Travel: London to Aberdeen

The Beatles had been due to fly from London to Edinburgh on the morning of 2 January 1963. Due to bad weather, however, their flight was changed at the last minute and they landed in Aberdeen instead.

Unfortunately, their driver Neil Aspinall failed to hear about the arrival changes and waited in Edinburgh with the van.

The Beatles’ five-date tour of Scotland had been due to begin on this date. The group had been booked to perform at the Longmore Hall in Keith, Banffshire, but icy conditions and snowdrifts on the roads meant they would have been unable to reach the venue in time.

The concert was cancelled; an inauspicious start to 1963 for a group which would soon conquer the world.

Knowing that The Beatles didn’t have any other bookings until the following day, John Lennon flew back to Liverpool for the night.