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
Although The Beatles toured America three times between 1964 and 1966, they performed one time only in Minnesota, at the (Old) Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington on August 21, 1965, to an estimated audience of 30,000 teenage fans. The Fab Four flew in to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport from Midway Airport in Chicago, where they had played to 50,000 fans at Comiskey Park the night before and arrived at 4:15 pm. They 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 freed 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 was extremely security conscious. Heightened by the problems at the airport, he decided that no one, including journalists, photographers and even the mayor, would be allowed on the field. Unlike other concerts on the tour where photographers were allowed to approach the stage to take pictures there are no close-up photographs of The Beatles performing in Minnesota, until now! Bob Bonis, who was The Beatles’ U.S. Tour Manager was also an avid photographer and had his trusted Leica M3 camera with him as he stood at the side of the stage watching over the performance.
During the show he took a little more than a roll of photographs and they are now being exhibited at The GRAMMY Museum® sponsored exhibition “Ladies and Gentlemen… The Beatles!” at the Mall of America. Most of these photos are being exhibited and seen by the public for the first time ever, and strictly limited edition prints are now available for purchase.
Introduced by legendary WDGY DJ Bill Diehl, during this historic concert The Beatles played 11 songs for the ecstatic crowd: “She’s a Woman,” “I Feel Fine,” “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” “Ticket To Ride,” “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Baby’s In Black,” “I Wanna Be Your Man,” “A Hard’ Day’s Night,” “Help!” and “I’m Down.”
The Beatles hold a very special place in the hearts of Minnesotans as they played there only one time, and until now there have been no close-up photographs of the event available. The stadium was subsequently demolished to make way for the construction of the Mall of America. In the final design of the Mall, a portion of the original stage was preserved to pay homage to The Beatles’ one and only Minnesota performance.
“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!
