August 14th, 1966. The height of Beatle-mania.
Police battled large crowds of screaming Beatles fans that stormed the stage at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
The Beatles performed the final stop of their concert tour in Northeast Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie among a crowd of 24,646 people. This was no doubt a watershed moment for Cleveland and rock n’ roll history. Promoters actually considered the attendance a ‘dismal failure,’ noting the ticket price between $3 and $5.50.
The low numbers were likely a result of the Beatles having lesser appeal with adults. John Lennon’s comments about the band having the same popularity as Jesus Christ caused outrage among Christians in the South, and even led to the banning of Beatles memorabilia and merchandise. Parents wanted to “protect” their children from the influence of Beatles’ lyrics, which resulted in a fierce coalition meant to stop the concert in Cleveland. There was no doubt that during this time of counterculture in the late 60s and 70s, the youth were becoming more out of touch with religion. Concert attendance was affected because The Beatles were never received with the same amount of affection in the states as they were in England.
The noise was nevertheless loud, and the screams of adolescents rushing the stage actually covered the sounds of The Beatles instruments, halting the concert for 30 minutes as police aggressively tried to calm down the concert-goers. The rainy weather that night also contributed to the Beatles troubles in maintaining the situation.
The Cleveland concert marked one of the more significant moments for The Beatles popularity in America. After the concert, The Beatles ended their tour of the States. Afterwards, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr began developing more complex music, and the band broke up less then four years later.
Paul McCartney will perform at Quicken Loans arena on Wednesday and Thursday.
