The Beatles live: International Amphitheatre, Chicago – 12 August 1966

Friday 12 August 1966 | Live

The Beatles opened their final world tour with two concerts at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago on 12 August 1966, playing to 13,000 people per show at 3.00pm and 7.30pm. The venue, at 42nd Street and South Halsted, had previously hosted The Beatles in September 1964.

The same day, The Beatles had held a press conference at the Astor Tower Hotel to address the controversy over John Lennon’s ‘more popular than Jesus’ remarks.

Concert setlist

The Beatles’ standard set throughout the 1966 North American Tour consisted of 11 songs:

1. ‘Rock And Roll Music’
2. ‘She’s A Woman’
3. ‘If I Needed Someone’
4. ‘Day Tripper’
5. ‘Baby’s In Black’
6. ‘I Feel Fine’
7. ‘Yesterday’
8. ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’
9. ‘Nowhere Man’
10. ‘Paperback Writer’
11. ‘I’m Down’ (occasionally substituted with ‘Long Tall Sally’)

Notably absent from the setlist were any songs from Revolver, released just seven days earlier on 5 August 1966. The album’s complex studio arrangements — including orchestral overdubs, tape loops and backwards recording — made the songs impossible to reproduce live with the technology available at the time. This disconnect between The Beatles’ studio ambitions and their live performances was one of the key reasons they stopped touring after this tour.

The Beatles — officially licensed merch

The Beatles: Revolver Album Cover Unisex T-Shirt (Black) — Revolver was released just seven days before this concert, on 5 August 1966.

Beatles Revolver T-Shirt →

Support acts

The support acts for the entire 1966 North American Tour were:

The Remains were a Boston-based garage rock band, regarded as one of the finest American rock groups of the mid-1960s. Despite their critical reputation, they never achieved major commercial success and broke up shortly after the tour ended.

Bobby Hebb was an American singer-songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee, best known for his 1966 hit ‘Sunny’ — one of the most covered songs in history, recorded by artists including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Cher. Hebb wrote ‘Sunny’ in the aftermath of the assassination of President Kennedy and the death of his brother on the same weekend.

The Cyrkle were an American pop group managed by Brian Epstein, who had scored a US number one hit with ‘Red Rubber Ball’ (co-written by Paul Simon) in June 1966. Their inclusion on the tour reflected Epstein’s growing American interests.

The Ronettes were one of the most celebrated girl groups of the 1960s, produced by Phil Spector. Their hits included ‘Be My Baby’ (1963) and ‘Baby, I Love You’ (1963). Lead singer Ronnie Spector had a close friendship with The Beatles, particularly John Lennon and George Harrison.

The Beatles — officially licensed merch

The Beatles: Please Please Me Gold Foiled T-Shirt (Black).

Beatles Please Please Me T-Shirt →

The final tour

The 1966 North American Tour ran from 12 August to 29 August 1966, comprising 19 shows in 14 cities. It was The Beatles’ last ever concert tour. Their final concert took place at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on 29 August 1966. None of the group knew at the time that it would be their last performance together.

The International Amphitheatre itself suffered a long decline after the 1970s, unable to attract enough large events to remain viable. It was demolished in August 1999.

42nd Street and South Halsted, Chicago — the former site of the International Amphitheatre, where The Beatles played their first concerts of their final tour on 12 August 1966. The venue was demolished in August 1999.

Key Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

→ Press conference: Astor Tower Hotel, Chicago – 12 August 1966
→ Radio: The Teen Scene – 12 August 1964
→ The Beatles Knowledge Hub
→ August in Beatles History
→ On This Day in Beatles History

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