This was The Beatles’ only time in the Yorkshire town of Huddersfield. It was the 24th date of their 1963 Autumn Tour, and took place on the day their single ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’/‘This Boy’ was released in the UK.
The group performed 10 songs at each of the night’s two concerts: ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘From Me To You’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘You Really Got A Hold On Me’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Boys’, ‘Till There Was You’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ and ‘Twist And Shout’.
Between their sets The Beatles were visited by Gordon Kaye, later to become famous as a British television actor. Kaye was representing the Huddersfield Tape Recording Society, and requested an interview with each of the group and asked them to read aloud record requests. The recordings were for Music Box, a monthly programme made for local hospitals in the region.
The 2,036-seat ABC Cinema closed in March 1983, and was later demolished to make way for a supermarket.
I would be very surprised if the setlist provided for all the November – December shows stayed the same, considering the new single and LP. The setlist for Liverpool, Dec. 7 show, probably more represents what they played at the December gigs.
According to Paul Berriff who was photographing them at this concert, they rehearsed I Want to Hold Your Hand beforehand and performed it at this concert for the first time as the song had been released that day.
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/exhibitions/15479683.how-paul-berriff-spent-his-teenage-days-with-john-paul-george-and-ringo/
I worked on the Stage Door when the Beatles played on Friday, November 29, 1963. Got to meet John, George & Ringo when they came downstairs to play the second show. Paul came down the stairs on the other side of the stage and entered from the left hand side.
An Ambulance was their getaway car for that particular evening. The curtain came down after the second show and they ran off stage towards me, I opened the Stage Door and the four of them climbed into the back of the Ambulance and off it went…..Less than 30 seconds.
Fans ran around to the Stage Door afterwards and despite my telling them that The Beatles had left, they stayed until the early hours of the next morning.
Hi Michael Dawson
You have mentioned that you worked on the Stage door when the Beatles performed at the ABC Cinema.
Would you by any chance know the name of the Manager of the ABC Cinema at the time please?
This is actually a serious question not a joke!
Cheers
Re Manager at the Ritz
it could have been Mr Caufield , he lived across the road from us and remember he was the manager around that time ,