11 April 1963
UK Single release:
From Me To You/Thank You Girl
Parlophone R 5015
White label promo
EMI test pressing of "Thank You Girl"
Press kit promoting "From Me To You" and the Please Please Me LP
Concert:
Co-operative Hall, Long Street, Middleton, Lancashire
The Beatles with promoter Barry Chaytow
"ON THURSDAY 11th April 1963, four Liverpool lads, all in their early 20s,
brought a touch of Tin Pan alley stardust to Middleton.
For well over an hour in the Co-op Hall, Long Street, 300 screaming
teenagers jived and twisted to the bouncing rhythm of beat ballads
being performed by The Beatles.
The music was deafening and the record fans were keyed up to a fever pitch. Almost hysterical enthusiasm hit you in the face as you walked in, but promoter Barry Chaytow had taken great care in making sure that if his patrons did not get over-excited there were sufficient "bouncers" to take care of the trouble.
He could have saved himself a great deal of expense in that direction, because
they were not needed. The teenagers were there to see and hear The Beatles
and everything else became secondary.
The boys and girls certainly got their money's worth.
This group which turned professional almost as soon as it was formed
two years ago has carved itself two unforgettable niches in the charts with
Love Me Do and Please, Please Me.
Though their earlier work was confined to backing other artists on the
Continent, they have now earned a place in show business with their
undeniable talent and unassuming manner.
Perhaps one of the reasons for their success is the fact that most of
their work is completely original and they seem to have an almost inexhaustible supply of new material. For instance, their first LP just issued has on it eight numbers which have been written by members of the group.
The group is one tightly knit one. Drummer Ringo Starr joined in the
August last year, but the others are original members. George Harrison,
lead guitar, and Paul McCartney used to go to the same school and
John Lennon is Paul's next door neighbour.
The four Beatles came off the stage pouring in sweat. They were cheerful
and cracking jokes with each other as though two years of one night stands
was all in day's work for them, which of course it was.
They ran the inevitable gauntlet of autograph hunters as they tried to wind
down and get changed in time to get back to Liverpool for a well earned rest.
Inside the hall the teenagers were still going strong to the music of Shaun
and Sum People. Out of their dramatic maroon suits piled in after it,
got comfortable and passed round the cigarettes.
Less than 30 minutes after facing a crowd of perspiring fans The Beatles
were still a group, but this time just another group of homeward bound
travellers on the Liverpool road."
Source: Middleton Guardian
"A month before signing their contract the Country Gents and another local group, Mr Smith and Sum People played support to an up-and-coming Liverpool band at Middleton's Co-op Hall. Booked by local impressarios Barry Johns Promotions (Barry Chaytow and John Dean) the Beatles played before a sell out crowd of 300 enthusiastic fans on Thursday 11 April 1963."
Source: Manchester Evening News, 22 December 2008
After the concert, The Beatles drove to Liverpool and John met his newborn son at Sefton Hospital:
"John didn't make it to the hospital until three days after our son was born - the first opportunity he'd had to get away from the tour. He came in like a whirlwind, racing through the doors in his haste to find us. He kissed me, then looked at his son, who was in my arms. There were tears in his eyes: "Cyn, he's bloody marvellous! He's fantastic." He sat on the bed and I put the baby into his arms. He held each tiny hand, marvelling at the miniature fingers, and a big smile spread over his face. "Who's going to be a famous little rocker like his dad, then?" he said.
John arranged for me to be moved into a private room: he knew that both he and I might attract unwelcome attention if I stayed in the public ward. It was wonderful to see him, but privacy was impossible. My room had a window onto the corridor outside, and when word got out that he was there, dozens of patients and staff gathered with their noses pressed to the window. The room felt like a goldfish bowl and it was obvious John couldn't stay long. He hugged me and signed dozens of autographs on his way out. I was disappointed that we'd had so little time together: he had to go straight back to the tour and wouldn't be home again for a week or so.
John's visit was brief but it had a dramatic effect: the nurses were distinctly friendlier to me than they had been when I first arrived.
I was in the hospital for another few days and my room was soon filled with cards and flowers, among them a bouquet from Brian and the other Beatles."
Source: Cynthia Lennon, John
Daily Mirror, 11 April 1963
The Stage and Television Today, 11 April 1963
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