AUG. 28 1966: THE BEATLES AT DODGER STADIUM IN L.A

Paul and John perform at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Aug. 28, 1966. The image appeared in a weekly newspaper published by Los Angeles radio station KRLA, which presented the show. Bob Eubanks, who lives in Westlake Village now, worked for KRLA and booked the concert.
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If John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr weren't screaming those words aloud, they no doubt were thinking them as they sat trapped inside a Lincoln Continental that was smothered fender-to-fender by a frenzied blanket of screaming, crying, pawing, clawing fans who desperately wanted to touch their idols.

It was Sunday night, Aug. 28, 1966, and The Beatles were trying to make a break for it after playing a 27-minute show for 45,000 people at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It was the first concert booked at the 4-year-old ballpark and, though no one knew it at the time, the second-to-last show The Beatles would ever perform. After another stadium gig the following night at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, their concert career was over.
At the Hollywood Bowl concerts, The Beatles were able to slip out through the guarded backstage exit, Eubanks said. But at Dodger Stadium there was no secure retreat.

The Fab Four were completely out in the open, with 45,000 pairs of eyes trained on their every move.

A 6-foot-tall stage was set up at second base. Behind it was an enclosed tent that housed the Lincoln. As soon as The Beatles played the last note of "Long Tall Sally," they were to race offstage, head for the tent, dive into the car and be whisked out of the stadium through a center field gate before fans could get out of their seats and catch them.

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KRLA disc jockey Bob Eubanks (left) confers with Beatles publicist Tony Barrow at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 28, 1966. This image appeared in the station's weekly newspaper.

The fliers that radio station KRLA printed up to advertise the 1966 Dodger Stadium show are worth hundreds of dollars today. Dodger pitching great Sandy Koufax is given a gentle jab in the text at the bottom of the flier.
SET LIST
The Beatles played for 27 minutes at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 28, 1966. Here's what they sang.
1. Rock and Roll Music
2. She's a Woman
3. If I Needed Someone
4. Day Tripper
5. Baby's in Black
6. I Feel Fine
7. Yesterday
8. I Wanna Be Your Man
9. Nowhere Man
10. Paperback Writer
11. Long Tall Sally

At the Hollywood Bowl concerts, The Beatles were able to slip out through the guarded backstage exit, Eubanks said. But at Dodger Stadium there was no secure retreat. The Fab Four were completely out in the open, with 45,000 pairs of eyes trained on their every move.

A 6-foot-tall stage was set up at second base. Behind it was an enclosed tent that housed the Lincoln. As soon as The Beatles played the last note of "Long Tall Sally," they were to race offstage, head for the tent, dive into the car and be whisked out of the stadium through a center field gate before fans could get out of their seats and catch them.

Tickets for the Dodger Stadium show were $3, $4.50, $5.50 and $6. In addition to The Beatles, there were four other acts on the bill. Hanging out backstage were David Crosby and Joan Baez.

The Boston-based band The Remains opened the 8 p.m. show, mixing originals with covers like "Hang on Sloopy" and "I'm a Man." Then came Bobby Hebb, who sang his hit "Sunny," followed by the Brian Epstein-managed group The Cyrkle, performing their No. 2 hit "Red Rubber Ball." The Ronettes closed out the opening section. Ninety minutes after the show had begun, it was finally time for the headliners.

"The stadium went wild," wrote 14-year-old Mary Miller in the Sept. 3 edition of the Redlands Daily Facts. "They came leaping out from the dugout directly beneath us. George was first, then John, Ringo and Paul. I remember Paul clapping Ringo on the back as they ran onto the stage. I'll admit that at this point I was 'losing my cool' and getting a little wild."

The Beatles started their set at 9:33 p.m., according to Associated Press reporter Bob Thomas, and they were off the stage by 10. In those 27 minutes they packed in 11 songs, beginning with Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music." McCartney got to belt out "She's a Woman" and croon "Yesterday"; Lennon turned reflective on "Nowhere Man",George: "If I Needed Someone"; and Starr pounded his way through "I Wanna Be Your Man."

                                        

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