This account of seeing The Beatles in concert was written by Joan Litherland and was first published in March 1973 issue of McCartney: Luvers and Friends. Please note: The Beatles started the concert with Rock n Roll Music and Ended with Long Tall Sally. Sadly the girl that wrote this couldn't make out the song and put down the wrong one.
August 15, 1966 (after midnight)
Dear Diary:
I saw The Beatles tonight. I couldn't see their faces very well, but I knew Paul looked adorable as always. He looked over at our section quiet a lot. John waved at our section also. All I could do was cry. Sharon would jump up every so often, shaking, then she'd look over at me and sort of feel sorry for me. I suppose. It was very disappointing though. The lightning and sound equipment was terrible. they began with Long Tall Sally and ended with I'm Down. That's how I feel right now, down. Because I could only watch them. They were so close, yet so far away. The next time they come I'll see them again and it will be different. A boy jumped on stage and almost knocked John off, a policeman had to carry him away. John kept jumping at the mike, Paul would kick and swing his legs out in front of him, George did dances and little Ringo drummed away. Paul took the mike once, walked over to where Ringo was, and then announced his song. You can imagine the screams. Though I cried, my throat was tight and dry and I kept saying over and over, "Paul, oh Paul." My dream came true that night -- I saw them. I knew he's real. I do know that he is mine. (?) In my own special way, he'll always be mine. But not in reality. When we entered the stadium it was day, when we left I couldn't remember if it were day or night. I still can't. It all seems too much like a dream that you can't remember too well. A dream that you could be contented to remain in because you would not want to wake. Afterward, I was in my own world. I kept going over all that happened, keeping very silent, very still. Almost as if in a trance. My father didn't like this. He said I had just seen The Beatles -- I heard that, and I shot back, "That was all!!" If he only knew. To just see them -- to be so close and yet so far away. To love them and Paul and not being able to tell them.
They were beautiful. they were mine for a whole fleeting second. Mine. Hundreds of screaming, happy, loyal, wonderful Beatle fans, and they were mine that evening. The Beatles and Paul -- were mine. And I'm sure everyone must have felt the same. My three-year-old sister saw them only a few yards away before the concert, the luck of being a child. She'll never know what that would have mean to all of us. That you Dear Lord for letting The Beatles be who they are. We love them so.
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