In 1964 the Rutles made the all-important breakthrough in America.
10,000 screaming fans were at Kennedy Airport to greet them.
Unfortunately the Rutles arrived at La Guardia.
Nevertheless the next day 73 million people watched them perform live
on the Ed Sullivan Show. To all intents and purposes the Rutles had
conquered the world.
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On their second visit to the states in early 1965 they played the
world's first outdoor rock and roll concert at Che Stadium (named
after the Cuban Guerrilla leader Che Stadium). As a security precaution
the Rutles arrived at the stadium by helicopter a day early. This
enabled them to be safely out of the place before the audience came
in. It was a brilliant public relations coup. The kids were screaming
so hard that thousands never noticed the difference. Promoter Syd
Bottle described it as the most exciting twenty minutes of his life.
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