Wednesday, 13 November, 1963
The Beatles recorded and interview for the Westward TV show “Move Over Dad,” (which will be broadcast on November 16th).
In the evening they played a gig at the nearby ABC Cinema in Plymouth.
Click here for a short clip looking back at The Beatle’s 1963 visit to Plymouth.
Tuesday, 12 November, 1963
The Beatles are scheduled to perform a gig at the Guidhall in Portsmouth, but the gig is postponed after Paul McCartney succumbs to a bout of gastric flu.
During the early afternoon The Beatles had taped a back stage interview for Southern TV’s show “Day By Day” in which Paul looks uncomfortable and distracted.
The group also appeared on a taped segment for the local BBC TV early evening magazine show “South Today“
Sunday, 10 November, 1963
The Beatles play a gig at the Hippodrome Theater in Birmingham.
Saturday, 9th November, 1963
Back in England, The Beatles perform an evening show at the Granada Cinema in the East Ham area of London.
Friday, 8th November, 1963
Heading up from Dublin to Belfast in Northern Ireland, The Beatles tape an interview for Ulster TV’s evening show, Ulster News. After arriving in Belfast they head to the local BBC studios to tape an interview for their competing evening show Six Ten. According to the BBC contract The Beatles should have lip-synced to one song for the show, but they didn’t perform.
In the evening The Beatles played a show at the Ritz Cinema in Belfast.
Thursday, 7 November, 1963
The Beatles only appearance in Eire. They fly in to Dublin airport where they are interviewed by RTE, the Irish television network for the In Town TV show.
In the evening they perform a show at the Adelphi Cinema in Dublin.
Traveling with The Beatles is screenwriter Alun Owen, who is observing the group prior to writing the script for their first feature film.
Wednesday, 6th November, 1963
Continuing their “Autumn Tour,” The Beatles play the ABC Cinema in Northampton.
Tuesday, 5 November, 1963
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.
Monday, 4 November, 1963
The Beatles took a day off from their UK tour to tape the Royal Variety Show at the Prince of Wales Theater in London.
The show was traditionally the biggest entertainment event in the UK at the time, with the top popular acts from stage, TV, and music performing before members of the Royal Family. Broadcasting rights to the show alternated annually between the BBC and the ITV network. This year the show would be televised by ATV for the ITV network and transmitted nationally the following Sunday (10th). The BBC Light Programme transmitted radio highlights the same day.
The Beatles appeared seventh on a nineteen act bill in, but were clearly the main attraction and the biggest hit of the evening. Their polished performance, and John’s witty remarks, made their four song set one of British television’s all time classic moments. For many in the UK, this was the performance that defined The Fab Four and made them national icons.
Sunday, 3 November, 1963
The Beatles play two houses at the Odeon Cinema in Leeds as part of their continuing Autumn Tour.
A few minutes of The Beatles performance this night was recorded for use in a court case involving the Performing Right Society.
Alan J. Porter has been a Beatles fan since he first saw them perform on a regional British TV show back in 1963 when he was just a wee lad. He is the author of the critically acclaimed BEFORE THEY WERE BEATLES and occasional contributor to Beatlology Magazine. He now lives in Central Texas and occasionally writes about things other than The Fab Four. You can find out more here.
