Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAILY EXPRESS/ARCHIVE PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES F ront Runners Catching a ticket to ride on the way to Logan Airport. bay trippers THE BEATLES, PLAYED AT SUFFOLK DOWNS ON AUGUST 18, 1966. BY JESSICA LANIEWSKI LOCALS GOT A TREAT WHEN ROCK 'N' ROLL'S ORIGINAL BOY BAND, I t was a balmy evening when 40,000 excited fans gathered at Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston for the concert of a lifetime. The four-man British wonder band known as The Beatles had descended upon Boston for their second concert in as many years. The devoted followers—many of them exuberant teenage girls screaming for a glimpse of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—sat facing a small wood-frame stage set up on the dirt racetrack to watch the band play the seventh stop on what would be their final tour. Tickets sold for $4.75 each, and opening acts such as The Remains, Bobby Hebb, The Cyrkle, and The Ronettes drew people to their feet, as they eagerly awaited the raven-haired foursome. The crowd went wild when it caught sight of a slow- moving line of black limousines that were transporting The Beatles from the posh Somerset hotel. The band had first played in Massachusetts on September 12, 1964, at the Boston Garden, in front of a smaller crowd of about 15,000. Nearly two years later, John climbed on stage and belted out the first lines of Chuck Berry's "Rock & Roll Music," and the crowd went wild. The Fab Four wore matching iridescent green suits with black velvet collars that seemed to melt against them in the still evening heat. The show lasted only 35 minutes and featured 11 songs, including "Day Tripper," "She's a Woman," "Yesterday," and "I Wanna Be Your Man." The Beatles retired from touring only 11 days later, with death threats plaguing the group because of Lennon's infamous remark that the band was "more popular than Jesus," and instead focused on their studio work. Suffolk Downs is now being eyed as the perfect spot for a casino, which will no doubt attract headliners and large crowds—for a bit more than $4.75 per person. BC 16 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM