The show began at 8:15 pm and The Beatles took to the stage at 9:25 pm. The support acts were, in order of appearance, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, The Righteous Brothers and Jackie DeShannon. The Beatles performed an 11-song set: Twist & Shout, You Can’t Do That, All My Loving, She Loves You, Things We Said Today, Roll Over Beethoven, Can’t Buy Me Love, If I Fell, Boys, A Hard Day’s Night and Long Tall Sally.The group’s performance was broadcast live by local radio station CKNW. After their performance they ran from the stage to their waiting limousine and were driven from the stadium, accompanied by motorcycle outriders, less than a minute after they stopped playing.
Taking place in front of 20,261 s
creaming fans, security and crowd control at Empire Stadium was inadequate, to say the least. With the audience growing more hysterical by the minute, Beatles manager Brian Epstein, fearing for the well-being of the audience, ordered the show’s MC, well-known local DJ Red Robinson, onstage to do whatever he needed to do to calm the crowd. There was a real concern that people were going to be crushed and seriously hurt, if something was not done, and fast.
Red, shown here on stage with the Beatles, at the urging of the Beatles manager Brian Epstein and Vancouver’s Chief of Police, pleaded for people to calm down and back away from the stage and threaten to cancel the show should they not comply. At least two teens were carried off on stretchers and there was real concern that people were going to be seriously hurt. Local police and security were simply overwhelmed.
© copyrighted photo above by Bill Cunningham
________________________________________________________________________________
Red would recall the events year’s later: “So, I get up there and I’m trying to quiet the crowd, and suddenly behind my shoulder, over the screaming of the crowd, I hear John Lennon yelling at me: ‘Get the f_ _k off our stage! What the f_ _k are you doing on our stage? Nobody interrupts a Beatles performance.’ I said, “John, look down at the edge of the stage. Do you think I want to be here? Your boss and the Chief of Police ordered me up here, to try and settle down the crowd.” At that point, he said: ‘Oh, in that case, carry on, mate. But no one has ever done this before. There’s never been a need.’“They played one more song,” Robinson will recall, “and got the hell out of there.” The Beatles played there final tune and within minutes of Red’s announcement, it was over. The Beatles were in a limo on their way to the airport. Memorable and historic are the two words that best encapsulate the Beatles inaugural visit to Canada and specifically, Vancouver, BC.
![The Beatles play Empire Stadium in Vancouver on Aug. 22, 1964. L to R: Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Photo: George Diack / Vancouver Sun files. [PNG Merlin Archive]](https://dglsports.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/John-and-paul-on-stage.jpg)
The Beatles play Empire Stadium in Vancouver on Aug. 22, 1964. L to R: Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Photo: George Diack / Vancouver Sun files. [PNG Merlin Archive]
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of this unforgettable event, the iconic band and Red Robinson are brought to life via a beautiful limited edition giclée print that comes from a hand painted watercolor original by world renowned BC artist, Glen Green. The size of the edition has been limited to 640 prints, so take this small window of opportunity to purchase your piece of history today and relive this moment in time forever.