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The Beatles live: Carfax Assembly Rooms, Oxford

This was The Beatles’ only live appearance anywhere in the county of Oxfordshire. It was arranged by John Smith, a London-based promoter.

Also on the bill were The Madisons. Tickets cost six shillings in advance.

Ticket for The Beatles at Carfax Assembly Rooms, 16 February 1963

While in Oxford The Beatles met Jeffrey Archer, who was then a student at Brasenose College, but later became a novelist, Conservative Party politician, and disgraced peer.

The group accepted Archer’s invitation to Brasenose’s senior common room, although they didn’t perform at the college. They did, however, agree to take part at a charity concert to be held on 12 June 1963 in Liverpool, in aid of the NSPCC.

At the interval I went to the toilet, and there beside me was Ringo Starr. He asked if I knew this Jeffrey Archer bloke. I said everyone in Oxford was trying to work out who he was. Ringo said: ‘He strikes me as a nice enough fella, but he’s the kind of bloke who would bottle your piss and sell it.’
Sheridan Morley
Last updated: 25 January 2024
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