The Beatles On Tour 1966

Label: Silent Sea Productions, ssdv.003.v2

104 minutes - color and b+w - mono

CIRCUS KRONE-BAU - MUNICH
The Beatles began their 1966 international tour with two shows in Munich at 5:15 and 9:00 pm. The German part of the tour was dubbed "Bravo Blitztournee," sponsored by the entertainment magazine Bravo. The second show was taped in black-and-white by Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), utilizing five cameras. The resulting 45-minute special was broadcast as Die Beatles on July 5th, including footage of opening acts Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, the Rattles and Peter and Gordon.

NIPPON BUDOKAN ARENA - TOKYO
From Germany the Fabs flew to Tokyo for a series of five shows at the 10,000-seat Budokan; one on June 30th and two each on July 1st and 2nd. The first two shows were taped in color by Nippon Television (NTV). The complete tapes of both shows are presented here. Highlights from the shows were combined with clips of Japanese opening act Yuya Uchida and Isao Bitoh and footage of the Beatles' arrival, and the resulting one-hour program was broadcast as The Beatles Recital, From Nippon Budokan on the evening of July 1st.

MUNICH, JUNE 24TH
1 Ain't Love Good
2 You Can't Love 'Em All
3 See See Rider - Cliff Bennett
4 Love Of My Life
5 Come On And Sing
6 Sha-la-la-la-lee
7 Shout - The Rattles
8 Woman
9 Let It Be Me - Peter & Gordon
10 Rock and Roll Music
11 She's A Woman (fragment)
12 Baby's In Black
13 I Feel Fine
14 Yesterday
15 Nowhere Man
16 I'm Down

TOKYO, JUNE 30TH
1 intro
2 Rock And Roll Music
3 She's A Woman
4 If I Needed Someone
5 Day Tripper
6 Baby's In Black
7 I Feel Fine
8 Yesterday
9 I Wanna Be Your Man
10 Nowhere Man
11 Paperback Writer
12 I'm Down
13 outro

TOKYO, JULY 1ST
1 intro
2 Rock And Roll Music
3 She's A Woman
4 If I Needed Someone
5 Day Tripper
6 Baby's In Black
7 I Feel Fine
8 Yesterday
9 I Wanna Be Your Man
10 Nowhere Man
11 Paperback Writer
12 I'm Down
13 outro

THE BEATLES - ON TOUR 1966

MAY 1
EMPIRE POOL, WEMBLEY
The "New Musical Express 1965-66 Annual Poll-winners' All-Star Concert" was the Beatles' fourth consecutive appearance at the annual Sunday-afternoon event and their last-ever live concert performance in the United Kingdom. The NME was the UK's top music magazine. Once again the proceedings were filmed by ABC Television but the cameras were switched off for both the Beatles' and the Rolling Stones' performances because of contractual disagreements between ABC and the respective group managements.

JUNE 24
CIRCUS KRONE-BAU, MUNICH
Two shows in Munich, at 5:15 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. got their short tour of West Germany, Japan and the Philippines under way. The second of the two concerts was filmed by the national TV station, ZDF, while the entire West German leg of the tour was dubbed the Bravo Blitztournee after the name of the country's leading entertainment magazine Bravo, which sponsored the visit. Soon after the Beatles had flown into Munich from London Airport at noon the previous day, police arrested five men for forging and distributing 125 tickets for the two shows.

JUNE 25
GRUGAHALLE, ESSEN
The Beatles travelled from Munich to Essen in a special train which, one year previously, had been the mode of transport employed by Queen Elizabeth II during her royal visit to West Germany. The Beatles gave two shows at the Grugahalle, after which they immediately returned to the station and continued their railway journey across the country.

JUNE 26
ERNST MERCK HALLE, HAMBURG
Their train pulled into the Central Station in Hamburg a little after 6:00 am on this day. It was the first time any member of the group had set foot in the city since 1 January, 1963 when - as relative nobodies - they had completed their fortnight's Christmas stint at the Star-Club. After the two shows, each performed before 5600 people, 44 Hamburg youths were arrested for rioting inside and outside the concert venue. Despite this, both John and Paul managed to take a discreet, nostalgic midnight stroll down the Reeperbahn, visiting old haunts and friends.

JUNE 30 - JULY 2
NIPPON BUDOKAN ARENA, TOKYO
Five concerts in the Nippon Budokan, one on 30 June and two each on 1 July and 2 July, before 10,000 fans on each occasion. The first two concerts were filmed in colour by NTV (Japanese Television). Although the concerts were massively successful (and the Beatles legend is enormous in Japan to this day) it was here that the tour started to go badly wrong, and where began the sequence of events which would finally turn the Beatles off the idea of touring for ever. From Tokyo, at 10:40 a.m. on 3 July, the Beatles took off for the Philippines, via a 70-minute stop-over in the VIP lounge at Kaitak Airport, Hong Kong.

JULY 4
RIZAL MEMORIAL STADIUM, MANILA
The calm before the storm...that is, if two performances before a total of 80,000 fans, 30,000 at the afternoon show and 50,000 in the evening, can be called calm. The events of the following day, when the Beatles unintentionally snubbed the infamous President and Mrs. Marcos, are now legendary. The Beatles gratefully left Manila International Airport at 4:45 p.m. on 5 July.

AUGUST 12
INTERNATIONAL AMPHITHEATRE, CHICAGO
This show marked the start of the North American tour, the last-ever Beatles tour. There were two shows on this first date, with 13,000 fans attending each one, a little short of full capacity. The Beatles had flown into the United States from London Airport on 11 August, landing at Boston and switching planes there within minutes for Chicago.

AUGUST 13
OLYMPIA STADIUM, DETROIT
Two shows, before a total of 28,000 fans at this indoor arena, though neither concert was a complete sell-out.

AUGUST 14
CLEVELAND STADIUM, CLEVELAND
This concert, like the Cleveland gig in September of 1964, was held up for 30 minutes after 2500 of the 20,000 fans invaded the Cleveland Indians' baseball pitch, from which the Beatles were playing, during the fourth song, "Day Tripper."

AUGUST 15
DC STADIUM, WASHINGTON, DC
One show, seen by 32,164 fans, after which the Beatles entourage moved straight on to Philadelphia by coach.

AUGUST 16
PHILADELPHIA STADIUM, PHILADELPHIA
This one show, seen by 21,000 people, was held at the 60,000-seater open-air Philadelphia Stadium. The concert was marred by almost constant lightning, but the potentially lethal rain held off until ten minutes after the show had finished.

AUGUST 17
MAPLE LEAF GARDEN, TORONTO
Two shows at this 18,000-capacity arena. The first, in the afternoon, was seen by 15,000, the second, in the evening, by 17,000.

AUGUST 18
SUFFOLK DOWN RACETRACK, BOSTON
Twenty-five thousand people saw this one show, held in one of the most unlikely Beatles concert venues mid-centre green on a horse-racing course.

AUGUST 19
MID-SOUTH COLISEUM, MEMPHIS
Two shows in the 13,300-seater venue: 10,000 attended the afternoon gig and 12,500 the evening performance. It was during the second show that the famous firecracker episode took place. The Beatles effected their escape from the Coliseum back to their hotel in a Greyhound bus while their limousine was sent out as a decoy.

AUGUST 21
CROSLY FIELD, CINCINNATI
This open-air gig, originally scheduled for 20 August, was cancelled owing to heavy rain and re-scheduled for noon on the following day. This meant the Beatles had to give two concerts in one day, in cities 341 miles apart.

AUGUST 21
BUSCH STADIUM, ST. LOUIS
This open-air show, seen by 23,000 fans, still took place in heavy rain, despite grave risks of the Beatles being electrocuted. After these shows, on 22 August the Beatles had a free day in New York City.

AUGUST 23
SHEA STADIUM, NEW YORK
Although 2,000 fans had been in the queue long before the box-office for this one gig had even opened, on 31 May, the concert failed to sell, with 11,000 of the 55,600 seats remaining unsold. The show grossed $292,000 - of which the Beatles received 65 per cent ($189,000). Immediately after the concert the Beatles flew to Los Angeles, arriving early in the morning of 24 August, for a 24-hour rest in a rented house in Beverly Hills. On the morning of 25 August the group flew north to Seattle.

AUGUST 25
COLISEUM, SEATTLE
Two shows in this 15,000-seater arena. Only 8,000 tickets were sold for the afternoon performance while the evening gig was sold out.

AUGUST 28
DODGER STADIUM, LOS ANGELES
After three more days of rest at their Beverly Hills mansion the Beatles returned to the concert stage with this one show, seen by 45,000, largely uncontrollable, fans.

AUGUST 29
CANDLESTICK PARK, SAN FRANCISCO
The last-ever Beatles concert. A crowd of 25,000 saw the event. After the show the Beatles flew down the California coast back to their rented home in Beverly Hills. They eventually arrived back at London Airport on the morning of 31 August.

liner notes: Mark Lewisohn

compilation produced by Miles Hai