Beatles Show Highlights, Vancouver - August 22, 1964

It's the 55th anniversary of the Beatles' August 22, 1964,appearance at Vancouver's Empire Stadium The late Jack Wasserman covered the event for the Vancouver Sun: "The Beatles were on stage for a total of 29 minutes and 12 seconds. It took 35 minutes for the welcoming scream to die down enough for them to start. At one point Red Robinson, the local radio personality, who M.C.'d, had to go on stage and tell the crowd to stop pressing forward. John Lennon snarled at him, 'Don't ever get on our stage again!'" People still ask me, "What did John Lennon say to you on stage at the Empire Stadium Beatles' performance?" Brian Epstein asked me to step on stage during their act because of the mad scene in front of the stage. On his directions, the show was momentarily stopped. When I appeared at the edge of the stage, Paul McCartney waved me off — he thought that I thought the show was over. When I arrived at the stage left microphone, near John Lennon, he said, "Get the f**k off our stage — no one has ever interrupted a Beatles performance." I explained that their Manager asked me to interrupt the show and he said, "Oh, why?" I explained to him that quite a commotion was going on. He said, "Fine, but it's so unusual. No one has ever done this before. There has never been a need." At that point the show was stopped, things brought to reasonable order and the performance continued. Let me explain why John couldn't tell what was going on. Any entertainer can tell you that when on stage during a performance, the bright lights in front do not allow an artist to see more than a few feet. The Beatles could not see anyone in the audience while the stadium lights were out. All they could see in front of them was a dark black screen, caused from the effect of the glaring stage lights. Lennon and the others smiled when they left and Paul said, "Quite a night, Red", as they tore off stage to leave the stadium, so I doubt if there were any hard feelings about the situation — just some misunderstandings. Enjoy this recording, originally released on Jerden Records.