The Beatles' Autumn Tour 1963

During the fall of '63, Beatles Monthly had incredible access to the Beatles as they were promoting their second UK album, With the Beatles, and the single "I Want To Hold Your Hand"/"This Boy." The above photos were all taken during "The Beatles' Autumn Tour" during their stop in Wolverhampton.

During this period in the Beatles' career, their live performances were at their peak. Just listening to the available audio confirms how tight they were playing. Besides the Cavern and Hamburg shows, these early post-fame concerts would have been among the best to have seen and heard, in my opinion.

I hope all of you have a very Happy Thanksgiving. I am indeed thankful the Beatles' existed and reflected the joy of living through their music in a way no other band has ever done before or since. These four men were destined for greatness--to come together, create magic, and bring love and joy to countless others.

This year, I am also very thankful for the many friends I have made through the Internet. I have been so fortunate to find like-minded souls out there I would otherwise have never "met." You all know who you are!

Enjoy the pics! There are many more from this session soon to come. (I love these pictures of John in his horn-rimmed specs!)

I Can Stay 'Til It's Time To Go

Forty-years ago today, the Beatles filmed several promotional clips to accompany the single release of "Hello Goodbye." The filming took place at the Saville Theatre in London, and three versions of the promo were then assembled from the footage. The most common version is the one of the Beatles performing in their Sgt. Pepper attire with a psychedelic backdrop behind them. This promo clip aired on The Ed Sullivan Show, Hollywood Palace, and Beat Club but was denied broadcast in England because of the Musician's Union ban on mimed clips. The second version saw the light of day officially in 1993 (with a blue border around it) to promote the CD release of The Beatles 1967 - 1970 (commonly referred to as the "Blue Album.")

The above screen captures were taken from the Picture Perfect compilation entitled Chronology Two, which includes versions 2 and 3 of the "Hello Goodbye" promo films. The Anthology included a newly constructed version complied from outtake footage of the day's work. Though not in the best quality, I hope you still enjoy the captures. I worked on them using Adobe Photoshop, so at least the colors are a bit brighter.

(Background information obtained from John C. Winn's That Magic Feeling, pp. 148 - 149)