The sixth date of The Beatles’ final tour took place at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. It was their only Canadian stop on the tour.
Two concerts took place. The first took place at 4pm and was seen by 15,000 people, and the second began at 8pm and was attended by 17,000. The Beatles had played at Maple Leaf Gardens on two prior occasions, on 7 September 1964 and 17 August 1965.
Support acts for the 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’.
After the show The Beatles spent the night in Toronto before flying to Boston on 18 August 1966.
Also on this day...
- 2016: Paul McCartney signs to Capitol Records
- 1969: Paul McCartney produces Mary Hopkin’s Que Sera, Sera
- 1968: George and Pattie Harrison fly to Greece
- 1965: Live: Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada
- 1963: Live: Odeon Cinema, Llandudno
- 1962: Live: Tower Ballroom, New Brighton, Wallasey
- 1962: Live: Majestic Ballroom, Birkenhead
- 1961: Live: St John’s Hall, Liverpool
- 1960: The Beatles’ first performance in Hamburg
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I was at the CONCERT and I will never forget it. the excitement and screaming. it is too much to put into
words..
I was there…with my best friend, Mary…but sitting in our seats on August 17 1966 was just not enough…we found a huge sliding door at Maple Leaf Gardens and when we opened it, we saw goalie nets backstage in storage…so we hid in the goalie nets and listened…and could hear The Beatles…we finally got up and stood at the curtain opening right behind Ringo’s drums and watched from there…we got kicked out twice as we could not tell security who we were with…the only regret is that we didn’t stay hidden in the goalie nets until their performance had ended so we could have met them…although, really, they were great performers…but George was my one and only heart-throb! I still have my ticket stub!!!
I to went to see the beatles in concert in Toronto Canada (which my older sister and I won at a store promotion in buffalo n.y.) We’re we are from. I remember spending that day getting ready wearing a granny mini dress and my first pair of fishnet stockings I even got to shave my legs with my older sisters electric shaver, just trying to look older then a mere 13 now when I think of it my sister was all behind this so I would look older so she could say to her friends she wasn’t taking her little sister. During the concert I remember the screams and after every song the beatles preformed the would bow down cool. After the concert on every corner there were crying girls and ambulances all around never seen anything like it.
Hi Mary, I’m doing a 50th anniversary story about the Buffalonians that saw the Beatles in Toronto in 1966. I’d love to talk to you.
I was there with my friend Steve Wagman … my ‘future sister-in-law’ had 2 tickets to the show but was unavailable so … I somehow got the nod. I remember the show as my first concert … sitting in the Reds closest to Paul and George … the starting acts were great and then the Beatles came on and the ‘Kodak Instamatic Camera Flashes’ started and never stopped along with all the girls screaming …
I was there on August 17, 1966. I was 12 and went with my best friend, Dick Wright. His uncle got us tickets, they were $4.00 each. We sat in the greens, and the stage looked so far away. We couldn’t hear a word they were singing because of all the screaming. I took a small reel to reel tape recorder. But all you could hear was Paul’s bass. The most exciting thing that happened was a girl fainting in our row and being taken away by St. John’s ambulance. But I was there and will never forget it. I’m going back to Maple Lesf gardens this Wednesday, August 17, 2017 to relive that magical day by hearing classic albums live. I can’t wait
My sister and I were there. We’re from Niagara Falls, NY and we were at all three of the Toronto concerts in 1964, 1965 and 1966. We waited out behind Maple Leaf Gardens to see them arrive but they were in a police wagon and we couldn’t see them. But we arrived in the Gardens when the show of supporting acts had already started and we spotted two seats right up front in about the 6th or 7th row. We sat in them expecting to be kicked out but the people never arrived so we had great up front seats for that show.
My sister, her friend and I took a bus from Sudbury for the 1966 concert. We were lucky enough to get a room at the Royal York.. the concert was the most amazing experience of my life until we went back to our room. My sister’s friend Francis and I went on a tour of the hotel. When the door to the elevator opened out came George, Paul and John. RIngo was not with them at that time. We stood there with our mouths opened I am sure..they nodded and smiled. To this day it is like a dream that I will have for the rest of my life.
Martha
I though that The Beatles stayed at the King Edward Hotel. That’s where I saw them…..all 4 of them.
I won 1 pairs of tikets from a radio contest cfcf Montréal and 1 tiket from a french station CJMS I gived my pair of tikets to my 2 sisters and kept the other one it whas pure magic
i was there for the 65 and 66 shows and looking at the set lists triggers so many memories for some reason… its the only way i know it was def those two years… and the opening acts, remember them too.i would have been 13 and 14 the next month in sept. Consider myself very lucky a classmate Eddie Talij got the tickets somehow,somewhere and asked me to go.Not sure if someone else was with us. The king edward hotel and royal york have been mentioned but wasnt the hotel behind the gardens where they stayed one year, the Sutton Place ?
My cousin and I were there in the blues. Tickets were $5.50. Bobby Hebb sang “Sunny”, Cyrkle sang “Red Rubber Ball”. I don’t remember the others. When the Fab Four came on stage, the place went wild. You could only hear the opening notes. As soon as everyone could identify the song, the screaming drowned out the rest. You only knew the song ended when they bowed. Repeat 10 times. That afternoon they finished with Long Tall Sally. Maybe half
an hour later it was over. My ears were ringing for about three days after.
I was there at the hotel in Toronto then went to the 4pm show as a guest of Johns behind stage my parents had not long migrated to Canada. I had previously met John and the rest of them at the Roman Camp hotel Perthshire on 29.4.1964. My father got in touch with his family contact in order for me to meet up with john one more time. I was to meet him later in life In NY as part of my engagement but we all know what happened 8.12.80
I was at the 1966 show. I was 14. I took my 9 yr old brother with me. My dad had gotten me a pair of tickets just above and to the left of stage in one of the corners. I remember “the Circle” played. When the Beatles started the crowd around me went crazy. Must’ve been 80% girls. Girls fainting everywhere. As we walked out… we saw fainted girls being attended to by St Johns Ambulance people everywhere along the hallways. This was my first ever concert. It’s why I started playing guitar!!