Aug. 22, 1964 - Vancouver won’t soon forget the Beatles. The four singers spent less than six hours there today — 29 minutes of it on stage — and left behind several injured youngsters and scores in hysterics.
The Beatles’ appearance before some 20,000 at Empire Stadium was pinched into a day that began in Seattle and ended in Los Angeles.
Thousands more youngsters lined up for a glimpse of the singers entering the downtown hotel, but the entire floor reserved for them was never occupied because they arrived in the city late.
Tension, which built up during the day, exploded when the quartet, their long hair flapping, ran on stage about 9:15 p.m.
The screaming and squealing drowned out the singers as they moved into their performance. Their first song — “Twist and Shout” — ended in a deafening roar, and many of the spectators in seats on the field began to press toward the stage, separated from their idols by four rows of steel fencing and about 25 policemen.
The Beatles started another song — “You Can’t Do That” — and the audience picked up the pace. The performers could barely be heard. Each time they shook their shaggy heads, the response was ear-splitting.
The surge toward the stage pinned many youngsters against the restraining fence. Screaming and crying girls were carried off by first-aid workers to a stadium concourse.
One girl, her knees black from crawling on the ground, sat crying on a bench with a number of other girls. Most had lost their shoes. Several more lay prone on the cold concrete floor in a state of hysteria.
One girl, sobbing violently, jumped from the bench and started out screaming “Ringo! Ringo!” A policeman grabbed her and put her back on the bench.
The final tally showed six youngsters taken to the hospital and later released. One had ribs taped, and another required stitches. About 50 were treated at the stadium for “exhaustion and hypertension.”
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Commenti