The Beatles live: Odeon Cinema, Cheltenham

The Beatles’ fourth British tour of 1963 opened on this evening with a performance at the Odeon Cinema in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

This was the group’s first series of concerts as unchallenged headliners. The Beatles topped a bill featuring five other acts: The Rhythm & Blues Quartet, The Vernons Girls, The Brook Brothers, Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers, and The Kestrels. The compere on the tour dates was Frank Berry.

The following day a report in the Daily Mirror newspaper carried the headline: “Beatlemania! It’s happening everywhere.. even in sedate Cheltenham”. This is believed to be the first use of the word in print; by the end of the year it would be widely used.

Beatlemania news report, 14 October 1963

The Beatles played 10 songs on this and every date of the autumn tour. The setlist was: ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘From Me To You’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘You Really Got A Hold On Me’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Boys’, ‘Till There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’, and ‘Twist And Shout’.

This was The Beatles’ only concert in Cheltenham.

Last updated: 25 January 2024
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