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50 Years Ago: The Beatles First Television Appearance

The Beatles make their first television appearance

By mid-October 1962, the Beatles first single had been in the stores for less than two weeks. At that time, the record was not getting any radio airplay in the UK. British radio in the early sixties was limited to the BBC, which broadcast on three national radio stations. Of these, only Light Programme had some shows that featured pop music, but the station rarely played records due to needletime restrictions limiting the amount of music that could be played from records. This meant that bands could not count on radio to play their records to generate interest. Records sales came from playing the clubs and getting the word out through newspapers, music magazines and television.

The Beatles first television appearance was on October 17, 1962. The group played live on Granada’s “People And Places,” which was a magazine-style program that was broadcast in the northern part of England. The band drove to Manchester for the show, which originated from Granada TV Centre on Quay Street. They rehearsed twice that afternoon for the show, which ran from 6:35 to 7:00 pm. The Beatles played two songs.

In keeping with their hectic performance schedule, the group had played a lunchtime concert earlier in the day and would leave the studio after the show to head for an evening concert.

Today’s trivia questions are about this historic day for the Beatles.

What two songs did the Beatles play during their first television appearance on October 17, 1962?
At what venue did the Beatles play that afternoon and at what venue did the Beatles play that evening after the show?

 

 

As one would expect, the Beatles promoted the A-side of their single, “Love Me Do.” In addition, the group played one of their concert favorites, “Some Other Guy.” That song was recorded by Richie Barrett, who co-wrote the song with Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Although the song was not a hit, it was included in the repertoire of several Liverpool bands. Granada TV had previously filmed the Beatles playing “Some Other Guy” at the Cavern Club on August 22, 1962, intended for inclusion on the program “Know The North.” Granada decided against using the filmed performance due to its poor quality brought about by the dark and humid conditions in the Cavern. After the Beatles rise to fame, Granada broadcast the performance on November 6, 1963. As for the group’s other activities on the day of their first television appearance, the Beatles played a lunchtime concert and an evening concert at the Cavern Club.

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