"Live: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver
9.30pm, Wednesday 26 August 1964 (46 years ago)
Having not failed to sell out any of the dates thus far on their US tour, The Beatles only managed to sell 7,000 tickets for their only concert at the spectacular Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver, Colorado, leaving 2,000 tickets unsold.
'There had been death threats. I remember going to one of their concerts at the Red Rock Stadium in Denver where Brian and I climbed up on a gantry overlooking the stage, and we looked down at the boys below during the performance; and the amphitheatre is such that you could have a sniper on the hill who could pick off any of the fellows at any time - no problem. I was very aware of this, and so was Brian, and so were the boys.'
George Martin
Anthology
Prior to the concert The Beatles stayed at the Brown Palace Hotel. They took to the stage at 9.30 pm; during the show they frequently felt out of breath due to the thin air in Denver, so oxygen canisters were placed on the stage for them to use.
Despite the unsold tickets, with this show The Beatles set a box office record for the open-air stadium. The event was the earliest notable rock 'n' roll performance at the venue.
On 26 August 2004 the Beatles tribute band 1964 re-enacted the concert, precisely 40 years after it first took place. Ticket sales are unknown." (from (
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However, the number of 'unsold tickets' is under dispute. Here is information from (
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"Twenty miles from Denver, its "out of the way" location was blamed in the press for the lack of a sell out, and that was what a lot of people have long believed. However, recent research by Denver resident Scot Raile shows that perhaps not only was the concert sold out, but by more than 1000 seats. Here's his story:
'Evidence that I've seen shows that Red Rocks was full to the brim.'
At least one local paper (the Rocky Mountain News) has printed a photograph of the crowd; no empty seats can be seen. I've also seen a brief clip of local news coverage of the show; that, too, shows what appears to be an over-capacity crowd.
So why the 2,000 unsold tickets? It turns out that my high school sociology teacher happened to have attended that show. When I told him that it was sold out, he first looked at me in disbelief, then laughed out loud. "Well, officially it may not have been sold out, but I've never seen Red Rocks more full," he said. So why the discrepancy? He then proceeded to tell me that in 1964, Red Rocks was viewed far more as a National Park than a musical amphitheatre, and, even then, mostly classical music was performed there. As such, there were hardly any gates, ticket takers, bouncers, etc. the way there are today.
Because of this, it was well-known in Denver that there were tons of ways to get into Red Rocks Amphitheater, and having a ticket was only one of them. So he theorized that there were well over 10,000 people there (above and beyond the 9,000 capacity), but only 7,000 actually shelled out for the tickets."
On a personal note: The great thing about Red Rocks is that the park is open to the public free of charge if there are no scheduled events. The above coordinates are from center stage. Yes, you can stand on the same stage as any of the performers at Red Rocks! There is also a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the complex with information about the Beatles, as well as many other performers. (
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This (
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