Thanks for the memories: Readers share their Shea concert stories

July 11, 2008

Billy Joel performs in the first of 10 sold out concerts at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., Friday, May 23, 2008. (AP Photo)

THE BEATLES

I was just two months shy of my 10th birthday when older cousins took me to the Beatles concert at Shea. I thought I was so cool in my polka-dot bell-bottoms, screaming along with all the teenage girls, almost getting arrested when a group of them piled over the first-base fence I was standing next to. Afterward, we tracked them to the airport, and I still believe I saw Paul's face in the window of an airplane we "knew" they were on. Nothing came close to this thrill, until seeing McCartney at Madison Square Garden exactly 40 years later -- and at that concert, I could actually hear him sing!

Jayne Schneider, Stony Brook

Ahhh, it was August 1965. I was 15 and so excited to finally be seeing my Paul McCartney, live and in person, at Shea Stadium. There was a surreal electricity in the air and I could see The Beatles oh-so-far away through my binoculars, but unfortunately couldn't hear one note of music above the constant drone of 50,000 screaming fans. But what a wonderful feeling just to experience it!

Andi Schneider, Southampton

I have a vivid memory of the Beatles Aug. 23, 1966 concert at Shea Stadium. I still have my ticket stub from the show. I sat in field level box 66J, seat 3. The face value of the ticket was $5.75. Fortunately, our family had a close friend who was an editor with a local newspaper and he was able to get us four complimentary tickets. One of the parents dropped us off at Shea and picked us up hours later. The weather earlier in the day was filled with heavy rain and we thought the concert would be canceled. Four teenagers were not to be denied seeing The Beatles and during our ride on the Long Island Expressway, the skies miraculously cleared. We went to our seats and the stadium was packed. There were police officers and security lining the entire outfield perimeter. The temporary stage was set up near what would normally be second base during a Mets game. We sat through numerous opening acts, most notably The Cyrkle, another band managed by Brian Epstein. They played their hit songs including "Red Rubber Ball" (an early Paul Simon composition).

Eventually, the four lads from Liverpool made it onto the stage and the screams erupted. Being a wannabe musician I wanted to hear their music but I was largely denied. The girls around us and throughout the stadium continued their screams until after The Beatles departed. Although we did not get to hear most of the songs, it was an incredible event and I am certainly grateful have been in attendance.

Jim Johnides, Centerport

P.S.: My future wife, Cathy, attended the Beatles concert at Shea in 1965.

I grew up in Corona. On my way to high school each day, I watched Shea Stadium rise up from the junkyards and marshland of Flushing. Early in the summer of 1966, Murray the K, my favorite DJ, announced that The Beatles would be playing at Shea. Excitement tore through my all-girls high school. My friends and I walked to Shea and bought tickets ($5.75 each). The day of the concert, Aug. 23, we could hardly contain ourselves. At 7:30 p.m. the Fab Four took the stage and the screaming began. I knew then that this concert, my first, was one that I would remember for the rest of my life. My friends and I walked home afterward completely exhausted. I couldn't talk for four days.

Terry Prudente, Northport

I was on my way to Shea Stadium to see The Beatles, wearing a mandarin-collared blouse over a navy blue straight skirt (which I hiked up in the ladies' room!), black fishnet stockings and black suede shoes ... too cool! When the Fab Four came onstage and all the girls were screaming, "Paul!" I started screaming, "Ringo!" so he wouldn't feel bad.

Joan M. Sullivan, Lynbrook

I saw The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965 and 1966. I still have the ticket stubs. In 1966, I made and brought with me a 75-foot gum wrapper "love chain" for Paul. I gave it to the guard at the dugout hoping he would get it. Just before the last song, "Long Tall Sally," Paul came to the mic ... outstretched his arms and said, "I want to thank the girl for the long chain." Of course, he couldn't hear me from my seat screaming "It's me. It's me!" A memory not to be forgotten!

Rosalia Rosen, Wantagh

One of the most exciting memories of my life was when I went to see The Beatles at Shea Stadium. I actually was lucky enough to see them twice. My father took my sister and I, and I remember the crowds, the excitement and the screaming. You could hardly hear a word they sang! My sister and I tried to figure out which songs they were singing, and then we wrote them down. We cried all the way home because it was over! Those concerts were one of the highlights of my adolescence.

Cathy Baum, Hicksville

Sitting in the lower tiers with my contemporaries out in left field I thought I would burst with excitement when The Beatles took the stage at second base. The screaming never stopped and even then I knew this was history, and I was a part of it. What I remember as being odd now was lots of parents dropping kids off under the highway overpass, and making a run for it to the stadium. And that was the pickup point after the concert. I forgot to mention I was 12 and my cousin was 11. Imagine.

No one knew what to expect -- the traffic, the mobs, the Wells Fargo truck, the helicopter -- the energy was off the charts. I've been to many great concerts since then, but The Beatles at Shea was my first, and you know what they say about your first.

Maria Pisano, Mineola