Beatles 50th from York Mix

Here is the text from the York Mix Beatles 50th Anniversary article that appeared. It is written by Van Wilson who wrote a book in 2002 about the history of Yorks pop music scene.

''It is exactly 50 years since the Beatles first played in York. That turned out to be a low-key appearance but their later concerts prompted a severe outbreak of Beatlemania. On February 27, 1963 Helen Shapiro was to top the bill at a package show at the Rialto on Fishergate, York – where Mecca Bingo is today – with the Beatles as second billing. Helen contracted flu and did not appear so singer Danny Williams took her place. The Beatles only rated seven lines in a one-page review.

The Beatles returned on March 13. Chris Montez topped the bill, followed by the Beatles then Tommy Roe. John Lennon was ill and could not play so the group performed for the only time in their career as a trio. After the show George Harrison told Stacey Brewer of the Yorkshire Evening Press, that the Beatles’ next single, From Me To You, had been written by them in the coach as they travelled from York to Shrewsbury following the February concert.

On May 29 they came back again with Roy Orbison topping the bill and tickets were sold out two weeks before the concert. This time the Beatles were headline news. In only two months they had shot to fame and From Me To You, their first number one hit, remained in the charts for 21 weeks.

 

By their fourth and final appearance in York, on November 27, they were topping the bill. Arriving early in York in their Austin Princess limousine, they dropped in at the York Motel on Tadcaster Road for a meal. I lived in that area and remember a friend of my brother’s dashing round to our house to tell my elder brother Mike that he’d heard the Beatles were at the motel.

 

They ran down to the main road to try to catch a glimpse. I wanted to go too but was not allowed! Half an hour later he came back gloating because they had seen a car go by the Knavesmire with the Beatles inside. There was no one else around so they knew that when they waved madly, they got a personal wave in return, which was more than the crowd at the Rialto got, as the Beatles were rush in through the front door to avoid all the fans at the back door.

 

Before the concert the police had to work out a special “Beatle plan” and arrange traffic diversions. As well as 100 policemen, another 40 special constables were drafted in on “Beatle duty” for the occasion. Some young people had started queuing at lunchtime in the hopes of seeing their heroes. The Rialto management had been sent hundreds of requests for autographs, and even a dress which the owner wanted the Beatles to sign so that she could raffle it for charity.

 

There were 1,800 fans inside the auditorium and another 400 outside jammed behind crush barriers chanting, “We want Paul, George, John, Ringo” throughout the concert. In fact they stood for five hours in the cold. Stacey Brewer’s review in the Yorkshire Evening Press said that “their final, frenzied frantic version of Twist And Shout threatened to lift the roof off the Mecca Casino”.

 

It seems more information is coming to light regards where the lads stayed when they visited York on their last gig. I cant find any old images of the York Motel in the 60's on the web so if anyone has info it would be appreciated. The other interesting facts are the cars the Beatles used, Van Wilson mentions an Austin Princess Limo, other sources say they had a bottle-green Zephyr Six, Reg 2074 KD to use as well. See pictures below:

Sorry for the poor quality, anybody got a better copy please send it to me.



1964 The Beatles limousine gets mobbed by fans as they arrive at Futurist theatre in Scarborough.

Ford Zephyr 6, a 1965 reg model. Seems awefully small....

An Austin Princess Limousine. Now thats more like it!

I came across this picture below purely by chance; apparently its an Ex-Beatle Limo. Found in poor condition in 1999 in Somerset, its a Daimler DS42(5?)0. There is some very good images in the Beatles Anthology book of various vans, cars etc that the Beatles used in the early days, but I will need to scan them in first... This Beatle cars subject is a website in its own right!!!! I will add a new page to cover this fascinating aspect.

 

Beatles Daimler DS420 found in 1999 Somerset