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EEEiiiiiaaaahhhh Beatles Are Hit
By Linda Myers and Bonny Kaske
Belvidere Daily Republican
August 23, 1965
Two Guilford high school seniors,
Bonny Kaske of Rockford and Linda Myers of Cherry Valley, went to see the
Beatles in Chicago on Friday. Here was their report on the singers.
Armed with Beatles tickets and
cameras, we arrived at Chicago's White Sox Park just in time for the eagerly
awaited concert that was to present perhaps the best-known people in the entire
world, as well as a few other lesser talents. The latter was actually quite
unnecessary, however, as most of the audience ignored them, except for bursts
of loud applause when each act was over. These people were, in a way, keeping the
approximately 20,000 fans from their heroes, George, Paul, Ringo, and John.
It was generally a well behaved crowd, however
large, and although there were a few girls crying, biting their nails down to
the skin and wearing “I love Paul” buttons, (since Ringo’s marriage last
February, he has apparently been ousted as the closest to the hearts of the
fans) the majority of the audience, about 90% were teenage girls, were polite, totally civilized, and just the
kind of girls one would want their daughters to be.
When the Beatles, dressed in tan coats and
carrying their instruments, finally came out of one of the White Sox dugouts,
the excitement was infectious. The crowd, as one, rose to meet the boys, cheering happily, and sat down to watch the rest of the concert when their favorite Beatle was safely on stage.
The Beatles themselves seemed cheerful,
pleasant, and eager to please, although it was quite difficult to hear anything
that was said, in spite of the many amplifiers and microphones. There were the
usual screamers, but they weren't half as annoying as the movement of teens
with the slogans singing, “Don't scream”. Anyone who wanted to hear the
Beatles' own voices must have been lucky enough not to get seated near a group
of these singing girls. Perhaps, if the Beatles are back in Chicago next year,
these girls can schedule their own concert miles away from the place where the
four Liverpool boys are going to perform.
The Beatles sang a dozen songs,
including favorites like “Twist and Shout” and “A Hard Day's Night”, as well as
newer ones like “Help” and “I'm Down.” As
everyone knows, John and Paul write most of the material, and we think that all
these songs performed are written by
them, but we're not sure. They've
written enough excellent songs to present quite a few concerts at the length
they give.
Although the Beatles were fun, their fans were
more fun. It struck us as being quite sad that all the idolized four could see
was a large sea of faces when each girl so wanted to be an individual and be
noticed by the boys. But between the efforts of Triangle Productions and the
Chicago Police Department, not even the most imaginative young girl could
possibly break through the restrictions and security.
We kind of felt that all the
precautions were unnecessary, and that perhaps the rumors of the girls tearing
at their clothes and causing riots were built up. However, one girl managed to
leave the barricades and get out on the field before being tackled by two
policemen. No one else tried to see the world's favorites from a somewhat
closer distance.
As we left, we noticed a lot of
young girls walking around in a daze, hardly looking where they were going.
Then we noticed that Betsy, our Beatle expert, had exactly the same look. We
came to the conclusion that Beatlemania is quite a healthy disease and a fun
one too. In fact, we can't wait for the next time they come to our area, and
maybe next time, we'll meet them. Betsy says she just knows she's going to meet
John. I think that she might have a plan.
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