BEATLES INVASION

The recently opened movie ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week’ delves into the band’s live performances.

1964: CONQUERING AMERICA

In early 1964, the Beatles song “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was their first No. 1 song in the U.S. They appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on Feb. 9, 1964 before an estimated 73 million viewers. Two days later, they played their first live U.S. show at the Washington Coliseum. They returned in late summer and played 26 shows in 24 cities in 32 days. The band had unprecedented booking fees two to three times larger than Frank Sinatra’s at the time and, they encountered chaos in every city they played.

1965: GIANT GIGS

The Beatles had been touring steadily since 1961 and sold out many shows in the 15,000 to 18,000 range. The second U.S. tour in 1965 was the first of its kind where the Beatles could sell enough tickets to fill large stadiums with 40,000 fans or more. Their first show at Shea Stadium In Queens, N.Y., set a record for having a sold-out crowd of 55,600.

1966: ENDING ON A LOW NOTE

After the 1965 tour, the band took a six week break before returning to the studio and recording “Rubber Soul.” In the spring of 1966, the Beatles toured the world from the Philippines in April, to Germany in June, Japan in July and began their final North American tour in Chicago on Aug. 12. They played 13 gigs in the next 17 days and ended the tour at Candlestick Park in front of 25,000 fans in a 42,500 capacity stadium. The final show was just under 30 minutes.

“It was so exciting. On the plane, flying in to the airport, I felt as though there was a big octopus with tentacles that were grabbing the plane and dragging us down into New York. America was the best. It was a dream, coming from Liverpool.” –Ringo Starr

The Beatles landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Feb. 7, 1964.