beatles tour dates 1965

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"If you look at our itinerary some of those years where we did maybe a tour of England, a tour of Europe, a tour of America, two albums and about four EPs, and three singles, and made a movie all in the same year - you think, 'Oh Jesus, how did we do that?'"

"Rubber Soul, as it was building up it was getting more experimental. The songs were getting better. More interesting... So that's where we were going."

"I really think the Queen believes in it all. She must. I do't believe in John Lennon, Beatle, being any different from anyone else, because I know he's not. I'm just a fella." John

"BEATLES' GREATEST U.S. SHOW TO BE FILMED "British fans may see the Beatles' most important concert ever - on television. The group will appear before nearly 60,000 fans at the Shea Stadium in New York on August 15 at the start of their second American tour." NME Friday, March 12, 1965

"It was good to make Help! and it's a nice film. It's funny. It's a very period film now. We just took it all very lightly, we'd had a laugh - and in the snow, all the snow scenes were cos the lads wanted a holiday, they were fed up working." - Paul

The Beatles' 1965 US tour

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The Beatles staged their second concert tour of the United States (with one date in Canada) in the late summer of 1965. At the peak of American Beatlemania, they played a mixture of outdoor stadiums and indoor arenas, with historic concerts at Shea Stadium in New York and the Hollywood Bowl. Typically of the era, the tour was a "package" presentation, with several artists on the bill. The Beatles played for just 30 minutes at each show, following sets by support acts such as Brenda Holloway and the King Curtis Band, Cannibal & the Headhunters, and Sounds Incorporated.

After the tour's conclusion, the Beatles took a six-week break before reconvening in mid-October to record the album Rubber Soul .

• 1 Background
• 2 Shea Stadium concert
• 3 Respite in Los Angeles
• 4 Hollywood Bowl shows

Background [ ]

Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager, scheduled the band's second full concert tour of America after a series of early-summer concerts in Europe. The group began rehearsing for the tour in London on 25 July, four days before attending the royal premiere of their second feature film, Help! The rehearsals doubled as preparation for their live performance on ABC Weekend TV's Blackpool Night Out and took place at the Saville Theatre on 30 July, and then at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool.

Typically for the 1960s, the concerts were arranged in a package-tour format, with multiple acts on the bill. The support acts throughout the tour were Brenda Holloway and the King Curtis Band, Cannibal & the Headhunters, and Sounds Incorporated. The Beatles entourage comprised road managers Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans, Epstein, press officer Tony Barrow, and Alf Bicknell, who usually worked as the band's chauffeur. In his autobiography, Barrow recalls that a major part of the advance publicity for the tour was ensuring that interviews the individual Beatles gave to British publications were widely syndicated in the US. He adds that this was easily achieved, given the band's huge international popularity.

Shea Stadium concert [ ]

The opening show, at Shea Stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, on 15 August was record-breaking and one of the most famous concert events of its era. It set records for attendance and revenue generation. Promoter Sid Bernstein said, "Over 55,000 people saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium. We took $304,000, the greatest gross ever in the history of show business." It remained the highest concert attendance in the United States until 1973, when Led Zeppelin played to an audience of 56,000 in Tampa, Florida. This demonstrated that outdoor concerts on a large scale could be successful and profitable. The Beatles received $160,000 for their performance, which equated to $100 for each second they were on stage. For this concert, the Young Rascals, a New York band championed by Bernstein, were added to the bill.

The Beatles were transported to the rooftop Port Authority Heliport at the World's Fair by a New York Airways Boeing Vertol 107-II helicopter, then took a Wells Fargo armoured truck to Shea Stadium. Two thousand security personnel were at the venue to handle crowd control. The crowd was confined to the spectator areas of the stadium, with nobody other than the band members, their entourage, and security personnel allowed on the field. As a result of this, the audience was a long distance away from the band while they played on a small stage in the middle of the field.

"Beatlemania" was at one of its highest marks at the Shea concert. Film footage taken at the concert shows many teenagers and women crying, screaming, and even fainting. The crowd noise was such that security guards can be seen covering their ears as the Beatles enter the field. Despite the heavy security presence, individual fans broke onto the field a number of times during the concert and had to be chased down and restrained. Concert film footage also shows John Lennon light-heartedly pointing out one such incident as he attempted to talk to the audience in between songs.

The deafening level of crowd noise, coupled with the distance between the band and the audience, meant that nobody in the stadium could hear much of anything. Vox had specially designed 100-watt amplifiers for this tour; however, it was still not anywhere near loud enough, so the Beatles used the house amplification system. Lennon described the noise as "wild" and also twice as deafening when the Beatles performed. On-stage "fold-back" speakers were not in common use in 1965, rendering the Beatles' playing inaudible to each other, forcing them to just play through a list of songs nervously, not knowing what kind of sound was being produced, or whether they were playing in unison. The Beatles section of the concert was extremely short by modern standards (just 30 minutes) but was the typical 1965 Beatles tour set list, with Starr opting to sing "Act Naturally" instead of "I Wanna Be Your Man". Referring to the enormity of the 1965 concert, Lennon later told Bernstein: "You know, Sid, at Shea Stadium I saw the top of the mountain." Barrow described it as "the ultimate pinnacle of Beatlemania" and "the group's brightly-shining summer solstice".

The band were astonished at the spectacle of the event, to which Lennon responded by acting in a mock-crazed manner and reducing Harrison to hysterical laughter as they played the closing song, "I'm Down". Starr later said: "I feel that on that show John cracked up ... not mentally ill, but he just got crazy ... playing the piano with his elbows." In the view of music critic Richie Unterberger, "there are few more thrilling Beatles concert sequences than the [film's] 'I'm Down' finale".

The concert was attended by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and their manager, Andrew Loog Oldham. Afterwards, the Beatles spent the evening and part of the next day socialising with Bob Dylan in their suite in the Warwick Hotel.

Pete Flynn was a Shea groundskeeper who did the improbable by driving the Beatles from the stage to a centerfield gate in 1965, then driving Paul McCartney from the stadium's rear entrance to the stage to perform at Billy Joel's "Last Play at Shea" concert 43 years later in 2008.

Respite in Los Angeles [ ]

After the relentless schedule the Beatles had endured on their 1964 US tour, Epstein arranged for the band to have a six-day break in Los Angeles during the 1965 tour. For this purpose, Epstein rented them a secluded house at 2850 Benedict Canyon Drive, off Mulholland Drive, in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles. The Beatles arrived there in the early hours of 23 August, following their second show at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon.

The large Spanish-style house was hidden within the side of a mountain. The band members typically woke up at 2 pm each day and spent much of their time relaxing by the swimming pool and enjoying a panoramic view of Benedict Canyon. Soon their address became widely known and the area was besieged by fans, who blocked roads and tried to scale the steep canyon while others rented helicopters to spy from overhead. The local police department had detailed twelve officers to protect the band during their stay, and this squad was supplemented by security personnel from the company Burns Agency.

The Beatles found it impossible to leave and instead invited guests, including actor Eleanor Bron (their co-star in Help! ) and folk singer Joan Baez. On 24 August, they played host to Roger McGuinn and David Crosby of the Byrds and actor Peter Fonda. On 27 August, the Beatles met their musical hero Elvis Presley at his house on Perugia Way in Bel Air.

Hollywood Bowl shows [ ]

The Beatles played two concerts at Los Angeles' high-profile Hollywood Bowl. The second of these, on 30 August, featured one of the group's better performances and provided much of the material for their 1977 live album The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl .

Set list [ ]

The set list for the shows was as follows (with lead singers noted):

• "Twist and Shout" (abbreviated version) (John Lennon)
• "She's a Woman" (Paul McCartney)
• "I Feel Fine" (Lennon)
• "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (Lennon)
• "Ticket to Ride" (Lennon)
• "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" (George Harrison)
• "Can't Buy Me Love" (McCartney)
• "Baby's in Black" (Lennon and McCartney)
• "I Wanna Be Your Man" (Ringo Starr) ("Act Naturally" sung by Starr at Shea Stadium)
• "A Hard Day's Night" (Lennon, with McCartney)
• "Help!" (Lennon)
• "I'm Down" (McCartney)
• 1 Jim McCartney
• 2 The Silver Beetles
• 3 The Long One

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The Beatles 1965 – A Detailed Guide

1965 was a seminal year for the Beatles, taking the band from the Beatlemania period through to the second half of the decade, where the group delivered their most critically acclaimed music. Several key events happened this year, from the last ever UK tour through to the moment Lennon and McCartney began to lose control over their own song rights.

It was a year that brought us a legendary concert from Shea Stadium, the increasing influence of drugs on their creative process as well as the band receiving their MBEs, but it all began with a Christmas show.

A Jolly Old Christmas Party

The year started with the continuation of the show that the Beatles were putting on at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, which had started on 24th December the previous year, called ‘Another Beatles Christmas Show’.

The show was a combination of sketches and music, with the Beatles normally appearing a couple of times in the middle of the show on sketches, traditionally with Freddy Garrity of Freddie and the Dreamers. They then returned at the end of the show to perform an 11-track set.

The show was put on for 14 of the first 16 days on the year, with two performances each night. The acts playing across the shows were – Freddie And The Dreamers, Sounds Incorporated, Elkie Brooks, The Yardbirds, Michael Haslam, The Mike Cotton Sound and Ray Fell.

Listen to a Beatles Christmas message from December 1964….

Touring Europe

1965 was an important year of touring for the Beatles, with multiple tours all concentrated on the second half of the year, but they were significantly smaller in scale compared to the massive tours that the Beatles went on during 1963 and 1964.

In fact, over the previous 4 years, the Beatles had barely gone through a month without performing live but after the completion of the Christmas shows in London, the Beatles only performed live once over a 5-month period. The band had become tired with all the constant touring and ultimately, we were only a year away from the Beatles ending all tours.

The Beatles first significant tour of 1965 began on 20th June, when they began a European tour that would run through to the 3rd July, covering 15 concerts across nine individual dates. Because of the decision not to tour again after August 1966 , this tour was the final European tour that the Beatles would ever complete.

The tour began in Paris, where they played to 6,000 fans at the Palais des Sports. They stayed in France for the next date, performing in Lyon a couple of days later, before moving on to the Italian part of the tour. This was the first and only time they toured Italy, performing 8 concerts in three different venues, ending with two straight days in Rome’s Teatro Adriano.

See our post “List of the Best Early Beatles Songs”

One trend from the Italian part of the tour is that the day concert (the Beatles performed a day show and an evening show) was never a sell-out. This is partly explained by the Beatles management because the fan base was likely at school or work, although the hot weather was also listed as a potential reason.

The Beatles headed back to France for a final concert in Nice, before going to Spain for their final couple of days of the tour, in Madrid and then Barcelona, for what would be their final ever European tour date, performed inside a bull ring!

The Beatles maintained the same 12 track set throughout their European tour – ‘Twist And Shout’, ‘She’s A Woman’, ‘I’m A Loser’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Baby’s In Black’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby’, ‘Rock And Roll Music’, ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Ticket To Ride’ and ‘Long Tall Sally’.

Bring on America

Six weeks after the European tour concluded, the Beatles started a two-week tour of America, that would take up the second half of August, including a stop in Canada. The tour itself began with a fourth appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, which would end up being their final ever performance on the show.

The tour itself could not have begun with a more memorable first night, the famous concert at Shea Stadium, home to the New York Mets. At the time it was a world record for revenue generated and attendance, but its most significant influence on history is that it was the first major stadium gig played by a pop band.

Footage of the concert (which was made into a 50-minute documentary) is the example of Beatles concerts that people always use when they talk about Beatlemania , which was at its height by this point. There were 55,000 screaming fans surrounding the band, who played on a rickety stage on the infield of the baseball field.

The band was introduced by Ed Sullivan, famously mentioning they were honoured by the queen and loved in America. In attendance, you had such musical greats as the Rolling Stones and Marvin Gaye. It’s even described by Rolling Stone magazine as the most famous concert by a band in Rock n Roll history, potentially even infamous.

Infamous because it is often used to illustrate the point that by this stage in the live shows, the crowd was so loud and maniacal that you could barely hear the band, who didn’t really have to put the effort into their live performances in the way that had in 1963 and 1964.

It is also the footage of screaming, crying and even fainting fans that highlight the hysteria that surrounded the group by this point.

After completing the gig, the band flew to Toronto for the only Canadian gig of this tour, before coming back to the US for nine more dates and 13 shows, starting in Atlanta. The tour takes in some of the most famous venues in America, including Comiskey Park in Chicago, Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto and Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, where they played back to back gigs.

Indeed, it is at the Hollywood Bowl that they put on the best performance of the whole tour after Brian Epstein arranged for this gig to be recorded so that it could be produced into a film. It is arguably one of the last great, live Beatles performances.

It was also during the short break they took in LA on the tour that the band experimented with LSD , Ringo for the first time, whilst for George and John it was a second experience. Paul declined and his first experience of LSD was either later in 1965 or 1966, depending on whose story is accurate.

The band have extensively talked about their experiences and the influence it had on their later musical work. The tour itself and the time they had in America were influences for many of the songs on the Rubber Soul album.

One interesting side note is that during this tour, the band were able to visit the home of their musical hero, Elvis Presley, at his home in Bel Air. Lennon talks about the meeting extensively in an interview he does with the NME upon his return from America. It was the first-ever meeting between potentially the two most influential artists in music history.

The Beatles themselves were in awe of Elvis and had wanted to meet him for years. The meeting was arranged by Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker, whilst Tony Barrow and Brian Epstein accompanied the band on the visit. Tony talks about a moment when Elvis asked for guitars to be bought out and a small jam session occurred, including a Cilla Black record ‘You’re My World’.

Unfortunately, the rules for the meeting were no press or any photography or video of any kind, so the occasion, iconic as it would be in music history, is not recorded for anyone to see.

In this video, Priscilla Presley recalls the meeting between Elvis and The Beatles.

Welcome Home

The final big tour of the year was back home, as the Beatles embarked on a tour of the UK throughout the first half of December, covering England, Scotland and Wales, although it didn’t start well.

On the drive up to Glasgow, one of the guitars fell off the back of the car. It was George Harrison’s Gretsch guitar and when they finally found it, it was in pieces all over the motorway!

It was ultimately to be there final UK tour, because in 1966 their two tours were in the Far East and the US, before stopping all touring. When the tour finally started, things kicked off in Glasgow at the Odeon cinema, which they had played several times previously, including on the Roy Orbison tour in 1963.

After Glasgow, they moved south to Newcastle before Liverpool for their last ever gigs in their home city. They played the Empire Theatre, with a capacity of just 2,550, which they could have sold out multiple times as they had over 40,000 applications for tickets.

One can only imagine how many would have applied if they had known it was to be the Beatles last ever gig in Liverpool.

The band gradually moved south to London, stopping in Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham on the way. Once reaching the capital, they played both the Hammersmith Odeon and Astoria Cinema in Finsbury Park, which George described as an incredible show. Previously the Beatles had found London gigs lacked the enthusiasm of Northern venues but the Astoria reminded him of peak Beatlemania.

The tour ended in Wales, the band doing two shows at the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff, a venue they had played in both 1963 and 1964.

The band generally stuck to the same 11 song set throughout the tour – I Feel Fine’, ‘She’s A Woman’, ‘If I Needed Someone’, ‘Act Naturally’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Baby’s In Black’, ‘Help!’, ‘We Can Work It Out’, ‘Yesterday’, ‘Day Tripper’ and ‘I’m Down’.  

Other Notable Live Performances

The Beatles appeared at the NME Poll-Winners All-Star concert for the third consecutive year, held at the Empire Pool in Wembley. They performed 5 songs at the event, including their latest single ‘Ticket to Ride’ of the yet to be released ‘Help!’ album.

The other live performance of 1965 was for a live TV show, performed at ABC Theatre in Blackpool for ABC TV. The show was called ‘Blackpool Night Out’ and was designed to promote the launch of the ‘Help!’.

It was the only television appearance for the band and was part of cutting back on doing promotional work, which was not well received by the press, but Brian Epstein was steadfast in his decision.

Other guests on the show were Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, Lionel Blair and Johnny Hart. Mike and Bernie Winters acted as comperes for the evening. The Beatles initially played 4 tracks – ‘I Feel Fine’, I’m Down’, ‘Ticket to Ride’ and ‘Act Naturally’ before Paul McCartney performed ‘Yesterday’ on his own, which was the first time that the track had been sung on UK TV.

As the group returned to close with ‘Help!’, John Lennon was heard uttering one of his classic one-liners, saying “Thank you Ringo, that was wonderful!”

In May of this year, the Beatles also made their 52nd and final appearance on BBC radio, recording seven songs for the BBC Light Programme, ‘The Beatles (Invite you to Take a Ticket to Ride)’.

In February of 1965, the Beatles began work on what would become their fifth album, ‘Help!’

The album’s recording process was a clear departure from how the Beatles had previously worked. Up until this album, the Beatles had essentially recorded all their albums ‘live’ in the studio, but on ‘Help!’ they choose to overdub a lot more, starting with the rhythm section, then overdubbing the vocals and finally any other instruments to produce the best final track.

Having completed the recording of the album at the end of February, the band flew off to the Bahamas to start working on a film of the same name, which they also filmed in Austria, Twickenham and Salisbury Plain. Filming went on, with the occasional break, until the summer, before its release at the end of July, with the premiere at London Pavilion Theatre.

The album itself followed a similar pattern to the previous soundtrack album ‘A Hard Day’s Night’, with the songs from the film on one side and other original and cover songs on the other side, which included ‘Yesterday’ , still rated as the most covered track of all time.

The album was released in August 1965 and reached number one in both the UK and US charts, with a nine-week run at the top of the UK charts.

The title track and ‘Ticket To Ride’ were the key singles from the album, both number one hits, whilst of course ‘Yesterday’ went on to become a big hit, it wasn’t originally seen as a candidate for release.

In many ways, ‘Help!’ is the bridge album, taking the Beatles from the Beatlemania era through to the more creative songs they produced in the second half of the decade. On the album, they included elements of country and western, folk, classical and rock.

Rubber Soul

After returning from their US tour, the band began recording their sixth studio album, Rubber Soul. The album itself had a better critical reception than their previous ‘Help!’ album and was heavily influenced by their US tour.

It was clearly the most mature album the band had produced so far and arguably showed Lennon at his songwriting peak with tracks like ‘Girl’, ‘Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)’ and ‘In My Life’.

It was also George Harrison’s most involvement in an album so far, contributing not just two songs but having a heavy influence on some of the arrangements and introducing the sitar for the first time, as he was becoming increasingly influenced by Indian music and culture in general.

The album was released in the UK and US in December, going to number one in the US in January 1966 and staying there for six weeks. Meanwhile, in the UK the album reached the top spot on Christmas day, knocking off their own album, ‘Help!’, from the number one position.

In many ways, Rubber Soul changed the way pop music was considered. After its release, the focus became about producing a quality album and not about delivering individual hit singles. It is many Beatles fans favourite album and was rated by Rolling Stone magazine as the 5th greatest album of all time.

Beatles for Sales EP

Beatles for Sale EP was a four-track EP released in April on 1965 and was the eighth EP released by the band, containing tracks from the LP of the same name. Overall, it spent 6 weeks at the top of the EP charts, with three of the tracks being Lennon-McCartney originals and one from Chuck Berry, his classic ‘Rock and Roll Music’ song.

Their Personal Lives

It was a good year for Ringo Starr, who proposed to Maureen Cox in January of 1965, before marrying her on 11th February at Caxton Hall in Westminster. Ringo proposed in the Ad Lib club, which was the nightclub of choice for the band at the time, where they had their own private table.

Not all members of the band were able to attend the wedding, as Paul was holidaying in Portugal at the time. John and George were in attendance and Brian Epstein was Ringo’s best man.

Although a long honeymoon was out of the question with the Beatles commitments at the time, the couple did manage a short honeymoon in Hove, Sussex, at the home of the Beatles solicitor David Jacobs.

In what was a busy year for Ringo personally, Maureen gave birth to their son, Zak Starkey, in Hammersmith. Ringo partly picked the name because he felt it was a strong name that couldn’t be shortened. Whilst never reaching even close to the fame of his father, Zak did follow in his footsteps to become a drummer, playing sessions with acts like The Who and Oasis.

Ringo Starr also purchased a first house with his new wife Maureen Starkey. Sunny Heights was a mock Tudor house in Weybridge. Less than one mile from John Lennon’s house, it was a large building with extensive gardens and even its own bar, The Flying Cow.

Paul McCartney bought a new house in St Jones Wood in April, which was just a short walk to EMI studios on Abbey Road where the Beatles did their recording at the time. It became a popular meeting place for the band outside of recording sessions.

Long after the rest of the band had passed driving tests, John Lennon finally got his drivers license in February of this year. John was renowned as a poor driver, not the greatest at concentrating on the roads.

He rarely drove after passing his test and unfortunately had a relatively serious crash with Yoko Ono, her daughter Kyoko and his son Julian in the car, with Yoko sustaining the worse injuries and also being pregnant at the time. After the crash, John was even more hesitant to drive and generally was found arriving at the recording studios thanks to his driver Les Anthony.

Losing Your Rights

One of the most significant events of 1965 wasn’t something that the Beatles and in particular John Lennon and Paul McCartney, considered to be as important at the time.

On 18th February, Northern Songs, the Beatles song publishing company, was floated on the stock exchange. The company had been owned between Paul, John, Brian Epstein and Dick James. As part of the process, just over a fifth of the companies’ shares were made available to the public, although the buying price would have put it out of the reach of most fans.

The reason behind the flotation was to ease the tax burden on Lennon and McCartney, who had achieved great success in the previous two years and were paying tax at 83 per cent. As part of the process, Lennon and McCartney were able to recoup a tax-free windfall of £94,270 each.

However, it is as a direct consequence of floating the business and making themselves vulnerable to takeovers, that the Beatles ultimately lost the rights to their own songs.

Having fallen out with the Beatles towards the end of the decade, Dick James sold his stake in the company to ATV, setting off a chain of events that would eventually see Paul McCartney’s former friend Michael Jackson own the rights to the Beatles back catalogue!

Having failed to counter the ATV offer to Dick James, Lennon and McCartney sold their own stakes in the company and as a result, lost control of the company.

Michael Jackson purchased the catalogue (along with a lot of other artists back catalogues), before eventually selling half his stake to Sony when he was struggling for money. Upon his death, Sony bought the remainder of the shares in the business and owned the whole back catalogue until Paul McCartney and Sony agreed an out of court settlement in 2017.

Members of the British Empire

On the 11th June 1965, it was announced that the Beatles were to be awarded the MBE (Member of the British Empire). Brian Epstein had asked Paul McCartney to come back early from his holiday with girlfriend Jane Asher to be around for the announcement.

The Beatles were nominated for the award by the prime minister at the time, Harold Wilson, who also happened to be the member of parliament for Huyton, Merseyside. The band went to Buckingham Palace on 26th October 1965 to receive their medals from Queen Elizabeth II.

However, back in the 60s, Rock n Roll was still not universally loved and still came associated with negativity by many in society. As a result, the Beatles being awarded the MBE kicked off a storm, especially with some previously decorated people, many of whom returned their medals in disgust.

Of course, the irony of these protests is that four years later, John Lennon returned his MBE to the queen. As he said in a letter to the Queen, he was returning the decoration as a protest to Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra war, Britain’s support of the Vietnam war and as he jokes, the single ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts!

Their medals made one famous and public appearance after they received them. If you look very carefully at the album cover of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, you will see their MBEs, except for John Lennon’s, who refused to wear his and instead is wearing medals loaned from Mona Best.

Lennon and McCartney received another set of awards in July of 1965 when they won five Ivor Novello songwriting awards.

After the fuss award the MBEs, John Lennon decided not to attend the awards and Paul himself was late and after accepting one of the awards, quipped that he hoped no one was going to send theirs back. Over their careers, Lennon and McCartney won 15 Ivor Novello’s.

Outside of the Music

John Lennon published his second book ‘A Spaniard in the Works’ in June, it was a 96-page book full of stories and illustrations by Lennon, selling 100,000 copies.

In another creative departure for the band, their first cartoon series appeared in the US this year, although the band themselves were not responsible for the voices in the series. What is interesting for later Beatles work is that the series producer, Al Brodax, would go on to produce and co-write Yellow Submarine for the band.

© Mathewstreet.co.uk

The Beatles' 1965 US tour

The Beatles staged their second concert tour of the United States (with one date in Canada ) in the late summer of 1965. At the peak of American Beatlemania , they played a mixture of outdoor stadiums and indoor arenas , with historic concerts at Shea Stadium in New York and the Hollywood Bowl . Typically of the era, the tour was a "package" presentation, with several artists on the bill. The Beatles played for just 30 minutes at each show, following sets by support acts such as Brenda Holloway and the King Curtis Band , Cannibal & the Headhunters , and Sounds Incorporated .

Shea Stadium concert

Respite in los angeles, hollywood bowl shows, aftermath and legacy, instruments and equipment.

After the tour's conclusion, the Beatles took a six-week break before reconvening in mid-October to record the album Rubber Soul .

Brian Epstein , the Beatles' manager, scheduled the band's second full concert tour of America after a series of early-summer concerts in Europe. [1] [2] The group began rehearsing for the tour in London on 25 July, four days before attending the royal premiere of their second feature film, Help! [3] The rehearsals doubled as preparation for their live performance on ABC Weekend TV 's Blackpool Night Out and took place at the Saville Theatre on 30 July, and then at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool . [3] [4]

Typically for the 1960s, the concerts were arranged in a package-tour format, with multiple acts on the bill. [5] The support acts throughout the tour were Brenda Holloway and the King Curtis Band , Cannibal & the Headhunters , and Sounds Incorporated . [6] The Beatles entourage comprised road managers Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans , Epstein, press officer Tony Barrow , and Alf Bicknell, who usually worked as the band's chauffeur. [7] In his autobiography, Barrow recalls that a major part of the advance publicity for the tour was ensuring that interviews the individual Beatles gave to British publications were widely syndicated in the US. He adds that this was easily achieved, given the band's huge international popularity. [8]

The opening show, at Shea Stadium in the New York City borough of Queens , on 15 August was record-breaking and one of the most famous concert events of its era. [9] [10] It set records for attendance and revenue generation. Promoter Sid Bernstein said, "Over 55,000 people saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium. We took $304,000, the greatest gross ever in the history of show business." [11] It remained the highest concert attendance in the United States until 1973, when Led Zeppelin played to an audience of 56,000 in Tampa, Florida . [12] This demonstrated that outdoor concerts on a large scale could be successful and profitable. The Beatles received $160,000 for their performance, which equated to $100 for each second they were on stage. [13] [14] For this concert, the Young Rascals , a New York band championed by Bernstein, [15] were added to the bill. [6]

The Beatles were transported to the rooftop Port Authority Heliport at the World's Fair by a New York Airways Boeing Vertol 107-II helicopter, then took a Wells Fargo armoured truck to Shea Stadium. Two thousand security personnel were at the venue to handle crowd control. [11] The crowd was confined to the spectator areas of the stadium, with nobody other than the band members, their entourage, and security personnel allowed on the field. As a result of this, the audience was a long distance away from the band while they played on a small stage in the middle of the field. [10]

" Beatlemania " was at one of its highest marks at the Shea concert. Film footage taken at the concert shows many teenagers and women crying, screaming, and even fainting. The crowd noise was such that security guards can be seen covering their ears as the Beatles enter the field. Despite the heavy security presence, individual fans broke onto the field a number of times during the concert and had to be chased down and restrained. [14] Concert film footage also shows John Lennon light-heartedly pointing out one such incident as he attempted to talk to the audience in between songs.

The deafening level of crowd noise, coupled with the distance between the band and the audience, meant that nobody in the stadium could hear much of anything. Vox had specially designed 100-watt amplifiers for this tour; however, it was still not anywhere near loud enough, so the Beatles used the house amplification system. Lennon described the noise as "wild" and also twice as deafening when the Beatles performed. On-stage " fold-back " speakers were not in common use in 1965, rendering the Beatles' playing inaudible to each other, forcing them to just play through a list of songs nervously, not knowing what kind of sound was being produced, or whether they were playing in unison. The Beatles section of the concert was extremely short by modern standards (just 30 minutes) but was the typical 1965 Beatles tour set list, with Starr opting to sing " Act Naturally " instead of " I Wanna Be Your Man ". Referring to the enormity of the 1965 concert, Lennon later told Bernstein: "You know, Sid, at Shea Stadium I saw the top of the mountain." [16] Barrow described it as "the ultimate pinnacle of Beatlemania" and "the group's brightly-shining summer solstice". [17]

The band were astonished at the spectacle of the event, to which Lennon responded by acting in a mock-crazed manner [18] and reducing Harrison to hysterical laughter as they played the closing song, " I'm Down ". [19] [20] Starr later said: "I feel that on that show John cracked up ... not mentally ill, but he just got crazy ... playing the piano with his elbows." [19] In the view of music critic Richie Unterberger , "there are few more thrilling Beatles concert sequences than the [film's] 'I'm Down' finale". [21]

The concert was attended by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and their manager, Andrew Loog Oldham . [22] Afterwards, the Beatles spent the evening and part of the next day socialising with Bob Dylan in their suite in the Warwick Hotel . [13]

Pete Flynn was a Shea groundskeeper who did the improbable by driving the Beatles from the stage to a centerfield gate in 1965, then driving Paul McCartney from the stadium's rear entrance to the stage to perform at Billy Joel 's "Last Play at Shea" concert 43 years later in 2008. [23]

After the relentless schedule the Beatles had endured on their 1964 US tour, Epstein arranged for the band to have a six-day break in Los Angeles during the 1965 tour. [1] For this purpose, Epstein rented them a secluded house at 2850 Benedict Canyon Drive, [24] off Mulholland Drive , in Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles . [25] The Beatles arrived there in the early hours of 23 August, following their second show at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon . [25]

The large Spanish-style house was hidden within the side of a mountain. [26] The band members typically woke up at 2 pm each day and spent much of their time relaxing by the swimming pool and enjoying a panoramic view of Benedict Canyon . [25] Soon their address became widely known and the area was besieged by fans, who blocked roads and tried to scale the steep canyon while others rented helicopters to spy from overhead. [26] The local police department had detailed twelve officers to protect the band during their stay, and this squad was supplemented by security personnel from the company Burns Agency. [25]

The Beatles found it impossible to leave and instead invited guests, including actor Eleanor Bron (their co-star in Help! ) [26] and folk singer Joan Baez . On 24 August, [27] they played host to Roger McGuinn and David Crosby of the Byrds [28] and actor Peter Fonda . [26] On 27 August, the Beatles met their musical hero Elvis Presley [29] at his house on Perugia Way in Bel Air . [7] [30]

The Beatles played two concerts at Los Angeles' high-profile Hollywood Bowl . The second of these, on 30 August, featured one of the group's better performances [31] and provided much of the material for their 1977 live album The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl .

Poet Allen Ginsberg attended both 22 August shows in Portland. Inspired by the Beatles and the line of police guarding them from their fans, he composed the poem "Portland Coliseum". [32]

The Beatles and their entourage arrived at London Airport (now Heathrow Airport ) on 2 September, greeted by a crowd of fans. [33] The band's experiences in the United States inspired the songs they began writing for their new album, Rubber Soul . [34] The album reflected, variously, the group's exposure to the latest singles from artists signed to the Motown and Stax record labels, [35] the mutually influential relationship the Beatles had forged with the Byrds, and the influence of Dylan, who had urged Lennon to strive for more meaning in his lyrics. [36] One of the new songs, " Drive My Car ", evoked the starlets the Beatles had met at Hollywood parties, [37] [38] while Lennon initially based " Run for Your Life " on an early recording of Presley's, " Baby Let's Play House ". [39] Soon after their return to London, Lennon talked extensively about the meeting with Presley in an interview he gave to the NME .

A documentary titled The Beatles at Shea Stadium was produced by Ed Sullivan (under his Sullivan Productions, Inc. banner), NEMS Enterprises Ltd (which owns the 1965 copyright), and the Beatles company Subafilms Ltd . The project used twelve cameras to capture the mayhem and mass hysteria. After the Beatles had carried out overdubs in a London studio, to cover audio problems throughout the concert recording, the documentary aired on British television in March 1966. [12] It was broadcast in the United States in 1967 on the ABC television network and subsequently became widely available as a bootleg release. [16]

In May 2007, a recording surfaced of the entire Shea Stadium show sourced from the actual in-line stadium public address system. [40] It offers a minute-by-minute document of the concert, including all the opening sets, and is unaltered by overdubs and other editing.

The set list for the shows was as follows (with lead singers noted): [6] [41]

• " Twist and Shout " (abbreviated version) [42] ( John Lennon ) [nb 1]
• " She's a Woman " ( Paul McCartney )
• " I Feel Fine " (Lennon)
• " Dizzy Miss Lizzy " (Lennon)
• " Ticket to Ride " (Lennon)
• " Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby " ( George Harrison )
• " Can't Buy Me Love " (McCartney)
• " Baby's in Black " (Lennon and McCartney)
• " I Wanna Be Your Man " ( Ringo Starr ) (" Act Naturally " sung by Starr at Shea Stadium)
• " A Hard Day's Night " (Lennon, with McCartney)
• " Help! " (Lennon)
• " I'm Down " (McCartney)

According to Walter Everett : [6] [nb 2]

Instruments the Beatles had on the tour, shown here for each member of the group.

John Lennon

• 1964 Rickenbacker 325 semi-hollow electric guitar
• 1964 Gibson J-160E acoustic/electric guitar (used as a back-up)
• Vox Continental electric organ [nb 3]

Paul McCartney

• 1962 Hofner Violin hollow body bass
• 1961 Hofner Violin hollow body bass (used as a backup)

George Harrison

• 1963 Gretsch Tennessean hollowbody electric guitar
• 1963 Rickenbacker 360/12 thinline electric guitar
• 1963 Gretsch Country Gentleman hollowbody electric guitar (used as a backup)

Ringo Starr

• Ludwig 22-inch-bass 4-piece drum kit
• Number 5 drop-T logo bass drum head
• List of the Beatles' live performances
• ↑ The Beatles omitted this song at Minneapolis, due to problems with Lennon's voice.
• ↑ Plans to give a concert in Mexico City were cancelled at the discretion of the Mexican government.
• ↑ Two organs were used on the tour. Lennon's aggressive playing damaged the first in Toronto, so it was replaced after the Atlanta performance. [43]

Related Research Articles

Rubber Soul is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out". The original North American release, issued by Capitol Records, contains ten of the fourteen songs and two tracks withheld from the band's Help! album. Rubber Soul was described as an important artistic achievement by the band, meeting a highly favourable critical response and topping sales charts in Britain and the United States for several weeks.

" Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) " otherwise known as simply " Norwegian Wood ", is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album Rubber Soul . It was written mainly by John Lennon, with lyrical contributions from Paul McCartney, and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. Influenced by the introspective lyrics of Bob Dylan, the song is considered a milestone in the Beatles' development as songwriters. The track features a sitar part, played by lead guitarist George Harrison, that marked the first appearance of the Indian string instrument on a Western rock recording. The song was a number 1 hit in Australia when released on a single there in 1966, coupled with "Nowhere Man".

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Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By October, the press adopted the term "Beatlemania" to describe the scenes of adulation that attended the band's concert performances. From the start of 1964, their world tours were characterised by the same levels of hysteria and high-pitched screaming by female fans, both at concerts and during the group's travels. Commentators likened the intensity of this adulation to a religious fervour and to a female masturbation fantasy. Among the displays of deity-like worship, fans would approach the band in the belief that they possessed supernatural healing powers.

" Ticket to Ride " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Issued as a single in April 1965, it became the Beatles' seventh consecutive number 1 hit in the United Kingdom and their third consecutive number 1 hit in the United States, and similarly topped national charts in Canada, Australia and Ireland. The song was included on their 1965 album Help! Recorded at EMI Studios in London in February that year, the track marked a progression in the Beatles' work through the incorporation of drone and harder-sounding instrumentation relative to their previous releases. Among music critics, Ian MacDonald describes the song as "psychologically deeper than anything the Beatles had recorded before" and "extraordinary for its time".

" We Can Work It Out " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It was first issued as a double A-side single with "Day Tripper" in December 1965. The song was recorded during the sessions for the band's Rubber Soul album. The single reached number one in Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and Ireland. In the UK, it was the seventh highest selling single of the 1960s.

" You Won't See Me " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album Rubber Soul . It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. As with songs such as "We Can Work It Out" and "I'm Looking Through You" from the same period, the lyrics address McCartney's troubled relationship with Jane Asher and her desire to pursue her career as a stage and film actress. The Beatles recorded the song during what author Mark Lewisohn describes as a "marathon" final recording session for Rubber Soul , to ensure the album's pre-Christmas release.

" Nowhere Man " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in December 1965 on their album Rubber Soul , except in the United States and Canada, where it was first issued as a single A-side in February 1966 before appearing on the album Yesterday and Today . The song was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. In the US, the single peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the chart compiled by Record World magazine, as it did the RPM 100 chart in Canada and in Australia. The song was also released as a single in some countries where it had been included on Rubber Soul , including Australia, where it topped the singles chart.

" Think for Yourself " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album Rubber Soul . It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist, and, together with "If I Needed Someone", marked the start of his emergence as a songwriter beside John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song's lyrics advocate independent thinking and reflect the Beatles' move towards more sophisticated concepts in their writing at this stage of their career. The song has invited interpretation as both a political statement and a love song, as Harrison dismisses a lover or friend in a tone that some commentators liken to Bob Dylan's 1965 single "Positively 4th Street". Among musicologists, the composition has been recognised as adventurous in the degree of tonal ambiguity it employs across parallel major and minor keys and through its suggestion of multiple musical modes.

" Day Tripper " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out" in December 1965. The song was written primarily by John Lennon with some contributions from Paul McCartney and was credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Both songs were recorded during the sessions for the band's Rubber Soul album. The single topped charts in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway. In the United States, "Day Tripper" peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and "We Can Work It Out" held the top position.

" If I Needed Someone " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist. It was released in December 1965 on their album Rubber Soul , except in North America, where it appeared on the June 1966 release Yesterday and Today . The song reflects the reciprocal influences shared between the Beatles and American band the Byrds. On release, it was widely considered to be Harrison's best song to date. A recording by the Hollies was issued in Britain on the same day as Rubber Soul and peaked at number 20 on the national singles chart.

" The Night Before " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 film Help! and soundtrack album of the same name. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Described as a pop rock or rock and roll song, its lyrics reflect on the singer's last night with his lover before being abandoned.

" I've Just Seen a Face " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in August 1965 on their album Help! , except in North America, where it appeared as the opening track on the December 1965 release Rubber Soul . Written and sung by Paul McCartney, the song is credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song is a cheerful love ballad, its lyrics discussing a love at first sight while conveying an adrenaline rush the singer experiences that makes him both enthusiastic and inarticulate.

" No Reply " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1964 album Beatles for Sale . In North America, it was issued on Capitol Records' variant on the British release, Beatles '65 . The song was written mainly by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon originally gave the song to another artist managed by Brian Epstein, Tommy Quickly, in June 1964, but Quickly decided not to use it. The Beatles recorded the track in London soon after returning from their first full tour of the United States. The lyrics typify Lennon's more introspective and mature songwriting on the Beatles for Sale album.

" I'll Cry Instead " is a song written by John Lennon, and recorded by the English rock band the Beatles for their third studio album, A Hard Day's Night (1964), a part-studio and part-soundtrack album to their film of the same name (1964). In the United States, the song originally appeared in the US version of A Hard Day's Night before it was released as a single backed with "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You" along with the US album Something New .

" I'm Down " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on a non-album single as the B-side to "Help!" in July 1965. The song originated in McCartney's attempt to write a song in the style of Little Richard, whose song "Long Tall Sally" the band regularly covered.

" She's a Woman " is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on a non-album single in November 1964 as the B-side to "I Feel Fine", except in North America, where it also appeared on the album Beatles '65 , released in December 1964. Though it was the B-side, it charted in the US, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number eight on the Cash Box Top 100 . The song originated in McCartney's attempt to write a song in the style of Little Richard. The lyrics include the first reference to drugs in a Beatles song, with the line "turn(s) me on" referring to marijuana.

The Beatles staged their third and final concert tour of North America in August 1966. It consisted of 18 performances, with 16 shows in United States venues and two in Canada. The tour was plagued with backlash regarding the controversy of John Lennon's remark about the Beatles being "more popular than Jesus", death threats, and the band's own dissatisfaction with the noise levels and their ability to perform live. Their speaking out against the Vietnam War added further controversy to the visit.

The Beatles' 1965 tour of the United Kingdom was a concert tour that took place between 3 and 12 December 1965, comprising 18 shows at nine venues across England, Scotland and Wales. It coincided with the release of the Beatles' studio album Rubber Soul and their double A-side single "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out", and was the final UK tour undertaken by the band. Weary of Beatlemania, the group conceded to do the tour but refused to also perform a season of Christmas concerts as they had done over the 1963–64 and 1964–65 Christmas seasons.

The English rock group the Beatles toured West Germany, Japan and the Philippines between 24   June and 4   July 1966. The thirteen concerts comprised the first stage of a world tour that ended with the band's final tour of the United States, in August 1966. The shows in West Germany represented a return to the country where the Beatles had developed as a group before achieving fame in 1963. The return flight from the Philippines to England included a stopover in Delhi, India. There, the Beatles indulged in two days of sightseeing and shopping for musical instruments while still under the attention of the press and local fans.

• 1 2 Brown & Gaines 2002 , p.   170.
• ↑ Everett 2001 , pp.   305–06.
• 1 2 Miles 2001 , p.   202.
• ↑ Winn 2008 , pp.   336–37.
• ↑ Everett 2001 , p.   335.
• 1 2 3 4 Everett 2001 , p.   306.
• 1 2 Miles 2001 , p.   209.
• ↑ Barrow 2005 , pp.   150–51.
• ↑ Carr & Tyler 1978 , pp.   45–47.
• 1 2 Schaffner 1978 , p.   43.
• 1 2 Carr & Tyler 1978 , p.   46.
• 1 2 Everett 2001 , p.   307.
• 1 2 Miles 2001 , p.   206.
• 1 2 Schaffner 1978 , p.   44.
• ↑ Kruth 2015 , p.   22.
• 1 2 DiMartino, Dave. "Matchstick Men". In: Mojo Special Limited Edition 2002 , p.   23 .
• ↑ Barrow 2005 , p.   157.
• ↑ Ingham 2006 , p.   31.
• 1 2 The Beatles 2000 , p.   187.
• ↑ Unterberger 2006 , pp.   315–16.
• ↑ Unterberger 2006 , p.   315.
• ↑ Jackson 2015 , p.   165.
• ↑ "Timeline: Aug 16–Sept 16, 1965". In: Mojo Special Limited Edition 2002 , p.   24 .
• 1 2 3 4 Miles 2001 , p.   208.
• 1 2 3 4 Brown & Gaines 2002 , p.   171.
• ↑ Miles 2001 , p.   169.
• ↑ Lavezzoli 2006 , p.   153.
• ↑ Badman, Keith. "'Long Live Ze King!'". In: Mojo Special Limited Edition 2002 , p.   24 .
• ↑ Brown & Gaines 2002 , p.   173.
• ↑ Gould 2007 , p.   283.
• ↑ Sawyers 2006 , p.   83.
• ↑ Winn 2008 , p.   360.
• ↑ Lewisohn, Mark. "High Times". In: Mojo Special Limited Edition 2002 , p.   28 .
• ↑ Gould 2007 , pp.   284–85.
• ↑ Jackson 2015 , pp.   255–56, 261–62.
• ↑ Halpin, Michael (3 December 2015). "Rubber Soul – 50th Anniversary of The Beatles Classic Album" . Louder Than War . Retrieved 9 July 2017 .
• ↑ Kruth 2015 , pp.   91–92.
• ↑ Everett 2001 , p.   312.
• ↑ Rolling Stone Issue 1027, 31 May 2007 (page 90).
• ↑ Schaffner 1978 , p.   45.
• ↑ Gould 2007 , p.   281.
• ↑ Winn 2008 , p.   344.
• Barrow, Tony (2005). John, Paul, George, Ringo & Me: The Real Beatles Story . New York, NY: Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN   1-56025-882-9 .
• The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology . San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. ISBN   0-8118-2684-8 .
• Brown, Peter ; Gaines, Steven (2002) [1983]. The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles . New York, NY: New American Library. ISBN   978-0-451-20735-7 .
• Carr, Roy ; Tyler, Tony (1978). The Beatles: An Illustrated Record . London: Trewin Copplestone Publishing. ISBN   0-450-04170-0 .
• Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men Through Rubber Soul . New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-514105-9 .
• Gould, Jonathan (2007). Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain and America . London: Piatkus. ISBN   978-0-7499-2988-6 .
• Ingham, Chris (2006). The Rough Guide to the Beatles . London: Rough Guides. ISBN   978-1-84353-720-5 .
• Jackson, Andrew Grant (2015). 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music . New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN   978-1-250-05962-8 .
• Kruth, John (2015). This Bird Has Flown: The Enduring Beauty of Rubber Soul Fifty Years On . Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books. ISBN   978-1617135736 .
• Lavezzoli, Peter (2006). The Dawn of Indian Music in the West . Continuum . ISBN   978-0-8264-1815-9 . Archived from the original on 22 January 2023 . Retrieved 12 March 2016 .
• Miles, Barry (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years . London: Omnibus Press. ISBN   0-7119-8308-9 .
• Mojo Special Limited Edition : 1000 Days That Shook the World (The Psychedelic Beatles – April 1, 1965 to December 26, 1967) . London: Emap. 2002.
• Sawyers, June Skinner, ed. (2006). "Allen Ginsberg". Read the Beatles: Classic and New Writings on the Beatles, Their Legacy, and Why They Still Matter . London: Penguin Books . pp.   83–84. ISBN   0-14-303732-3 .
• Schaffner, Nicholas (1978). The Beatles Forever . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN   0-07-055087-5 .
• Unterberger, Richie (2006). Unreleased Beatles Music and Film . San Francisco: Backbeat Books. ISBN   978-0-87930-892-6 .
• Winn, John C. (2008). Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume One, 1962–1965 . New York, NY: Three Rivers Press. ISBN   978-0-3074-5239-9 .

The Beatles' 1965 US tour

The Beatles staged their second concert tour of the United States (with one date in Canada ) in the late summer of 1965. At the peak of American Beatlemania , they played a mixture of outdoor stadiums and indoor arenas , with two historic stops on this venture.

After this tour's conclusion, the Beatles, who had been touring, recording and promoting non-stop for three years, took a six-week break before reconvening in mid-October to record the album Rubber Soul .

• 1 The Shea Stadium show
• 2 The Hollywood Bowl shows
• 4 Tour dates
• 5 Instruments and equipment
• 6 References

The Shea Stadium show

The Shea Stadium concert on 15 August was record breaking and one of the most famous concert events of its era. It set records for attendance and revenue generation. Promoter Sid Bernstein said, "Over 55,000 people saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium. We took $304,000, the greatest gross ever in the history of show business." [1] This demonstrated that outdoor concerts on a large scale could be successful and profitable.

The Beatles were transported to the rooftop Port Authority Heliport at the World's Fair by a New York Airways Boeing Vertol 107-II helicopter, then took a Wells Fargo armoured truck to the stadium. Two thousand security personnel were at the stadium to handle crowd control. [1] The crowd was confined to the spectator areas of the stadium with nobody other than the band members, their entourage, and security personnel allowed on the field. As a result of this, the audience was a long distance away from the band while they played on a small stage in the middle of the field.

" Beatlemania " was at one of its highest marks at the Shea Concert. Film footage taken at the concert shows many teenagers and women crying, screaming, and even fainting. The crowd noise was such that security guards can be seen covering their ears as the Beatles enter the field. Despite the heavy security presence individual fans broke onto the field a number of times during the concert and had to be chased down and restrained. Concert film footage also shows John Lennon light-heartedly pointing out one such incident as he attempted to talk to the audience in between songs.

The deafening level of crowd noise coupled with the distance between the band and the audience meant that nobody in the stadium could hear much of anything. Vox had specially designed 100-watt amplifiers for this tour; however, it was still not anywhere near loud enough, so the Beatles used the house amplification system. Lennon described the noise as 'wild' and also twice as deafening when the Beatles performed. On-stage 'fold-back' speakers were not in common use in 1965, rendering the Beatles' playing inaudible to each other, forcing them to just play through a list of songs nervously, not knowing what kind of sound was being produced, or whether they were playing in unison. The Beatles section of the concert was extremely short by modern standards (just 30 minutes) but was the typical 1965 Beatles tour set list, with Ringo opting to sing ' Act Naturally ' instead of ' I Wanna Be Your Man '.

A documentary titled The Beatles at Shea Stadium [1] was produced by Ed Sullivan (under his Sullivan Productions, Inc. banner), NEMS Enterprises Ltd. (which owns the 1965 copyright), and the Beatles company Subafilms Ltd. The project utilised twelve cameras to capture the mayhem and mass hysteria that was Beatlemania in America in 1965. With overdubs (or outright new recordings) by the Beatles in a London studio in January 1966 to cover audio problems throughout the concert recording, the documentary aired in the United States later in 1966 on the ABC television network, and has been widely available on the bootleg circuit for decades.

In May 2007, a recording of the entire show sourced from the actual in-line stadium public address system surfaced. [2] The recording offers a fascinating minute-by-minute document of the complete concert, including opening sets from King Curtis , Cannibal and the Headhunters , Brenda Holloway , Sounds Incorporated and The Discoteque Dancers . More importantly for fans, it offers the actual Beatles performance unaltered by overdubs and other editing.

The Hollywood Bowl shows

Two shows were played at Los Angeles ' high-profile Hollywood Bowl ; the second, on 30 August, featured one of the group's better performances and provided much of the material for the officially-released 1977 live album The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl .

The typical set list for the shows was as follows (with lead singers noted): [3]

• " Twist and Shout " (excerpt) ( John Lennon ) (probably not played at Minneapolis and at least one Portland show, due to problems with John Lennon's voice)
• " She's a Woman " ( Paul McCartney )
• " I Feel Fine " (John Lennon)
• " Dizzy Miss Lizzy " (John Lennon)
• " Ticket to Ride " (John Lennon)
• " Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby " ( George Harrison )
• " Can't Buy Me Love " ( Paul McCartney )
• " Baby's in Black " (John Lennon and Paul McCartney)
• " I Wanna Be Your Man " ( Ringo Starr ) (" Act Naturally ", also sung by Starr, played at Shea Stadium and possibly Maple Leaf Gardens shows)
• " A Hard Day's Night " (John Lennon, with Paul McCartney)
• " Help! " (John Lennon)
• " I'm Down " (Paul McCartney)

Instruments and equipment

Instruments The Beatles had on the tour, shown here for each member of the group.

• 1964 Rickenbacker 325 semi-hollow electric guitar
• 1964 Gibson J-160E acoustic/electric guitar (used as a backup)
• Two organs were utilized in this tour. Lennon's aggressive playing damaged the first in Toronto, so it was traded in for a second after the Atlanta performance [4]
• 1962 Hofner Violin hollowbody bass
• 1961 Hofner Violin hollowbody bass (used as a backup)
• 1963 Gretsch Tennessean hollowbody electric guitar
• 1963 Rickenbacker 360-12 thinline electric guitar (used for "A Hard Day's Night")
• 1963 Gretsch Country Gentleman hollowbody electric guitar (used as a backup)
• Ludwig 22-inch-bass 4-piece drum kit
• Number 5 drop-T logo bass drum head
• ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Roy Carr & Tony Tyler, The Beatles: An Illustrated Record , 1976, p. 46
• ↑ Rolling Stone Magazine Issue 1027, 31 May 2007 (page 90).
• ↑ Nicholas Schaffner, The Beatles Forever , 1977, p. 45
• ↑ John C. Winn, Way Beyond Compare: The Beatles Recorded Legacy , 2008 p. 344
• Use dmy dates from July 2013
• Use British English from December 2010
• 1965 concert tours
• The Beatles concert tours
• 1965 in the United States
• Concert tours of the United States

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The Beatles’ European tour begins at the Palais des Sport, Paris

The Beatles’ final European tour opened with a concert at the Palais des Sports in Paris.

While leaving London Airport the group learned that fans had been turned away by airport authorities, who had claimed that The Beatles has asked them to stay away. This was later denied by the group and Brian Epstein .

The Beatles and their entourage arrived at the Paris-Orly airport at 9.55am and were taken to the George V hotel. Around 50 fans were waiting at the hotel, far fewer than on their previous visit.

They played two concerts at the Palais des Sports, at 3pm and 9pm, each of which was seen by 6,000 people. Also on the bill were The Yardbirds. Both were recorded by French radio station Europe 1; the first was broadcast from 1pm on 27 June, and the second was transmitted live.

The evening performance was also filmed by television channel 2, and was shown on 31 October from 7.30pm.

At night they were visited at their hotel by popular French singer Françoise Hardy, before The Beatles went to the Castel nightclub on 15 Rue Princesse, where they partied until the early hours.

The Beatles’ set throughout the European tour comprised 12 songs: ‘Twist And Shout’ , ‘She’s A Woman’ , ‘I’m A Loser’ , ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ , ‘Baby’s In Black’ , ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ , ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ , ‘Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby’ , ‘Rock And Roll Music’ , ‘I Feel Fine’ , ‘Ticket To Ride’ , and ‘Long Tall Sally’ .

The tour ended on 3 July 1965 in Barcelona, Spain, and encompassed a total of 15 concerts spread over nine dates.

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• 2018: Paul McCartney announces new album Egypt Station
• 2014: Ringo Starr live: Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, New Jersey
• 2010: Paul McCartney live: Hampden Park, Glasgow
• 2004: Paul McCartney live: Palace Square, St Petersburg
• 1995: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan, Hiroshima
• 1992: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Radio City Music Hall, New York City
• 1968: Recording: Revolution 9
• 1968: Paul McCartney flies to New York
• 1966: Mixing: Got To Get You Into My Life
• 1964: The Beatles live: Sydney Stadium, Sydney
• 1963: John Lennon apologises for assaulting Bob Wooler
• 1963: The Beatles Ltd is formed
• 1962: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (evening)
• 1962: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (lunchtime)
• 1961: The Beatles live: Top Ten Club, Hamburg

Want more? Visit the Beatles history section .

Latest Comments

When comparing all the various concert recordings, I think this is one of the better shows they did, performance-wise. What still amazes me is why did they decide to fill their set with 40% covers, like their own stuff wasn´t good enough.

Watched this film again the other week, still a great show to hear. The audience is clapping along with the songs more than just screaming their heads off. Pity George´s guitar is so low in the mix. Paul is trying his best with his French a couple of times. Also a rare occasion where the drums are right on the floor instead of on an elevated contraption, a riser as it is called. Other than the gigs in Rome and Milan in 1965, we have to go back to Paris early 1964 to see a similar arrangement. And since this is the first shows with a brand new bunch of songs, Paul always checks the set list on the bass before he speaks. Would be fun if he had introduced the wrong song though!

This is also a rare instance where they do an encore. Ticket to ride is introduced as the last song, the group leaves the stage and returns to do Long tall Sally. I wonder if this happened at any other Euro 65 show? I can´t tell from existing audios or videos.

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Minneapolis • Saturday, August 21, 1965

Some songs from this concert appear on:

The Ultimate Live Collection Vol. 16

By The Beatles

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For 35 minutes the Beatles played and for 35 minutes the whole stadium full of teenage girls were on one wild emotional jag… The stadium’s PA system was turned up to the last wall, and occasionally a snatch of Beatle-made music filtered past the first row of fans. Ralph Engerson, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 22, 1965

From TheCurrent.org , August 21, 2015:

[…] The show was held at the Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, a former home to the Minnesota Twins that sat on the plot of land where the Mall of America is now, and provided nearly 30,000 young fans with an outlet for their Beatlemania. The Fab Four flew into the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport on the afternoon of August 21, 1965, scurried into a limo, and suffered through a drawn-out press conference with local media where they were subjected to compelling questions like, “Are those wigs?” and “How do sleep with that hair?” After taking in a quick sauna backstage and sitting down to a home-cooked meal of roast beef and mashed potatoes, the quartet of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr strode out onto the Met Stadium stage to play for the screeching crowd. “The screams were deafening! The Beatles came running out and I think they had their guitars in their hands when they climbed on stage,” attendee DeEtta Miller remembered in the book  The Beatles! A One-Night Stand in the Heartland . “We could slightly hear them over the screams, but it was a strain. I’ll never, ever forget that magic night.” Minneapolis rock scene vet Johnny Rey […], was also in attendance that fateful night. “It was a beautiful late summer Saturday evening. It was five days before my 12th birthday. I couldn’t believe I was seeing the Beatles and, of course, it was over in a flash. I bought a program which was the size of an LP with a bunch of great photos of the band, which I promptly cut out and put it on my wall. Later my Grandmother was visiting and, after seeing my room, pulled my mother aside and said: ‘Don’t you think he’s a little young to be thinking about girls?’ Ha!” […] (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); * 28,500 fans paid $3.50-$5.50 to attend the concert at Met Stadium. * It was the only stop on the Beatles’ 1965 tour that didn’t sell out. * A Minneapolis Tribune  intern went undercover as a waitress to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the band hanging out in their hotel room after the show. * Minnesota Twins equipment manager Ray Crump also spent some quality time with the band, keeping them comfortable before the show. “They had never taken a sauna in their lives; they’d never seen a sauna. I said ‘You want to go in the sauna?’ They said, ‘Yes we want to go in the sauna,’” Crump told KARE-11 this week. * Roughly 150 ushers and security guards were on hand—and armed with smelling salts in case any overexcited fans passed out. * The Fab Four earned a cool $50,000 for their 35-minute, 11-song set. * During their visit, a Rickenbaker 12-string guitar was given to George Harrison by an employee of B-Sharp Music Store. Less than two months later, on October 16 George utilized that guitar prominently on The Beatles “If I Needed Someone.”

Last updated on April 17, 2019

Metropolitan Stadium

This was the 1st and only concert played at Metropolitan Stadium.

Setlist for the concert

She's A Woman

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Album Available on The Ultimate Live Collection Vol. 16

I Feel Fine

Dizzy Miss Lizzy

Written by Larry Williams

Ticket To Ride

Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby

Written by Carl Perkins

Can't Buy Me Love

Baby's In Black

I Wanna Be Your Man

A Hard Day's Night

See song statistics for “1965 US tour”

Going further

http://bobbonis.com/the-beatles-in-minnesota/

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The screaming was out of control and the acoustics awful but nonetheless awesome to be there that magical night with my girlfriend!

Thanks Bob to share your memories !!

I was there and my ears are still ringing. It was MAGICAL, just to see you in front of us. Not many people got to see you live...I mention it to people til this day. Highlight of my life and...sorry bout all the screaming.

Thanks Margaret ! What wonderful memories this must be !

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N.B.: The Beatles made their first visit to America in February 1964, to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show , but only made a couple of appearances. This was not classed as a tour. You can read about this visit by clicking here .

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