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The Beatles, 1964

George Diack / Vancouver Sun. 1964 The Beatles On August 22, 1964 the fab four made their way to Vancouver to perform in front of thousands at Empire Stadium.

 George Diack / Vancouver Sun.George Diack / Vancouver Sun.

1964

The Beatles

On August 22, 1964 the fab four made their way to Vancouver to perform in front of thousands at Empire Stadium. Screams from the fans were so loud that the emcee (Red Robinson) and the Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein had to interrupt the performance to appeal for calm, it was no use. Thousands of teenagers rushed the stage and hundreds were crushed against the restraining fence. After 29 minutes the Beatles bolted from the stage and were whisked away in limousines with a police motorcycle escort.

The classical music critics sent by the newspapers to review the show griped, “Seldom in Vancouver’s entertainment history have so many (20,261) paid so much ($5.25 top price) for so little.” Jack Wasserman, who with Jack Webster was on the field, covering the show for Jack Cullen’s Owl Prowl on CKNW, said it was “a damned disgrace” and “the most poorly organized advance gouge in the history of Vancouver.”

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