What happened: The Beatles played Met Stadium.
When: Aug. 21, 1965.
Too-warm welcome: As the plane arrived, the 3,000 to 4,000 fans at the airport "screamed so loud you couldn't hear the engines of the chartered American Flyer Airliner," according to a local newspaper report. The Fab Four were standing on the tarmac, smiling and waving until a few overly enthusiastic fans pushed through the fences. At that, the band headed for their limo, and zoomed off to Met Stadium, where they held a cheeky press conference, while the growing number of fans milled around outside.
The gates opened at 6, the concert started at 7:30, with a few opening bands everyone patiently endured for an hour. Then, "All heaven broke loose," as the Beatles emerged from the Twins' dugout and headed to the stage set up by second base. "The 150 or so ushers and policemen, standing guard in front of the box seats armed with 42-inch-long wooden sticks, gritted their teeth," read the news accounts.
The madness didn't last long. A 35-minute set of the top hits, and, poof, it was over.
A lasting gift: Two guys from B-Sharp Music on Central Avenue NE. in Minneapolis gave George Harrison an electric 12-string, which he later played on the "Rubber Soul" album.
The items the Beatles left in the Twins clubhouse were later auctioned off to the faithful. The sheets on the cots where they reposed were cut up and given away by Dayton's and the dishes from which they had eaten were used for a WDGY radio contest.
James Lileks
