The Beatles’ final public concert at Candlestick Park.
On August 29, 1966, The Beatles took the stage at Candlestick Park in San Francisco to perform what would turn out to be their last paid concert ever. Despite widespread speculation, the four members already knew it might be the end. They had just endured three years of grueling tours and increasingly dangerous situations.
The final breaking point came just a month earlier, in the Philippines, when a misunderstanding with First Lady Imelda Marcos led to the withdrawal of all police protection. They ended up fighting their way through hostile crowds, some of whom were armed, while their driver suffered broken ribs in the chaos at the airport. John Lennon, already reeling from the controversy over his “more popular than Jesus” remark, declared on that very same flight home that he would never go on tour again.
Ringo Starr later summed it up in Anthology: “There was a big talk at Candlestick Park about how this had to end. John wanted to quit more than the rest of us. He said he’d had enough.”