The opening night of The Beatles’ only British tour of 1964 took place at the Gaumont Cinema, Bradford.
The group performed two shows on each day throughout the tour, for which they earned £850. Their repertoire was ‘Twist And Shout’, ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Things We Said Today’, ‘I’m Happy Just To Dance With You’, ‘I Should Have Known Better’, ‘If I Fell’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Long Tall Sally’.
The support acts on the tour were The Rustiks, Sounds Incorporated, Michael Haslam, The Remo Four, Tommy Quickly and Mary Wells, and the compère was Bob Bain.
The Beatles were delayed by heavy traffic on the A1 on their way from London to Bradford, and were flagged down by police who requested autographs. They arrived in Bradford two hours behind schedule, but it didn’t affect the performance times. The first concert began at 6.15pm, and the second at 8.40pm.
9 October 1964 was also John Lennon’s 24th birthday.
Also on this day...
- 2020: Celebrations take place for John Lennon’s 80th birthday
- 2017: New book! Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs
- 2015: Ringo Starr live: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- 2013: Paul McCartney live: Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, New York
- 2011: Sir Paul McCartney marries Nancy Shevell
- 2010: Photograph of John Lennon is projected onto Liverpool’s Albert Dock
- 2010: “And the world will be as one”: Global tributes take place for John Lennon’s 70th birthday
- 2010: Yoko Ono requests a million tweets for John Lennon
- 2009: Yoko Ono unveils Imagine Peace Tower in Second Life
- 2000: Tributes for John Lennon’s 60th birthday
- 1998: Yoko Ono dedicates a tree to John Lennon in Strawberry Fields
- 1990: Imagine is broadcast around the world
- 1988: John Lennon tributes are broadcast on US television
- 1985: Strawberry Fields is opened in Central Park, New York City
- 1984: Yoko Ono donates $90,000 to Strawberry Field in Liverpool
- 1981: John Lennon statue is unveiled in Los Angeles
- 1980: John Lennon’s 40th birthday
- 1979: John Lennon’s 39th birthday party, Tavern On The Green, New York
- 1978: John Lennon’s 38th birthday party, Tavern On The Green, New York
- 1976: John Lennon’s 36th birthday
- 1975: Sean Lennon is born
- 1971: John Lennon’s all-star 31st birthday party in Syracuse, New York
- 1971: Yoko Ono’s art exhibition This Is Not Here opens in Syracuse, New York
- 1970: Recording: Remember by John Lennon
- 1970: John Lennon sees his father Alf for the final time
- 1969: Yoko Ono is taken to hospital in London
- 1968: Recording, mixing: The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill, Long Long Long, Why Don’t We Do It In The Road
- 1967: John Lennon’s 27th birthday
- 1966: John Lennon celebrates his 26th birthday in Spain
- 1965: The Beatles celebrate John Lennon’s 25th birthday
- 1963: Radio: The Ken Dodd Show
- 1962: The Beatles promote Love Me Do in London
- 1961: John Lennon celebrates his 21st birthday with Paul McCartney in Paris
- 1960: Live: Kaiserkeller, Hamburg
- 1956: John Lennon’s 16th birthday
- 1940: John Lennon is born
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I’m keen to learn whether there’s any audio and/or video from this tour, as several songs from the “Hard Day’s Night” LP that never again made it onto a Beatles setlist were apparently performed.
The Beatles stayed the night of 9th October 1964 at Holdsworth House Hotel in Halifax, which was then known as The Cavalier Country Club, after playing at the Gaumont Theatre. The police created a diversion after the show, which sent the fans in another direction completely – much to the appreciation of the hotel owners who feared the gardens would be trampled by hundreds of screaming fans. Gail Moss who was the daughter of the hotel owners at the time remembers The Beatles staying, as she and her sister had to vacate their rooms to accommodate them.
I’d never known they had actually performed ” I’m happy just to dance with you” on stage, except for “A hard day’s night”, of course, I’m happy I’ve learned that today.