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".
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