The Beatles played their biggest show ever at Shea Stadium
in 1965. There were over 55,000 fans in the crowd, and their cheers were so
loud that at one point the band’s music was completely drowned out by their
cheers. Beatlemania was in full effect.
At that very same concert, there were two photographers. One
was a professional who ran out of film during the show; the other was Marc
Weinstein, an amateur photographer who created a homemade press pass to get backstage
privileges. He managed to get a police officer to escort him to the stage area,
where he could see clearly and take photos.
“…I walked up to the first police officer I saw and… I said,
“Excuse me, sir, I’m with the Beatles entourage and I got separated from the
group. Can you help me to the stage, please?’ And he looked at me and he said,
‘Sure, follow me.’ And I was stunned. He ate the whole thing. He started, ‘Hey
guys, move out of the way. This guy is with the group. I’m taking him out
there.’ And I just followed him.”
“I
just blended with everybody there,” he said. “I had a method of operation;
I just acted like I belonged. Anybody in authority, I would look the other
way.”
It seems that “method of operation” has paid off hugely for
Weinstein. Though he admits he could hardly hear anything from where he stood,
he was able to get some amazing shots. The photos he was able to take using his
fake press pass have sold at auction for £30,000—or more than $45,000. Pre-sale
estimates had priced the photos at between £15,000 and £20,000.
According to the
BBC, the successful buyer was described by auctioneer Paul Fairweather as
“a South American gentleman currently living in Washington [who] is a huge
collector of Beatles memorabilia.”
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