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Questions about The Beatles' 1966 US tour

Short answers, pulled from the story.

When and where was the Beatles' final concert of the 1966 US tour?

The Beatles played their final paid concert on the 29th of August 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. They took the stage at 9:27 pm and played an eleven-song set to an audience of 25,000, with 7,000 tickets left unsold.

What did John Lennon say that caused controversy during the 1966 US tour?

Lennon stated in a February 1966 interview with Maureen Cleave of the London Evening Standard that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus" and questioned whether rock 'n' roll or Christianity would disappear first. The remarks caused little reaction in Britain or the US until the teen magazine Datebook reprinted them on its cover on the 29th of July 1966, provoking outrage among Christian fundamentalists in the American South.

How many shows did the Beatles play on the 1966 US tour?

The Beatles performed 19 shows on the 1966 North American tour: 17 in the United States and two in Canada. The tour ran through August 1966, opening in Chicago on the 12th of August and closing in San Francisco on the 29th of August.

Why did the Beatles stop touring after the 1966 US tour?

The Beatles had privately decided to abandon touring before the US leg even began, following death threats in Tokyo and a physical confrontation with military personnel in Manila. The 1966 US tour compounded that decision with further crowd violence, death threats in Memphis, and the band's dissatisfaction with the noise levels and their ability to hear themselves play live.

What happened during the Beatles' Memphis concerts on the 1966 US tour?

Two shows were scheduled at the Mid-South Coliseum on the 19th of August. The Memphis city council voted to cancel them, but Brian Epstein proceeded anyway. Members of the Ku Klux Klan demonstrated outside the venue, and approximately 8,000 locals attended an anti-Beatles rally elsewhere in the city. During the evening performance, an audience member threw a lit firecracker onto the stage; no band members were struck, but the band believed for a moment that someone had fired a weapon.

What did the Beatles play on the 1966 US tour setlist?

The Beatles' set lasted approximately 30 minutes and included eleven songs: "Rock and Roll Music", "She's a Woman", "If I Needed Someone", "Day Tripper", "Baby's in Black", "I Feel Fine", "Yesterday", "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Nowhere Man", "Paperback Writer", and "Long Tall Sally". No tracks from Revolver were included because the sophisticated studio arrangements could not be reproduced in a concert setting.