Television: Big Night Out

The Beatles visited Didsbury Studio Centre in Manchester on 1 September 1963 to record an appearance on ABC Television’s Big Night Out.

The Beatles rehearsed during the day, and in the evening were filmed miming to three songs: ‘From Me To You’, ‘She Loves You’, and ‘Twist And Shout’.

The show, hosted by Mike and Bernie Winters, also included guests Billy Dainty, Patsy Ann Noble, and Lionel Blair. It was filmed in front of a studio audience of 600 people, and first broadcast from 7.40-8.30pm on 7 September 1963 across most of the ITV network.

Didsbury Studios were based in the former Capitol Cinema building between 1956 and 1969. It was closed when ABC merged with Rediffusion. The building was later used by Yorkshire Television and Manchester Polytechnic, before being demolished and replaced with an apartment block in the 1990s.