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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Ian Leslie

Hello, goodbye: the Beatles’ chaotic, controversial final tour – as never seen before

Head and shoulders image of McCartney and Lennon singing into a microphone
Paul McCartney and John Lennon perform with the Beatles at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on 29 August 1966. Photographs: Jim Marshall Photograph: Jim Marshall/Jim Marshall Photography LLC

The Beatles played their last official concert on 29 August 1966, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Jim Marshall’s pictures capture the group at a pivotal moment, when they are already feeling nostalgia for what they are leaving behind.

Two months earlier, the Beatles had finished precording Revolver, a glittering collection of pop gems. The next day they boarded a plane to begin a global tour during which they would play nothing from it. They were not being perverse; it was simply that none of the songs lent themselves to live performance. On stage, they were a four-piece band. They could hardly play anything as complex as Eleanor Rigby or Tomorrow Never Knows to tens of thousands of fans.

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