In the Union-Tribune’s Sunday Aug. 23 edition of Arts+Culture, I wrote about The Beatles’ 1965 concert at Balboa Stadium and asked readers who attended to share their memories. Last Sunday, we published seven of their responses, which we follow today with nearly two-dozen more.
Table of Contents
‘I was shaking, crying’
I was thrilled that I was going to see The Beatles at Balboa Stadium! My boyfriend wouldn’t go with me because he knew I loved George Harrison. So my buddy, Denny Moore, went with me instead. It was so loud and crazy. I couldn’t hear the music because the screaming was never-ending. During the entire concert, girls were jumping over the fence and barricades to try to reach The Beatles on stage, but they were all tackled by security. I was shaking, crying, and trying to figure out if I should jump over the fence to see my idols, especially George Harrison. It was my first “real” concert, which I’ll never forget. I was 18. A few months later, I bought a one-way ticket and moved to San Francisco for fun and adventures.
Elena Gastelum
Oceanside
‘Paul shook my hand’
I was in my junior year at St. Augustine High School in 1965 and growing up in the “Western Hills” section of Clairemont. Three or four of us decided to try to “sneak-in” to Balboa Stadium for The Beatles. We were Rolling Stones fans but thought we’d give it a try, especially since we’d gotten into every Chargers game free since 1961 by jumping the fence. But not that night! The joint was locked down tight. We could hear some of the music over the screaming from a little hillock on the west side, probably 50 yards from the stage.
My highlight: As the 90 percent female crowd was leaving, I said loudly: “Paul shook my hand!” A small pod of girls screamed and started after me (for what, I’m not sure). We ran off into the night, laughing. All in all, a good time was had by all, and certainly worth the price of admission.
Tom Miller
Carlsbad
P.S.: Sadly, I missed sending you a list of my favorite concerts. I have numerous candidates, especially at the old San Diego “Sports Aroma,” where we saw the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and many others, for free, due to a removable screen on an A/C tunnel. But my personal favorite was seeing The Mick Taylor Band, at a club in Sacramento in 1992. Ten feet from the stage, $12 for my ticket, a great night.
‘Why was everybody screaming?’
My best friend and I attended The Beatles’ concert at Balboa Stadium. We were 15 and her dad treated me. I was raised in a musical family (my dad played in the San Diego Symphony), so I was used to listening to music and looked forward to hearing my favorite band. However, I was not prepared for the volume of the screaming girls that filled the stadium. It was very disappointing, as I couldn’t hear The Beatles’ music well at all! Why on earth was everybody screaming and not listening? But I still had a good time and it’s a fond memory.
Thank you for your nice story about their visit. The bit about the buckets of Kentucky Fried Chicken The Beatles insisted on having backstage, but didn’t eat, was very funny.
Patti Moe
La Mesa
‘Handfuls of grass’
I was 17 when I and two of my neighbors went to see The Beatles. We ordered tickets at the same time, but our seats were not together. I remember all the yelling and screaming (I am not a screamer), trying to hear the singing over all the noise, fans rushing the stage and The Beatles threatening to stop the concert if it happened again. After the concert, fans were grabbing handfuls of grass cause The Beatles had stepped on it. Crazy, but fun. I had a great time. I was living in Linda Vista and still am. I also remember seeing the Dave Clark Five at Westgate Ball Park, which used to be where The Container Store on Friars Road is now.
Sandy (Simmons) Coker
Linda Vista
‘Jump over the fence’
I was 15 years old on Aug. 28, 1965, when me, my two brothers and my father attended The Beatles’ concert at Balboa Stadium. One of my brothers had won two tickets to the concert from radio station KGB. But since there was another brother involved, my father decided all his sons would go, or none, so he bought tickets for our other brother and himself.
What I remember most was being surrounded by lots of screaming girls, with some of them literally trying to pull my binoculars off from around my neck so they could get a better look at The Beatles. The stage was mid-field and we were sitting in the stands, about halfway up. Several girls tried to jump over the fence to get to the stage, but were rebuffed by the security guards around the fences. One girl did make it as far as the stage, but was tackled by a security guard just as she reached it. The Beatles only played for about a half-hour. You could barely hear the music above the screams, but they were actually there.
I was the music critic and columnist for The San Diego Evening Tribune in the early ‘70s. I was also good friends with sportswriter Nick Canepa. He was just starting out with the paper back then and covered high school sports. I enjoy reading your stories, especially the columns you wrote a few weeks ago on your favorite albums and concerts. Just thought I’d tell you that I was you back in the day!
Joe Cromwell
El Cajon
‘A state of hysteria’
I attended The Beatles’ 1965 Balboa Stadium concert. I turned 15 that August and my grandmother bought me the tickets for my birthday. Mostly, I remember the girls screaming and a couple of them throwing their arms around me in a state of hysteria. I guess I remember that more than The Beatles’ performance.
I attended the Chargers 51-10 victory over the Boston Patriots for the 1963 AFL Championship in Balboa Stadium. I played Pop Warner football there at half time for one of the Chargers games in 1962. My family attended every one of the Chargers’ games there … I have fond memories of Balboa Stadium.
Jeff Quinn
Mission Hills
‘Buy The Beatles some tea’
When The Beatles came to Balboa Stadium in 1965 my dad was working a second job as an usher at Chargers football games. He was often assigned to checking field passes, which was great for him because he got to watch the games from the sidelines …
So, before The Beatles came out to play, my dad was working field level at the stadium. The band’s manager came up to him, gave him a $20 bill and asked if he could go buy The Beatles some hot tea. My dad thought to himself: “Were the heck am I going to get hot tea?” This was long before Starbucks. So he walked over to the Chinese restaurant that was across from City College (I can’t remember the place’s name). He ordered a pot of tea and brought it back in short time. The Beatles’ manager told him to keep the change.
Learning the concert was not sold out, I should have been upset that my dad didn’t call me and tell me there were still tickets available. But I was only 12 and couldn’t drive yet.
David Schug
La Jolla
‘Monumental event’
My journey to the The Beatles’ Balboa Stadium concert in 1965 started in Palm Springs. I was 13 and my sister, who was 18, surprised me and bought us tickets to the concert. We drove from my home in Palm Springs and it seemed like it took forever to get to San Diego because I was so excited.
We arrived at Balboa Stadium and I can still remember the excitement in the air. People were laughing and singing Beatles tunes. It was such a happy time. Once we entered the stadium and got to our seats, it seemed like an eternity before The Beatles arrived. I can’t even remember the warm-up bands because all I wanted to hear was The Beatles. And then it happened: The Beatles ran up to the stage, the music began, and it was magic. The thrill of seeing my Beatles, the four guys I loved and admired, there in front of me, live,
The screaming was so loud and lasted through the entire concert. But it didn’t matter. Watching The Beatles on stage, singing and waving at us, is a memory I will treasure forever. The happiness that rocked the entire stadium was amazing. There was joy in everyone’s heart that night. To be 13 years and experience this monumental event with my sister is one of our greatest memories together. It was the best gift she could give me.
Years later, I moved here and became a San Diego police officer. I worked out of the Central Division of the department, which included the Balboa Park area. One Sunday afternoon in 1998, I was patrolling the area of Balboa Park and San Diego City College. I was flagged down by a couple on Park Blvd. The male of the couple, who appeared to be close to my age, asked me where Balboa Stadium was located. I told him the stadium had been torn down years ago. He seemed surprised to hear this. He then began to tell me that he was at The Beatles’ concert in 1965 at Balboa Stadium and wanted to show his wife where he saw The Beatles. At that point, I told him my story and that I was there that night also.
My newfound Beatles’ fan friend looked so disappointed he couldn’t return to Balboa Stadium, so I told him I could show him where the stadium once was. He followed me to the San Diego City College/San Diego High School area where the stadium had been. It was there we connected with our love of The Beatles and that magical night, the music that made our youth so special.
Two great memories over 30 years apart. That is what The Beatles are all about. Memories.
Debby Burger
Oceanside
‘Tackled by police officers’
I attended The Beatles’ concert at Balboa Stadium as an 8-year-old brought along by my 27-year-old mother. My most vivid recollections are of the screaming, of course, as well as the girls climbing over the fence and dashing towards the stage, only to be tackled by police officers. In retrospect the stage arrangement was odd compared to the many concerts I attended there later as a teenager. As I recall there was a fence encircling the field along the edge of the track. The stage was set up in the middle of the field so was surrounded by vacant grass. The only song I can actually remember was “Help.” I presume this was because the movie had been released a few weeks before.
Bill Graham
San Diego
‘I don’t have the grass any longer’
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. I was part of history when I attended my very first concert. The Beatles played Balboa Stadium on Aug. 28, 1965, and I was there. Even though we were only 13, I — along with three of my friends — was dropped off by one of our moms, who drove us from Oceanside into the tenderloin section of downtown San Diego. Peep shows, dive bars, sailors and girls. None of this fazed us. We were there to see The Beatles.
And see them we did, from our $5.50 seats. We had paid for $3.50 seats but were able to scoot over an aisle and enjoy the show from a few feet closer. Bonus!
The Beatles played for half-an-hour. “Twist and Shout”, “She’s a Woman” and “Help” were a few of the songs they played. The legendary crowd screaming drowned out a lot of the music. But like our drop-off point, that didn’t bother us, or anyone else for that matter. We were all experiencing the same, once in a lifetime moment.
When the show ended it seemed more like an abandoning of ship than a ‘Good night to all and thank you very much for coming.’ This was due to the fans rushing the stage and The Beatles looking at the oncoming wave of humanity and running for their lives.
Of course, the four of us also made our way down to the empty stage area. And I must say that is probably the most vivid memory I have of the concert. The Beatles’ equipment was onstage in the silence. No screaming. Ringo’s drums, John, Paul and George’s guitars, along with a keyboard and Super Vox Beatle amplifiers.
I looked at the equipment, close enough to touch, and dreamed that, one day, I too would be standing up there, playing music, being famous and wildly popular. I was shaken back to reality by the voice of a San Diego cop telling everyone to leave the field immediately. Being 13, we instantly obeyed. But not before we pulled up some grass that The Beatles had stepped on when they left the stage.
I don’t have the grass any longer. But I do have that image of the empty, quiet stage full of Beatle equipment.
Neil Proffitt
San Diego
‘Go, go, go!’
Thank you for great articles about The Beatles at Balboa Stadium and The Mavericks. Looking forward to listening to The Mavericks’ new album since Raul Malo has such a beautiful voice.
As for The Beatles concert, from where we were sitting that the sound was good for 1965. Here are a couple of highlights/lowlights:
It seemed forever before The Beatles took to the stage, since there were so many opening acts; at least that’s what this then-13-year-old kid remembers
There was lots of security, but one fan did get through a couple of the police lines and was on her way to the stage, with John Lennon shouting “Go, go, go!” before she was tackled by the police
The girls in front of us were angry at me and my girlfriends for not screaming. (Yeah, going to a concert to scream is always the best way to hear the music)
It seemed to me that The Beatles played longer than 31 minutes but when you’re a kid and it’s your first concert, time seems forever.
The post-concert traffic jam was horrible.
Again, great stories!
Christa Mattson
San Diego
‘The reason I started playing guitar’
I was 10 years old at the time. My friend’s mother was from England and was a big fan, so she got tickets for her family. My friend was able to bring a guest and, fortunately, he chose me.
My most vivid memory was how loud all the teenaged girls screamed while The Beatles were playing. People kept running out onto the field to get closer. Over the public address system, people were warned that if they continued, the concert would be stopped early. The police ran out to tackle people, but it didn’t seem to deter anyone. For a 10-year-old kid it was actually kind of scary. It seemed like controlled chaos.
The Beatles have been my favorite band from that day forward. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t listen to them or play something by them on the guitar. They were the reason I started playing the guitar. When the question “What was your first concert?” comes up occasionally in a group of people, it’s fun to see people’s reaction when I tell them mine. I still have the souvenir photo book that my friend’s mother bought me at the concert.
Bob Gregory
Coronado
‘Intense and never-ending’
I was 22 and had just returned from R.O.T.C. Summer Camp at Fort Lewis, Washington. I went to The Beatles’ Balboa Stadium concert with a high school buddy. The high-pitched screaming of the girls around us was intense and never-ending. I had taken a pair of binoculars and I made a “deal” with the four girls behind us that I would lend them the binoculars, if they would stop screaming. They agreed. Once I gave them the binoculars the screaming continued. Double-crossed!
Wally Dieckmann,
Point Loma
‘A turning point in life for me’
I went to The Beatles’ concert at Balboa Stadium. I was 19 and living in a studio apartment at 13th and B Street, right by City College and a short walk to Balboa Stadium. I didn’t know The Beatles were coming to San Diego; there must not have been much promotion because it was a last-minute side trip from appearing in L.A. Nobody came to San Diego in those days!
A girl I was dating and I were outside my apartment watching all these people walking towards City College. B Street was full of people. I asked someone what was going on and they replied that The Beatles were appearing at Balboa Stadium. Wow! A few minutes later some old guy (he must have been all of 40) walked up and said, “Hey, you kids want two tickets to The Beatles concert? I had two in my group who didn’t show up.”
We grabbed the tickets, and headed for the stadium. Couldn’t believe it! I remember the crowd was very loud, girls near the stage were screaming, the sound system wasn’t that good and it didn’t last that long. But we did see a live Beatles concert!
A few days after the concert, I received my draft notice. The war in Vietnam was starting up, big time. I got a student deferment and went to school for one year. But, with no money, I volunteered. I wound up in Vietnam, with the 1st Air Calvary Division, as an infantryman in 1967-1968. The war was horrible, of course. But when I came home in 1968, the whole world seemed to have turned upside down. Protests, assassinations so much turmoil; life was not the same.
I never forgot the “Summer of ’65,” living in San Diego, hanging out with my friends, bonfires at La Jolla Shores. The Beatles concert at Balboa Stadium was sort of a turning point in life for me.
I returned to San Diego after the war and lived there for 25 years, before I had to move with my job. My son and family are still there, but I retired in Las Vegas. I return often to visit. But, of course, it’s not the same with so many people and so much growth. My memory still goes back to the Summer of 1965 at times. I will never forget it.
I enjoyed your article in the Union-Tribune. Thanks for publishing it!
Dean Davison
Las Vegas
‘Like plywood on top of orange crates’
I was there, but it was a long time ago. I do like the reactions I get when I tell people that I was there. It was two days before my 16th birthday and a couple weeks before entering my junior year at Point Loma High. Now, I’m just days before my 71st birthday.
I remember it cost $3.50 for a ticket. I had that stub for years, only to lose it in a move. I remember how cheesy and flimsy I thought the concert stage at Balboa Stadium looked. It seemed so small, like plywood on top of orange crates. There were just two small Fender speakers on the front corners.
Mostly, as indicated in your article, the crowd noise level was unreal. The girls were screaming, crying and passing out. I helped a couple get up. For all three years I was in high school, I delivered the San Diego Union. So, I delivered the newspaper the morning of the concert and the next morning.
Stephen T. Fisher
Lakeside
I was cleaning out some old files not too long ago and came across my calendar book from 1965. I got a big kick out of seeing notes like “Beatles coming!!!” plastered across my month of April, May, June and July, with each notice a little bigger and more exciting looking. This was my first rock concert. I was 19 years old.
I always prided myself on having discovered The Beatles before anyone else. Most people don’t know that a Beatles’ record was released in the U.S. before the big British Invasion, and I remember my girlfriend and I really liking it. It was “From Me to You.” It did not do very well on the charts, rising to maybe No. 18 before disappearing. My girlfriend and I were always trying to remember the name of that band, wondering: “Was it The Bugs? The Insects? The Crickets?
When The Beatles made their big splash, about three months later, with “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” we didn’t even realize this was the same band at first — that is, until “From Me to You” came back, this time shooting to No. 1. Anyway, when the concert here was announced, I got tickets as soon as possible.
I remembered being at the stadium, the wait (opening bands? I have no memory of those), and then… The Beatles ran out to the stage, accompanied by the most intense screaming I have ever heard. The screaming was continuous through the entire concert, which I thought lasted about 20 minutes, but I see by the Union Tribune’s account it was actually 31 minutes. They played their set, non-stop, one song moving right into the next, not that it made any difference; I could hear no music over the screaming.
The most entertaining part of the concert was watching fans jump onto the stadium field and being tackled by the police, who were lined up around all the sides of the stadium. This went on steadily for the entire concert. Sometimes, within the screaming, you could hear slight cheers as either a fan jumped over the fence on to the field, or as the police ran in for the tackle. It reminded me of a football game. Despite hearing no music that day, I’ve remained a Beatles’ fan all these years.
I am a piano teacher, living and teaching in North Park. Several years ago I had a teenaged student arrive at his lesson in a Beatles’ t-shirt, which had all the dates of The Beatles’ tour for 1965 on the back. He was a real fan. When I told him that I had attended The Beatles’ San Diego concert, he was blown away. I think I gained more respect from that student that day than all the respect I get from my long career as a successful piano teacher and pianist for the past 50 years!
Lee Galloway
North Park
‘Electricity was in the air’
I remember that day all those years ago. I was 19 years old and when me and my two best friends, Jeanne and Susan Wheeler, heard that the boys were going to play Balboa Stadium, we immediately went into high-Beatle mode. We purchased our tickets a mere $5, but that was a lot of money for us back then.
We went to our Chula Vista Star newspaper and spoke with the editor. Our mission was to write a story for the paper about the first-ever Beatles’ concert in San Diego. The editor liked the angle we pitched and said to go for it. When The Beatles arrived in San Diego, we were able to see them up close; I even have a photo of them, which I took with my trusty little camera, as they were getting off the bus.
I recall they were at the CBS Channel 8 studios for a press conference… That night, we went to Balboa Stadium and found our seats, which were pretty good. The stage was way out, kind of in left field. The concert was to start at 8 p.m., but (first) was a parade of inconsequential singers and groups playing before The Beatles came out. The natives were getting restless! And, then, the moment came. When the announcer said: “The Beatles,” a deafening roar arose from the crowd and it never did let up.
They were great. I’ll never have another experience like that again. I looked all around me and girls were crying and sobbing the name of their favorite Beatle. I then immediately turned my attention to “my boys.” The concert was not long at all, maybe half an hour, but it was a special time in my life, a day of feel-good memories.
The stadium was not sold-out, but the noise was so loud that I thought that it could be heard throughout all of San Diego. My girlfriends and I were not the screaming types, but we were casing the fence and seeing if we could jump the barrier. Then, all heck broke loose and girls were running across the field and being tackled. It was like nothing I had ever seen before.
When the concert was over we watched our boys race off the field. What a night! It’s something I will never forget. I saw my heroes again at the Hollywood Bowl and at Dodger Stadium. I have also seen Paul McCartney perform many times since then and also Ringo Starr, but never John Lennon and George Harrison on their own.
It so happens that my Come Together Beatles fan club put on the first ever BeatleFair at San Diego City College in Aug. 1995 to honor the 30th anniversary of The Beatles playing in San Diego. We went on to continue with our BeatleFairs, with appearances by Pete Best, Tony Sheridan, Denny Laine, Joey Molland and so many more people who played an important part of Beatles’ history.
What I remember the most of seeing The Beatles live was the noise and how wonderful and beautiful they were. it was like electricity was in the air. They are a part of my life and always will be. They are like a part of my family. And, yes, we did write an article for the Chula Vista star and it was printed.
Carmen Salmon
Scripps Ranch
‘Ringo for President’
I was 10 when The Beatles came to town. My best friend since I was four years old, Leeanne, and I were total Beatlemainiacs! Posters and fan magazines, Beatle trading cards; we had it all.
When it was announced The Beatles were coming to San Diego, it was a panic. How was I going to get a ticket? I was 10, I hardly knew anything, so how was I going to do this? When a (ticket) lottery was announced, I was in. But I couldn’t let my parents know… I walked to a post office that was far from our house and bought a postcard. I had written down everything I was supposed to write on the card and took a pencil with me. Off it went into the mail slot and I walked home.
I didn’t think anything would happen. I though I would never hear from anybody. About two weeks later, we were sitting down to dinner, exactly the way we sat down to dinner every weekday at 5:30 p.m.. Before my dad could ask the same questions he asked everyday — which ere: “How was your day, Rose? How was your day, Rod? What did you learn in school today?” — my mom said: “Your son got mail today.” Wow! It could only be Beatle tickets… I was so excited! I was so freaking excited!
The letter said I was able to purchase two tickets to see The Beatles. Oh, boy! I couldn’t sit still. And then my dad said: “You aren’t going to that.”’ My dad was a Navy officer and, with him, you better always follow the rules and don’t talk back. Those were the two big rules. But I knew a few rules that did not normally have anything to do with our family. So I said: “h yeah? Well, then, you are my witness that mail addressed to me was opened by someone else. That is a federal offense, according to you, so now what? I go to the show or mom goes to jail!””
Leeanne didn’t get my second ticket, I went with my dad. At the time, and for years afterward, I was mad that he didn’t let me take my best friend. Now, I wouldn’t trade that memory for anything.
My dad was Squaresville, USA. When we were walking around before the show he felt uncomfortable. The crowd was mass teenagers, mass teenage girls! He and I looked a little out of place, but it was exciting. There was a guy selling “Ringo for President” posters. My dad read the poster, and said: “That is never going to happen!” I responded: “Dad, he’s a Beatle. He doesn’t want to be President!”
(Taking me to the concert) was one of those greatest things my dad could have done. He was a good guy.
Rodney Manson
San Francisco
‘A river of young girls’
I, too, was at The Beatles’ concert, but not inside the stadium.
My girlfriend at the time and my sister decided to drive by the stadium and see what the site looked like with all the hoopla. We parked and walked to the main entrance. The concert was in full swing. We could hear a little music, but not The Beatles’ voices. The screaming was extremely loud.
We were standing on the sidewalk, directly across the street from the main entrance. Suddenly, the music stopped. Fifteen or 20 seconds later, we saw The Beatles running through the main entrance and into a waiting bus. A couple of more people ran into the bus. There were black curtains on the windows so you couldn’t see, in but Ringo Starr and George Harrison opened the curtains slightly to look out.
Less than 10 seconds later a river of young girls came flowing over the chain link fence, non-stop, and with no care for the rough wire tops to the fence. The entrance gates were not wide enough for the crowd to get through quickly, so they just climbed the fence. They surrounded the bus (and the) crowd seemed to double every five seconds. The bus could not move because of the crowd pressing against, and all around, it.
The bus driver leaned on the horn, but to no avail. The driver then put the bus in neutral and rushed the engine so it roared with engine power. It was scary, because —if the bus had got back into gear — it would have run over dozens of people. My frightened sister grabbed my forearm so hard she dug her fingernails into my skin.
Either the police or security finally opened a path through the crowd for the bus to leave through, and that was the end. The screaming still continued for a bit and we went home. On the way home, my girlfriend announced that her dad had some tickets for some reason, but she didn’t think we’d enjoy the concert. Opportunity missed!
Tom Finn
Poway
‘A glorious adventure’
My name was Kathie Mases at the time of the concert. I lived in Clairemont and was 15. I attended the concert with my late friend, Mary Q. We had $3.50 tickets. Not being screamers, we were just interested in seeing The Beatles and listening to their music. I must admit now that we did little of either because of the distance to the stage and the din of the crowd.
It was a glorious adventure, though, for a couple of 15-year-old Beatlemaniacs! My brother, Bernie, who now lives in Escondido, tagged along with Mary, my mother and me in the station wagon to the concert. He was able to scramble up to the fourth floor of the San Diego City College parking structure and watch the concert and the goings-on from there.
My mother kept a look out for the police, so that they wouldn’t catch the youngsters up on the roof. After the concert, The Beatles left in a bus headed north and Bernie was able to see them leave and wave out the windows. Mary, me, and all of the fans were still inside the stadium by the time The Beatles were long gone.
Kathie Mases-Noe-Farmer
Poway
‘It was a dream come true’
Of course I remember August 28, 1965! My sister and I had splurged as soon as the tickets went on sale, buying the most expensive ones ($5.50). No cheap $3.50 or $4.50 seats for us. It seemed as though summer crawled by while my sister and I counted down the days before the Beatles came to San Diego.
All summer long, we kept checking the mail, anxious for those tickets to arrive. I was 14 and madly in love with Paul McCartney. My sister, 15, was hooked on George Harrison. As my brother drove us to Balboa Stadium, I was excited thinking that The Beatles were breathing the same air as we were.
After my brother dropped us off, we took our seats and could see the stage off in the distance. We didn’t think to bring binoculars, but just knowing The Beatles would soon be on stage was good enough. We were anxious for them to come on, but were forced to endure several other acts, which was pure torture. Hurry up!
By the time Sounds Incorporated came on I was extremely impatient, and I doubt I was the only one. I thought they would never finish. During their final number they built up such a crescendo, getting the audience all worked up with screams from the crowd beginning to grow. To this day, I can still hear Sounds Incorporated’s last song in my head. Finally, it was time for the real concert to begin.
When The Beatles walked onto the stage it was hard to believe they were there in person. I remembering promising the man next to me that I wouldn’t scream, and I didn’t. It felt so surreal hearing them perform live, even though with all the screaming going on, it was sometimes hard to hear. But I loved every minute.
All I know was that, at that moment in time, it was the most exciting day of my life. When I got home I wrote in my diary about the experience. I had to staple extra pages to the entry for Aug. 28, because I had to write down everything, including every song they sang. I knew I would never forget that night as long as I lived. For this 14-year-old, it was a dream come true.
Lucienne McCauley
Cardiff by the Sea
P.S. In 1976, when I was 25, I was able to see Paul McCartney and Wings perform in L.A. That was an incredible experience, another surreal one. I was much closer to the stage that time. Then, 43 years later, I was able to see Paul McCartney once again as he performed at Petco Park last summer, another awesome concert! Now I have three great memories!