The mesmerizing hysteria of Beatlemania

The response to the mop-topped foursome was overwhelmingly visceral and unlike anything the world had ever seen

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Women and girls in Toronto, Canada screaming with joy during a visit by the Beatles to their city.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Fans in Toronto scream during a visit by The Beatles on Sept. 7, 1964.
(Image credit: (Fox Photos/Getty Images)Teenage girls were most susceptible to the pandemic and side effects included stamping, weeping, fainting, and screaming. When The Beatles played New York's Shea Stad)

A tearful fan pleads with a policeman to deliver her fan button to Ringo, at an Indiana State Fair show in Indianapolis on Sept. 4, 1964.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Bob Daugherty))

New York City, Aug. 27, 1964.
(Image credit: (WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Corbis))

Seattle Center Coliseum on Aug. 24, 1964.
(Image credit: (William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images))

New York City, circa 1964.
(Image credit: (Keystone/Getty Images))

Ernst-Merck-Halle in Hamburg, Germany, on June 26, 1964.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Heinz Ducklau))

Seattle Center Coliseum on Aug. 24, 1964.
(Image credit: (William Lovelace/Express/Getty Images))

Welcoming The Beatles as they arrive in New York City in February 1964.
(Image credit: (Keystone/Getty Images))

The audience at the The Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, 1964.
(Image credit: (Central Press/Getty Images))

Comiskey Park in Chicago on Aug. 20, 1965.
(Image credit: (Bettmann/CORBIS))

A concert in Philadelphia on Aug. 16, 1966.
(Image credit: (AP Photo))

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.