THE BEATLES IN PITTSBURGH: 50 YEARS LATER

For many young women at the Civic Arena that September day 50 years ago, an opportunity to pose with four of the world’s most recognizable and sought-after young men would have been a dream come true.

Not for Barbara Shapiro, a 17-year-old from Highland Park.

She was surprised to find herself standing in the midst of the Beatles. In fact, the band meant very little to her. She couldn’t understand the fans and all that silly screaming.

Cameras clicked. The Beatles smiled.

“Look at John,” one of the photographers called out to Barbara.

Which one was John? Barbara was perhaps the only young woman in Pittsburgh who didn’t know. She’d not paid enough attention to the Beatles to distinguish one from the other.

It was too embarrassing to ask, “Which of you is John?” So Barbara started to turn to her right. There stood Paul. “I looked at him right in the face,” Barbara recalled. “He was absolutely mesmerising. I got stuck on him.”