The Beatles in Denver 60 years ago: 'Stampede,' grenade threat, grilled cheese and air guitars
It was the afternoon of Aug. 26, 1964, an early stop along a tour that would forever change music in America.
It descended upon the main entrance of the Brown Palace, the mass of manic, adolescent humanity flooding into the grand atrium. The papers reported about 5,000 girls converging to meet the four lads from Liverpool, who had arrived earlier to a crowd of thousands more at Stapleton Airport.
The Beatles, donning cowboy hats, leave the plane at Denver’s Stapleton Airport on Aug. 26, 1964, ahead of their show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. They were bound for Red Rocks Amphitheatre, bound for the next scene of pandemonium that played out at five previous venues in the western U.S. and Vancouver. It was the Beatles’ first North American tour, and North America seemed ill-prepared.
The Rocky Mountain News editorial implored: “Attention, teenagers of Denver. You have the opportunity of attracting worldwide attention today! Don’t be rowdies. Don’t throw things. ... Don’t kick and elbow. Gird on the self-discipline that is the mark of a true American citizen.”
So much for that.
“7 Hospitalized in Beatles Stampede,” read the headline from the Brown Palace.
Source: gazette.com
