The Beatles in Worcester....shire 1963
The Beatles in Worcester....shire
Given that The Beatles played just about every corner of the UK during their pre-1966 touring career, it was only natural that they would play some counties in Britain more than once. First performing as the 'Quarrymen' and later 'The Silver Beatles', before becoming simply, 'The Beatles', it goes without saying that their hometown of Liverpool was treated to more performances than anywhere else between the late 1950s through to 1963.
Some towns, Cities and counties were fortunate to see live performances by the band on more than one occasion, and my hometown of Worcester was one such City. The Beatles appeared live on stage three times during 1963, the year which saw the outbreak of 'Beatlemania', twice appearing at the Gaumont cinema in the city center, at either end of 1963. By the time of their first performance at the Gaumont in May of that year, they had already notched up a couple of successful chart hits, and made a few regional TV appearances, yet they were still not the huge pop sensation they would become by their final Worcester show in the same venue in September of that year. The Beatles appeared at Worcester Gaumont twice, the dates being May28th and September 4th.
The once grand Gaumont cinema/theater eventually closed its doors and became a bingo hall, like so many cinemas in the UK. At the time of writing this blog, the Gaumont sits empty, looking very sad and neglected, and just a shadow of the great entertainment centre it once was. Plans are afoot in the City by music enthusiasts to save the cinema, and launch it once again as a prime music venue in the City. I sincerely hope that it succeeds and all that history is not lost.
The May appearance was sandwiched between a show in Cardiff the previous evening, followed by a show in Taunton. The September Worcester show saw the Beatles appearing on a radio show the previous day, 'Pop Goes The Beatles', and a show in York the following evening.
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Gaumont carpark entrance, off Taylor's Lane, Worcester, showing the area where the photographs of Paul and George were taken in 1963, getting out of the car. |
Despite those two famous shows at the Worcester Gaumont, it would be an appearance in a small Worcestershire town by the name of Tenbury Wells which would become the main Beatles talking point many decades later. The Bridge Hotel in Tenbury, aptly named due to its location beside the river and bridge at the end of the town's high street. The function room to the rear of the hotel held regular dances, often with popular live bands, and these events became part of the annual calendar for the 'Riverside Dancing Club' at the hotel. As an interesting aside, it was TV personality Jean Morton who opened the Riverside Dancing Club, and she is best remembered for sharing the TV screen with 'Tinga & Tucker'.
Numerous well-known bands of the period would be booked by the committee to appear at these dances, including such names as Joe Brown, The Swinging Blue Jeans and Johnny Kidd & the Pirates and Gene Vincent to name just a few. In 1962 the committee (spearheaded by Pat Lambert) booked an unknown Liverpool band to appear at their Easter Monday dance the following year. Informing the locals, in 1962, that The Beatles were coming to Tenbury Wells the following year would probably have meant very little, even to the town's teenagers at the time. The Beatles were hardly known outside of Liverpool and Hamburg by 1962, but as their notoriety increased later that year, and into early 1963, the committee at the Riverside Dancing Club must surely have wondered if their booking would be honoured, or a replacement band sent instead. The Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, was clearly a man of his word, and the band did honour the booking made the previous year.
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Copyright image; personal painting by myself, of the poster that never was for the Tenbury appearance. |
It is worth pointing out that these were indeed very early days in The Beatles recording career, and prior to their Tenbury appearance they had released four singles records; My Bonnie on the 1st May 1962, Love Me Do on the 10th May 1962, Please Please Me on the 11th Jan 1963 and 'From Me to You' on the 12th of April (just three days prior to their Tenbury show). The single 'Please Please Me reached number two in the main UK charts and the single 'From Me to You' released just days before the Tenbury appearance was their first number one hit record, though it reached number one several days after the Tenbury show. Later in 1963 they would enjoy hits with such classics as; 'She Loves You' and 'I want to hold your hand'. *There are a couple of YouTube videos worth watching to see more about their Tenbury Wells appearance, including their support act that evening, El Riot & The Rebels, and these are the links,
Beatles at Tenbury Wells 15th April 1963 - YouTube
Before Abbey Road there was Teme Street - YouTube
El Riot and the Rebels - Blue Moon - YouTube (This video features El Riot & The Rebels)
Beatle Venues - The Bridge Hotel, Tenbury Wells - I Saw Her Standing There - Danny McEvoy - YouTube ( A short video about the Bridge Hotel, Tenbury, posted by a Beatles fan).
*One point of interest relating to The Beatles support act that night in Tenbury Wells, was a member of 'El Riot & The Rebels', Mike Pinder would play on John Lennon's 'Imagine' album in 1971. Mike played on two tracks from that album, 'I don't wanna be a soldier' and 'Jealous Guy'.
*With a couple of personnel changes, El Riot and the Rebels would become 'The Moody Blues', who had huge hits such as 'Go Now' and 'Knights in White Satin'.
Just ten months after their Tenbury Wells appearance, they would appear on the American hit show hosted by Ed Sullivan (9th February 1964), and we all know what happened after that!
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A blue plaque at the Bridge Hotel now commemorates The Beatles appearance in Tenbury Wells |
The Beatles are believed to have stayed at the Swan Hotel in Tenbury, a short walk over the river from the Bridge Hotel (now a private residence) where they were playing.
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The top of the old Swan hotel building seen here from the river's edge, The Beatles would probably have walked across this bridge linking the show venue and the Swan. |
Some of the Tenbury locals, old enough to recall the Beatles in the town have recounted their memories in local newspapers and on social media. There are some stand out recollections worth mentioning here. Shortly after arriving in town, they took a stroll along the main street where they were spotted by several locals. The well known photo of them taken in the main street was snapped after they emerged from the sweet shop, with Ringo holding an ice cream cornet. I'm pretty sure that back then the pub opening time would have been 5.30pm and the Beatles were turned away from 'The Crow' public house by the landlord, who reportedly said that he didn't want those long-haired so and so's in his pub, and sent them over the road to The Oak.
Prior to their stage appearance, The Beatles enjoyed supper in the Bridge Hotel Dining room with some of the Riverside Dancing Club committee members, and one local recalls a very polite George Harrison buying him a pint in the hotel bar.
Beatles in Tenbury Wells; 60th anniversary 1963-2023
During the month of April 2023, the town of Tenbury Wells is recognising the 60th anniversary of The Beatles appearance in the town with several events planned. Most of these take place at the lovely old Regal Cinema, with appearances by The Mersey Beatles, Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, poet Roger McGough and a talk by author Mr Lowe about his book 'Before Abbey Road, there was Teme Street'.
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Publicity poster for the 'Beatle Fest' anniversary in Tenbury Wells |
More Beatles/Worcester titbits of info...
The Beatles played the Worcester Gaumont twice in 1963, both concerts taking place after their visit to play Tenbury Wells in April. Prior to one of their Worcester Gaumont shows, The Beatles stayed in the Abbey Hotel Malvern (or so a fan from the time believes), and at the other show they are thought to have stayed in the Star Hotel, Foregate Street (now the White House Hotel).
May Gaumont setlist; The Beatles concert at Gaumont in Worcester on May 28, 1963 - The Paul McCartney Project (the-paulmccartney-project.com)
During one of their Worcester visits (possibly the May event), The Beatles (still fairly unknown at that time) did take a walk around the City centre, as they were spotted by several Worcester teenagers at the time. All four Beatles went into 'Skan's Barber Shop', where Paul had his hair trimmed, and an account of that visit was told in the local evening paper some years later by the barber who cut his hair , Worcester barber retires after sixty years in Broad Street | Worcester News
The 'Quarrymen' and the Worcester connection
*Sadly Chas passed away aged 81 in May 2023
*In 1988 George Harrison made a surprise visit to Worcester, to the County Cricket ground in New Road, to be precise. With England star Ian Botham playing for Worcestershire, this attracted numerous celebrities to the City to watch him. Present that summer day in 88' were George, Elton John, Jeff Lynn and Eric Clapton.
*Beatles pictures on the internet number somewhere in the millions. The majority carry a copyright notice, but a large number are 'fan' photos, taken many decades ago, have been reproduced endless times on the internet as the original owner's name was either never known, or has been left out. So if you recognise any pictures used here that belong to you, then please let me know so that they can be credited as such, thank you.
great article, thank you. I'm attending the event in Tenbury next week, April 2023. Steve Bradley, Beatles Historian arrivewithouttravelling.com
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