Television: ABC At Large

Following their performance in Sheffield as part of the Helen Shapiro tour, The Beatles travelled to Didsbury Studio Centre in Manchester for a live appearance on ABC TV’s show ABC At Large.

They were interviewed alongside their manager Brian Epstein by host David Hamilton, answering questions about the reasons behind their newly-found success. Gerry Marsden from Gerry and the Pacemakers also appeared on the show.

The programme was broadcast in the Midlands and northern regions from 11-11.50pm. It also featured interviews with pop fans, and a clip of The Beatles miming to ‘Please Please Me’, taken from their 17 February 1963 appearance on Thank Your Lucky Stars.

Didsbury Studios were based in the former Capitol Cinema between 1956 and 1969. It was closed when ABC merged with Rediffusion. The building was later used by Yorkshire Television and Manchester Polytechnic, before being demolished and replaced with an apartment block in the 1990s.