The Beatles played a concert so loud that they had to use the stadium's baseball announcement speakers just to be heard.

On August 15, 1965, The Beatles played at Shea Stadium in New York City. It was the first time a rock band tried to play in such a huge place. Back then, the biggest guitar amplifiers were only 100 watts. These were made for small clubs, not giant outdoor stadiums.The crowd of 55,600 people was so excited that their screaming reached 131 decibels. That is louder than a jet engine taking off right next to you! Because the band's equipment was too quiet, they plugged their instruments into the stadium's public address system. These were the same speakers used to announce baseball players.The sound was still terrible. The speakers were spread out, which created a delay. This meant the band members heard their own music seconds after they played it. They couldn't hear each other at all, so they had to watch each other's hands to stay in time.This disaster changed music forever. Engineers realized they needed much bigger tools for rock concerts. By 1969, sound systems had improved so much they could handle 400,000 people at the Woodstock festival. The Beatles' struggle at Shea Stadium basically invented the modern 'stadium rock' concert.