During the years of 1965 and 1966, the Beatles' lives, were dominated
by touring. They had three long tours a year, one British, one American,
and one other foreign tour. They produced three singles a year and one LP.
They made their second film, Help!, in 1965.
On June 16, 1965, it was announced the Beatles would become members of
the Order of the British Empire. They were protests, and Britain was pleased
with this honor. John hated social events because he felt they were fake.
The third American tour began on August 15, 1965. They played at Shea
Stadium in New York. Over 55,000 people showed up at the show. The Beatles
made $304,000, which was a world record. There were 130 police officers present.
A year later in 1966, the Beatles did their fourth and final American
tour. This tour was a short one, but it made the most money. Nat Weiss, organized
it for them. It was during this tour that John's comment about Jesus Christ
hit America. He had said the Beatles were more popular than Christ.
Brian was worried about this so he cancelled some shows because he didn't
want the boys to get hurt. John said he didn't mean what he said, and the
tour continued. Other foreign tours during the two years were in France,
Italy, Spain, and Germany. From Germany, the band flew to Tokyo, for their
one and only concerts in Japan.
From Japan, they returned home. During this visit, the Beatles experieced
real violence throughout the touring career. They had nearly been killed
in Britain and America due to overaffection. In Manila, the band was kicked
and punched by crowds and police. When Ringo had his tonsils taken out ,
the hospital was jammed with fans asking him for his tonsils.
In December of 1965, they had their last British tour. They did one concert
after that on May 1, 1966, at Wembley, which was the last live concert in
Britain. One of their singles, "Paperback Writer," didn't reach number one.
In February 1967, "Penny Lane", and "Strawberry Fields" didn't reach number
one either.
Their last performance anywhere in the world was at the end of their American
tour, on August 29, 1966. It was in San Francisco. Brian was sad because
he knew this was the end. Rumors were spread that the Beatles were breaking
up. They had decided to stop touring.
The biggest thing the Beatles had done was open the American market to
British artists. Nobody had been able to get in before them. After the decision
had been made to stop touring, the band announced it to the public. They
felt their music had developed so greatly, they couldn't perform it onstage
any longer. They also didn't like performing onstage, and the chaos and panic
of it all.
Touring was very dangerous for the Beatles sometimes. They felt safe in
their hotel rooms although the staff would ask for autographs. The American
police were just as bad, wanting autographs too. George said at the beginning
of the American tour, the Beatles began to dislike it. Even making the tours
shorter didn't change their feelings. To the boys, touring became played
out, and they found no satisfaction in it.
Ringo didn't like performing live because he couldn't hear himself play over the crowd. The Beatles had no hesitation making the decision. They saw it as the end of Chapter One. They were just fed up with the drag of touring and the discomfort of Beatlemania.