The Beatles In Cleveland
Memories, Facts & Photos About The Notorious 1964 & 1966 Concerts

... is a step-by-step account - in chronological order - of the Beatles two concerts in Cleveland, Ohio told through eyewitness accounts. But the story is not as simple as it may sound. From their first appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on February 9, 1964 to their final bows on stage in San Francisco on August 29, 1966, a generation of American youth experienced one of the most turbulent decades in modern history. Society - as well as popular music - seemed to change dramatically almost overnight. As conveyed in "The Beatles In Cleveland," it was as if the world went from black and white to color.

Amid these changes, the Beatles were still headline news. But the joy of "A Hard Day's Night" only two years earlier was missing when they embarked on their final tour of North America in August 1966. John Lennon's remarks about Christianity, the infamous Butcher Cover for the album "Yesterday... and Today," along with protests in Tokyo and Manila made their safety more of a concern than ever before. The first reported murmurings from the Beatles about this being their final tour were overheard only hours before they stepped on stage at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The atmosphere was both electric and tense as thousands of fans poured from their seats and crashed over a thin line of police in a rush to the stage. The Beatles were ordered to "run for your lives" into a mobile home, (luxury trailer), parked behind the stage. The following is a short excerpt from "The Beatles In Cleveland: Memories, Facts & Photos About The Notorious 1964 & 1966 Concerts."

Jack Armstrong 

I went into the trailer. I knocked first, then opened the door and went in. At this point, I didn't care who I offended. And when I went in, I had sweat through the WIXY jacket; I had sweat through the shirt, my hair… I looked like a drowned rat. Sweat was running down my face. And I didn't really even look at them. I just closed the door and caught my breath. I was breathing very hard. I caught my breath and turned and looked - and Lennon and McCartney were laughing their asses off! At me!

Johnny Canton

They were just sitting around. They thought it was a joke. They were laughing. They were pretty well protected. We had the trailer guarded pretty well.

Jack Armstrong

They were laughing and I said, "Alright, look, I think we can get you out of here. I don't think you should go out in the limo. There's an old Chevy parked out back and we'll find whoever owns it. You get in the Chevy, go out the gate on the left and they'll take you back to the hotel. We'll let the limo go at the same time out of the other exit. The kids will follow the limo and you'll probably be okay. Everything will be alright." Lennon looked at me and he says, "No, we're going back on." And I said, "What?!" And he said, "We're going back on." I said, "John, it's just gonna happen again! We don't have enough cops - it's obvious. And the cops we've got can't control these kids." He said, and these were his exact words, he said, "Jack, you've got dangers in your business. You could get ****'ing bloody electrocuted." And I thought about that for a second and I said, "Well, you're right." And he said, "We'll go back on." I said, "Alright. I'm going to go out and give them a strong lecture. When you're ready, come out to the foot of the stairs and I'll put you back on."

Johnny Canton

Epstein was right there by the door. So I said to him, "Well, it looks like they're going back." He opened the door and walked in and said, "Five minutes!"

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Jane Scott

 It didn't end, because they talked the kids back into their seats. There was one person who was able to calm them down. Jack Armstrong. He was really able to talk them back and let them know that it wouldn't go on. "Unless you went back, the show would be over." Oh yeah, sure. He got the kids off the stage.

For any Cleveland police officer who thought guarding the Beatles would be an "easy shift," the on-field riot had turned it into a nightmare assignment. Nick C. offers insight from the police point of view in an email to beatlesincleveland.com.

Nick C. 

My father was one of the Cleveland cops. He tells the story of the crowd breaking down the snow fence and rushing through the police line. The police climbed the stage to prevent getting crushed, but my father was the last because he pushed a much older cop in front of him. He got crushed against the stage by the extreme pressure of the crowd and his uniform got ripped. With the help of several cops pulling, he finally got on stage. I remember when he got home later that evening he had a ripped uniform and blood on his elbow. He told us that he had touched Ringo's drums and acted like it was no big deal, but my brother and I were jumping up and down with excitement. He says that after everyone got back to their seats and cleared the field, there were shoes, underwear, false teeth, vomit; you name it, all over the ground.

Jack Armstrong

So I went back out and said, "The Beatles say they want to come back on. But I'm gonna tell you, if you get out of your seats - if ONE of you gets out of your seat and comes out to this stage, this is over!" I gave them that for about maybe two minutes and I took a look to the left and there was the group. I think they had different clothes on at this point. I'm not sure. But there was Lennon laughing at me again. So I said, "Here they are - and stay in your seats - WIXY presents The Beatles!" And I got off the stage.