The Beatles In Cleveland
Meet Writer, See Rare Film Clips at 'Beatles In Cleveland' Book Signing
By LISA MILLER, News Journal
MANSFIELD -- At 13, Dave Schwensen got to see two firsts that windy, cold day in Cleveland Municipal Stadium: his first concert, which just happened to be the Beatles, and his first riot.
There with his mom and dad in a box seat, Schwensen watched 3,000 fans surge toward the stage to get to their British idols. It wasn't until years later he found out riots don't always break out when bands go on stage.
"I thought all shows were like that," Schwensen said.
That 1966 concert and the 1964 show at Public Hall that got the Fab Four banned from Cleveland for a couple of years are the subjects of his third book, "The Beatles in Cleveland." Schwensen will discuss writing the book, sign copies and show short films at 1 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Ontario. The first 20 signed books will include a free bonus audio CD about the 1964 and 1966 Cleveland shows, comments from John Lennon and Paul McCartney and live Beatles recordings.
Rather than just sitting at a table signing books, "which is boring," Schwensen said, he prefers to make signings into an event. He will begin his appearance with a 10-minute film of his TV appearances promoting the book and quotes from Lennon and McCartney. After the book discussion, the Vermilion resident plans to screen what he called "very, very rare" footage of the 1966 show.
A scheduling change brought the Beatles back to Cleveland that year for the first outdoor show of their final tour. The results at Municipal Stadium were the same -- but on a much larger scale. The uncontrollable hysteria of Beatlemania reached a fever pitch as thousands of fans poured from their seats and crashed over police lines to get to the stage.
"They went wild the whole time," Schwensen said of writing about "just the hysteria" of the kids who screamed non-stop, with smelling salts and oxygen administered to fainting girls. He said he has been to "American Idol" and "High School Musical" tours since with his family, and the kids scream, but at least they stop to hear the performers.
For this book, he tracked down promoters, concert emcees, deejays, journalists, opening acts and fans, along with rare, never-before published photos, video stills and memorabilia.
One of the deejays he interviewed, Harry Martin, wasn't from the station sponsoring the show, but went out on stage to tell the kids that if they didn't get back in their seats by the count of three, the show would be canceled. The Beatles thought the police had canceled it and were headed out the door when they were called back on stage. Schwensen said McCartney has said he never knew what happened that brought them back out for the rest of the show, but could find out if he reads the book.
Schwensen interviewed the lead singer for The Remains, which opened that show, and Bobby Hebb, whose song "Sunny" was the No. 1 hit that summer when the Beatles were coming out with "Yellow Submarine" and "Revolver."
The foreword was written by Bill Harry, an art college classmate of John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe, who was the original bass player for the Beatles in Liverpool.
"It was a fun book to write," Schwensen said, adding that reviews have been good.
While he loves "American Idol" and keeps up with music and pop culture through his 13-year-old son, Schwensen said, "I've always been a Beatles fan ... I got into this. I really researched it."
He predicted their music will live on.
"It really is the classical music of the 20th century. ... Your grandchildren's grandchildren are going to know who the Beatles were."
lkmiller@nncogannett.com 419-521-7240