Following the success of The Beatles’ Christmas Show in December 1963 and early 1964, Brian Epstein decided the group should repeat the trick, this time at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.
The formula was much the same as the previous year’s, with music, pantomime sketches, comedy and a number of special guests. These 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.
On each night, apart from the opening night and 29 December, there were two shows. There were no performances on 25 and 27 December or 3 and 10 January 1965. The final shows took place on 16 January 1965.
The show opened with The Mike Cotton Sound’s performance of Georgie Fame’s current single Yeh Yeh, before singer Michael Haslam joined them to sing Scarlet Ribbons.
The Yardbirds took to the stage next, followed by a pantomime sketch featuring The Beatles dressed as Antarctic explorers searching for the Abominable Snowman. They reportedly grew to hate this section so much that they vowed never to undertake anything similar again. The first half closed with Freddie And The Dreamers performing Rip It Up, Bachelor Boy and Cut Across Shorty.
Elkie Brooks opened the second half, followed by a short set from Sounds Incorporated. Jimmy Savile then introduced The Beatles, who closed the show with performances of 11 songs: ‘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.
The programme featured a festive drawing by John Lennon on the back cover.
Wow, the setlist for these shows sounds really interesting!
I wish there was any footage or audio from them would surface
I was lucky enough to have been there and saw them twice on Xmas eve but I foolishly kept no memorabilia from the show. I would love to see some archive footage but I don’t remember seeing any cameras there at all.
I have a programme to sell, in reasonable but not perfect condition
Dear Diana
Do u still have the memorabilia ?
So what was the cost of the tickets in british currency?
Does anyone remember a massive Xmas tree on stage and Beatles coming down from tree in a motorized wrapped up present.
Also Beatles joined together with fabric with BEATLES across the front ?
Yes I remember the tree coming down and it stopped halfway and we all screamed . Then it went up and down a bit before it landed and the Beatles came out
Yes I was there watching the beatles Christmas show , you could not hear them for screaming girls sorry to say I was one of them .I have just been to see bootleg Beatles my God so much like the real thing it brought back all those memories .
Been trying to recall my experience but so long ago not sure I can trust my memories. Does anyone recall seeing the Beatles in London, Jimmy Savile was the compare and the Beatles came down on stage from a helicopter gradually descending to the stage. I think Cilla Black was also on the list of performers but can’t be sure. I do know there was a lot of artists appearing and that we couldn’t hear anything the Beatles sang for the screaming girls. Can anyone recall any of this?
I’m not sure if it was this show or another, but I seem to remember the Beatles descending to the stage in a lift…but maybe it was from a helicopter. All other acts were booed, and the screams drowned out the Beatles.
If it wasn’t this show, I’d like to know which one. I’m sure The Mike Cotton Sound performed. I was about 13 or 14.
The factory in Letchworh, Herts, where my father worked had bought tickets for about 30 kids of employees, and organised a coach.
I was there. My memory is sketchy. I seem to recall there was a strip of scenery front centre of stage onto which subtitles were projected during the comedy sketches as you couldn’t hear the lines for all the screaming. I also remember them coming on stage wearing a communal sweater with four neck holes and one arm each end.
My parents saw them too. They came to pick me and my sister up at the end and told us that as they arrived, they saw four young men rush out of a side door, leap into a limo and vanish into the night. A couple of minutes later, us plebs emerged.
I was there for one of these Hammersmith Odeon shows. We were Yardbird fans from the Crawdaddy…they were their usual raucous selves…as were Sounds Incorporated…Freddie and the Dreamers were extremely good and funny.
I don’t have any memory of the other acts, apart of of course from The Beatles.
They were brilliant and, surprisingly, nobody screamed during their songs, only between numbers…so we could hear how good they were live…And they were, as I said before…brilliant!
I was there, still have the program. What I remember was a roll of toilet paper being thrown across the stage (no idea why). I was 24 and not screaming, but observing the screamers. Also fascinated by the boys themselves because they seemed quite amazed by the fact that the very least movement they did was met by screams. The traditional panto has guys dressed as women and vice versa but i don’t remember if that happened.
I was there and remember that a roll of toilet paper was thrown and as it landed in the audience we all tried to grab at it. I managed to get a piece which I stuck in my autograph book and still have. I have the programme too. On arrival at the Hammersmith Odeon girls were being carried out on stretchers from the matinee performance.
@KeithSheppard I’m so happy you were there and saw the giant sweater! I made it and sent to them not knowing if they would ever wear it.
I was there in 1964. Can’t remember much except watching the Beatles’ own combination of amusement and shock as the very least move they made would cause the small auditorium to break out in screams. For some reason I remember one of them threw a roll of toilet paper across the stage and everybody screamed as usual and the boys looked at each other in amazement, like “anything we do,they go crazy”.