The Beatles began their 14-date final tour with two concerts at Chicago’s International Amphitheater, a venue they had previously played in September 1964.
They played at 3pm and 7.30pm; each show was seen by 13,000 people. Support acts for the entire tour were The Remains, Bobby Hebb, The Cyrkle, and The Ronettes.
The Beatles’ standard set throughout the tour consisted of 11 songs: ‘Rock And Roll Music’, ‘She’s A Woman’, ‘If I Needed Someone’, ‘Day Tripper’, ‘Baby’s In Black’, ‘I Feel Fine’, ‘Yesterday’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Paperback Writer’, and ‘I’m Down’. During the tour they occasionally substituted the final song with ‘Long Tall Sally’.
The International Amphitheatre stood at 42nd Street and South Halsted. It became unable to attract enough large events during the 1970s and 1980s and suffered a decline. The venue was demolished in August 1999.
Also on this day...
- 2014: Paul McCartney live: US Airways Center, Phoenix
- 2013: Paul McCartney live: Investors Group Field, Winnipeg
- 2010: Paul McCartney live: Bell Centre, Montreal
- 2003: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Rosemont Theatre, Rosemont
- 1998: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Freilichtbühne, Stuttgart
- 1995: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Sunken Gardens, San Antonio
- 1992: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles
- 1989: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Jones Beach Theatre, Wantagh
- 1973: Recording: Mind Games by John Lennon
- 1972: Wings live: Fyns Forum, Odense
- 1969: Mixing: Oh! Darling, Because, Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
- 1968: Recording, mixing: Not Guilty
- 1968: John Lennon and Yoko Ono attend an Ossie Clark fashion show
- 1966: Press conference: Astor Tower Hotel, Chicago
- 1964: Radio: The Teen Scene
- 1963: The Beatles live: Odeon Cinema, Llandudno
- 1962: The Beatles live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (evening)
- 1961: The Beatles live: Aintree Institute, Liverpool
- 1960: Pete Best auditions for The Beatles
- 1960: Paul McCartney offers audition to mystery drummer
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I was at the 1966 Beatle concert at Chicago’s International Ampitheatre. Although I was thrilled to be there, there was so much screaming you couldn’t hear the band sing. They could have been playing Mary Had a Little Lamb, and no one would have known the difference. Thank God for radio, and Ed Sullivan! Since sound equipment has gotten so much better, that would never happen today!
Saw the evening show. You could hear YESTERDAY. When the band started to play it, the screaming virtually halted.
My friend screamed “Paul” during the song Yesterday and the almost silence in the theater. We were thrilled to think Paul actually was able to hear her!!!
I was at the afternoon show and we had a loudspeaker within 10 feet of our seats and we could barely hear – we were the lucky ones- I bet 10,000 people never heard a word!!
I was there too, but for some reason, thought it was in 1965. Saw the 7:30 show and got an autograph from the lead singer of The Cyrcle. A ticket for the show cost $5.50. Will never forget it
I was at the 3:00 PM show. They opened with Paperback Writer, if I recall. A lot of screaming, the song I could hear the best was Yesterday. Nevertheless, it was great to see the Beatles perform.
August 12,1966 was my 13th birthday and this was just a FABULOUS way to enter my “teens.” I screamed, I cried, and had the best time ever!
It is a memory that I will NEVER forget. I can still see the Beatles on the stage..it was incredible.
I am now 58 years old, still love The Beatles, see Paul McCartney any chance that I can..he is just AWESOME!
I am so happy that I can now tell my 18 month old twin grand-girlies about The Beatles…they say “Yeah Yeah Yeah!.”
Life is good 😉
I was there too!!! It was a dream come true for me since I had just come to the US from Colombia in 1965 when I was 16 years old, at the time of the concert I was 17. I am now almost 66 years old and will never forget that wonderful experience it was just like I had seen on TV!!! LOTS of screaming!!! My favorite…RINGO??
I was there on this date 50 years ago, neither saw them nor heard them, but I was there. Best day of my life !!
Attended this concert out of Mpls/St Paul via a promotion sponsored by top 40 station KDWB in conjunction with Burlington RR. Billed as the “Bobby Wayne Swing Train” the first 50 to call in were sent to Chicago on the fast Morning Zephyr train. I was one of 5 guys and 45 crazed Beatle girls and DJ Bobby Wayne and the RR senior psgr agent as chaperones. The excitement and anticipation aboard was electric. Beatlemania at its finest. Even the regular passengers sensed they were part of something big. Coming into the Chicago area,one of the girls tuned in a transistor radio to WLS I think,and the whole city was abuzz. All this for 29.95.(the round trip train fare Mpls-Chicago was 22.00 then). So for the balance of 7.95,we got dinner nearby and the concert. Try that today! To top it off,a wireservice reporter took a picture of the group at the concert and to our surprise was on the front page of a section in the Mpls paper next day Aug 13 “twin cites teens in Chicago see Beatles.” A great memory of 49 years ago of the best rock act ever. 50 years ago coming up Aug 21 1965 also was fortunate enough for 5.50 to see them at Twins Metropolitan Stadium In Minnesota.
P.S fast forward to 2013 Branson MO. You can, and I did meet George Harrison’s real sister Louise Harrison at the excellent Liverpool Legends show that she put together in Branson. Check it out if you can.She is there and will sign memorabilia.
Aloha,
I was at evening show. 5th row just off center to Johns side. I can see it like yesterday. I found that if I cupped my ears with my hands, I could hear the music. Somewhat. Maybe because I was so close and all the screaming was behind me. I have pictures that I found they the internet that show from behind The Beatles playing and you can see me in the fifth row. Still have the ticket stub of course. D
I don´t think that I´m down was performed at all in the US in 1966. There are a few film clips, and -if the corresponding sound is authentic- we can hear bits of Long tall Sally in Chicago and Cleveland. And there are audio tapes from Toronto, Boston, Memphis (both shows), St.Louis and San Francisco which all include Long tall Sally. I am not sure whether it can be heard in the background during “Beatles fans at Shea” though, haven´t heard it for a long time.
Also, there are is no trace of any organ on stage, that would have been used for I´m down, in any of the photos from that tour that I have seen. So may I humbly suggest that either evidence suggesting I´m down ever being used is brought forward, or the set list is adjusted accordingly throughout the 1966 US tour dates. Thanks.
My cousin and i went to the evening show. We were lucky because i sent in for tickets fairly late but we got seats in the first few rows in the balcony on John’s side very close to the band, as opposed to being in the back on the main floor.
We could see them and most importantly, hear them very well.
I wouldn’t have known it at the time but now I look back on the show as one of my life’s highlights.
I was at the afternoon show, it was wonderful. You could hear them just fine. I remember we sat in the 59th row and I stood on my chair waving a white sweater, screaming Paul’s name and crying through the whole thing. I was 13. I remember those green curtains behind them; the Beatles were peeking out of them during the Ronnettes set and everyone started screaming. I also remember a man walking up and down the aisle selling coke, he kept blocking peoples’ view and a bunch of people finally tackled him and made him stop walking up and down the aisle.
What a great memory of being there seeing my idols. We took the Rock Island Rocket to Chicago from Peoria. I remember security asking everyone if they had a flash camera because all the lights nearly blinded the guys as they’d come on stage. We hid ours in our purses and got some great pictures from our 15th row seats. I recall the Beatles once said they considered not touring any longer because no one could hear them because of all the screaming and they couldn’t hear what they were playing or singing.
In the first concert I went to in Indy in 64, there were 16,000 screaming teens inside the amphitheatre, and after myself and my friends came out, we could not hear one thing for 45 minutes! We thought we would never hear again. I mean totally stone cold deaf. I now have tinnitis and have had it years.
I went to the August 20th, 1965 concert at the Ampitheater. Many years later I found a poster for that concert, but I am not sure it is an original. How do I tell? Anyone else have one?
They did play there in 1965 too. I was there for the ’66 show and somehow I got 3rd row center seats!! It was just luck because I ordered them by mail! Ticket cost 6.50. I was in heaven and was lucky to actually be able to hear them. I was never one of the screamers, nor was my best friend and a cousin who was with me. I remember catching Ringo’s eye and smiling really BIG. He winked at me and I must have looked shocked because then he nodded as if to confirm he had seen me and winked. I was thrilled and still have my ticket stub tucked away in a scrapbook that also contains ticket stubs from many other bands I saw in the 60s.
They also played Wrigley Field in 1965, I was there in the high peanut gallery.
That 1965 convert was at Comiskey Park. Look it up.
Was at the early show. For some reason, I don’t remember The Ronettes being there. I adored them too. We were 2 rows from the stage. The huge speakers onstage. John had just made the statement about them being more popular than Jesus, and all the beatback. So, I found their performance not up to par as the other two shows I saw. It was a more subtle depressed performance, not as bubbly as usual. The first I saw in 64 in Indy, they were throwing pitchers of beer onstage. Nice to read all the comments from all those there with me. I wish we could go back and do it again.
Went to see the BEATLES with 2 other friends on Bobby Wayne’s Swing Train from MN. $ 29.95 for train ticket, dinner before concert and great seats . First teer on right of stage where John stood.
Experience of a life time, lots of screaming fans n flash bulbs going off all over like fireflies.
Still talk about it today. Was 16 yo at the time n our picture was in the paper as well. Train ride was something else, coaches of service men and one coach was all nuns. And us ” Beatle Fans ”
Great Time. Still looking for the picture of us in the paper….
Thanks to Bobby Wayne’s Swing Train.
KDWB