Brian Epstein flies to the U.S. with Billy J. Kramer for a promotional visit. While there, Epstein meets with television variety show host Ed Sullivan, who wants to let the American audience see the latest crazy fad from overseas on his program. To Sullivan’s astonishment, Epstein insists that The Beatles be given top billing. Eventually they work out a deal: The Beatles will be given top billing in return for three appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show”

Back in the UK, The Beatles tape a strange interview for Rediffusion TV. The TV puts the Fab Four in a hire-car and drives them around London asking questions. Due to the space limitations in the car they interview The Beatles in pairs, first George and Ringo, and then John and Paul. The resulting footage is shown as part of the This Week TV show broadcast on November 7th.

In the evening The Beatles resume their Autumn Tour with two performances at the Adelphi Cinema in Slough.

After almost nine months of continuous touring, TV and radio appearances, as well as recording sessions, the Beatles took a much needed vacation. John flew to Paris with his wife Cynthia, where they were joined by Brian Epstein. George and his brother Peter flew to the USA to visit their sister Louise. Paul and Ringo headed off together for a break in Greece. They would be out of the country until October 2nd.

The Beatles play before 1,500 crammed into to the City Hall in Salisbury. Brian Epstein was so concerned about the overcrowding and the subsequent safety of The Beatles that he wanted the gig canceled and offered to refund the promoter 60% of the booking fee. The promoter refused and the show went on.

The Beatles perform at King’s Hall in Stoke-on-Trent, for the second of Brian Epstein’s “Mersey Beat Showcase” events.

The Beatles headline a four act NEMS promoted show at the Elizabethan Ballroom in Nottingham. Also on the bill were Gerry & the Pacemakers, The Big Three, and Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas, all by this time managed by Brian Epstein. Two hired buses transport all of the performers, along with 80 devoted Liverpool fans.

 The Beatles started the day with an appearence at the Epstein’s central Liverpool NEMS record store on Whitchapel. They signed copies of Please, Please Me and played a short acoustic set on the stairway.

After the NEMS gig they drove to the Welsh town of Mold for an evening peformance in the Assembly Hall on the town’s High Street.

The Beatles travelled down to London to audition for BBC TV. The opportunity had arisen due to Beatles fan David Smith of Preston who had written to the BBC asking for the group to be featured. Assuming that Smith was the group’s manager the BBC replied offering an audition date in London on 6th November, Smith took the letter to Brian Epstein’s brother Clive (Brian was in Hamburg with The Beatles at the time). Clive Epstein contacted the BBC, set the record straight and rearranged the audition for this date.

The audition only lasted 10 minutes over lunch time and was held in the St. James’s Church Hall on Gloucester Terrace in London. The reception was less than enthusaistic, and the BBC wouldn’t take any more notice of the group until after they had hit the top of the charts the following year.

After the audition The Beatles hasitly travelled the 220 miles back to Liverpool for an evening gig at the Tower Ballroom in New Brighton. Billed as the 12th annual “Lancashire and Cheshire Arts Ball,” the Beatles were joined by Billy Kramer & The Coasters, the Lew Hird Jazz Band and the Clan McCleod pipe band.

The Beatles biggest gig in their career to date. The Fab Four once more joined Little Richard on the bill, this time at Liverpool’s top venue, the famous Empire Theater. This was their first appearence at the venue other than a couple of talent show auditions in the formative Quarry Men days, and once as a trio under the name Johnny & The Moondogs. (Check out Before They Were Beatles for more on those auditions.)

This time they were part of an international eight-act show. Along with Little Richard they shared the bill with Craig Douglas (who they also provided backing for), Jet Harris, Kenny Lynch and Sounds Incorporated.

As far as their local fans were concerned, playing The Empire meant The Beatles had hit the big time.

 A few hours before the Empire show, Brian Epstein to the home of top promoter Arthur Howes and somehow amanges to provisonally book The Beatles a place on the Helen Shapiro tour that Howes is arranging for February of the following year.

With a newly signed  five-year contract with Brian Epstein in hand, The Beatles played a lunch time gig at The Cavern.

The Beatles flew from Liverpool airport to London on this morning, checking in to a small Chelsea hotel before heading to the EMI Studios on Abbey Road for a their first official recording session. The previous visit having been classed as an “audition.” The aim of this session was to try and record a debut single.

Between 2:00pm and 5:00pm the group rehearsed six songs from which two were selected as possible candidates for recording, one was the studio supplied “How Do You Do It“, the other being Lennon & McCartney’s own “Love Me Do.”

After George Martin took the group to dinner they returned to the studio and recorded several takes of “How Do You Do It” and over 15 takes of “Love Me Do.” The “Love Me Do” takes were less than perfect with Paul showing some nerves and Ringo employing some strange percussion techniques that included hitting the hi-hat with a maraca instead of a drum stick!

By the end of the session acetates of the two songs had been cut for George Martin and Brian Epstein to review the following morning.

Photographer Dezo Hoffmann was on hand to record The Beatles first official recording session. Hoffmann was requested to try and only photograph George from the right side as he still retained the remenants of the black eye he had recieved in the scuffle with irate Pete Best fans outside the Cavern on August 19th. (You can just about see the black eye on the photo below.)