1963, April

The Beatles still sunning and funning in Tenerife.

The Beatles are on vacation in Tenerife this week.

The Beatles on Holiday............

(Victory) Memorial Hall, Northwich

The day after this performance on April 28th, Paul, George, and Ringo took off for a 12 day holiday in Santa Cruz, Tenerife. John and Brian Epstein flew to Spain.

Music Hall, Shrewsbury

The first of two consecutive bookings for promoter Lewis Buckley.

Ballroom, Fairfield Hall, Park Lane, Croydon, Surrey

This "Mersey Beat Showcase" date was arranged by promoter John Smith back in January, before the Beatles had a hit with "Please Please Me" and before Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Big Three had emerged out of Liverpool. Concerned that he might not fill the ballroom for one "house", let alone two, Smith engaged star singer/actor John Leyton to top the bill.

Three months later, however, on the day of the shows, Leyton fell ill and was unable to fulfil the booking. But when Smith posted notices to this effect outside the ballroom's main entrance there was great cheering. No one had come to see him.

Majestic Ballroom, Seven Sisters Rd. Finsbury Park, London

Another of NEMS' "Mersey Beat Showcase" presentations. This Top Rank ballroom was situated close by the Finsbury Park Astoria Cinema where the Beatles would play on many future occasions. 2,000 people attended this evening.

The Beatles at Floral Hall, Southport

Today the Beatles took the day off :)

Empire Pool, Empire Way, Wembley, Middlessex and Pigalle Club, Piccadilly, London

The afternoon performance at Wembley marked the Beatle's biggest concert date yet, both in stature and size of venue, a reported 10,000 pop fans crowding into the arena to see a 14-act bill, headed by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, in the "New Musical Express" 1962-63 Annual Poll-Winner's All-Star Concert. Although the Beatles hadn't actually won any of the reader's polls, which had been conducted before the end of 1962, the NME slotted them in. They performed four songs, "Please Please Me", "From Me To You", "Twist And Shout" and "Long Tall Sally". The evening booking at the Pigalle Club was an odd one, and the Beatles only appearance at this fashionable central London restaurant/night club later to become the "in" meeting place for the Mod movement. On this evening almost the entire audience was Jewish, the only advertisement for the engagement having appeared in the weekly newspaper "Jewish Chronicle".

Ballroom, Mersey View Pleasure Grounds, Overton Hills, Frodsham, Cheshire

The Beatle's only appearance at this north-west venue although other top Liverpool groups had played here regularly since 1961.

The Beatles at King's Hall, Stoke-On-Trent

The second "Mersey Beat Showcase" date

During the first half of 1963, the BBC presented and broadcast live, three concerts direct from this famous venue, each performed in front of an audience. The Beatles appeared on only this occasion, in a show titled "Swinging Sound '63", alongside a host of other artists, including Del Shannon, the Springfields, Lance Percival, Rolf Harris, the Vernons Girls, Kenny Lynch, Shane Fenton and the Fentones, and George Melly.

The concert was a fairly complicated affair, taking place in two distinct halves, 8:00 to 8:50 and 9:10 to 10:15 pm, with an interval in between. Only the second half was broadcast; the first was not even recorded, so in essence, this could be classified as a Beatles concert appearance and the sencond half a live radio appearance. Furthermore, the BBC's General Overseas Service beamed a simultaneous broadcast across much of the globe between 9:15 and 10:00 pm, which meant that overseas listeners missed out on the Beatles by seconds, since they did not play in the second half until 10:02 pm.

This was the Beatles first appearance at the Royal Albert Hall, a venue they would remember in their 1967 song "A Day In The Life", and they spent virtually the entire day there, mostly in the dressing room. They were called at 10:15 am for a 10:45 to 11:30 rehearsal, and again at 12:45 pm for a 1:00 to 1:30 rehearsal of the concert's finale.

Fellow Liverpulian, jazz singer and arts critic George Melly introduced the Beatles on stage during both halves of the concert. In the first, at around 8:40 pm, they played two songs, "Please Please Me" and "Misery", with only the briefest of pauses in between.

In the second half, broadcast live, the group sang "Twist and Shout", and "From Me To You", again segued. They had planned on opening with "Thank you Girl" released earlier, but switched it to the more upbeat "Twist and Shout" at the last moment, unbeknown to the BBC producers Terry Henebery and Ron Belchier. In the grand finale, all the acts on the bill, including the Beatles, crowded onto the stage for an instrumental blast of "Mack The Knife", which they played for over three minutes, until the "Light Programme" broadcast was faded down at 10:15. (Written in 1928 by Kurt Weill for "The Three Penny Opera", "Mack The Knife" has since been recorded by hundreds of artists.

After the broadcast Paul first met his fiancee-to-be, aspriring young actress and "teen" TV personality Jane Asher, who (earlier in the evening) had posed, screaming for the Beatles, for a photographer from "Radio Times", the BBC's weekly listings journal.

The Beatles at the Majestic Ballroom, Mill Street, Luton, Bedfordshire

The Beatles at Studio Four, Granada TV Centre, Manchester

The Beatle's first appearance on Granada Television in three months was this live (mimed) performance of "From Me To You", on
'Scene At 6:30', a new half hour news magazine program from North England, succeeding from People and Places. Following 3:00 - 4:00 and 4:15 - 6:00 pm rehearsals, it was broadcast between 6:30 and 7:00 pm, clashing with the Beatle's taped BBC TV appearance on "The 625 Show" which was on from 6:25 to 6:50.

The Beatles at the Riverside Dancing Club, Bridge Hotel, Teme St. Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire

Teddington Studio Centre, Teddington

Taping of the Beatles third appearance on the ABC Television program, "Thank Your Lucky Stars", broadcast across most of the ITV network on Saturday, April 20th from 5:50 to 6:30 pm.

In this edition, the group were called for an 11:00 am rehearsal and took part in the continuous taping during the afternoon, miming to one song, "From Me To You". The Beatles were third on the bill, other guests including the not yet successful Dave Clark Five, The Vernons Girls, Bert Weedon and, topping the line-up, visiting American Del Shannon, with whom the Beatles would work again the next Thursday.

After the TYLS taping, the Beatles drove to the nearby town of Richmond-upon-Thames to see, for the first time, another up and coming new group, the Rolling Stones, in live action at the Crawdaddy Club in the town's Station Hotel pub.

Studio E, Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London

After 11 appearances on British independent television, the - at last - was the Beatles debut on the national BBC network, a video recording for "The 625 Show", transmitted from 6:25 to 6:50 pm on Tuesday, April 16th and billed as featuring "up and coming young talent".

The recording took place at the Corporation's Lime Grove Studios in West London, a 10:30 to 11:30 am band call, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm and 2:15 to 3:45 camera rehearsal and 4:30 to 6:00 final rehearsal preceding the 7:30 to 8:15 pm taping.

The Beatles performed three songs on the program, "From Me To You', "Thank You Girl", and "Please Please Me". The latter song closed the show and so the Beatles were enjoined by the entire cast: singer Jimmy Young, singers/guitarists Rolf and Tino, singer Bobbi Carrol, singer/guitarist Hank Locklin, guitarist Wout Steenhuis, a four-piece orchestra led by Micky Greeve, pianist Johnny Pearson and musical conductor Edwin Braben.

This taping of "The 625 Show" precluded the Beatles from making an adverstised personal appearance (though they weren't scheduled to perform) at a football club dance held this night at the Civic Hall in Uppermill, near Oldham, Lancashire. Instead, the Beatles stayed local to London, going to a party thrown at his North Harrow home by the Shadow's guitarist Bruce Welch. Here they met Cliff Richard for the first time.

Night Cavern Club, Liverpool

A special Good Friday return to the Cavern Club, spearheading another eight-hour "Rhythm & Blues Marathon"

The Beatles appearing at the Co-operative Hall, Long St. Middleton, Lancashire

Majestic Ballroom, Birkenhead

The Beatles last appearance at this venue.

BBC Paris Studio, London, & Studio Four, Wembley Studios, Wembley, and Ballroom, Gaumont State Cinema, Kilburn High Rd. Kilburn, London.

Another busy day, a live radio interview at lunchtime, a live (but mimed) television appearance at tea time, live in concert at night.

The radio appearance occurred on the BBC Light Program lunchtime chat show "Pop Inn", the Beatles going along to the Paris Studio for a 12:30 pm rehearsal and live broadcast between 1:00 and 1:45. The interview was accompanied by the playing of their imminent new single, "From Me To You". Among the other guests on the show were disc jockey David Jacobs, veteran comedian Arthur Askey, and popular pianist Winifred Atwell.

The television appearance, also live, was a return booking on the Associated-Rediffusion children's magazine program "Tuesday Rendezvous", broadcast in London between 5:00 and 5:55 pm. (The Beatles also attended the rehearsal, from 2:00 to 5:00 pm) They mimed "From Me To You", played in its entirety, and to 50 seconds of "Please Please Me", played over the closing titles. Among the other guests on the show were ever-present puppets Ollie Beak and Fred Barker, naturalist Grahame Dangerfield and cookery couple Fanny and Johnnie Cradock.

The Gaumont State cinema in Kilburn, scene of the evening engagement, is only a short distance from Wembley, and closer still to EMI Studios in Abbey Road.

The Beatles were off today.....

The Beatles at the Savoy Ballroom, South Parade, Southsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire

The Beatles at the Pavilion Gardens Ballroom, St. John's Rd. Buxton, Derbyshire

Swimming Baths, High Rd. Leyton, Leyton, London

Earlier in the evening, prior to the date at Leyton Baths, the Beatles gave a private live performance for record company executives at EMI House in central London, during a presentation ceremony to celebrate the award of their first silver disc, for the single, "Please Please Me"!

BBC Paris Studio in London and Roxburgh Hall, Stowe School, Stowe, Bucks

Having taped sessions for two programs in the Light Program radio series, "Side by Side" only the previous Monday, the Beatles returned to the BBC this day, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm to record a third. (An option for a fourth appearance in the series, to have been taped between 2:00 and 6:00 pm this day, was not taken up, however)

The Beatles and the Karl Denver Trio did not bother to re-record their duet of "Side by Side", the BBC using the April 1st tape for this transmission, which took place between 5:00 and 5:29 pm on Monday, June 24th. (It was unusual for the Corporation to keep recordings so long before broadcast, and this was certainly the longest any Beatles tape remained "in the can"). Listeners to the show heard the group perform "Too Much Monkey Business", Love Me Do", "Boys", "I'll be on my way" and "From me to you".

"I'll be on my way" is of particular interest for it was the Beatles only studio environment recording and known public performance of a Lennon-McCartney song given exclusively to Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas for record release; they taped their version at EMI Studios on March 14the and released the track on April 26 as the B-side of "Do you want to know a secret", another - though not so exclusive Lennon-McCartney original.

The late afternoon live engagement at Stowe, the boy's public school, was probably the Beatles most unusual concert appearance of all, and was booked as a direct result of one Liverpudlian boy's interest in his home-town group.

A private school of just a few hundred boys: one of its students, David Moores. Moores, who had grown up around Liverpool, wanted to see his hometown band. So, in January 1963, he wrote to Brian Epstein. This set in motion a series of fairly formal letters of negotiation between Epstein and Moores, ending in their mutual agreement, in a signed contract, that the Beatles would play the school for their more or less standard fee of 100 quid.

The Playhouse Theatre, London

The Beatles first recording for the BBC Light Program radio show "Easy Beat", hosted by Brian Matthew and taped weekly in front of a teenage audience at the Playhouse.

The Beatles rehearsed from 5:30 pm and took part in the continuous recording from 8:30 to 9:45; the program was then transmitted between 10:31 and 11:30 am on Sunday, April 7th. Their contribution was three songs: "Please please me", "Misery" and "From me to you".

As well as performing music, John and Paul took part in the program's record review panel spot "Going Up?" (Along with Laura Lee and Clare O'Rourke), giving their opinions of new singles by Bert Weedon, Cleo Laine, The Vernons Girls, and Tommy Roe.

The Beatles took a BREAK today!

Studio One, BBC Picadilly Studios in London

On this day the Beatles recorded contributions to two progams in the weekly BBC Light Program radio series, "Side by Side", hosted by staff announcer John Dunn, later a top presenter. Inclusive of rehearsal time, the sessions took place from 2:30 to 5:30 and 6:30 to 10:30 pm.

Side by Side featured two groups each week, one being the resident Karl Denver Trio. Together, they and their guest act would open the show singing "Side by Side" (written by Harry Woods, first recorded in 1927 by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra); thereafter the two groups would alternate until the end of the show half an hour later.

The afternoon recording was transmitted between 5:00 and 5:29 pm on Monday, April 22nd with The Beatles contributing "I saw her standing there", "Do you want to know a secret", "Baby, It's you", "Please Please Me", "From me to you" and "Misery", as well as the "Side by Side" duet with Denver's Trio.

The evening recording was transmitted between 5:00 and 5:29 pm on Monday, May 13th, The Beatles contributing "From me to you", "Long Tall Sally", "A Taste of Honey", "Chains", "Thank you girl", and "Boys", together with a repeat of the "Side by Side" duet with Denver.