The Beatles live: Assembly Hall, Mold

The Beatles’ only performance in the north Wales town of Mold took place on this evening, following the group’s in-store appearance at Brian Epstein’s Liverpool record store NEMS.

They were paid just £50 for the concert – a fraction of what the group was charging at the time. The booking had been made in October 1962 by Mold’s urban district council. Although The Beatles were reluctant to honour the commitment, Brian Epstein insisted they perform.

I was 17 at the time the Beatles came to Mold. The night of the Beatles my younger sister was not allowed to go, but made me get their autographs for her. Not only did I get them for her, but came home with John Lennon’s autograph on my arm!

Two hundred tickets were sold for the event. Also on the bill were Dave Roman and The Chariots.

I was rhythm guitarist in the Chariots on the night we supported the Beatles in Mold. As we were setting up equipment I played a tune on the piano for Paul McCartney and he said “It’s good that”. I have dined out on this tale many times since!

Following the show George Harrison went to see his aunt in nearby Broughton, while the other three Beatles went to The Talbot, now The Beaufort Arms, in Holywell with two girls from the show.

The girls’ mother was the landlady of the pub. They got her out of bed to make sandwiches for the group, for which she charged them 30 shillings. Paul McCartney is said to have played the pub’s upright piano for around half an hour before they left.

I was a full-time pupil at Hawarden Grammar School and part-time roadie for Dave Roman (Revie) and the Chariots and was at Mold the night that The Beatles played in the Assembly Rooms. My enduring memories are: having to go to the pub across the alley to get a crate of beer and a bottle of Scotch for the bands because the Beatles could not go out without being mobbed by the girls that were outside in the cold; Seeing John Lennon eating a hot dog covered with tomato ketchup whilst still wearing his leather gloves; Seeing John Lennon signing his autograph on a girl’s thigh; Getting the autographs of John, Paul and Ringo in the band room; Catching George Harrison at the top of the stairs as he left early to visit his auntie in Hawarden on the way home to Liverpool…

The Beatles’ other performances in Wales were in Rhyl on 14 July 1962 and 19–20 July 1963; Prestatyn on 24 November 1962; Abergavenny on 22 June 1963; Llandudno from 12–17 August 1963; and Cardiff on 27 May 1963, 7 November 1964 and 12 December 1965.