EEEiiiiiaaaaahhh Beatles are Hit (Chicago 1965)

 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.