8.00pm, Monday 29 August 1966 (45 years ago)

Although they made an unannounced live appearance in January 1969 on the rooftop of the Apple building, The Beatles' final live concert took place on 29 August 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.

There was a big talk at Candlestick Park that this had got to end. At that San Francisco gig it seemed that this could possibly be the last time, but I never felt 100% certain till we got back to London.

John wanted to give up more than the others. He said that he'd had enough.

Ringo Starr

Anthology

The Beatles took 65% of the gross, the city of San Francisco took 15% of paid admissions and were given 50 free tickets. This arrangement, coupled with low ticket sales and other unexpected expenses resulted in a financial loss for Tempo Productions.

Candlestick Park was the home of the baseball team the San Francisco Giants. The stage was located just behind second base on the field, and was five feet high and surrounded by a six-foot high wire fence.

The compère was 'Emperor' Gene Nelson of 1260 KYA FM, and the support acts were, in order of appearance, The Remains, Bobby Hebb, The Cyrkle and The Ronettes. The show began at 8pm.

I was the MC, and, as any Giants fans will know, Candlestick Park in August, at night, was cold, foggy and windy. The funniest thing this night was one of the warm-up acts, Bobby Hebb. He stood up on the stage at Candlestick Park, with the fog, and the wind blowing, and he was singing 'Sunny'! It was tough anyway to work a ballpark as an MC, especially as The Beatles were taking their time to get out. I was trying to entertain a crowd that was shouting, 'Beatles, Beatles, Beatles.'

The dressing room was chaos. There were loads of people there. The press tried to get passes for their kids and the singer Joan Baez was in there. Any local celebrity, who was in town, was in the dressing room. They were having a party in there. They were having a perfectly wonderful time, while I was freezing my buns off on second base!

The Beatles took to the stage at 9.27pm, and performed 11 songs: Rock And Roll Music, She's A Woman, If I Needed Someone, Day Tripper, Baby's In Black, I Feel Fine, Yesterday, I Wanna Be Your Man, Nowhere Man, Paperback Writer and Long Tall Sally.

The Beatles knew it was to be their final concert. Recognising its significance, John Lennon and Paul McCartney took a camera onto the stage, with which they took pictures of the crowd, the rest of the group, and themselves at arm's length.

Before one of the last numbers, we actually set up this camera, I think it had a fisheye, a wide-angle lens. We set it up on the amplifier and Ringo came off the drums, and we stood with our backs to the audience and posed for a photograph, because we knew that was the last show.

George Harrison

Thank you Ivan, wherever you may be...

Here's a general synopsis of how it happened.

I have been to about 20 EJ concerts over the years but none was better than that evening for obvious reasons.

It was 43 years ago today (August 15th, 1965) that the Beatles played their legendary concert at Shea Stadium in New York City. The show was the first on their 1965 U.S. summer tour, and it was also the first-ever open air stadium rock concert.

The group flew into New York on August 13th and a day later taped a five-song performance for The Ed Sullivan Show to be broadcast the following month. Sullivan returned the favor by introducing the group the next night at Shea, in front of a sell-out crowd of 55,600 fans.

The Beatles, who performed on a makeshift stage near where second base would normally be, earned a whopping $160,000 for their 30-minute set -- which was a record payout at that time.

The New York Police Department was worried that fans attending the shows would jam the tunnels in and out of Manhattan, so the Beatles were escorted from the Warwick Hotel to the Manhattan East River Heliport and flown by helicopter to the roof of the World's Fair building in Flushing Meadows Park, not far from Shea Stadium.

Next, the group jumped in a Wells Fargo armored van and were driven to the stadium. The van driver gave each of the Beatles a Wells Fargo "agent badge," which they all wore at the evening's concert.

Unlike today's stadium events, no seats were set up on the field for safety reasons. Throughout the concert -- which also featured legendary New York DJ Murray The K and opening acts the King Curtis Band, Cannibal & the Headhunters, Brenda Holloway, and Sounds Incorporated -- fans were constantly stopped from making mad dashes towards the stage.

Ringo Starr recalled the concert in The Beatles Anthology, saying, "What I remember most about the concert was that we were so far away from the audience... And screaming had become the thing to do... Everybody screamed. If you look at the footage, you can see how we reacted to the place. It was very big and very strange."

John Lennon recalled the show in 1970, saying, "At Shea Stadium, I saw the top of the mountain."

Singer Bobby Vinton and the Rolling Stones briefly visited with the Beatles before they hit the stage. Vinton remembers hanging out with the Stones as they made their way to the concert: "Well, I remember I went to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium when they were here. I still saw the poster, I think it was like five dollars to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium. I went with Mick Jagger and the Stones, and they didn't quite... they weren't there yet, you know? They were just comin', and I remember walkin' in New York to Shea Stadium and a couple of guys noticed Mick Jagger and they start punchin' him. And, I mean, these guys in New York are kinda rough, and I said, 'Oh yeah, those bad guys from England.' (laughs)." )

Eric Carmen says that although primitive by today's big budget concert productions, the Beatles' performances during their touring years were defined by the quality of the material they performed: "You know, pacing was probably never a problem for the Beatles. Because first of all, all those songs were just terrific. They were playing for a half an hour. So, I mean if you listen to an old Beatle tape of a concert, it's 30 minutes of 'Twist And Shout' and 'I Saw Her Standing There,' and 'Ticket To Ride." And how bad can it be?"

The Beatles' setlist for their 1965 Shea Stadium concert was: "Twist And Shout," "She's A Woman," "I Feel Fine," "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," their most recent Number One hit "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!" and "I'm Down."

The show was filmed and eventually aired on U.S. TV in December 1966 as The Beatles At Shea Stadium. Although most of the footage from the show is featured in the group's Anthology series, nearly all of the behind-the-scenes footage from that day remains unreleased. The Beatles returned to Shea the next year, on August 23rd, 1966, to a less-than-capacity crowd, with as many as 15,000 seats going unsold.

Both Paul McCartney's and Ringo Starr's future wives -- the late Linda McCartney and Barbara Bach -- were present at the concert. McCartney said during The Beatles' Anthology that, "Linda was also there -- but as she was a real music fan she was quite (annoyed) with everyone screaming. I think she enjoyed the experience, but she genuinely wanted to hear the show. That wasn't the deal though. Not then."

In addition to the Beatles, other artists who have performed at Shea Stadium include the Rolling Stones, the Who, Eric Clapton, Elton John, the Police, the Clash, Simon & Garfunkel, Grand Funk Railroad, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jethro Tull, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and Bob Dylan.

On July 18th of this year, McCartney joined Billy Joel onstage during the final concert at Shea before the stadium is leveled. McCartney -- playing the same Hofner violin bass that he did during the Beatles' 1965 and '66 shows -- performed "I Saw Her Standing There" and then took over piano duties from Joel for "Let It Be" -- marking it as the final song to be played in concert at Shea Stadium.

Billy Joel paid tribute to the Beatles numerous times over his two-night stint dubbed, "The Last Play At Shea," including wearing Ringo Starr's Wells Fargo agent badge that he had worn during their 1965 show.

Copyright © 2001-2008 KSHE 95 / St. Louis.

THERE'S A PLACE

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- 11 Feb 1963

master tape- twintrack 2d generation

I SAW HER STANDING THERE

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- 11 Feb 1963

master tape- twintrack 2d generation

A TASTE OF HONEY

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- 11 Feb 1963

master tape- twintrack 2d generation

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW A SECRET

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- 11 Feb 1963

master tape- twintrack 2d generation

MISERY

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- 20 Feb 1963

master tape- twintrack 2d generation

ANNA

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- none

master tape- twintrack

BOYS

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- none

master tape- twintrack

CHAINS

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- none

master tape- twintrack

BABY, IT'S YOU

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- 20 Feb 1963

master tape- twintrack 2d generation

TWIST AND SHOUT

basic recording- 11 Feb 1963

additional recording- none

master tape- twintrack

I believe Twist and Shout ended the session and it was done in one take. That was a good days work.

In my opinion, this may have been the single most prolific/productive session in rock and roll history.

By Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart

Here we come, walkin'

Down the street.

We get the funniest looks from

Ev'ry one we meet.

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees

And people say we monkey around.

But we're too busy singing

To put anybody down.

We go wherever we want to,

do what we like to do

We don't have time to get restless,

There's always something new.

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees

And people say we monkey around.

But we're too busy singing

To put anybody down.

We're just tryin' to be friendly,

Come and watch us sing and play,

We're the young gneration,

And we've got something to say.

Any time, Or anywhere,

Just look over your shoulder

Guess who'll be standing there

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees

And people say we monkey around.

But we're too busy singing

To put anybody down.

(break)

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees

And people say we monkey around.

But we're too busy singing

To put anybody down.

We're just tryin' to be friendly,

Come and watch us sing and play,

We're the young gneration,

And we've got something to say.

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees

[repeat and fade]

extra verse:

Hey, hey, we're the Monkees,

You never know where we'll be found.

so you'd better get ready,

We may be comin' to your town.

VIDEO

It was 37 years ago today (August 1st, 1972) that George Harrison and friends performed the legendary Concert For Bangladesh at New York City's Madison Square Garden. Harrison organized the shows at the urging of his mentor, sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, who asked Harrison to help raise and awareness for his native, famine stricken East Pakistan, by then renamed Bangladesh.

Harrison sprang into action and rounded up a variable who's who in the rock community, including fellow Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr, the semi-reclusive Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Badfinger, and well over a dozen horn players and singers. With the world's eyes on him, Harrison planned rock's first global fundraiser, as well as his debut as a solo performer.

Harrison had actually asked his feuding ex-bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney to perform at the concert as well. According to several sources, McCartney initially agreed, but only if Lennon also performed, with the two playing separate solo sets. McCartney, who was days away from announcing the formation of his solo band Wings, eventually backed out, stating that there were too many legal problems yet to be sorted out among the former Beatles and their then manager Allen Klein for them to appear on the same stage.

Lennon was reportedly all for appearing, until Harrison informed Lennon that only he, and not wife Yoko Ono, was invited to participate. After a long argument with Yoko about whether to perform, Lennon flew to Paris alone and in a rage, missing the entire show, and causing a major rift in Lennon and Harrison's relationship.

Harrison never formally asked Ringo Starr to play; Starr took it upon himself to tell Harrison he'd be there. Harrison also reportedly turned down offers from Mick Jagger and David Crosby, who asked to appear.

Due to overwhelming ticket demand, in the days before the show, a second afternoon performance was added. Although there was about a week of rehearsals that took place above Carnegie Hall, due to the various musicians' schedules the benefit's afternoon performance was the first time that the entire ensemble actually played together.

Harrison's first wife Pattie Boyd says that no one expected the event to end up as the historic event it has become: "Well, of course we didn't know it was going to be the biggest concert in history. We knew it was going to be a very big concert, and he clearly hoped to raise a lot of money. And as far as I remember I think I flew in a couple of days before the show."

Harrison wasn't sure until the last minute that Dylan would actually turn up for the show, and can even be seen in the movie of the concert peering into the wings to see if Dylan actually was there before introducing him.

Although Eric Clapton was invited to be the show's lead guitarist, he was in such bad shape while dealing with his heroin addiction that Taj Mahal's Jesse Ed Davis was deputized to play and pick up whatever musical slack Clapton might leave behind.

Boyd, who after her divorce from Harrison went on to marry Clapton, recalled that everyone was worried about his health at the time: "I remember that it was a pretty major, wonderful show, fantastic show. But there was a bit of concern about Eric when he flew in because of the problems that he had at that time, and everyone was really concerned. And I think this sense of concern was everywhere, really."

The show featured Harrison performing selections from his recent Number One album All Things Must Pass, including the chart topper "My Sweet Lord," as well as Beatles classics such as "Here Comes The Sun," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and "Something." Starr took the lead on his recent Top Five Harrison-produced hit "It Don't Come Easy," and Dylan performed a set of his '60s classics including "Blowin' In The Wind," "Mr. Tambourine Man," and "Just Like A Woman," while backed by Harrison in slide guitar, Starr on tambourine and Leon Russell on bass.

The late Billy Preston got an early ovation with his rousing performance of "That's The Way God Planned It." In 2005, Preston recalled the atmosphere among the musicians at the Bangladesh concerts: "Everybody was just excited and thrilled that it went so well. Everybody had a good time with each other. There was no egos."

The Concert For Bangladesh three-record set peaked at Number Two on the Billboard charts, and went on to win the 1972 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

The revenues from the concert tickets, live album, movie, VHS, and now recent DVD sales have topped $15 million. The concerts, which were rock's first major charity benefits, paved the way for every benefit that followed.

In 2006, Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, appeared at Madison Square Garden on the anniversary of the concerts, when a plaque commemorating the event was placed on the venue's walk of fame.

Copyright KSHE 95/Emmis Broadcasting