1964

Rehearsal for The Ed Sullivan Show

In the morning a press conference was held in the Baroque Room at New York's Plaza Hotel, where The Beatles were staying. Following this John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr went for a walk and photo opportunity in Central Park, where their every move was followed by around 400 female fans.

Radio: Saturday Club

While The Beatles were enjoying their first full day in America, back in the UK the BBC broadcast interviews and reports on the popular radio show Saturday Club, presented by Brian Matthew.

The Beatles' American invasion begins

The day The Beatles' American invasion began. The Beatles' Boeing 707, Pan Am flight 101, left London Airport early on the morning of 7 February 1964, bound for New York City.

UK EP release: All My Loving

The Beatles' fourth EP to be released in the United Kingdom contained a mix of songs from the albums Please Please Me and With The Beatles.

Press conference: London airport

At 1pm The Beatles and their entourage returned to London Airport from Le Bourget, Paris, following their often three-week residency at the Olympia Theatre, Paris. Upon their arrival The Beatles were greeted by around 100 screaming fans, after which they gave their customary press conference.

Live: Olympia Theatre, Paris

February 1964 was the month that The Beatles conquered America and began the British Invasion. It began, however, just as January ended, with two more shows in Paris for the group's 18-day residency at the Olympia Theatre.

Live: Olympia Theatre, Paris

These were The Beatles' two final shows for January 1964 at the Olympia in Paris, France. The group's residency continued until 4 February.

Live: Olympia Theatre, Paris

A further two houses in The Beatles' residency at the Olympia in Paris, France, which continued until 4 February 1964.

US single release: Please Please Me

Please Please Me had first been released as a single in America on 25 February 1963 but failed to make an impact. To cash in on the success of I Want To Hold Your Hand and in anticipation of The Beatles' first US visit, Vee-Jay re-released the single.

Travel: Lennon and Harrison fly from Paris to London

To take advantage of The Beatles' second consecutive day off from their 18-night concert residency at the Olympia Theatre, Paris, John Lennon and George Harrison flew back to London for an overnight break. In the evening Harrison had dinner with Phil Spector and The Ronettes.

The Beatles at the George V Hotel, Paris

EMI's German counterpart, Electrola Gesellschaft, wanted The Beatles to re-record the vocals on their biggest hits, She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand, in German. Although The Beatles and George Martin thought this unnecessary, the recording session was originally scheduled to take place on this day.

US single release: My Bonnie/The Saints

Credited to The Beatles with Tony Sheridan, the single My Bonnie/The Saints was re-released in America on this day, to capitalise on The Beatles' growing fame. The single, which had the catalogue number MGM K-13213, reached number 26 on the Billboard charts. It had previously been issued by Decca with the catalogue number 31382, on... Read more »