MILWAUKEE -- Tickets go on sale this week to see Paul McCartney headline Summerfest on July 8.
The last time McCartney played in Milwaukee was in July 2013. His concert at Miller Park sold out fast and some tickets went for more than $1,000 a piece.
Milwaukee’s love for McCartney started decades ago -- September 4, 1964 to be exact. That’s when the Beatles made their only stop in Wisconsin during their first American tour. It was pandemonium at the Milwaukee Arena.
“It was just a riot,” said Rocky Todd, a retired Milwaukee Police Officer. “It was unbelievable. Even now when I think back to it, I remember how nuts it was.”
Todd was assigned to escort the band and guard them while in town. Little did he know, he’d actually be watching over the young fans in the crowd. He had to resuscitate one of them after she fainted. Getting her back on her feet didn’t last long with the Beatles on stage.
“A few songs later, she was back down in the aisle,” Todd said. “She had fainted again. And no one even paid attention. They were all focused on the Beatles.”
The screams of the girls in the crowd were so loud, that Todd couldn’t even tell if the band was playing.
“I couldn’t tell you if they were playing Gospel or country,” he laughs. “I never heard any of it. All I heard was screaming. I’ve never been anywhere so loud.”
Todd was able to interact with the band members a bit, and said McCartney stood out as the most serious one of the group.
“Ringo called me Matey,” Todd remembers. “But McCartney was very formal. He called all of us sir.”
It’s only fitting that we now refer to him as Sir Paul McCartney, and we can’t wait for him to be back!
This summer will be the first time he plays Summerfest. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 15.
