Wednesday 5 November 2008 · The Beatles · Film and video · Memorabilia
A rare colour film of The Beatles performing at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City sold for £4,100 at a Cameo Auctioneers sale on 4 November 2008. News reports published on 5 November brought the result to a wider audience, 44 years after the concert had taken place.
The silent 8mm reel contained approximately two minutes of footage from 17 September 1964. It had been rediscovered by American fan Drew Dimmel while clearing his parents’ home. Contemporary reports gave the sale price as approximately $6,600.
Kansas City footage auction: key facts
| News date | 5 November 2008 |
|---|---|
| Auction date | 4 November 2008 |
| Auctioneer | Cameo Auctioneers, Reading, Berkshire |
| Reported sale price | £4,100, approximately $6,600 in contemporary reports |
| Pre-sale estimate | £4,000–£6,000 |
| Film format | Silent 8mm colour film |
| Running time | Approximately two minutes |
| Concert filmed | The Beatles, Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, 17 September 1964 |
| Owner who rediscovered the reel | Drew Dimmel |
A film rediscovered after 44 years
Dimmel was 15 when The Beatles visited Kansas City in September 1964. His father allowed him to take a cine camera to the concert. The reel was subsequently stored in its original photo-laboratory box, marked “Beatles 1964” in blue ballpoint pen.
In 2008, Dimmel found the film at the bottom of a drawer while clearing his parents’ estate. The discovery brought back a short moving-image record of a concert that had been added to The Beatles’ North American itinerary at short notice.
Contemporary accounts describe Dimmel passing the camera to an adult with access nearer the stage after being told he could not film from his own position. Reports variously identified that person as a journalist or a friend of his father. The reel remained in Dimmel’s possession until its sale.
The Beatles’ Kansas City concert, 17 September 1964
The Kansas City performance was not part of the original tour schedule. The Beatles had been due to have a day off, but local promoter Charles O. Finley persuaded Brian Epstein to accept an offer of $150,000 for a concert at Municipal Stadium.
The Beatles’ official US tour timeline records the payment as the largest fee for a single performance up to that time. Around 20,000 people attended the show, which lasted approximately 31 minutes.
The Kansas City date fell late in the band’s 1964 North American tour. The group had already made its first American visit in February, including the Ed Sullivan television appearances, before returning for a much larger series of concerts that summer.
Municipal Stadium was at 2123 Brooklyn Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri. The September concert was The Beatles’ only concert appearance in the city as a group.
Two minutes of silent colour film
The auctioned material was a short colour home movie rather than an audio recording or a complete concert film. Contemporary reports described a running time of about two minutes.
The film catalogue entry for Dimmel’s reel also lists pre-concert views of police and spectators, support performer Clarence “Frogman” Henry, the Beatles drum kit and audience scenes alongside the Beatles performance footage.
Publicity surrounding the sale described the reel as the only surviving film of the concert. A specialist Beatles film catalogue, however, records another 8mm film from the same show that had been sold at auction in 2002. Dimmel’s reel was a rare surviving visual record, but it was not the sole documented film.
The Cameo auction result
The reel carried a pre-sale estimate of £4,000–£6,000 and sold for £4,100 on Tuesday 4 November. The price was near the lower end of that estimate. British and international news coverage followed on Wednesday 5 November.
Press Association coverage, relayed by Digital Spy, identified Apple as the buyer. The specialist film catalogue records that identification as unconfirmed.
Other Beatles lots sold at the same auction included a rare vinyl edition of Please Please Me for £2,000, nine unpublished photographs for £950 and an original flyer advertising the group’s 30 May 1963 appearance at Manchester’s Odeon for £470.
| Beatles lot | Reported sale price |
|---|---|
| Kansas City 1964 film reel | £4,100 |
| Rare Please Please Me vinyl edition | £2,000 |
| Nine unpublished Beatles photographs | £950 |
| Manchester Odeon concert flyer, 30 May 1963 | £470 |
The historic Municipal Stadium site
The 1964 concert took place at Municipal Stadium, 2123 Brooklyn Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri 64127, USA. The map below marks the historic stadium site.
View the historic stadium location on Google Maps
Remembering the 1964 American tour
The Beatles American Tour 1964 T-shirt features the four Beatles on the front and a tour-date design on the back.
Frequently asked questions
When was the Beatles Kansas City film sold?
The film was sold on 4 November 2008. Reports of the result appeared on 5 November.
How much did the film fetch?
It sold for £4,100, reported at the time as approximately $6,600, against an estimate of £4,000–£6,000.
What concert does the reel show?
It shows material from The Beatles’ concert at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on 17 September 1964.
How long is the film, and does it have sound?
The reel contains approximately two minutes of silent 8mm colour film.
Who found the film?
Drew Dimmel rediscovered it while clearing his parents’ home. He had attended the concert aged 15 and taken a cine camera with him.
Was it the only film of the Kansas City concert?
No. Although contemporary publicity described it that way, a specialist catalogue documents a separate 8mm film from the concert sold at auction in 2002.
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