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While The Beatles didn’t break up until 1970, the band’s final official concert in front of a paying audience occurred at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CA, at the end of their 1966 U.S. tour. The fab four were at the height of their popularity, but they never performed at a concert again for several reasons.
The Beatles knew Candlestick Park would be their final concert
The Beatles never playing another concert was a decision they had made before taking the stage at Candlestick Park. The band posed for a picture, knowing full well that this would be the last time they take to the stage. According to Rolling Stone, George Harrison said it was a “unanimous decision,” and they wanted to capture the moment they knew it was over.
“We placed our cameras on the amplifiers and put them on a timer,” Harrison said. “We stopped between tunes, Ringo got down off the drums, and we stood facing the amplifiers with our back to the audience and took photographs. We knew: ‘This is it – we’re not going to do this again. This is the last concert.’ It was a unanimous decision.”
On the airplane home, Harrison was heard exclaiming, “I’m not a Beatle anymore.” While this wouldn’t be true for another four years, he shared, years later, that he was just relieved to be done with the “madness.”
“I didn’t really project into the future,” he stated. “I was just thinking, ‘This is going to be such a relief – not to have to go through this madness anymore.’”
Paul McCartney became annoyed with screaming Beatles fans
The Candlestick Park performance exemplified many things Paul McCartney and the other Beatles never liked about touring. One aspect was the screaming fans. In an interview with The New Yorker, Macca compared the fans to “a million seagulls.” He said it was no longer about the music and was more about fans showing up to see them and shriek.
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“It had been sort of brewing, you know, this distaste for schlepping around and playing in the rain with the danger of electricity killing you,” McCartney shared. “You kind of just look at yourself and go, ‘Wait a minute, I’m a musician, you know. I’m not a rag doll for children to scream at.’”
The Beatles played a 30-minute set that ended with a cover of Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally,” a song that had been a part of their setlist since the beginning. Recalling the 1966 performance, McCartney called the concert “dispiriting” and said he felt like a “piece of meat” after the show.
“We got loaded into a kind of meat wagon, just a chrome box with nothing except doors,” he added. “We were the meat.”
Paul McCartney thought The Beatles weren’t great performers
While many paid good money to see The Beatles live, McCartney thought they weren’t outstanding performers. In an interview with Teen Set (via Rolling Stone), the “Yesterday” singer said he felt the band was better in a studio where they had more time and could perfect their craft.
“We’re not very good performers, actually,” McCartney admitted. “We’re better in a recording studio where we can control things and work on it until it’s right. With performing there’s so much that can go wrong, and you can’t go back over it and do it right.”
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