Tomorrow, Saturday, August 15th, marks the 55th anniversary of arguably the most famous concert The Beatles ever played.
Sunday, August 15th, 1965marked the start of their U.S. tour in front of 55,600 people at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York. It was the first concert held in the stadium that was home to Major League Baseball's New York Mets.
It was the largest gathering to attend a pop concert at that time, and forerunner to stadium shows, which became the norm a few years later.
Topping a bill that featured Brenda Holloway,The King Curtis Band,Sounds Incorporated,The Young Rascals and Cannibal and the Headhunters, The Beatles turned in a 12-song set that last 30 minutes.
- "Twist and Shout"
- "She's a Woman"
- "I Feel Fine"
- "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"
- "Ticket to Ride"
- "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby"
- "Can't Buy Me Love"
- "Baby's in Black"
- "Act Naturally"
- "A Hard Day's Night"
- "Help!"
- "I'm Down"
It aired in black-and-white two times in the U.K. in 1966 and was shown in color on U.S. TV on January 10th, 1967 on ABC.
Among those in the audience were Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as well as Marvin Gaye. After the show, The Beatles were visited by Bob Dylan at the Warwick Hotel in Manhattan.
The Beatles returned to Shea Stadium a year later, August 23rd, 1966.
Paul McCartney returned to Shea Stadium in 2008 to play the final concert there as a special guest of Billy Joel.