(1965) 60th Anniversary of the Beatles at Shea Stadium
After a grueling year of concerts around the world, they had a brief resting period. In 1965, they made their second movie Help & released a soundtrack album as well. After a tour of Europe, their manager Brian Epstein booked them for a massive US summer Tour.
The Tour was to be groundbreaking as it was the first stadium tour for rock & roll bands. The Tour was to begin in New York at the new Shea Stadium & go thru ten cities, including the legendary Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Stops included large stadiums like Atlanta Fulton County, Chicago's Comiskey Park, Bloomington Minnesota's Metropolitan Stadium & San Diego's Balboa Stadium.
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Shea Stadium had opened up in 1964 as the home of the New York Mets. The Stadium was located in the Flushing Meadows area of Queens, New York.
The Stadium was easy to get with bus stops, subway stops & the Long Island Railroad station all connected.
For vehicles the Stadium was near thee major highways all connecting to three close by bridges & the suburbs of Long Island. It was a new era.
Right field boasted the largest scoreboard in baseball with a video display to showcase the batter or pitcher at the top center. The Stadium was located just across Corona Park where the World's Fair was being held.
The demand for tickets was so overwhelming a Stadium Tour was set for 1965. Sid would also promote shows in the US for the Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Kinks & the Moody Blues. He also was involved with concerts for Frank Sinatra & Tony Bennett.
An estimated $304,000 taken in (approx. 3,102,000 in 2025 dollars) which at the time was the largest gross in the history of show business according to the promoters. The Beatles were paid a record $160,000 at the time (approx. $1,633,000 in 2025 dollars) which is broken down to $100 (approx. 1,025 in 2025 dollars) for each second, they played.
The songs included I Feel Fine, I'm Down, Act Naturally, Ticket to Ride, Yesterday & Help! These performances were recorded live & were to be their last live performances for the show. They would send promotional videos in 1966, 1967 & 1970.
The only people allowed on the field or in the dug out area were the Beatles, their entourage, as well as radio & television personalities. Also the 2000 people who had been hired for security & crowd control.
The Ronettes, Ronnie Spector, her sister Estelle & Nedra Talley Ross had been friends of the Beatles since their tour of England in 1963. Nedra's husband was WMCA DJ Scott Ross who introduced the opening acts along with DJ-Murray the K. They were at the concert field level as well
The Beatles were driven to the East River Heliport, where they boarded a helicopter & were flown to the roof of the World's Fair building in Flushing Meadows Park. Even they were amazed at the sight below them of the large stadium filling up with fans to see them.
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Inside the bowels of Shea Stadium, Mets long time groundskeeper Pete Flyn drove them thru on a golf cart to their dressing room, the players club house.
New York DJ, the self-proclaimed "Fifth Beatle" Murray the K & Scott Ross introduced the opening acts the King Curtis Band, Cannibal & the Headhunters, Brenda Holloway & Sounds Inc. It was common in those days for having multiple acts on a bill leading to the main event at larger venues.
In the dressing room the Beatles were relaxed, going over their set list, opening up gifts & greeting the celebrity guests.
The field section was blocked by police, security & hundreds of NYPD barricades.
Trivia: In 2009 Flynn would drive Paul McCartney once again as he went on stage to perform with Billy Joel in the final concert at Shea Stadium with centerfieldmaz in attendance.
In the dressing room the Beatles were relaxed, going over their set list, opening up gifts & greeting the celebrity guests.
The stage was set up around the second base area with none of the ticket holders allowed anywhere onto the playing field. They were restricted to the seating area sections as if it were a Mets game.
Ed Sullivan himself introduced the Beatles:"Now, ladies and gentlemen, honored by their country, decorated by their Queen, loved here in America, here are The Beatles!"
The noise level reached a deafening screech of screams & yells. The Beatles ran out of the third base dugouts waving to the crowds totally overwhelmed themselves by the whole scene around them.
Even on a security level, the NYPD were over whelmed as they had to keep chasing girls (and some guys) who kept charging the field trying to get close to the Beatles through all the barricades on the field.
Besides all that madness, it was a hot humid summer night and many of the young girls were fainting not only from the sight of the Beatles but also from the heat. This kept also the medical staff very busy and the whole scene very chaotic.
John's piano performance on "I'm Down" was hysterical as he seems to be having a great time with the whole event as he is laughing, jumping around & playing the piano with his elbows swiping along the keys.
You can see George & Paul also laughing at John's antics, when John was having a good time everyone knew things were alright. It is safe to say they were all having a good time and soaking in the historical event by the shows end.
John also toyed with the concert crowds speaking gibberish just to get a reaction. Tonight, no exception as they went wild when he spoke nonsense into the mic raising his arms up to the sky to blows them a kiss. Classic Lennon.
Quotes- John Lennon: "It was marvelous, it was the biggest crowd we ever played to anywhere in the world. It was the biggest live show anybody's ever done, they told us & it was fantastic."
Quotes- Ringo Starr: "I never felt people came yo hear our show, I felt they came to see us, from the count in on the first number the volume of screams drowned everything else out."
On stage the Beatles couldn't hear themselves playing, so they just followed each other's motions as they went through their typical 1965 Tour set list which only lasted 30 minutes.
The Vox company made special 100-watt amps which were an upgrade at the time but they were not played thru any special monitors or extra sound systems except for the Shea Stadiums public address system.
The only audio of the concert came thru the stadium's speakers. It certainly wasn't powerful enough to be heard over all the screaming & yelling in the large Stadium.
The technology of the day couldn't handle the needs of the event. These were all firsts for the times and much of it was experimental.
Even on a security level, the NYPD were over whelmed as they had to keep chasing girls (and some guys) who kept charging the field trying to get close to the Beatles through all the barricades on the field. In the video of the event girls are seen screaming, crying & some even fainting at just the sight of the Beatles. This was the height of Beatlemania and many young ladies lost their minds when the Beatles were in the vicinity.
Musically, there were some memorable performances that night. There are few special moments when we see both John Lennon & Paul McCartney singing together on the same mic as they do here during" Baby's in Black".
John's piano performance on "I'm Down" was hysterical as he seems to be having a great time with the whole event as he is laughing, jumping around & playing the piano with his elbows swiping along the keys. He admitted later it was the first time he had been on stage without his guitar, feeling very strange & not knowing what to do without out so he went wild on the piano.
John also toyed with the concert crowds speaking gibberish just to get a reaction. Tonight, no exception as they went wild when he spoke nonsense into the mic raising his arms up to the sky to blows them a kiss. Classic Lennon.
The Beatles Shea Stadium Set List:
Twist & Shout
She's A Woman
I Feel Fine
Dizzy Miss Lizzie
Ticket To Ride
Everybody's Tring To Be My Baby
Cant Buy Me Love
Baby's In Black
Act Naturally
A Hard Days Night
Help
I'm Down
Quotes- Paul McCartney: "It's like this you make a noise they make a noise & it's the noise together that counts. It's the Bible really, with Cecil B. Mille & 60,000 extras"
Quotes- George Harrison: "This was the first time that one of those Stadiums was used for a rock concert. Vox made special big 100-watt amplifiers fr that tour. We went up from the 30-watt amps to the 100-watt amp & it obviously wasn't enough. We just had the house PA.
After they left the stage, it was back in the armored van as they disappeared through the center field gates. They went back to the Warwick where they hung out with Bob Dylan who would also have an influence in their career.
The concert was filmed for television but delays & legal issues held it back in America until 1966. By then the Beatles had evolved to Sgt. Pepper & looking back at the 1965 footage was like the stone age. Some footage was restored with musical overdubs and is included in the "Beatles Anthology" but besides bootleg versions, it has never been released officially.
