On November 8, The 10th Annual Coronado Island Film Festival will host a special presentation celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Beatles’ only San Diego concert, as well as the release of their second film HELP!, and a look at Paul McCartney’s 1982 album, Tug of War. Taking place at the Coronado Performing Arts Center, the event will feature moderator Leonard Maltin and special guests: SiriusXM Beatles expert Tom Frangione, filmmaker / photographer Natalie Palumbo, and authors Chuck Gunderson (Some Fun Tonight!: The Backstage Story of How the Beatles Rocked America: The Historic Tours 1964-1966), and Bruce Spizer (The Beatles Story on Capitol Records and many more).
It promises to be an action-packed afternoon for Beatles fans. Highlights include a multimedia retrospective by Gunderson spotlighting the Beatles’ August 28,1965 San Diego concert at Balboa Stadium, followed by Spizer’s look at their film, HELP!, released just weeks earlier. Next will be the screening of a short documentary by Palumbo, featuring a conversation with Paul McCartney and Tom Frangione of The Beatles Channel, focusing on the album, Tug of War. The afternoon wraps up with a Q&A by Maltin, Palumbo and Frangione.
Attendees will want to get there early in order to view a display of rare Beatles concert memorabilia from Gunderson’s collection.
Gunderson is considered the leading expert on The Beatles U.S. tours. What drew him to that specific part of the band’s career? “There are so many aspects in the career of the world’s greatest music group, but I found a niche in that no one had really done a comprehensive history on their touring years (1964-1966) in America,” he said. “They really made their mark on the stages of Liverpool and Hamburg and not in a sterile recording studio so that’s what attracted me-their stage career. I really wanted to do a book that me, as a fan, would appreciate, that would include never-before-seen photos, performance contracts, riders, business correspondence associated with the tours, along with memorabilia and the story from each stop they did in North America.
What can audience members expect from his presentation? “The presentation will focus on the Beatles visit to San Diego on August 28, 1965,” he said. Even though the band was only here for five hours, “the story is pretty interesting in that it goes back to 1964. San Diego was scheduled to be their first stop on their first ever North American tour on August 18, 1964 so you will need to come to find out the rest of the story!”
While recordings of some Beatles concerts have surfaced over the years, that’s not the case here. ”No recordings exist of this concert, but if you listen to The Beatles Live at the Hollywood Bowl (an official Beatles release), it gives you a pretty good idea as to what it sounded like.” The setlist was the same in every city they performed in during the 1965 tour. “As for photographs, hardly any have ever surfaced and if there are they are from the press conference at Balboa Stadium. The promoter paid for a professional company to take pictures of the group on stage, but sadly the pictures were never delivered to the promoter, so they must be out there somewhere! The company’s name was Camera Craft and they were located on University Avenue back in the day.”
Just a bit too young to experience the first wave of Beatlemania himself, like many, Gunderson’s initial love of The Beatles came via family. “I had older siblings, so the records of the Fab Four were constantly being spun in our house. I call myself a Generation 1.5 fan as I was only 1 1/2 years old when the Beatles were on Sullivan. Fandom really cemented when I was in High School about 1978 and from there it really took off.”
Six decades since that legendary day at Balboa Stadium, why does Gunderson feel the Beatles music still resonates so strongly with audiences today? “It’s just so damn good and diverse!” he said.
The 10th Annual Coronado Island Film Festival takes place November 5 – 9 at various locations around Coronado, including the Hotel Del Coronado and The Village Theatre.
https://festival.coronadofilmfest.com/2025/10/20/beatles-special-engagement-2
