5 February 1963
Concert:
Gaumont Cinema, Hallgate, Doncaster, Yorkshire
The second date of the Helen Shapiro package tour.
"THE Beatles were paid less than £100 for performing in South Yorkshire in February 1963 - but their autographs from that night could sell for £2,000 when they go under the hammer soon, say experts.
The Fab Four didn't even top the bill and were yet to become world-famous superstars when they appeared at the Gaumont Cinema, Hallgate, in Doncaster, on February 5, 1963.
Now, 47-years later, the autographs of all four obtained that night are going to be sold at auction and they are expected to sell for up to £2,000.
The valuable signatures, on two pages of an autograph book, were obtained by a quick-thinking fan named Carol.
One page is signed 'To Carol, lots of love Paul McCartney (Beatles), John Lennon xxx and Ringo Starr xxx'. Another page is signed 'To Carol love from George Harrison'.
McCartney's insertion of the word 'Beatles' after his name proves the group was not so well known in the early days of 1963, and he probably wasn't sure people looking at the autograph book in years to come would remember who he was.
Despite the £2,000 estimate when the autographs go under the hammer one June 24, the lot could have been worth much more.
If all four Beatles' signatures had been on the same piece of paper, they could have been worth an extra £1,000.
And if their signatures appeared on the back of the group's second album, With The Beatles, which was released in November 1963, they would be worth more than £7,000.
The Beatles performed at the Gaumont Cinema at the start of their first nationwide tour, which begun three days earlier at the Gaumont Cinema in Bradford.
They were on an eight-act bill that also included comedian Kenny Lynch and Moon River singer Danny Williams.
Top star that night was 16-year-old singing sensation Helen Shapiro, who had two number one hit records in 1961 with You Don't Know and Walkin' Back To Happiness."
Source: The Star, 4 June 2010
Autographed menu from Punch's Hotel, where The Beatles stayed in Doncaster; auctioned by Christies, 29 September 2004.
"Mick Longworth was only 15 when John, Paul, Ringo and George stayed at his father's hotel in Doncaster, South Yorkshire in 1963.
But after storing the valuable register in a bank vault for the past 15 years the grandfather-of-five is now planning to put it up for auction on the internet.
Mr Longworth hopes the sale could raise up to £30,000 to buy a family holiday home.
He said: "People tend to have an inflated view of what something like this is worth, but I am going to put it on the internet and see what happens.
"If I can get enough to buy a villa in somewhere like Spain for the family then it is much better than leaving it in a bank vault.
"Mind you, I could just as easily end up with enough money for a caravan in Cleethorpes."
The Beatles were touring with Helen Shapiro at the time of their one-night stay and had just reached number two in the charts with Please Please Me.
Mr Longworth said: "When I found out they were staying I cancelled my paper round and ended up serving John Lennon morning tea in his bed."
In the register each Beatle gives an address in Liverpool and under the nationality section Lennon jokingly scribbled "White Man" with McCartney scrawling "Green".
Mr Longworth added: "It's a piece of pop history and should be on display somewhere.""
Source: BBC News, 5 August 2003
"Some rare early photos of the Beatles on their first national tour will be printed for the first time in a new edition of a book on the Beatles' British tours.
Author Martin Creasy is featuring them in the new edition of his book "Beatlemania! The Real Story Of The Beatles UK Tours," which was first published in April. According to the author, it is believed these are the only photos of the Beatles on stage during their first UK tour. (The book is also available from Amazon.co.uk.)
The photos were taken in dim lighting by rookie photographer Charlie Worsdale without using flash on the stage of the Gaumont Cinema in Doncaster on Feb. 5, 1963. According to Creasy, Worsdale, now 67, was working for the Foto News agency. He was shooting in the middle of a fierce British winter at a time when the Beatles' second single, "Please Please Me," was moving up the charts.
"I'm proud to have Charlie's photos in the book. They are a fascinating glimpse of The Beatles going full pelt just as they were about to hit it big," Creasy says. "They were taken in difficult circumstances and Charlie was a teenager still learning his trade back then, but they are fascinating because they fill in a gap in The Beatles' story.
"The thing that catches my eye is John Lennon holding the harmonica up against that old style microphone. Beatles fans are more familiar with John having a harmonica holder around his neck, Bob Dylan style, but these pictures were from February 1963 before people in England had heard of Dylan!"
Worsdale was also allowed into the dressing room and says he was surprised by the music he heard the Beatles were listening to. "They were playing Ray Charles records on a portable player, and tracks by people like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. I was particularly chuffed they were listening to Ray Charles because I was quite a fan," he told Creasy.
"I remember them joking among themselves about how audiences were reacting to them. They were poking fun at an audience which was now largely screaming girls who practically drowned out their music.
"I took my pictures from the wings while they were playing, but you couldn't hear that much. What was obvious was the excitement they were creating in the audience. It was obvious they were going to be big. I was quite an inexperienced photographer at the time. I shot them on 400 ASA speed, so they were experimental shots. You couldn't use flash. You just did the best you could, but I think the pictures are quite atmospheric."
The Beatles, who were on a bill starring singer Helen Shapiro and also featuring Danny Williams and Kenny Lynch, were staying at the nearby Regent Hotel. Mick Longworth, then 15 years old, the son of the hotel's owner, recalled their visit to Creasy.
"They signed Parlophone promotion cards for us and for some of the waitresses and kitchen staff," said Longworth. "They had all signed the hotel register. There was a space for a name, date and nationality. George wrote George Harrison, British, February 5, 1963. But Ringo got the year wrong. He put Ringo Starr, British, February 5, 1962. The others also put the wrong year. John Lennon signed his name but under nationality wrote "white man" and Paul put "green man". Both followed Ringo in putting 1962.
"The funny thing was the next six people staying also put 1962 until one of them realised it was wrong and corrected it to 1963. I remember later saying to my dad and mum, who jointly owned the hotel, that we need to put the beds up for sale. Everything to do with the Beatles was wanted -- sheets they'd slept in etc. 'Don't be so bloody stupid,' my dad said.""
Source: examiner.com, 2 November 2011
Brian Epstein's reply to Welsh promoter Eddie Tattersall; a concert would be arranged for 22 June in Abergavenny
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