The Beatles' first performances of 1965 were a continuation of The Beatles' Christmas Show, the variety night which ran from 24 December 1964 until 16 January 1965.
The shows took place at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. The Beatles normally did two performances on each night, to cope with popular demand for tickets.
The guest performers included Freddie And The Dreamers, Sounds Incorporated, Elkie Brooks, The Yardbirds, Michael Haslam, The Mike Cotton Sound and Ray Fell. The compère was Jimmy Savile.
The Beatles appeared in two sketches, one with Freddie Garrity of Freddie And The Dreamers, and another with Jimmy Savile. They closed the shows with an 11-song set: Twist And Shout, I'm A Loser, Baby's In Black, Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby, Can't Buy Me Love, Honey Don't, I Feel Fine, She's A Woman, A Hard Day's Night, Rock And Roll Music and Long Tall Sally.
Also on this date, Radio Luxembourg began a weekly series dedicated entirely to The Beatles, with music and interviews. The series, called simply The Beatles, ran from this date until 17 October 1965, every Sunday from 8.45-9pm, and was presented by Chris Denning.
The episodes contained snippets of interviews, recorded during Another Beatles Christmas Show, and on 20 March, 29 April and 20 June 1965, along with news items, request dedications and studio recordings of The Beatles' songs.
