Hello, Goodbye: The Beatles’ Chaotic and Controversial Final Tour – As Never Seen Before | The Beatles

TThe Beatles gave their last official concert on August 29, 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Jim Marshall’s photographs capture the group at a pivotal moment, when they are already feeling nostalgic for what they left behind.

Two months ago, the Beatles finished pre-recording Revolver, a sparkling collection of pop gems. The next day they boarded a plane to embark on a world tour during which they would play none of the music. They were not deviants. It was simply that none of the songs were suitable for live performance. On stage, they were a four-piece band. They could hardly play anything as complex as Eleanor Rigby or Tomorrow Never Knows for tens of thousands of fans.

Three years after their No. 1 hit, the Beatles’ artistic development split into two branches, one of which was in a fading state. Until they came along, the record was literally a record of a live performance. Please Please Me, the Beatles’ debut album, was a collection of performances honed on stages in Hamburg and Liverpool. But the Beatles came to see the studio as a creative platform in its own right. A place where they can try different sounds and do things no one else has done. This excited them in a way that live shows don’t anymore.

While artists like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones were inventing what we now call modern rock, the Beatles’ minds were elsewhere. Thus, even as their records raced toward the future, their shows remained stuck in the past. The format of a Beatles concert in 1966 was still that of a touring variety show, consisting of five or six acts. The Beatles would come in last, play a breathless half-hour set, and say goodnight.

After the first flush of global success, tourism lost its luster. When they weren’t performing, the Beatles were confined to planes, cars, and hotel rooms. On stage, fans pelted them with beans — which isn’t as fun as it may sound — or anything that came within reach, including bottles and shoes. At a 1965 show at the Cow Palace in California, a crowd of fans overtook the police; The resulting stampede injured 30 people, most of them teenage girls. (Joan Baez, who along with Dylan became friends with the Beatles, was in attendance. She was seen pulling children from the crowd and taking them to safety.) On more than one occasion, the Beatles received death threats before the show.

When George Harrison said that the Beatles traded fame and money for their nervous system, this is what he was talking about. Meanwhile, in each city they arrived in, the band had to answer trivia questions at press conferences with all the charm they could muster. They felt trapped within public personas that became increasingly uncomfortable. As John Lennon put it: “We were the Beatles as best we could ever be – those four merry lads. But we’re not those people anymore. We’re old men.”

However, it wasn’t easy to stop touring. It was almost inconceivable that there was a pop group that did not perform live. Tours were profitable for the Beatles and for the corporate machine of agents, promoters and merchandise sellers that sprung up around them. But when they set out in 1966, they wondered if it was worth it. The tour has made their decision.

After intermittent concerts in West Germany, they set off for Tokyo, where protesters who viewed the group as a deadly threat to Japanese values ​​marched through the streets, holding signs reading “Go Home Beatles.” In the Philippines, they inadvertently sparked a political incident by refusing to attend a reception hosted by First Lady Imelda Marcos. At the airport, as they were leaving, they were attacked and jostled by an angry crowd. They were terrified.

In America, DJs in the Deep South picked up on a stray remark from Lennon, about the Beatles being more popular than Jesus, and ignited a hate campaign, which included ritual burning of Beatles records. At one point, it seemed as if their entire careers were in danger. The Beatles used to sell out shows, playing stadiums with thousands of empty seats.

The tour was the most stressful and terrifying episode of their career to date. By the time they reached Candlestick Park for the final show, they had regained their footing. Their fans had already turned the backlash campaign into a defiant joke (“Lennon’s Stand Up”). The Beatles informed their manager, Brian Epstein, that they were finished. After supporting each other through all the differences, they became closer than ever, and more confident in their creative purpose. In these photos, they look exhausted but determined to enjoy this last party the best they can. McCartney asked one of his assistants to record their performance as a souvenir.

That night they closed with Long Tall Sally by their hero Little Richard. After bending over, they were led into an armored truck and driven away. A new phase will soon begin. After a break, the Beatles reunited at Abbey Road in November to work on a new song for John, called Strawberry Fields Forever.

The Beatles: Live at Candlestick Park 1966 by Jim Marshall, curated by Amelia Davis, is published by Chronicle Books at £30 on 11 June. To support The Guardian, order your copy from guardianbookshop.com. Delivery fees may apply.