The Beatles’ only visit to Atlanta lasted around 10 hours, but was remarkable for one key reason: monitor speakers on the stage allowed them to hear themselves play – a rarity during the whirlwind of Beatlemania.
The group landed at Atlanta Municipal Airport at 2pm, having flown in on a chartered aeroplane from Canada. Although crowds of fans were at the airport to greet them, the plane taxied to a remote area where they discreetly boarded, along with their entourage, three limousines.
#OTD 18AUG1965 Q: You fellas seem to have started a complete new trend in music, clothes, and hairstyles. Are you proud of it? George: Yes. pic.twitter.com/BtM4qk3z87
— George Harrison (@GeorgeHarrison) August 18, 2017
The Beatles were taken to the baseball stadium, where a locker room had been designated as their dressing room and headquarters. Some tables and chairs had been assembled in the area, and temporary beds, known locally as ‘cots’, were also provided. Ringo Starr, amused at the word, climbed into one and sucked his thumb loudly.
The hired caterers offered to make The Beatles hamburgers, but they requested corn on the cob instead. Their meals also included top sirloin, leg of lamb and pork loin, along with the corn, pole beans, fruit and apple pie. The group was so impressed with the quality of the food that they signed the china plates for the caterers.
18 August was a hot day, and as there was no air conditioning in the stadium Paul McCartney requested a large fan for the backstage area, although it made little difference. A number of local VIPs were present, and The Beatles posed for photographs and signed numerous autographs.
Atlanta Stadium – later renamed the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium – had only been recently opened. Tickets for the show had gone on sale two months earlier, with field level seats costing $5.50 and upper level ones $4.50. Fans had begun arriving at the stadium from 4.30am on the morning of the show.
A press conference was held at the stadium from 5pm, and was attended by around 150 reporters.
Q: I want to ask what your unfulfilled ambitions are.Paul McCartney: “Er, I haven’t got any.
Ringo Starr and George Harrison: Neither have I.
John Lennon: Me too.
Q: How are The Beatles enjoying their tour here in America?
John Lennon: Very much, thank you. Hello, hello.
George Harrison: Yeah, it’s great.
Ringo Starr: Having a great time.
Q: Is Ringo going to be a father soon, and if so, what will he name his child?
Ringo Starr: I am gonna be a father soon, and I haven’t got a name yet.
Q: How come you’re not hitting more southern cities on your tour?
John Lennon: We don’t know, you know. It’s not up to us where we go. We just climb in the vans.
Paul McCartney: Philosophical.
Q: George, you being the only single one of the group…
George Harrison: What about Paul? Haven’t you heard about him? Let me introduce you.
Paul McCartney: Hello – you goofed!
Q: May I continue? What are your matrimony plans?
George Harrison: Well that question, you know, it’s stupid for a start because Paul isn’t married either, is he? So if you’d like to ask the question again and count Paul in.
Paul McCartney: Right, and we’ll both talk at the same time.
Q: What are your matrimony plans?
George Harrison: I haven’t any.
Q: Paul, what about you and Jane Asher? What’s the story?
Paul McCartney: What about us?
Ringo Starr: Go on, tell them.
Paul McCartney: Well, I haven’t said anything to anyone. But people keep writing about it, and putting it in papers and things. So, erm, you know, I’m getting to believe it. It’s daft, you know. I never said a word about it, anyway. They just keep quoting.
Q: Do the boys have any Atlanta acquaintances?
John Lennon: Not yet.
Ringo Starr: No.
Q: I’d like to ask George Harrison: You fellas seem to have started a complete new trend in music, in clothes, and in hairstyles. When you think about what you started, are you proud of it?
George Harrison: Yes.
Also on this day...
- 2016: Paul McCartney live: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland
- 2010: Paul McCartney live: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh
- 2001: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Billy Bob’s Texas, Fort Worth
- 1998: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Expo 98, Lisbon
- 1995: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles
- 1992: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Starplex Amphitheatre, Dallas
- 1989: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo
- 1969: Recording, mixing: Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End
- 1966: The Beatles live: Suffolk Downs Racetrack, Boston
- 1964: Travel: London to San Francisco
- 1963: The Beatles live: Princess Theatre, Torquay
- 1963: Television: Summer Spin
- 1962: The Beatles live: Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight – Ringo Starr’s first official show as a Beatle
- 1961: The Beatles live: Aintree Institute, Liverpool
- 1961: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (lunchtime)
- 1960: The Beatles’ second day in Hamburg
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I was there! I was at the press conference. I was 15 years old, and my question was the one to Paul about Jane Asher. I wish I still had the pictures, but they were burned in a fire. But I DO still have their cigarette butts, LOL.
What happened was I called the AJC and told ’em they should send a teenaged girl to the show and have her write a column about her impressions. They asked me if I wanted to do it, and OF COURSE, I said yes! I was in the front row at the press conference, and sat in the press box for the show. But I held hands with Paul for a few moments, and Ringo pronounced my name “Bubberly” plus I had a “moment” with John.
Wow. Good times …
You have to spill about the moment with John, you tease…
What kind of moment did you have with John? You lucky girl. God blessed you. Must of been magical! I just can’t imagine how you felt.
Bev–
That is so cool that you got to interview the Beatles. What is your favorite song by the Beatles?
Davan S. Mani
One historical note. In 1965 the Atlanta Airport was simply Atlanta Municipal Airport. Hartsfield’s name was added after his death in the early 1970’s and Maynard Jackson;s name was added in 2003.
Regarding the monitor speakers: Before Dizzy Miss Lizzie laughed and said “Great, you can hear it!” And before Help!, John says “We´ll have to wait a minute now while Paul changes his bass, he´s broken a string!” Paul tells John to keep talking but he can´t think of anything! This is the only time I´ve noticed a string issue at a Beatles performance.
I was there with friends. I was 13. I hate myself for not saving my ticket and taking pictures.
It was a night I will always remember.
I was also there. My two cousins and my brother were able to get tickets from a friend of the cousins in Athens Ga. who was affiliated with a radio station. Tonight I watched The Buddy Holly Story and wept for the loss of this amazing musician. I don’t remember him, but do remember his music. As a teenager I had a huge bedroom with mirrors down both parallel walls where I watched myself as a young teenager compose dance routines to his music. What a tragic loss that I only now realize after the viewing tonight of the movie how much his death cost us who loved his music!!!
I was at the concert- section C, row 10. I bought my ticket at the record store (Clark’s) in Decatur. $5.50. I was 13. A close friend of our family was a staff photographer for the Atlanta Journal and was at the press conference. He gave me a series of 4 original photos he took. They were not the ones published in the AJ story. I still have them. They have never been published.
My Dad was running the sound for Baker Audio that night. And I didn’t get to go!! Arrrg. The Beatles asked him to travel with them and do the sound for other shows, but he was not interested. I just shake my head 🙂
Wow can you imagine him not doing that did he say why not? It would of been the best years if his life.
I announced to my Mother that I was going to the concert after seeing it in the local paper. Of course I was only 7 years old at the time. My stepdad was an Atlanta Policeman and worked security at the concert. He brought me back some merch. A poster and a button that said “in case of emergency call Paul or Ringo. I bought a pencil pouch too with this photo of them.
I was there. I was 14 and still have my ticket and some Poloroid photos that you can barely make out, even though I was pretty close to them when I took them. I was in the 4th row behind 3rd base and they came out of the 3rd base dugout, basically below me, when they dashed to the stage at 2nd base. I’ve got great stories that I’ll never forget, but they would take up too much space here. Bev Hunt – great story!
I’d love a chance to talk about some of your stories—reply here or by email if you can see my email address
In the early 1960’s, Atlanta’s city leaders decided that one of the keys to Atlanta becoming a major city was to have major league sports. Atlanta Stadium opened in early 1965 with plans to begin major league play in 1966. In the meantime, in 1965, what better event to bring notoriety to the city and the new stadium than to have a concert by the most famous band in the world.
The most popular Top 40 radio DJ in Atlanta in the early 60’s was Paul Drew on WQXI AM radio. When the Beatles were touring in 1964 and 1965, they invited Paul Drew to join them for some of the tour. Since the Beatles had just invented the big stadium concert, Paul reminded them that they should include the brand-new stadium in the newly emerging major American city, Atlanta, in their 1965 tour schedule. When the date was set, my wife and I immediately bought tickets to the August 1965 concert at Atlanta Stadium.
The stage was set up at second base, so no seats were sold in centerfield. About 34,000 people got in to see these lads from Liverpool. The entire stadium bordered on hysteria. A group of policemen stood in a line between the stands and the stage. Teenage girls hung over the wall and the police tried to restrain them. The high-pitched screaming from girls was deafening from beginning to end and started even before Paul Drew introduced the Beatles.
I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to hear the music because of all the screaming. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I could hear it quite well, and it was great!
In those days, the big musical acts didn’t bring their own equipment in tractor trailer trucks like they do today. Instead, they simply hired locals to set up the stage and sound equipment. However, it turns out that the Atlanta company that was hired to set up the sound equipment did an incredible job, and the Beatles later said that the Atlanta show was the only concert on the tour where they could hear their own music. The Beatles didn’t tour much after that, mainly because of the trouble they continually had getting sound set-ups in each city that could overcome the deafening high-pitched screaming. They also had security concerns with girls always trying to rush the stage. As a result, I am one of the relatively few people in the world who got to see the Beatles live in concert.
All in all, I believe that night in August 1965 was a seminal event in the history of Atlanta. It is probably the greatest event I have ever witnessed in person.