1962

on film and television >1962

>1962
The years up until 1963 were the years of hard graft for The Beatles. From the first meeting of John Lennon and Paul McCartney on 6 July 1957 there were hundreds of local club gigs in and around their home town of Liverpool. A few silent seconds of film from 1961 and a couple of songs from their residency at 'The Cavern' in the summer of '62 are all that we have on film of these years.
However, the hard work paid off, and by the end of 1962, local radio and television stations were starting to notice and a number of local TV spots followed. Alas, these would all seem to be lost, but these appearances marked the first recognition of what was to become a world-wide phenomenon.

	14 February 1961 The Casanova Club Audience Film	The first known film of The Beatles lasts about 35 seconds and was discovered in 1995. It features colour, but silent, footage of the band playing at the Casanova Club in Liverpool on Valentine's Day. The band includes Pete Best on drums and shows the group wearing their black leathers and Paul McCartney playing his Hofner violin base. Though it's not clear what song is being performed, the best guess is 'Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey!'. A few seconds have been shown on TV but the entire reel was sold at auction for £15,000 in 1996 at Sotheby's and hasn't been seen since.
	22 August 1962 The Cavern Club Granada TV News Film	The Beatles were filmed at The Cavern Club by Granada TV for a local programme 'Know the North'. Owing to the poor quality of the film, it wasn't immediately used, but was retrieved later when the boys hit the big time. The film is black & white and includes 'Some Other Guy' and 'Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey!'. This gig took place only a few days after Ringo had replaced Pete Best.
	17 October 1962 'People and Places' TV Show	The first Beatles studio TV appearance was on another Granada regional programme, 'People and Places'. They sang two songs live - 'Some Other Guy' and 'Love Me Do'. No record of this performance is thought to remain.
	29 October 1962 'People and Places' TV Show	The band's second TV appearance was again for 'People and Places' on Granada Television and was recorded on 29 October for transmission on Friday, 2 November (by which time the group were in Hamburg). The songs were 'Love Me Do' and 'A Taste of Honey'. No record of this performance is thought to remain.
	4 December 1962 'Tuesday Rendezvous' TV Show	The Beatles first London TV appearance, on Rediffusion's 'Tuesday Rendezvous'. The show was broadcast live from studios in Wembley, with the boys miming to 'Love Me Do' and the opening of 'PS I Love You'. No record of this performance is thought to remain.
	17 December 1962 'People and Places' TV Show	For their third appearance on Granada's 'People and Places' the Beatles performed live, singing 'Love Me Do' and 'Twist and Shout'. No record of this performance is thought to remain.