

Beatle Hit By Jelly Baby (Sheffield 1965)

 

Beatle Hit By Jelly Baby

No writer listed

Daily Express

December 9, 1965

The Beatle  Paul McCartney was hit in the face last night by a Jelly Baby sweet thrown onto the stage of a cinema in Sheffield where the pop group were appearing. He rubbed an eye, then carried on playing.

Beatlemania in Toronto 1966

According to this first-hand account, they wore the striped suits during the evening show and the green ones in the afternoon (opposite of what I have always thought)

 

Tonight I am sharing a letter sent to the " New Beatles Fan Club" from an anonymous fan who was fortunate enough to see both the afternoon and evening Beatles concerts in Toronto in 1966.   This letter was written shortly after she went to the shows and was published in 1976 in the "New Beatles Fan Club" newsletter.

    At 5:20, the Ronettes were done, and then there was a 10 Minute intermission. I was just sitting there, looking calm, aging 10 years for every two minutes that went by. Then Jungle Jay, the Emcee for the show, came out again, and 15,000 people were screaming hysterically. The house lights were on, but then he announced the ---I can't remember their names, oh yes, the Beatles. The Beatles!!!!

     They had their green suits on and looked just gorgeous. They'd had about 10 hours sleep and they'd just eaten, so they were in great spirits and looking healthy, and they'd all had a haircut --even George!  I had binoculars, but I was shaking so much I couldn't hold them still. The flash bulbs were blinding. Usually they don't bother me, but because I was on the floor, they were brighter. Everyone in the floor seats was standing on their chairs, but the cops were sitting everyone down in the first 10 or so rows. But being in the 30th I was still on my chair, and stayed there throughout the show.

     I hadn't planned on screaming because I didn't think I'd have to, and when I got in my seat, there was a boy on either side of me, so I was positive I wouldn't, but when they came on, I looked at Paul and melted. I just sort of kept saying "Paul... Paul..." to myself. Then I'd get brave and whisper it. He was just so darling and charming and captivating. I stood on my toes, which is pretty hard to do on a folding chair, and was so stunned by the view of him and just how handsome he really is. He is so alive!

     I didn't scream. I didn't cry or sob. I just got wrapped up in the whole thing. It was a wonderful feeling to know that he was so close, right in front of me.  I could really enjoy the half hour of The Beatles and Paul. 

    Paul really was the star of the show. He just drove everyone nuts. He'd look at his side of the Gardens and smile or laugh and then wave, and the kids would just fall over. He was really enjoying himself, and the more kids he drove nuts, the more he liked it. He was really out to kill!

     I didn't watch George too much, but when he introduced a song, he seemed very suave. His face seemed so hollow. At least he had a haircut and looked very slim. 

    John wasn't as nutty as usual. That was Paul's part. He wasn't snobbish, though, as he can be. One time, he was going to scratch his head, changed his mind, and waved to a section.  Pandemonium!

     Ringo was just Ringo, not too happy and not really sad. He just gave a good show. 

    While they were on, one girl got onto the stage and ran for Ringo. She didn't make it to him because a crew of cops and other security men got her and carried her out. Then a boy came from the seats right behind Ringo, crawled through the wire fencing, and hung from the balcony about five feet behind and 10 feet above Ringo. The cops waited until he fell, caught him, and carried him out. There were more kids running to the stage, but I can't remember the details of any more. It was wild, to say the least.

     Now, for the second show-- after I got in, I went right to the floor again, and when the guy ushered me to my seat, I nearly died. I saw  I was 20 feet away, even closer than I thought I would be. I couldn't believe it, and my seat was right in front of Paul's mic. What great luck!

     Jungle Jay came out again after the Ronettes went off again, and there was a 15-minute intermission this time. I couldn't stand it! Then Jay came out again, and I could feel my stomach being tied in knots. He was up there for a minute. The house lights went out, and then the Beatles!  Everyone stood up, and I was shaking so much! I was taking pictures a mile a minute, and Paul was right in front of me. Unbelievable!! I took 11 pictures right away, shoved the camera into my purse, and generally went berserk. 

    We were still standing, and the cops were making those of us in the front 15 rows sit, but they hadn't gotten to us yet. Judy and I had our thumbs up, the Beatles version of victory, if you remember, and we were waving to them like nuts. Paul was right in front. So we figured we would try to get his attention (like 17,000 other people.)  He looked in our direction and laughed. Then, for a split second, while he was changing chords, he put his thumb up!  We went crazy, to say the least. Anyway, he saw us. Every so often, he'd look our way, see our thumbs and the idiot who belonged to them, and laugh. We died!

     When he sang "Yesterday", as I said, he was out to kill and he did a good job. He was at the lead mic, and he just laid it on so thick. Unlike Cleveland or some of the other stops, you couldn't hear a thing, especially not "Yesterday." That was the noisiest one, because almost everybody likes Paul the best. And the way he was laying it on, it made it impossible to keep quiet. 

    They had on wild suits for this show, pink jackets with gray pin-stripes. The pants were dark gray, and the shirts were pink and violet, red paisleys with no tie. 

    They did the same song as always, "Rock and Roll Music," "She's a Woman," "If I Needed Someone,"  "Day Tripper", "Baby's in Black," "I Feel Fine," "Yesterday," "I Want to Be Your Man", "Nowhere Man", "Paperback Writer" and "Long Tall Sally." When Paul announced that they were going to sing the last song, everyone yelled "No! No!" and he put on a very sympathetic face, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "I'm sorry. What can I do? I'm sorry." He really belted the song "Long Tall Sally" and a girl from some seat behind me ran past me, and the cops got her, but not before she kicked, beat, and scratched for all she was worth. It was really pandemonium.

     I kept saying, "No, no", they just couldn't leave in two minutes. Everyone was throwing everything in sight, and someone threw a big wad of paper that hit Paul right below the belt. He instantly made the same face as that bit in "Help!" during "Another Girl" only with a little bit of pain. If you could imagine that. After they ran off, I had to sit for a minute, just for a rest. I was completely soaked, and my legs were getting sore from all the jumping up and down. My voice was hoarse, and I was, in general, a big mess. On the way out, there were a lot of kids going hysterical or in a state of shock. It was scary.

3,000 Fans Rock the Beatles (1963)

 

3,000 Fans Rock the Beatles

No Writer Listed

Daily Record

October 21, 1963

    3,000 fans of Britain's latest pop idols, The Beatles, rioted outside the television studio last night. A taxi was wrecked as fans stormed through a police cordon after the recording of Thank Your Lucky Stars ended.

     The riot at Birmingham started after 20 girls forced their way into the studio's main entrance; hundreds of fans followed them. A cab which had called to pick up a studio technician, was besieged. Its windscreen was smashed, mirrors were broken, and the bodywork was dented. 

    For 13 hours, the fans had stood outside the theater, chanting, "We want the Beatles!" When the recording was over, the fans stampeded in a hope of catching a glimpse of their idols. More than 40 policemen struggled to keep them back, but their efforts were in vain. Time and again, the crowd broke through, surging toward the barricaded studios. Part of the main road was blocked for a time until the fans began to disperse.

     During the riot, Beatle Paul McCartney said, "The fans think we are a bit mean if we don't show ourselves. We'd at least like to wave to them, but the police have said that this could be dangerous and might provoke trouble."

     Earlier, Beatle John Lennon talked about his marriage. "There is no rift in my marriage," he said. "I'm very happy. We have not attempted to hide it or keep it secret, but my wife wants to stay out of the limelight if possible. We wish to lead a normal life without interference from the outside. She is living with her mother at the moment. I see her as often as I can."