By August 1965, the world was firmly in the throes of Beatlemania. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr had just scored their eighth consecutive No. 1 hit in the United Kingdom with “Help!” off their fifth album of the same name. Less than four months later, the Liverpool quartet would release the follow-up, Rubber Soul, which included songs like “Drive My Car” and “In My Life.” On Aug. 15, 1965, the Beatles made history again, performing for a record-breaking (at the time) crowd at the New York Mets’ Shea Stadium. Now, the Mets have something special planned for the event’s 60th anniversary.
The Beatles Were the First to Play Shea Stadium, According to Paul McCartney
At 6:15 p.m. Eastern on Friday, Aug. 15 — an hour before the Mets take on the Seattle Mariners at home — the band 1964 the Tribute will perform the Beatles’ biggest hits in front of Shea Bridge. Additionally, the first 15,000 fans to enter Citi Field will receive an exclusive Shea Stadium replica.
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Former Shea Stadium employees who were working the day of the concert will return to throw the ceremonial first pitch. Fans can stick around for a themed fireworks show after the game.
Nowadays, artists like Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen sell out stadium shows in minutes. What music lovers may not know is that the Beatles set that standard in 1965 when they played for 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium.
“Now it’s quite commonplace for people to play Shea Stadium or Giants Stadium and all those big places, but this was the first time,” Paul McCartney said in The Beatles Anthology. “It seemed like millions of people, but we were ready for it. They obviously felt we were popular enough to fill it.”
They were correct. “Once you go onstage and you know you’ve filled a place that size, it’s magic, just walls of people,” said McCartney, now 83.
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John Lennon “Saw the Top of the Mountain” on That Night
Made possible by legendary promoter Sid Bernstein, Shea Stadium was the first stop on the Beatles’ second tour of the United States. In his 2002 autobiography It’s Sid Bernstein Calling … the music empresario described running into John Lennon at a Jimmy Cliff concert six years later at Carnegie Hall.
As intermission drew to a close, Bernstein wrote, Lennon gazed at him “with a distant look in his eyes.
“‘You know, Sid, that concert in 1965 at Shea Stadium … I saw the top of the mountain on that unforgettable night,” Lennon said.
Looking back at the legendary Beatle, Bernstein himself reminisced on the “truly unbelievable” event.
“‘I know what you mean, John,” Bernstein said. “I saw the top of the mountain, too.”
Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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