Rare 8mm film footage of a 1964 Kansas City concert by the Beatles has sold to an unidentified buyer at a London auction last week for 4,100 British pounds (approximately $6,600).
While cleaning out his parent’s basement, Kansas City native Drew Dimmel stumbled upon the footage of The Beatles that he shot during the band’s first tour of the United States in 1964 — the same year that saw their breakout success on the Ed Sullivan Show. He’d apparently forgotten all about the film.
Ironically, the show was not initially part of the Beatles’ itinerary for their first, full-scale American tour. They were persuaded, however, to add Kansas City at the urging of Charley O. Finley, legendary owner of the then Kansas City Athletics professional major league baseball team. Finley got in touch with Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, and paid in the neighborhood of $150,000 for the Fab Four to add Kansas City to their tour. Dimmel smuggled in a camera and shot from the audience at the Sept. 17, 1964, at Kansas’ Municipal Stadium.
The video has not been made public yet, but fans of the Beatles are waiting in eager anticipation.