By Sloane Samberson
staff writer
@sloane_avery
It is 1964, The Beatles are in its prime. Releasing its first U.S. album “Meet The Beatles!”, the groovy foursome embarks on its first American tour.
Playing 22 concerts at the biggest venues across the states, The Beatles make its second to last and only stop ever at Memorial Coliseum, now the site of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
Tickets cost $5.50, selling out within a day. Ten thousand lucky fans saw The Beatles perform its only show in Dallas.
“If I was alive then, I would have been camping out days prior to sell date just to snatch a pair of tickets,” said junior Kigen Shealy.
The show was delayed because of a telephoned bomb threat, but luckily no bombs were found except a few crazed fans hiding under the stage in the bathrooms.
According to Jay Spangler of beatlesinterviews.org, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr gave their best southern accents as they all wore cowboy hats for comedic effect in an interview filmed prior to the show. You can watch the interview, here.
It opened with “Twist and Shout”, as well as its famed songs “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “A Hard Days Night”. The setlist consisted of 12 songs.
“I would have loved to see the Beatles live back in the day, but not so much in 1964,” said creative writing teacher Matthew Bowden. “I prefer their stuff from the later 60s—Magical Mystery Tour, Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
For some, today will be a great memorial of the 30 minutes The Beatles were out on stage. Reliving the sound of screaming girls and crowdedness of Memorial Coliseum’s auditorium, but most importantly the great performance The Beatles made at its only show in Dallas.
