SEPTEMBER 17, 1964 – During a US tour, The Beatles were paid $150,000 for an appearance at the Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, which was more than any other act had ever been paid for a live show at the time.
The band wasn’t originally scheduled to perform on that date, but their day off was cancelled, after local promoter Charles O Finley persuaded their manager Brian Epstein to let them play.
PAUL in BEATLES ANTHOLOGY: “Our days off were sacred. If you look at our 1964 timetable you can see why. I didn’t realize until recently that we used to have a whole year of work, and then get something like 23rd November off – and then have to judge a beauty competition that day. So, by the time we got to Kansas City, we probably needed a day off. I can’t actually remember falling out with Brian about him wanting us to work on a day off, we’d talk to each other rather than fall out.”
Charles Finley was the controversial owner of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team, who at the time were based in Kansas City. He initially offered Epstein $50,000 but was turned down. He increased his bid to $100,000 but was again rejected. Finley then raised his offer to $150,000 (at the time the highest sum ever paid for a single performance) which Epstein accepted.
NEIL ASPINALL in BEATLES ANTHOLOGY: “I remember the Kansas offer for them to play an additional, unscheduled gig kept coming up. It started out at $60,000 and they were saying ‘no’ because they had so few days off. Already that year they’d been to Paris, the States, appeared on the Ed Sullivan shows, come home and made the A Hard Day’s Night record and movie. Then flown straight off on a world tour, and back to England for more concerts, TV and radio shows. And a visit to Sweden and straight after that an American tour.
They weren’t getting any rest. A day off was precious; so if Brian wanted to fill one of their days off with an extra gig, they’d have to stop and think. To play thirty-five American cities was a big tour in those days. They’d play a gig on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, in different cities all over the States – flying in, hotel, press conference, gig, back to the hotel, flying out.
Brian had booked a 35-gig tour and they knew what they were doing and were committed to that. But to shove one more show in the middle was another story. So, The Beatles kept saying ‘no’, and the money kept going up. They agreed to do it in the end. The offer started at $60,000 and finally went to $150,000.”
The Beatles arrived at Municipal Airport at 2 am, with around 100 fans waiting in the pouring rain to greet them. The group were taken by limousine to the Muehlebach Tower hotel where they stayed in the 18th floor Terrace Penthouse. The hotel later sold their bed linen to a Chicago businessman, who resold it in small pieces as souvenirs.
The Beatles ate, drank and played poker before retiring to their beds.
After a day of sleeping late and relaxing in their room, the Beatles held the following press conference on the top floor of the Hotel Muehlebach just before rocking the house at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium.
The Beatles added their version of the “Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!” medley to the setlist, marking their only American performance of the song. The show lasted just 32 minutes, for each of which The Beatles made $4,687. The opening act was a local group, Jack Nead and the Jumping Jacks, followed by, in order of appearance, The Bill Black Combo, The Exciters, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, and Jackie DeShannon.
The Beatles attracted sell-out crowds throughout their inaugural US tour, except in Kansas City. The group attracted a crowd of 20,207, well below the Municipal Stadium’s capacity of 35,000 with tickets costing between $2 and $8.50. The concert was billed with the slogan “Today’s Beatles Fans Are Tomorrow’s Baseball Fans.”
The low attendance was due to local animosity toward Finley, who guaranteed the payment of $150,000 out of his own pocket regardless of ticket sales. It is believed that he lost between $50,000 and $100,000. Ticket sales may also have been low because of high price for the best seats, which at $8.50 were the most expensive for any of The Beatles’ US tours. The group, usually demanding approximately $25,000 per show, accepted Finley’s incredible check in the amount of $150,000 to sacrifice their day off. Since the Beatles usually only performed just over 30 minutes per show, this meant that they earned nearly $5,000 per minute ($1,250 each).
On November 4, 2008 a two minute film containing silent footage of The Beatles performing at the Kansas City concert was sold at auction for £4,100 ($6,600).
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