In this article we're going to review one of the most famous concerts in rock and roll history, The Beatles performance at Shea Stadium. The Beatles are arguably the most famous band in rock and roll history. They certainly were the start of the British revolution that spawned many bands with that Brit sound, but none of them sounded quite like the Fab Four. The Beatles first concert at Shea Stadium in New York set records for the time. The attendance was 55,600 people and the money made was over 57,000 pounds. Not too bad for August 15, 1965. The noise factor at the stadium that day was so loud that John Lennon said it was "louder than God." Lennon had a habit of comparing the Beatles to the almighty, which ultimately got him and the group into a lot of trouble in their early days. Most people know about the concert date and what was played there, but what few people know is what happened to the Beatles on the way to Shea Stadium. While it was nothing traumatic, it is important to note that in spite of their enormous popularity, they were in total awe of what they were walking into. On the drive to the stadium, George Harrison was totally in awe of the amount of traffic headed that way. The freeway was a total disaster area. Cars were hardly moving and for a while it looked like the Beatles themselves would be late for their own concert had it not been for the helicopter that took them from Wall Street to the stadium. The view from up above was as if people were trying to escape some sort of national disaster. They wouldn't allow the Beatles to land in the stadium so they had to land on top of the roof at the World's Fair. From there, it was one hundred yards to the stadium in a Wells Fargo armored truck. Talk about security. On the drive in the truck, which had no windows, to the stadium, insane kids were banging on the outside of the truck and rocking it back and forth. At one point George thought the truck was going to be turned over and they were all going to be torn to pieces. All of this in spite of weeks drawing up plans for how they would get the group to the stadium. Ironically, the concert, compared to modern times, was very low budget. The amps were Vox Ac-30s. The group was offered to have anything they wanted made for them, but they turned down all offers. They wanted to play with the equipment that they had always used. Consequently, the sound quality was not great. But the experience was one that will probably never be felt by anyone ever again. For those interested in the music, the highlights of the concert were "A Hard Day's Night, "Help, "I'm Down, "Can't Buy Me Love, "Ticket To Ride, "I Feel Fine, and "Twist And Shout". |
