When the Beatles performed at the Seattle Center Coliseum in August 1964, nineteen-year-old photographer Timothy Eagan had an enviable view of the group from the edge of the stage. This vantage point gave Eagan the opportunity to photograph the four lads at relatively close range, as in this shot of Beatles founding member John Lennon. Eagan shot three rolls of film that night, practicing the photography which would become his professional career in Seattle and, later, New York City. In addition to a poised John Lennon, this photo shows the packed seating behind the stage. The sailors at lower right were among the one hundred Navy men from Pier 91 brought in at the last minute to help the police with security at the concert. Though the crowd behind the stage looks benign in this photo, a "child expert" who attended the concert reported in the Seattle Times the following day that "The experience of being with 14,000 teenagers to see the Beatles is unbelievable and frightening." Lennon, however, seems unperturbed by the din, and even by the jellybeans, marshmallows, and other items thrown at the band by the audience, which litter the stage at John's Beatle-boot clad feet.

Caption quote source: Seattle Times, August 22, 1964, p. 1.