The Beatles had performed at Sunderland’s Empire Theatre on one previous occasion: 9 February 1963, on the bottom of the bill of the Helen Shapiro tour, two days before they recorded the bulk of the Please Please Me album.
This time, naturally, they were the main draw for the sell-out crowd. The occasion was the 25th date of their 1963 Autumn Tour, and they performed a 10-song set: ‘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’.
The Beatles performed elsewhere in Sunderland on one other date: at the Rink Ballroom on 14 May 1963.
Last updated: 24 April 2012
Also on this day...
- 2011: Paul McCartney live: Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
- 2009: Nowhere Boy screening at Studio Two, Abbey Road Studios
- 1973: UK album release: Band On The Run by Paul McCartney and Wings
- 1970: UK album release: All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
- 1965: Mixing: 12-Bar Original
- 1965: Radio: Pop Profile
- 1964: Ringo Starr is interviewed by Melody Maker
- 1964: Brian Epstein appears on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs
- 1962: Live: Town Hall, Newton-le-Willows
- 1962: Mixing: Please Please Me, Ask Me Why
- 1962: Live: Cavern Club, Liverpool (lunchtime)
- 1960: Paul McCartney and Pete Best are deported from Germany
- 1958: Live: TV Star Search, Hippodrome, Manchester
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
