The Beatles performed just one concert in Minnesota, at the Old Met stadium in Minneapolis before 25,000 people.
They flew to Twin Cities airport at around 4.15pm, and were taken by limousine to the Leamington Motor Inn. The hotel had previously announced that the group were staying, causing large crowds to form outside.
Inside the stadium The Beatles had use of the Minnesota Twins' locker room. All four took saunas for the first time, according to the clubhouse manager Ray Crump, and played roulette with Brian Epstein for the proceeds of the souvenir programmes.
A press conference was held at the stadium's Minnesota Room, which was attended by around 150 reporters. Local radio station WDGY, along with Ron Butwin and Randy Resnick from local store B-Sharp Music, presented George Harrison with a new Rickenbacker 360-12, an electric 12-string guitar in a Fireglo red sunburst finish.
When the Remo Four - another English group - were in town a few weeks back we showed them this guitar when they visited our store, and they flipped over it. The group knew The Beatles, and one of the fellows said that George Harrison would love to have a guitar like this. I decided that Randy and I should present it to him when he came to town, with our thanks to The Beatles for causing the guitar business to boom.
B-Sharp Music, Minneapolis
The guitar was not used on the US tour, but Harrison brought it to the studio upon The Beatles' return to Britain. It was used on If I Needed Someone on 1965's Rubber Soul.
Tickets for the concert were priced at $2.50, $3.50, $4.50 and $5.50, and The Beatles were paid $50,000. The other acts on the bill were, in order of appearance, Brenda Holloway and the King Curtis Band, Cannibal & The Headhunters, Sounds Incorporated, and the Young Rascals.
The Beatles' setlist featured 11 songs: She's A Woman, I Feel Fine, Dizzy Miss Lizzy, Ticket To Ride, Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby, Can't Buy Me Love, Baby's In Black, I Wanna Be Your Man, A Hard Day's Night, Help! and I'm Down.
The stage was situated near second base, with around 40 yards separating them from the nearest fans. Each member of the stadium security crew, including police and 150 ushers, was equipped with smelling salts in case fans fainted.
After the concert, fans surrounded a limousine outside the stadium, presuming it to be The Beatles' car. The group hid inside a Falconers' laundry truck, and were taken back to the Leamington Motor Inn.
The hotel was besieged by fans throughout the night, a number of which managed to gain entry. Police Inspector Donald Dwyer threatened to arrest Paul McCartney unless a young blonde woman left his fifth-floor room within two minutes. When she emerged, she presented identification to prove she was over 21.
The Met was demolished in 1985. The Mall of America shopping mall, which opened in 1992, now stands on the site.
Hi
I think it's possible they didn't play Twist & Shout at this show or the two shows in Portland. There's circumstantional evidence on the tape: there's no Twist & Shout and it begins with She's A Woman. In this show John Lennon is noticeably hoarse.
Far more convincing, however, is that in several interviews from the 21st, 22nd and 28th (when they got to San Diego) Lennon talks about his throat problems and the interviewers ask him mention whether they will start playing Twist & Shout to the setlist again after dropping it.
I'm certain they didn't play it at the first show on the 22nd. The interviewer asks Lennon directly about it.
I thought it was worth mentioning. She's A Woman is quite a set-opener!
Thanks Andrew. I didn't know they'd dropped that song for some shows - I just added the standard setlist they used for the tour. I've amended the article accordingly.
Hi Joe. Thanks for updating the 21st and 22nd entries.
I'm really surprised this has not been reported. The evidence is in the interviews from the time. I'd never heard of it before but was thrilled to find this little piece of information.
Of course, if anyone has proof that they DID play Twist & Shout, they should speak up but I'm as certain as I can be they didn't. It's very odd they didn't try a different song but I suppose they only played the abbreviated version of Twist & Shout. In one of the interviews Lennon even refers to it as an intro that no one can really hear anyway!
I'm going through all the available interviews and audio from the 1966 World and US & Canada Tours. I'll let you know if I find out anything unusual. Unfortunately, the 1966 stuff isn't documented anywhere near as well as the 1965 stuff. Even so, it's fascinating to hear how much more fed up they sound than they did just a year earlier. If only something from the December 1965 UK Tour survived. Holy grail!!!
Thanks again for taking my feedback. I absolutely love your website. Please keep up all your efforts.
If you want to read some stories about the December 1965 UK Tour, you might try the Beatle Fanclub magazine shortly after the tour.
Hi Joseph
Thanks for the suggestion. Do you know if there are there electronic versions of these somewhere on the internet or are these only available second hand floating around?
I've got a bit of information about the tour from this website and various books. It seems that it's a very badly documented tour, unlike the US Tour that preceded it. It's a shame as they were playing the Rubber Soul-period songs for the first time and evidently had a fun on this tour. The available recordings from the next tour in June and July 1966 aren't particularly impressive. In my opinion they pull it together during the final US tour and play a good show to finish off their live career, but the mystery of this final UK Tour intrigues me.
I do not know if the Fan Club magazines are available in electronic form.
I believe the Moody Blues (with Denny Laine) were on tour with the Fabs using vans for transportation.
Both groups had the run of an arcade room with a pool table on a day off or one night after a concert.
Let me dig out my magazines and I will try to get back to you.