28th February 1970, Saturday

[Graeme]

Day number 12836Site Date Map

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Intact ticket from this afternoons show

[Graeme]

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[Alan]

      Saturday 28th February at 2pm Elvs was driven onto the field wearing a blue jumpsuit with white trimming and a white sash. It wasn't the same blue suit which he wore in Vegas, it was a much brighter shade of blue. Just before Elvis came on I was stunned to hear over the public address system a welcome being given to, "Our friends from Torrance, Australia [this was Angela and Rae] and also from England and Canada." The message came up in lights on the board, and too lateI seized hold of my camera.I took about 72 colour prints of this show but Elvis was really too far away.
      Just as Elvis started to sing, "Polk Salad Annie," a guy vaulted over the bars and raced across the field, chased by a posse of guards. There were about a 100 police officers stationed around the arena facing the crowds. He was bought down in a flying tackle when only about 5 yards from Elvis who was supposed to have muttered, "He couldn't take it." I think the guy was knocked out as he was carried off in the field inert. We heard later he was 34 years old and had said, "Elvis is my idol." The self control exercised by Elvis was just amazing, he just carried on singing though the crowd got very excited. I suppose he has got to have confidence in the people who are supposed to protect him, and must be like the Queen who never looks around before sitting down as she is sure there will be a chair there for her to sit on! But it was a close thing. At the end of the show Elvis was again driven around the field. During the performance the spotlights were nearly always coloured and while this makes for a very effective show it made my films very dark.
      Saturday night at 8pm Elvis had a capacity of over 43,000. Every show Elvis had, the crowd was a record for the day. The previous Saturday night record had been 26,000 in 1967 or 68. At the Saturday night show Elvis wore a white jumpsuit with the chocolate and silver trimming, and the programme was the same as Friday night. Angela and Rae used to wait outside the Astroworld Hotel to watch elvis leave for the dome, and after seeing him get into the bus would run like mad to get into their seats before Elvis came on. They had 15 minutes to do this. Gladys and I toyed with the idea of doing this but the weight of the equipment which I had with me made it impossible for me to cover the distance in time. I used to hang a scarf over the bars in front of my seat and so I always knew when Elvis had arrived as it would start fluttering in the draught which was created when they had to open the giant doors to drive the bus to the Dome. We used to see the luggage which was on top of the bus just visible above some staging, and we were told Elvis used to step straight from the bus door into the car without stepping on the soil. When hje did this a great roar went up from the crowd on that side who could see him. The welcome he got from Houston was really fantastic. Mr. Diskin had told us, "Houston will really be something else. Elvis will be back with his own people." When we told the folks down there this, they were really chuffed and said, "Well, he got his first big break down here in Texas."
      On Saturday the crowd was delerious and I am sure Elvis was overcome with their welcome. I saw his head go down several times as if could have been choked. As he passed our side he blew a kiss.
      
      As in Vegas everywhere was jumping with people. The radio and TV stations warned everyone to start off for the shows early as traffic jam was three miles long. The police was all over the place trying to control traffic and the crowds. The hotels were all packed. It took us from midnight until 2:30am to get dinner at the Astroworld on Saturday night. The hotel sold out of food, drinks, films, papers. Immediately the papers were delivered they were scooped up and the Cowboys in the Rodeo who would come along to see how they had been reviewed in the press found the papers had gone and they would then have to come and ask if they could read the bits referring to them. I always used to let them have the papers after removing th Elvis bits.
      As Elvis drove passed us on Saturday night we could see his suit was sticking to him, and as he raised his arm in greeting the sweat came off him like spray. He blew us all a kiss as he passed. When Elvis got back to the Astroworld unknown to anyone some girls had got inside the service entrance and as Elvis came to the lift he was mobbed, and this group of girls all jumped on him. We heard he had to be carried into his suite by the guards, he was so exhausted.