August 22, 1964. Photo by Owen Coppin. From the private collection of Red Robinson

The Fab Four’s first appearance in Canada 59 years ago was cut short because of a near riot

While February 7, 1964 was the day The Beatles crossed the big pond to conquer America, it was on August 22, 1964, the day before the legendary Hollywood Bowl Concert, that The Beatles made their first appearance north of the 49th Parallel. That concert was held outdoors at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, B.C.

The late legendary broadcaster and Disc Jockey Red Robinson, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, had previously introduced the likes of Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and Buddy Holly to the general public. But it was on that night in Vancouver that Red emceed the show that would go down as an unforgettable date in Beatle’s history.

I had the incredible opportunity to interview Red in 2004 when he graciously agreed to emcee a show at the PNE featuring Rubber Soul – The Canadian Tribute a band I was managing at the time.

Robinson, then 27, was at the time the Program Director and DJ at CFUN Radio in Vancouver. “It was a great day,” says Robinson. The concert was held on a football field on the site of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), built in 1954 for The British Empire and Commonwealth Games. It was during those games that Roger Bannister and John Landy broke the four-minute mile. [Read more…]