Fab Four Blog

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.

The Beatles at De Montfort Hall, Granville Rd., Leicester, Leicestershire - The final night of the tour with Tommy Roe and Chris Montez.

The Beatles at Guildhall, The Square, Portsmouth, Hampshire

The Beatles at Odeon Cinema, Loampit Vale, Lewisham, London

The Beatles at ABC Cinema, London Inn Square, Exeter, Devonshire

The Beatles at ABC Cinema, Abingdon Square, Northampton, Northamptonshire

The Beatles at Granada Cinema in Mansfield

The Beatles spent the tour's one-day break today at a number of local locations with photographer Dezo Hoffmann, with both stills and 8mm mute color home-movie footage resulting. They later repeated this exercise in Weston-super-Mare.

Empire Theatre, Liverpool

A celebrated return to the Beatles hometown, their first Liverpool performance in more than a month.

The Beatles playing at City Hall, Northumberland Rd. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland

The Beatles featured at the Gaumont Cinema, Doncaster

While the Lads worked hard without much fanfare "Please Please Me" The Beatles First LP was released in Great Britain with the following tracks.

1. I Saw Her Standing There 2. Misery 3. Anna (Go To Him) 4. Chains 5. Boys 6. Ask Me Why 7. Please Please Me 8. Love Me Do 9. P.S. I Love You 10. Baby It's You 11. Do You Want To Know A Secret 12. A Taste Of Honey 13. There's A Place 14. Twist And Shout

Studio One, BBC Piccadilly Studios, Piccadilly, London

Between 1:00 and 2:00 pm, following a 10:00 am rehearsal, the Beatles recorded a BBC Radio session for "On the Scene", broadcast in the Light Programme from 5:00 to 5:29 pm on Thursday, March 28th. They performed three songs, "Misery", Please Please Me", and "Do you want to know a secret", working for the very first time in Picadilly in central London.

After the session, the group drove south, to Croydon, to continue the Roe/Montez tour.

ABC Cinema, South St. Romford, Essex

Regal Cinema, St. Andrews Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

Regal Cinema, St. Aldate Street, Gloucester, Gloucestershire

Embassy Cinema, Peterborough

Studio 3A, Broadcasting House, Portland PI, London and City Hall, Sheffield

Owing to their Radio Luxembourg commitment, and John's cold, the Beatle's had been forced to cancel the March 11th session for this day's BBC Light Programme Radio Show "Saturday Club" (recording had been arranged for the Playhouse Theatre in London between 5:30 and 6:30 pm)

Instead, they made their contribution live from Broadcasting House, the central London HQ of domestic BBC radio. The group arrived by taxi in time for a 9:00 am rehearsal and then performed six songs live, "I saw her standing there", "Misery", Too Much Monkey Business", "I'm talking about You", "Please Please Me", and "The Hippy Hippy Shake".

After the programming was over, the Beatles sped 158 miles north in order to be at the City Hall in Sheffield in time for the first Roe/Montez tour "house" at 6:10 pm.

Colston Hall, Colston St. Bristol

John returned to the Beatle's line-up for these two "houses".

Gaumont Cinema, Snow Hill, Wolverhampton, Staffs

Editing, mono mixing and stereo mixing of "From Me To You", by George Martin and team took place this day at EMI Studios, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The Beatles were absent, still traveling south from York to Wolverhampton for another night's work without John Lennon.

Studio Two, EMI Studios, London and Rialto Theatre, York

The Beatles traveled from Bedford to York for this evening's two Roe/Montez "house" via EMI Studios in London, where they participated in a 10:00 am to 1:00 pm harmonica over-dubbing session for "Thank You Girl", recording takes 14-28. When finished, the song was edited and then mixed into mono and stereo. It was just as well that no vocals were required, since John was voiceless and didn't play at York.

Granada Cinema, Bedford

The Roe/Montez tour. This was a three-man Beatles performance because a bad cold kept John in bed. The songs, particularly "Please please me", were re-arranged so that George and Paul could take over his vocal lines.

EMI House, London

The Beatles spent the evening of the one-day Monday respite from the tour inside the small ground floor studio within EMI House, making their 4th and last appearance on the Company's "The Friday Spectacular", broadcast on Radio Luxembourg on March 15th from 10:00 to 11:00 pm. Once again, they chatted about themselves and their work, around which "Please please me" and "Ask me why" were transmitted.