Tommy Roe Set For
Return Performance
On Half
Century Anniversary of The Beatles' Landmark
First
Concert in North America |
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 Following
their triumphant debut on the Ed Sullivan show
on February 9, 1964, The Beatles very first
concert in America took place at 8:31 p.m. on
Tuesday, February 11, at the Washington Coliseum
at 3rd & M Streets, NE. The sell-out show was
attended by 8,092 screaming fans, who each paid
ticket prices that ranged between $2 and $4. The
audience included former Vice President Al Gore,
then 16, and 18 year old, press pass wielding
photographer Mike Mitchell, whose non-flash
beautifully grainy photos of that evening
encapsulate the birth of a generation. This
opened the door to the ‘British
Invasion’ at the dawn of one of
America’s most tumultuous eras, and would
influence the collective culture to this day.
50 years later, on Tuesday, February 11, 2014,
this landmark concert will be reenacted as it
occurred a half century ago on site at the
historic Uline Arena (later known as The
Washington Coliseum), with the iconic performance
replicated by tribute band, Beatlemania Now.
Opening the concert, as he did a half a century
ago, the legendary Tommy Roe will be featured, in
a live acoustic performance. Presented by the DC
Preservation League and Douglas Development
Corporation, tickets are on sale now at
www.beatlesyesterdayandtoday.com at $45 for
general admission standing tickets and $100 for
seating. Doors will open at 6pm; with a selection
of goodies from local food trucks and live music
performed by Something Wild, an exhibition of
Mike Mitchell’s original photographs, which
will be on sale with proceeds benefitting the DC
Preservation League, as well as other surprises.
The concert begins at the original time of 8:31
p.m. preceded by a 15-minute historic documentary
featuring the history of The Washington
Coliseum/Uline Arena from its concept and
construction through its current and future
incarnation.
 Despite a raging east coast snowstorm,
shortly before noon on the 11th, The Beatles,
legendary DJ Murray the K, and select members of
the press arrived at Manhattan's Penn Station and
boarded an old Richmond, Fredericksburg and
Potomac railroad sleeper car named the King
George headed for Washington, DC. The train ride
gave the Beatles and the press an opportunity to
interact by the time it pulled into
Washington’s Union Station at 3:09 p.m. The
Beatles opened with "Roll Over
Beethoven." The Chiffons, Tommy Roe, the
Righteous Brothers, Caravelles, and Jay and the
Americans were also on the bill.
When The Beatles climbed onto the stage just at
8:31 p.m. and even before they played a note,
fans began screaming and photographers started
taking a barrage of photos. The first American
crowd also followed the British tradition of
throwing jellybeans onto the stage. The screaming
was so loud and hysterically persistent
throughout the entire concert - and then - about
35 minutes after the Beatles climbed onto the
stage, it was over.
About Tommy Roe
Tommy is a multifaceted international artist who
wrote, co-wrote, and recorded, six top ten hits
between 1962, and 1969, more than any other
single artist/songwriter during this period of
the 60's, with four RIAA certified gold records,
and two of his hits, "SHEILA" and
"DIZZY," topping the Billboard chart at
#1. Tommy had a total of eleven records reach the
Billboard top forty, and twenty three Billboard
top 100 chart records. With similar chart success
in England, and throughout Europe, Asia, and
Australia, Tommy is considered one of the early
pioneers of American pop culture. Born Thomas
David Roe, on May 9, 1942, in Atlanta, Georgia,
Roe, who is sometimes known as the "father
of bubble-gum music," has sold more than 60
million records, including six Top 10 hits, and
four Gold Records.www.TommyRoe.com
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