Sept. 17, 1964 - The Beatles were so far removed from most of their audience tonight at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium that they looked like black, wiggling worms in a lighted box.
But a bridge of love, not visible to adults, brought them close to each of the thousands of girls shrieking her delight at being in their presence.
A sound like a thousand factory whistles filled the air each time Paul McCartney shook his long hair.
When John Lennon belted out, “I got something to say that will cause you pain,” 10,000 hands stretched heavenward in the sweet ecstasy for such occasions in teenaged minds.
A wave of the drumsticks by Ringo Starr brought most of the crowd to their feet. When George Harrison stamped his foot, the echo was like a thunderclap.
Surprisingly, it was possible to hear the singers. It was an exciting night, and because of tight security arrangements, no one was hurt.
Financially, with the attendance of 20,280, the show was not a success. Charles O. Finley, who paid the quartet $150,000 for the 31-minute performance, had made arrangements to seat 40,000 in the stadium usually left even more empty by his Kansas City Athletics.
The $8.50 seats on the playing field — dampened earlier by rain — were nearly filled, but the cheapest ones in the stands were glaringly empty. From the upper decks, it was nearly impossible to distinguish anyone on the stage.
An Athletics officials estimated the gate at $100,000. It cost $20,000 just to stage the affair, and Finley, who had promised any profits to Children’s Mercy Hospital, donated $25,000 to the hospital.
With 350 policemen on hand — 100 standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the fence that separated the bandbox — there were no incidents.
Members of the 40-odd Beatle troupe said the crowd was the best mannered of any in the singers’ tour of the U.S. that began in San Francisco Aug. 19. The Beatles will perform tomorrow night in Dallas Memorial Auditorium, and they’ll give the last concert Sunday in New York. They leave for home after having been seen by some 350,000 and $2 million richer.
Among tonight’s crowd was 14-year-old Vickie Mucie, vice president of a fan club called the Leabets (Beatles spelled inside out.) In her capacity, she attended a press conference in the afternoon and got a prize: one of Paul’s cigarettes. “I’m going to frame it along with a jelly bean John stepped on in Denver,” she said.
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