Author compiles history of Cleveland Beatle shows
By Ben Saylor
Insights
Published May 16, 2007

“The Beatles in Cleveland” by Dave Schwensen

The Beatles’ last public performance as a group was on January 30, 1969, when they played a brief, impromptu set on the rooftop of the band’s Apple building. But thanks to Dave Schwensen, you can still get an idea of what attending a Beatles concert is like.   

Schwensen is the author of “The Beatles in Cleveland,” a detailed look at the group’s two concerts in Cleveland. Drawing from the accounts of numerous eyewitnesses and key personalities, as well as news items from the time and his own memories (Schwensen attended the 1966 show), Schwensen weaves together a comprehensive look at two of the Beatles’ wildest concerts.

In order to set the scene for each concert, Schwensen interviewed key Cleveland figures, such as Norman Wain, who worked for WHK Radio and helped bring the band to Cleveland in 1964, and again in 1966, when he was with WIXY Radio. Another player was Ron Sweed, probably best known for working with Ernie “Ghoulardi” Anderson on the cult Cleveland show “Shock Theater.” Sweed, working for Channel 8, attended both Cleveland shows, as well as the press gatherings for each one.

Schwensen details the backstage machinations that led to the Beatles coming to Cleveland for their 1964 show at Public Hall, as well as the ensuing melee at the concert that caused the show to nearly be cancelled.

The city, upset over the disorder surrounding the concert, did not allow the band to perform in Cleveland the following year. It was only through a scheduling change that the Beatles returned in 1966, playing in Municipal Stadium this time, with the same chaotic results, as some 2,500 fans rushed the baseball field to get up close and personal with the Liverpudlian quartet.

In between, Schwensen probes the intricacies of the shows, such as the custom made “luxury house trailer” from Sahara Mobile Homes that served as the group’s backstage dressing room at Municipal Stadium. He also explores the controversy over whether the group played the same song (“Rock and Roll Music”) twice when they had to re-start the 1966 show. Some who were at the concert said they didn’t, but Schwensen and other observers swear they did. The double playing of the tune marks the only time the Beatles ever played the same song twice in concert, Schwensen contends.

In addition, Schwensen refutes a common stereotype about Beatle concerts: that the noise of the fans was always so loud that the music was completely drowned out. Not so in 1966, Schwensen said.

“I heard them quite well,” Schwensen said, attributing this to the fact that the group’s sound equipment was hooked up to the stadium’s public address speakers located throughout the facility.

It was not Schwensen’s original intention to write the book, the author told West Life. Having been present at the 1966 concert, Schwensen frequently reminisced with friends who had also been at the show, and, after putting down his own memories on paper, decided to create a Web site, www.beatlesincleveland.com, so that others who were at the shows could post their recollections. Some Beatles fans wrote in who hadn’t been to the concert but wanted to know what it was like.

Schwensen decided to do some research. He turned first to Jane Scott, who covered rock music for The Plain Dealer for decades. Scott pointed him in the direction of other sources, and the rest is history.

“It was just playing detective,” Schwensen said of his research. He said that compared to the group’s famous concerts at Shea Stadium and Candlestick Park, the Cleveland shows were like “riots.”

“I thought it was worthy of letting Beatle fans and regular people know what it was like,” Schwensen said.

The book already has its share of high-profile supporters. Bill Harry, who founded the Mersey Beat newspaper in the 1960s (It detailed the exploits of the Beatles and other Liverpool bands of the time), wrote the foreword to the book. Ken Mansfield, former U.S. manager of the band’s record company, Apple, also sang the book’s praises.

It has proved popular here at home, too; Schwensen was recently told that for his June 15 book signing at Borders in Tower City, there wouldn’t be any copies for customers to buy because they had all sold out (Schwensen said there will be copies in time for the signing). Schwensen will also be signing copies tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Barnes and Noble at Crocker Park, and June 8 at Borders Books and Music at Crocker Park.

The Beatles in Cleveland Web site is still up and running, and Schwensen continues to post fan memories. The book can also be ordered from the site.