Celebrate The 50th Anniversary Of
THE ONLY CONCERT THE BEATLES EVER PERFORMED IN MINNESOTA
With The Only Close-Up Photographs That Exist
Tour Manager Bob Bonis Was The Only Photographer
Permitted On The Field On August 21, 1965 At Metropolitan Stadium
Presented By
The Bob Bonis Archive And The Mall Of America
Although The Beatles toured America three times between 1964 and 1966, they only performed once in Minnesota, on August 21, 1965, at the (Old) Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. They arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport 4:15 pm and were greeted by 3,000 screaming, mostly female, fans. A few of the young girls broke through security and rushed The Beatles as they descended the airplane steps. Security extricated them and they were rushed to waiting limousines which took them directly to Metropolitan Stadium where they held a scheduled press conference.
Promoter Ray “Big Reggie” Colihan’s fears of problems from the pandemonium of Beatlemania were heightened by the problems at the airport, and he decided that no one, including journalists, photographers and even the mayor, would be allowed on the field during the show, except, of course, The Beatles’ crew. At other concerts on the tour, photographers were allowed to approach the stage to take pictures, but not at Metropolitan Stadium. There have been no close-up photographs of The Beatles performing on stage in Minnesota, until now!
Bob Bonis, The Beatles’ U.S. Tour Manager, was also an avid photographer and had his trusted Leica M3 camera hanging off his shoulder as he stood at the side of the stage watching over the performance. During the show, Bob Bonis took a little more than a roll of photographs, some of which were briefly exhibited at The GRAMMY Museum® exhibition “Ladies and Gentlemen… The Beatles!” at the Mall of America in 2014.
Thirty-two of Bob Bonis’ historic photographs of their only Minnesota concert are being exhibited and seen by the public for the first time ever. Limited edition fine art prints are now available below for purchase.
“The Beatles In Minnesota” is a photographic history of the only concert The Beatles ever played in Minnesota. As U.S. Tour Manager, Bob Bonis was the only photographer allowed on the field at Met Stadium during the concert, these are the only close-up photographs of this historic concert in existence.
This 48-page book includes 26 of these rare historic photographs, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the original concert on August 21, 1965, as well as other photographs, the real story of the concert, and photos of rare memorabilia from this show. SEE DETAILS!
