The Beatles played at Dingwall’s Town Hall, in Ross-shire, Scotland, on 4 January 1963. This was the second stop on The Beatles’ five-date Scottish tour of January 1963.
The show was not well-attended, with only 19 people believed to have attended. A local band, The Melotones, were playing on the same night at the nearby Strathpeffer Pavilion, and drew a crowd of over 1,000.
One of the audience members was Olive Lees, whose father Jimmy Stewart was the leader of the Melotones.
My father told me the mini bus to the Strath was full so I’d have to go to the town hall. I wasn’t bothered because the Melotones would come round to our house and play in the sitting room.I remember The Beatles were late in arriving and when they came on stage one by one they were wearing three-quarter-length leather jackets, long scarves – one was trailing his on the ground behind him – and winkle pickers.
Everyone was laughing at them. But they were brilliant and they chatted with the audience between songs.
BBC
Also on this day...
- 1970: Recording: Let It Be – The Beatles’ last recording session as a group
- 1967: Recording: Penny Lane
- 1965: Live: Another Beatles Christmas Show
- 1964: Live: The Beatles’ Christmas Show
- 1964: Radio: various interviews
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
i was working in dingwall at the building of a woolworths shop i went to see the beatles in the town hall sounded a bit strange like something new i think i paid 2/ to get in and remember there was another group on that night called the sputnics
Nah your memory is playing tricks. The support act were a band called the Drumbeats. They were actually called The Heatherlea Dance Band when they played Scottish music, but had an alter ego for pop work. The advert for the gig with Drumbeats noted as support at Dingwall, was carried within the Ross-shire Journal. My father was a vocalist with the Heatherlea Dance Band, but sadly wasn’t with them that night. I did interview with the accordion player Dan Mackenzie, and the quote has entered into a book on the Beatles in Scotland.
By all accounts there were 19 people in the “crowd” to see the band that night. My aunt Olive was one of them and quite liked them. Afterwards, she and some of the band went five miles up the road to Strathpeffer pavilion where the Mellotones, a popular local dance band featuring my Grandfather, James Stewart, were playing to a crowd of 800+. It’s been widely reported:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-13004514
https://www.ross-shirejournal.co.uk/news/were-you-there-the-night-the-beatles-underwhelmed-dingwall-154663/
Thank you! That’s all very interesting. I’ll update the page with more info.