On tour in The Beatles vans...
Beatles tour vans 1960-66...
and other famous band-vans
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| An Austin van, similar to this one, also with two-tone pantwork, was owned by the first Beatles manager Alan Williams, and used by them in the UK and on their journey to Hamburg |
As a freelance writer, author of four books, and historian on the subject of campervans and motorhomes, I also have an avid interest in classic light commercial vehicles/vans of the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Another of my interests is music (listening not playing), and in particular the music and bands of the 60s and 70s. I was fortunate to see many great bands play live during those decades, some at the height of their popularity and some much later on the cabaret circuit. My two interests came together after I began to research which tour vans some of the 60s bands had used, The Beatles in particular as I was/am a huge fan, but this did lead me to go on the hunt for info relating to other UK 60s bands, and how and what they used to cover every corner of the country, well before a full UK motorway network was established.
After my own detective work relating to The Beatles tour vans, and the labrynth of mis-information dotted around the internet, this is
my account of the vans they used;
Beatles Tour Vans; 1961-1966
Austin 152/J2
*This Austin 152/J2 van was driven from outside the Jacaranda Club in Liverpool on the 16th August 1960 by Barry Chang, brother-in-law of Alan Williams, to Hamburg. On board were the original Beatles lineup, Alan Williams and his wife Beryl, Barry Chang, Lord Woodbine and Stuart Sutcliffe. They stayed overnight in Colchester before boarding the ferry the next day from Harwich.
I have no idea what became of that Austin van after Alan Williams turned over the management of The Beatles to Brian Epstein. As Alan had other business interests in Liverpool, it could well have continued in use.
*Ringo would have been well acquainted with the Austin-Morris 152/J2 van, as two of his bands prior to The Beatles also used that model.
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| The first Beatles tour van was an Austin 152/J2, identical in shape to the example pictured above. The Austin-Morris J2 was badged individually as both Austin and Morris. The Austin version (used by The Beatles) had the slatted front grille as above, plus the Austin badge on the front panel. |
Commer 1500/2500 3/4ton
*There is a possibility that the Rootes Commer van/minibus was a stop-gap vehicle, sandwiched between the first
*September 2025 A blue Commer was purchased to replace the Ford Thames, written off in an accident on the 17th November in Staffordshire. This is when Mal was driving the Thames back from a show in Coventry, in very wet conditions, and wrapped the Ford around a lampost, bringing an end to the Thames van, and leaving Mal in Cannock hospital for several days, with 20 stitches to a wound.
Thanks to the publication of the Mal Evans diaries (thank you so much Mal, and author Kenneth Womack), we now know that the Ford Thames, written off after a late night accident in the Midlands, was replaced with a blue Commer. Used throughout 1964-66, there does not appear to be any photographs of this Commer, either arriving at Beatles concerts in the UK, or leaving. However, after a lot of research I believe that I have found this Commer parked in Scala Street London, during the filming of 'A Hard Days Night' in 1964. It can be seen parked outside the old Scala theatre (since demolished), as The Beatles limousine arrives. The Commer was only used for transporting Beatles gear from 1964, and not The Beatles themselves (unlike the early years), as they were by then driven around the UK in an Austin Princess limousine.
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| Paragraph taken from the Mal Evans diaries which confirm the addition of the blue Commer to replace the written-off Ford Thames |
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| Screen-grab from the film 'A Hard Days Night', 1964, showing, what I believe is the blue Commer parked in Scala Street, London, outside the Scala theater, where the Beatles performed in the film. |
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| Ai generated image of 6677 ED The Beatles van used between 1964-1966 |
There is little to no information about the Beatles Commer 208 UFM, except for a picture taken from the publication 'Beatles Book Monthly', No.143 issue, which shows Neil Aspinal in the drivers seat, with Ringo seated next to him. Clearly dressed in the collarless Beatles suits of that period, possibly on route to a show? This photo was taken by Mr Leslie Bryce in July 1963 during the Beatles shows in Margate. It is possible that their usual Ford Thames was undergoing repairs, or that this Commer was simply used for the one week engagement at Margate, taking them from their hotel to the show venue? It is the only picture known to exist of this particular van. We do know that a Commer was being used by various Liverpool-based bands in the 60s, including Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Clayton Squares, to name but two.
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| The Commer 1500FC was a British light commercial van range introduced in January 1960. |
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| Present day Mathew Street, Liverpool, home of the famous Cavern Club, with a superimposed picture of possibly The Clayton Squares Commer being loaded with their gear, probably around 1962. The registration number of The Beatles Commer was 208 UFM. |
By the spring of 1963
(their first Worcester appearance) I believe that the Beatles were using their
own cars to travel around in, with just the band’s gear being transported in
the Thames van. I am quite certain that they arrived in two separate cars for
their first Worcester concert, possibly Paul and Ringo’s Fords. Paul owned a
Ford Consul Classic and Ringo a green Ford Zodiac. (George bought his first car
in 1962, which was a 1959 Ford Anglia 105e in blue; John did not pass his
driving test until 1965). *The Ford Thames van would most likely have been the van
used to carry the Beatles gear to their appearance in Tenbury Wells, but I’ve
been unable to corroborate this from people present at the time, but the latter
part of 1962 onward saw them using a Ford Thames van.
I do recall reading an interview with Shane Fenton (later to
become Alvin Stardust) who remembered being in the Ford Thames van with The
Beatles, and they were appearing at a prestigious venue in London (Possibly the 'Pop Proms' at the Albert Hall). Embarrassed
by the scrapes and writing over the van, The Beatles asked Shane if he would
park the van a couple of streets away from the venue. I suspect that this was
when The Beatles and Shane Fenton & The Fentones were appearing at the
Royal Albert Hall, London, and there are picturesof the Thames van parked in a London side street with girls writing, in lipstick, on the sides of the van.
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| Shane Fenton & The Fentones appeared on the same bill as The Beatles |
There is only one photograph known to exist of the Commer, in Margate, in July 63.
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| Neil Aspinall in the driver's seat of the Commer used by the Beatles . Often referred to as the 'old Commer van' by many people on the internet, when in fact I believe this is a 1961 model, and the Commer was only released in 1960! |
*The Rootes/Chrysler Commer was a
firm favourite with bands from the 60s, and was used by The Who, The Rolling
Stones, Gerry and the Pacemakers and the Soul Agents (featuring a young Rod Stewart),
who used to practise his autograph on the van’s headlining! Gerry Marsden
always spoke glowingly about his old Commer van, and how it carried him and the
Pacemakers down to London from Liverpool to record their first No.1 hit record.
A Commer van did feature in the Beatles lives during the latter end of their
time together, but this was during the Apple years, and the Commer at that time
was a larger ‘Walk-Thru’ model; some pictures exist of that van online,
featuring a large ‘Apple’ logo on the rear doors.
Ford Thames 1500e
The first 'Mona Best' Ford Thames;
Their first Ford Thames van, registration number/plate 6714 (possibly a Guernsey reg with no letters?), was purchased by Casbah owner Mona Best on the 13th of July 1961 from Park Motors (Liverpool) Limited. This van more than likely replaced the Austin van of Alan Williams. A set of spare keys for the van, and the original purchase agreement, signed by Mona Best, are now on display within the Beatles Museum on Mathew Street, Liverpool. This first Ford Thames van was used to transport their gear around the UK for gigs until July 1962, when NEMS bought their second (off white colored) Thames van from car dealer, Terry Doran. The registration of the second Thames was 6834 KD.
ABOVE; 6834 KD, the cream coloured Ford Thames. Easily the most photographed Beatles tour van, being captured on film many times by fans, and during a photo shoot on Weston Super Mare beach by Dezzo Hoffman, including video footage. This was the van which Mal Evans crashed in November 1963 after their Coventry show. It was replaced with a blue Commer van/minibus.
The second 'Terry Doran' Ford Thames;
Their next, tour van was a white/cream Ford Thames
1500e, which Brian Epstein purchased on behalf of NEMS, though money was deducted from The Beatles earnings on a weekly or monthly basis to pay for it! The van was bought from
the salesman Terry Doran (more about Mr Doran later) at the Hawthorn Garage in
Warrington, though it was probably a used vehicle at that time, as it carried a
Luton registration plate. Once again, the Ford Thames was used for touring the
UK, and several photographs appear online of this van, seen covered in graffiti
by adoring fans, usually writing their names on the vehicle in lipstick, which
Mal Evans had to constantly keep cleaning off. The Ford Thames van was present,
and seen parked outside the theatre in London when the Beatles made their
appearance at the ‘Royal Variety Show’. It was also photographed several times
parked close to venues throughout the UK in 1964. Corgi released a toy diecast model of the
Thames, but got the colour wrong, using maroon and grey instead of white. *It
was the first Beatles van owned by Alan Williams in 1960 which I believe was
maroon and grey, hand painted, as Alan recalled it being light green and cream when he acquired it.
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| The Ford Thames van, similar to the van above, was used by The Beatles from July 1961, however their van was off-white in colour. A similar van was used in the original 'Italian Job' film starring Michael Caine, when the gang are making their getaway in the City. |
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| The Beatles white/cream Ford Thames van, registration number 6834 KD. Probably the most photographed Beatles tour van. |
Once the Beatles had experienced ‘Beatlemania’ from late
1963 onward, they took to being chauffeured around the UK in luxury cars, the
‘Austin Princess’ model, of which two examples were regularly used, they bore
the registration numbers WYO 898 and SST 626. Their main driver became Mr Alf
Bicknell from 1963.
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| Above; One of the Austin Princess luxury cars used by The Beatles from late 1963. |
There are several 'fan photos' on the internet of a white/cream Commer van which was seen parked in front of the Abbey Road recording studio after 1966. I haven't been able to obtain further info about that particular Commer van. It could well have had a Beatles connection, still used for transporting the bands gear between the studio and their homes, or it could have been owned by someone working at the studio in the latter half of the 60s. My research into that van is ongoing.
*Oct 2025 update. Their second Commer van, purchased in late 1963 to replace the accident-damaged Ford Thames, was used by Mal Evans for transporting The Beatles gear until they finished touring in 1966. The registration number plate of the second Commer was 6677 ED (ED being a Liverpool registration). That plate does not exist any longer on the DVLA site.
There is also a fan photo of John Lennon signing an autograph, in which John is stood at the rear of a Commer tour van (pictured below), the van clearly adorned with fan graffiti. That picture was taken in 1965 at the Richmond Blues Festival, which John attended, and I believe that particular Commer was owned by one of the bands appearing at that event.
Terry Doran; the van and car connection
I mentioned Terry Doran as being the salesman from
Warrington who sold George Harrison his first car, the 1959 Ford Anglia 105e.
Interestingly, George took Ringo with him to collect the Anglia, and Ringo
drove his car into the back of George’s on the way home! This resulted in a
hefty repair bill of £67 for Ringo. Also notable was that George received two
speeding tickets in his Anglia within the first two months of ownership. Terry
Doran also sold Beatles manager Brian Epstein a white Ford Thames van, which
they used for touring from July 62’.
Doran and Brian Epstein obviously became good friends because some
time later they opened ‘Brydor Cars’, selling high-end sports cars, often to
the rich and famous, including Paul McCartney, who bought his Aston Martin DB5
from them. Terry Doran was certainly on an upward trajectory in his career, as
he later became manager of ‘Apple Publishing’, and the band ‘Grapefruit’ and
singer Mary Hopkin.
After the break up of the Beatles, Terry became the estate
manager for George Harrison, on George’s large Fryer Park estate. He also
managed George’s ‘Dark Horse Records’ label. He later spent time working in
California, before returning to the UK to start once again selling luxury cars
in Park Lane. In later years he suffered with Parkinsons disease and spent his
final years living in a nursing home in North London.
Terry Doran passed away in 2020 aged 80.
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| The Rootes Commer was a popular tour van among bands of the 1960s |
Having covered the three regular Beatles tour vans, I began to research which other UK bands were using the Rootes/Chrysler Commer van as a tour van for themselves and their gear; these are the bands I have traced to date....
Vigilantes
Gerry & the Pacemakers 1963
The Coins
The Rocking Vicars (featured Lemy of Motorhead)
The Toggery Five (Won New Commer in 'Ready Steady Win' competition 1964)
Badfinger/The Iveys
Screaming Lord Sutch
The Groundhogs
The Soundcasters
Tom's Rigg
The Swinging Hangmen
Dene Wayne & The Exiles
The Lonely Ones
The Paramounts (Procul Harum)
The Fabs
Mickey Finn
The Impalas
Black Velvets
Manfred Mann
The Santa Fe Reunion
Orange
The Skyliners
Max Merritt & the Meteors
Rockstars Tour Vans - Rockstars Cars
*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.
In addition, if you remember seeing any tour vans used by bands during the 60s and 70s, then please let me know.
Martin-2023
*updated summer of 2025
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