A Worcestershire town is to celebrate the 60th anniversary of a visit from one of the world’s biggest bands.
The Beatles played a gig in Tenbury Wells on April 15, 1963, just as they were starting to make it big.
Manager Brian Epstein had booked the band to play the Riverside Dancing Club at The Bridge Hotel before they hit the big time.
And despite their second single Please Please Me going to number one, and the Beatles suddenly being in demand, Epstein decided they should honour the booking.
Beatlemania hadn’t fully kicked in, so the Fab Four were able to stroll down the high street before the gig and even stop to get an ice cream.
A month later the four young musicians played Worcester for the first time, treating the crowd at the Gaumont to a seven-song setlist of Some Other Guy, Do You Want to Know a Secret, Love Me Do, From Me to You, Please Please Me, I Saw Her Standing There, and Twist and Shout.
READ MORE: Memories of the Beatles in Worcester
They returned to Worcester in September 1963 for the first of four concerts promoted by John Smith.
Epstein granted them as a result of the cancellation of several Mersey Beat Showcase nights earlier in 1963. The Beatles earned £250 for each of the shows.
John Lennon tribute to play Tenbury Wells
Tenbury’s 60th Fab Four anniversary celebrations get underway on November 4 with a performance at the Regal by John Lennon tribute act Gaz Keenan.
He’ll be performing a two-hour Lennon retrospective including the legendary singer’s solo work and Beatles hits.
Keenan will also be given the task of choosing the winner of the best-dressed competition, as guests are being invited to rock up in their finest 1960s threads.
On April 15, 2023, exactly 60 years to the day since Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr rode into town, The Mersey Beatles will perform at the Regal.
This will form part of a weekend of celebrations entitled ‘Before Abbey Road There Was Teme Street’, with more events to be announced.
The Mersey Beatles are one of the world’s biggest Beatles tributes and have been celebrating the music of the Fab Four since 1999.
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