Beatles A Day in the Life Blog posts of '1963' 'April'

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.