Beethoven was the first non-royal or clergy figure to have a funeral that caused thousands of people to line the streets of Vienna. Theaters and businesses were closed. When Beethoven was being interred to the ground someone tried to pay the gravekeeper for his head. So in a way Beethoven was the first real musical celebrity. Although Handel was wealthier and a celebrity in his own right, Beethoven's impact on music led to a new musical movement (Romantism) for the century which led to the first real "mania" celebrity.

People have heard of "Beatlemania" but not as many people now know about "Lisztomania". Franz Liszt was considered one of the greatest pianist of his time and one of the champions of the Romantic music movement. As a side note, Liszt was responsible for transcribing Beethoven's Symphonies to piano which helped further solidify Beethoven's legacy to future generations as it further distributed his works to people that couldn't afford going to the symphony. Anyways, Liszt was said to have a powerful stage presence which caused people, especially women, to faint and scream creating a frenzy for Liszt akin to the women that we see in those videos seeing the Beatles. Women would even fight over his handkerchief or gloves that he would throw off.

In Alan Walkers "Franz Liszt: The Virtuoso Years" he describes a report "Liszt once threw away an old cigar stump in the street under the watchful eyes of an infatuated lady-in-waiting, who reverently picked the offensive weed out of the gutter, had it encased in a locket and surrounded with the monogram "F.L." in diamonds and went about her courtly duties unaware of the sickly odour it gave forth." (Walker 374)

Now Liszt didn't just attact your run of the mill "groupies", he was seriously pimpin', so he attracted royalty. He was known to engage in a relationship with Countess Marie d'Agoult who left her husband for him and giving him one living daughter (who would eventually marry Richard Wagner) and also had a long term relationship with Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein.