The Beatles Don't Break Up in 1970 - A Timeline

[YellowSubmarine93]

June 23, 1940 - Stu Sutcliffe born in Edinburgh, Scotland

July 7, 1940 - Richard Starkey (aka Ringo Starr) born in Liverpool, England

October 9, 1940 - John Lennon born in Liverpool, England

November 24, 1941 - Pete Best born in Madras, India

June 18, 1942 - Paul McCartney born in Liverpool, England

February 25, 1943 - George Harrison born in Liverpool, England

March 30, 1945 - Eric Clapton born in Surrey, England

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

November 1956 - John Lennon forms a skiffle group with classmate Pete Shotton while attending Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool. The initial lineup is as follows: John Lennon (vocals/guitar), Eric Griffiths (guitar), Bill Smith (tea-chest bass), Colin Hanton (drums), and Pete Shotton (washboard). The group is initially called The Black Jacks but eventually they change their name to The Quarrymen.

May 24, 1957 - The Quarrymen play their first gig for an Empire Day celebration in Liverpool.

July 6, 1957 - This is the date that most people regard as the true beginning of The Beatles. The Quarrymen play for a garden fete at St. Peter's Church in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton. The group had undergone a few lineup changes, and now consisted of: John Lennon (vocals/guitar), Eric Griffiths (guitar), Rod Davis (banjo), Len Garry (tea-chest bass), Colin Hanton (drums), and Pete Shotton (washboard). A friend of Paul McCartney's, Ivan Vaughan, an occasional member of The Quarrymen, introduces him to Lennon while the group is setting up for their performance that evening in the church basement. Paul auditions for the group by playing "Twenty Flight Rock" and "Be-Bop-A-Lula", among a few others, on the guitar. Paul also demonstrates how to properly tune a guitar, as the guitars used by Lennon and Griffiths both use banjo tuning. Lennon is impressed and considers adding McCartney to the group. That night, an audience member records parts of two songs The Quarrymen perform during the concert on his reel-to-reel tape recorder.

July 20, 1957 - Paul McCartney is formally invited to join The Quarrymen.

August 7, 1957 - The Quarrymen along with a few other skiffle groups perform at the Cavern Club. The club had opened on January 17th of that year as a jazz club. Skiffle is considered a form of jazz and thus is allowed to be played at the club. The Quarrymen's set mostly consists of rock numbers, much to the chagrin of club owner Alan Sytner. At one point, a note from Sytner is passed to Lennon which reads "Cut out the bloody rock 'n' roll". McCartney has not yet joined the group at this point.

October 18, 1957 - Paul McCartney first performs with The Quarrymen at New Clubmoor Hall in Liverpool.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

February 6, 1958 - George Harrison meets The Quarrymen after their performance at Wilson Hall, Liverpool. He auditions for the group by playing the instrumental "Raunchy" on the guitar. He is invited to join the group despite being younger than the other members of the group (14 years old on this date).

July 9, 1958 - In what will be their first professional recording session, The Quarrymen record two songs, "That'll Be The Day" (Allison-Holly-Petty) and "In Spite Of All The Danger" (Harrison-McCartney) at Phillips Sound Recording Services in Liverpool. The lineup for the recording consists of: John Lennon (vocals/guitar), Paul McCartney (vocals/guitar), George Harrison (vocals/guitar), John Duff Lowe (piano), and Colin Hanton (drums). The session costs 17 pounds and 6 pence. Both songs are pressed onto a single 78 rpm record. Soon after this session, Lowe loses contact with the group upon leaving Liverpool Institute and Hanton quits, leaving Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison. For the first time, the group is without a drummer.

July 15, 1958 - John Lennon's mother, Julia, is injured after being hit by a speeding car driven by an off-duty policeman. She eventually recovers from her injuries after a lengthy stay in the hospital. Note: This is the first major change in this timeline. In OTL Julia was run over and killed instantly. With this change, this emotional blow to John is temporary and not permanent as in OTL. As always, any and all feedback is welcome.

March 25, 1959 - Richard Starkey is hired as the drummer for Al Caldwell and his Raving Texans after being noticed at a talent show. All the band members adopt western-sounding names, thus Richard becomes Ringo Starr. Shortly afterward the band changes its name to Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

Nice to see that Julia will live ITTL. Her death impacted John greatly so it is really nice to see that she will live long enough to see John become famous and loved worldwide. Maybe she becomes sort of an aunt-figure to Paul, who lost his mother 2 years earlier. I was just wondering, do you plan to publish any TTL albums (track listings and covers)? If the Beatles continue post 1970 or change members, this would be interesting to see!

Thank you very much. When I came across that event I felt that may have butterflied towards The Beatles' breakup in OTL, and of course my goal here is to keep them together after 1970, so I had Julia simply get injured. As for the albums, I'll definitely be posting the track listings for those. I'm not sure about covers though, as I'm not much of an artist myself. We'll see what happens I suppose.

Anyhow, let's continue...

August 29, 1959 - The Quarrymen play for the opening night of the Cashbah Coffee Club in Liverpool which happens to be owned by Pete Best's mother, Mona. The band's lineup consists of: John Lennon (guitar/vocals), Paul McCartney (guitar/vocals), George Harrison (guitar/vocals), and Ken Brown (guitar). Lennon's future wife, Cynthia Powell, helps decorate the club for the festivities. The Quarrymen will go on to play many more dates at the Casbah over the next three years. Note: I was not able to pinpoint when Ken Brown joined the group, but it was sometime before this date.

October 10, 1959 - Ken Brown quits, once again leaving Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison. The band still doesn't have a drummer. When asked about this, the group explains that "the rhythm is in the guitars".

November 15, 1959 - Johnny and the Moondogs (formerly The Quarrymen) reach the final audition stage of Carroll Levis' show TV Star Search at the Hippodrome in Manchester. Ringo's group, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, finishes in second place out of a total of 150 acts.

March 1960 - Possibly inspired by a line from the Marlon Brando film "The Wild One", or by the name of Buddy Holly's backing band, The Crickets, Johnny and the Moondogs change their name to The Silver Beetles.

Early May 1960 - Stu Sutcliffe, a friend of John Lennon's from art school, joins The Silver Beetles as their bass player. Tommy Moore, a drummer, also joins the group during this time, giving the group a drummer for the first time since the summer of 1958.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

May 10, 1960 - The Silver Beetles are offered the chance to back up singer Johnny Gentle (real name John Askew) on his upcoming tour of Scotland after they unsuccessfully audition to back up Billy Fury on his tour.

May 20-28, 1960 - Johnny Gentle's tour of Scotland, backed by The Silver Beetles. Three members of the group adopt aliases for the tour. McCartney becomes Paul Ramon, Harrison becomes Carl Harrison, and Sutcliffe becomes Stuart de Stael.

May 30, 1960 - The Silver Beetles perform at the Jacaranda Coffee Bar for the first time. The establishment is owned by Allan Williams, who eventually becomes the group's first manager.

June 13, 1960 - Tommy Moore quits after the group plays a gig at the Jacaranda, leaving the group without a drummer once again.

August 12, 1960 - Pete Best is hired as the drummer for The Silver Beetles after auditioning at the Blue Angel, another establishment owned by Allan Williams.

Mid-August 1960 - The Silver Beetles change their name one last time, this time to The Beatles.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

August 17, 1960 - The Beatles arrive in Hamburg, Germany to begin a 48-day residency at the Indra Club, located off the infamous Reeperbahn in the red-light district. The band's lineup now consists of: John Lennon (vocals/guitar), Paul McCartney (vocals/guitar/piano), George Harrison (vocals/guitar), Stu Sutcliffe (vocals/bass), and Pete Best (drums). While in Germany, the group performs under the name of The Beat Brothers, since Beatles resembles a vulgar German slang term.

October 4, 1960 - The Beatles are forced to leave the Indra due to noise complaints, mostly from the woman living above the club. They move to the Kaiserkeller which is owned by the same man who owns the Indra, Bruno Koschmider. They perform there for the next 58 days, along with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, Ringo's group.

October 15, 1960 - The group records a demo of at most three songs for Lu Walters of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. Ringo plays drums at the session, which is held at a small recording studio at a railway station in Hamburg. This is the first time the classic Beatles lineup records music together.

October 30, 1960 - The Beatles make a verbal agreement with rival club owner Peter Eckhorn to play at his Top Ten Club to replace the previous house band that is leaving. Infuriated by this, Koschmider terminates their contract with the Kaiserkeller a couple of days later. Despite this, the group continues playing at the Kaiserkeller for another month.

November 20, 1960 - It is discovered by authorities that George Harrison is underage (17 years old) and lacks a work permit. The next day Harrison is deported back to England. The Beatles continue to perform without him.

November 29, 1960 - Paul McCartney and Pete Best are arrested for attempted arson after accidentally starting a small fire in their living quarters next to a cinema. They are deported to England the following day.

December 10, 1960 - John Lennon returns to England. Stu Sutcliffe stays behind in Hamburg with Astrid Kirchherr, a photographer whom he'd become infatuated with.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

January 20, 1961 - Stu Sutcliffe returns to England, a whole two months after Harrison was deported.

February 9, 1961 - The Beatles perform at the Cavern Club for the first time under that name. They quickly become a fixture at the club and will play there many times over the next two years.

March 15, 1961 - Stu Sutcliffe travels back to Hamburg to live with Astrid Kirchherr. Sutcliffe and Kirchherr subsequently clear out administrative paperwork to allow The Beatles to return to Hamburg.

April 1, 1961 - The Beatles (once again performing as The Beat Brothers) return to Hamburg and begin a 92-day residency at The Top Ten Club. This will be their longest stay in Hamburg. For a time they once again share the bill with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.

May 11, 1961 - In hopes of promoting the band and attracting more customers to the Top Ten Club, owner Peter Eckhorn arranges a couple of recording sessions with record producer Bert Kaempfert for The Beatles to record an album to be sold in and around Hamburg.

May 17-18, 1961 - The Beatles record what will be their first album over two sessions at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Hamburg. Bert Kaempfert produces both sessions. Stu Sutcliffe is not present, so McCartney fills in on bass. Therefore the lineup is as follows: John Lennon (guitar/vocals), Paul McCartney (bass/vocals), George Harrison (guitar/vocals), and Pete Best (drums)

June 1, 1961 - The Beatles' first album is released in record stores across Hamburg to little fanfare. The album is distributed by the local Fonogram label. Most of the songs on the album are rock 'n' roll covers which have been a staple of their live performances for the last couple of years. These include a couple of Chuck Berry songs. The album sells fairly well and a few copies make their way to Liverpool, where it catches the attention of a record store owner named Brian Epstein. Original copies of this album are very much sought after by collectors today.

"Der Top Ten Club präsentiert Die Beat Brothers"
(English: The Top Ten Club presents The Beat Brothers)
Fonogram 032

SIDE 1
1. Ain't She Sweet (Yellen-Ager)
2. Too Much Monkey Business (Berry)
3. Take Out Some Insurance On Me Baby (Singelton-Hall)
4. What'd I Say (Charles)
5. Be-Bop-A-Lula (Vincent-Graves-Davis)
6. Summertime Blues (Cochran-Capehart)
7. Baby Let's Play House (Gunter)

SIDE 2
1. Cry For A Shadow (Harrison-Lennon)
2. Nobody's Child (Coben-Foree)
3. Butterfly (Lowe-Mann)
4. Johnny B. Goode (Berry)
5. Lonely Boy (Anka)
6. Shop Around (Robinson-Gordy)
7. Save The Last Dance For Me (Lieber-Stoller)

Note: In OTL, The Beatles recorded only two songs (Ain't She Sweet and Cry For A Shadow) at Friedrich-Ebert-Halle outside of being the backing band for Tony Sheridan. Also, that recording session happened on June 22 in OTL so I made it earlier ITTL. I thought it would be more interesting to have The Beatles record an entire album while in Hamburg. As always, any and all feedback is welcome.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

Before I get back to the timeline, here is an album cover I just whipped up for The Beatles' first ITTL album:

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

July 1961 - Stu Sutcliffe officially leaves The Beatles. He subsequently becomes engaged to Astrid Kirchherr.

July 1, 1961 - The Beatles perform for the last time at the Top Ten Club. Due to the publicity generated by the album, attendance at the club has increased over the last month. Two days later, the group returns to England.

July 14, 1961 - The Beatles return to the Cavern Club to play both the lunchtime and evening slots. They play there regularly over the following months. As a result, their popularity in Liverpool grows.

July 20, 1961 - The Beatles appear on the front page of the Mersey Beat newspaper.

October 28, 1961 - A customer at Brian Epstein's record store, NEMS Enterprises, inquires about the Beat Brothers album. Despite it being released almost five months ago and nearly out of print, Epstein says he will still try to find it. Some copies of the album had in fact made their way to Liverpool by people who'd traveled to Hamburg and recognized the group on the cover. More people ask about it over the coming days.

November 9, 1961 - Curious to see what all the fuss is about (and finding out the actual name of the group), Epstein and his assistant, Alistair Taylor, see a lunchtime performance by The Beatles at the Cavern Club. Epstein likes what he hears and he offers to become their manager, which they accept. Epstein makes it his top priority to get The Beatles a contract with a British record label.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

December 1, 1961 - The Beatles travel with Epstein to London to meet with Decca representatives and discuss a possible recording contract. No decision is made at the time.

December 4, 1961 - Representatives from Polydor in Germany (which distributes the Fonogram label) meet with Epstein to discuss the possibility of issuing the Beat Brothers album in the Liverpool area.

December 8, 1961 - Brian Epstein writes to an EMI representative in hopes of getting The Beatles a recording contract there. Ten days later, EMI writes back to say that the group has been rejected.

December 13, 1961 - A representative from Decca, Mike Smith, watches a performance by The Beatles at the Cavern Club. Afterwards, he contacts Decca to schedule an audition for the group.

January 1, 1962 - The Beatles audition for Decca Records in London. They record a total of 15 songs. Decca A&R man Dick Rowe is less than impressed, telling Epstein that "We don't like their sound, and groups of guitars are on the way out.", effectively rejecting the group. Decca instead signs a more local group, The Tremeloes.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

January 4, 1962 - The Beatles are voted the most popular group in Liverpool by a Mersey Beat newspaper poll.

January 5, 1962 - Der Top Ten Club präsentiert Die Beat Brothers is reissued in the Liverpool area as The Beatles: Liverpool's New Sound Sensation on the local Merseyside label (distributed by Polydor UK). Other than the changes to the title and information on the back, the album is identical to the one issued in Hamburg six months earlier. Brian Epstein features it prominently at his record store. The album immediately becomes a best seller in the area. The initial press run sells out within a week. This version of the album is also extremely rare and is highly sought after by collectors to this day.

January 24, 1962 - The Beatles sign a contract to officially make Brian Epstein their manager. He had been serving in that capacity for the last three months.

February 5, 1962 - Ringo Starr fills in on drums during two Beatles performances due to Pete Best being ill that day.

March 8, 1962 - The Beatles make their radio debut on the BBC's Teenager's Turn (Here We Go).

April 10, 1962 - Stu Sutcliffe dies of a brain hemorrhage in Germany at 21 years of age.

April 13, 1962 - The Beatles return to Hamburg to begin a 48-day residency at the Star Club.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

May 9, 1962 - Brian Epstein meets with producer George Martin at the EMI Recording Studios (later known as Abbey Road) in London. Epstein sends a telegram to The Beatles, who are still performing in Hamburg, that same day telling them they've been accepted.

May 24, 1962 - The Beatles record two more songs at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle to fulfill the contract they entered into with Bert Kaempfert when they recorded the Beat Brothers album. The songs are "Three Cool Cats" (Leiber-Stoller) and "Like Dreamers Do" (Lennon-McCartney), two songs they recorded for the Decca audition at the beginning of the year.

June 2, 1962 - The Beatles return to Liverpool at the conclusion of their residency at the Star Club in Hamburg.

June 4, 1962 - The Beatles officially sign a recording contract with EMI's Parlophone label, with George Martin as their producer. About seven months of hard work have finally paid off for Epstein.

June 6, 1962 - The Beatles go to the Abbey Road studios for the first time to make a recording test for Parlophone. They record four songs: "Besame Mucho" (Velazquez), "Love Me Do" (Lennon-McCartney), "P.S. I Love You" (Lennon-McCartney), and "Ask Me Why" (Lennon McCartney). George Martin is less than impressed with Pete Best's drumming, and tells Epstein that he will use a session drummer (a common practice at the time) instead of Best on future recordings.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

June 9, 1962 - The Beatles play the Cavern Club for the first time since they departed for Germany.

August 14, 1962 - Brian Epstein invites Ringo Starr to join The Beatles permanently.

August 15, 1962 - Pete Best performs with The Beatles for the last time at the Cavern Club.

August 16, 1962 - Brian Epstein tells Pete Best at his record store that he has been fired from The Beatles. The decision was a hard one as Best had become a fan favorite. Johnny Hutchinson, a member of fellow Liverpool band The Big Three, fills in for Best at the group's performance at Riverpark Ballroom in Chester.

August 18, 1962 - Ringo Starr officially joins The Beatles. The classic lineup is now together.

August 19, 1962 - After a performance at the Cavern Club, disgruntled fans angered by the firing of Pete Best hold a vigil outside his house, chanting "Peter forever, Ringo never!". George Harrison gets a black eye from an audience member and Brian Epstein temporarily hires a bodyguard.

August 22, 1962 - Granada Television films a performance of The Beatles at the Cavern Club. This is the earliest known video footage of the group. Note: At the 4:14 mark of the video, you can hear a guy yelling "We want Pete!", to which John simply replies "Yes".

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

August 23, 1962 - John Lennon marries Cynthia Powell at the Mount Pleasant register office in Liverpool. John and Cynthia had been dating for the last four years. Cynthia recently discovered that she's pregnant. When told this, John said "There's only one thing for it Cyn – we'll have to get married". Brian Epstein is the best man. Also in attendance are John's mother Julia, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Cynthia's half-brother, and his wife.

September 4, 1962 - The Beatles do their first official recording session at the Abbey Road studios. Ringo Starr auditions for George Martin. They record two songs "Love Me Do" (Lennon-McCartney) and a demo of "How Do You Do It" (Murray), the latter of which is later recorded by Gerry And The Pacemakers. The version of "Love Me Do" recorded today will be used as the A-Side of their first UK single.

September 11, 1962 - The Beatles return to Abbey Road studios to record their first single. They record "P.S. I Love You" and a different version of "Love Me Do", this time with session drummer Andy White and Ringo Starr on tambourine. That version will be released as a single in US later on. They also perform, but don't record, "Please Please Me" (Lennon-McCartney), which George Martin suggests be reworked.

October 1, 1962 - The Beatles renew their contract with Brian Epstein.

October 5, 1962 - "Love Me Do" b/w "P.S. I Love You" is released in the UK as Parlophone R 4949.

October 17, 1962 - The Beatles make their television debut on Granada Television's People and Places.

October 26, 1962 - The "Love Me Do" single first appears on the UK Singles chart. It will go on to peak at #12. Note: In OTL, the single peaked at #17. I decided to take into account the Beat Brothers album reissue in Liverpool and the added popularity resulting from it.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

Well not by much, I'm think at least by a couple of places. The album is bound to be a sell-out in Liverpool that may help it more just about?

Thank you very much. I changed the single's peak to #12. Still a very good start for them. And yes, the Beat Brothers album reissue did sell out in Liverpool ITTL. And now, back to the timeline:

November 1, 1962 - The Beatles return to Hamburg to begin a two-week run at the Star Club.

November 15, 1962 - The Beatles travel back to England.

November 26, 1962 - The Beatles record their second single at Abbey Road studios. The songs are "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why". They return four days later to finish "Please Please Me".

December 17, 1962 - Brian Epstein takes George Martin to a Beatles performance at the Cavern Club.

December 18, 1962 - The Beatles travel to Hamburg to play the Star Club for 12 performances. This is the last time they will take up residence in Hamburg.

January 11, 1963 - "Please Please Me" b/w "Ask Me Why" is released in the UK as Parlophone R 4983. It will go on to become their first #1 hit on the UK Singles chart. Note: In OTL, it peaked at #2 in the UK.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

February 7, 1963 - "Please Please Me" b/w "Ask Me Why" is released in the US as Vee-Jay 498. This is the first Beatles single released in the US. Thanks to DJ Dick Biondi, the single appears on the WLS Chicago survery for two weeks, peaking at #35. It also registers on the surveys of a couple of other radio stations in California and Florida. Despite this, the single goes nowhere.

February 11, 1963 - In one marathon record session lasting almost 13 hours, The Beatles record the remaining ten tracks for their upcoming album, Please Please Me, at the Abbey Road studios.

March 5, 1963 - The Beatles record their third single at Abbey Road studios. The songs are "From Me To You" (Lennon-McCartney) and "Thank You Girl" (Lennon-McCartney). They also record "The One After 909" (Lennon-McCartney). Despite some difficulties incurred due to their hectic schedule, they are able to put together a serviceable version of the song. They plan to put it on their next album, considering that Please Please Me has already been completed. . Note. In OTL, The One After 909 was never edited into a full song until the release of Anthology 1.

March 22, 1963 - The Beatle's first official album, Please Please Me, is released in the UK. It goes on to peak at #1 on the UK Albums chart. Note: This album remains unchanged from OTL.

"Please Please Me"
Parlophone 1202

All tracks written by Lennon-McCartney unless otherwise noted

SIDE 1
1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. Misery
3. Anna (Go To Him) (Alexander)
4. Chains (Goffin-King)
5. Boys (Dixon-Farrell)
6. Ask Me Why
7. Please Please Me

SIDE 2
1. Love Me Do
2. P.S. I Love You
3. Baby It's You (Bacharach-David-Williams)
4. Do You Want To Know A Secret
5. A Taste Of Honey (Scott-Marlow)
6. There's A Place
7. Twist And Shout (Medley-Russell)

April 8, 1963 - Cynthia Lennon gives birth to Julian at Sefton General Hospital in Liverpool. John can't be present at the birth due to the group being on tour at the time, so John's mother Julia attends in his place. Cynthia goes through a whole 24 hours of labor. She recalls many years later that Julia's presence helped her get through it and that "it was almost like having John there with me". In gratitude to Julia, she names the boy Julian. John sees his son for the first time three days later.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

April 11, 1963 - "From Me To You" b/w "Thank You Girl" is released in the UK as Parlophone R 5015. It eventually becomes their second #1 hit in the UK.

April 18, 1963 - The Beatles perform for the BBC radio program Swinging Sounds 63 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. After the performance, Paul McCartney meets Jane Asher for the first time. She is the sister of Peter Asher of the pop duo Peter & Gordon.

May 6, 1963 - "From Me To You" b/w "Thank You Girl" is released in the US as Vee-Jay 522. Due to some sales in Los Angeles (thanks once again to Dick Biondi, now a DJ at KRLA), the song makes the Cashbox Looking Ahead chart at #149 on July 13th. This marks the first chart appearance of a Beatles record in the US.

May 24, 1963 - The Beatles record the first episode of their BBC radio series Pop Go The Beatles. The episode airs on June 4th.

June 20, 1963 - The Beatles Ltd. is formed to handle the legal and business affairs of the group. This has become necessary as their popularity has continued to grow across the UK.

June 29, 1963 - Del Shannon's version of "From Me To You" debuts on the US Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at #77. This marks the first time a Lennon-McCartney song has appeared on the Hot 100 chart.

July 1, 1963 - The Beatles record their third single at Abbey Road studios. The songs are: "She Loves You" (Lennon-McCartney) and "I'll Get You" (Lennon-McCartney).

July 12, 1963 - The Beatles' first EP, Twist and Shout, is released by Parlophone. It contains four songs, all from the Please Please Me album. Side 1: "Twist And Shout" and "A Taste Of Honey". Side 2: "Do You Want To Know A Secret" and "There's A Place".

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

July 18, 1963 - The Beatles begin recording songs for their next UK album, called With The Beatles. The songs they record on this particular day are: "You Really Got A Hold On Me" (Robinson), "Money (Bradford-Gordy), "Devil In Her Heart" (Drapkin), and "Till There Was You" (Willson).

August 3, 1963 - The Beatles play the Cavern Club for the last time.

August 23, 1963 - "She Loves You" b/w "I'll Get You" is released in the UK as Parlophone R 5055. It becomes their third straight UK #1 hit, sealing their status as Britain's hottest band.

September 7, 1963 - The Beatles record an appearance on the BBC radio show Saturday Club to air on October 5th. One of their numbers is them singing Happy Birthday to the show in the style of Eddie Cochran.

September 16, 1963 - "She Loves You" b/w "I'll Get You" is released in the US as Swan 4152. Unlike the other two US releases, this one is a total dud.

October 13, 1963 - The Beatles perform on ITV's televised musical variety show Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium. This performance is considered by many to be the moment Beatlemania takes hold in the UK.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

October 17, 1963 - The Beatles record their fifth UK single along with their first Christmas record to be distributed to members of their official fan club. The songs recorded for the single are "I Want To Hold Your Hand" (Lennon-McCartney) and "This Boy" (Lennon-McCartney). They also continue work on "You Really Got A Hold On Me" for possible inclusion on their next album. However, they run into difficulties and quickly give up working on the song.

November 4, 1963 - The Beatles perform at a Royal Command Performance at the Prince Of Wales Theatre in London. The concert is attended by The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and Lord Snowdon.

November 18, 1963 - EMI presents The Beatles with several silver discs to commemorate their extraordinary record sales.

November 22, 1963 - The Beatles' second UK album, With The Beatles, is released. It becomes their second straight #1 album in the UK, knocking their own Please Please Me off the top in the process. Note: A couple of tracks have been changed from OTL.

"With The Beatles"
Parlophone 1206

All tracks written by Lennon-McCartney unless otherwise noted

SIDE 1
1. It Won't Be Long
2. All I've Got To Do
3. All My Loving
4. Don't Bother Me (Harrison)
5. The One After 909
6. Till There Was You (Willson)
7. Please Mr. Postman (Dobbins-Garrett-Gorman-Holland-Bateman)

SIDE 2
1. Roll Over Beethoven (Berry)
2. Hold Me Tight
3. I'll Be On My Way
4. I Wanna Be Your Man
5. Devil In Her Heart (Drapkin)
6. Not A Second Time
7. Money (That's What I Want) (Bradford-Gordy)

November 25, 1963 - Capitol Records of Canada reissues With The Beatles as Beatlemania! With The Beatles. The marks the first album release by the group in North America.

November 29, 1963 - "I Want To Hold Your Hand" b/w "This Boy" is released in the UK as Parlophone R 5084. The single becomes their fourth straight #1 single, proving that they aren't just a flash-in-the-pan group.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

Liking the timeline so far, good work! I’m ashamed to say I don’t know enough about the Beatles especially as I’m British but this is helping.

As a silly side note, I hope butterflies somehow make Maxwells Silver Hammer a smash hit single. (It’s my favourite Beatles song)

Thank you so much for the compliment. Not sure about Maxwells Silver Hammer though, we'll have to see. Anyway, on with the timeline:

December 1963 - Marsha Albert, a teenager living in the Washington DC area, writes to WWDC DJ Carroll James asking him to play a Beatles record. The Beatles' first TV appearance in the US was on The Huntley-Brinkley Report aired by NBC News on November 18. Albert watches the CBS Evening News on the 10th which features the group. She recalls later, "I wrote that I thought they would be really popular here, and if he could get one of their records, that would really be great." As The Beatles' latest single, "I Want To Hold Your Hand", has not been released in the US yet, James has a UK pressing of the single flown over from Britain. He subsequently plays the record on his radio show. The song immediately provokes a positive reaction from the station's listeners, and it is put in heavy rotation on WWDC. James sends a tape of the song to a DJ in Chicago, who in turn sends it to a DJ in St. Louis. The song has a positive reaction in those cities as well. The rapidly growing popularity of the song catches the eye of EMI's affiliate in the US, Capitol Records.

December 26, 1963 - "I Want To Hold Your Hand" b/w "I Saw Her Standing There" is released in the US as Capitol 5112. Being EMI's affiliate in the US, Capitol Records has had rights of first refusal on all EMI artists, something that they've exercised on every one of the group's releases in the US to this point, saying in a memo that “We don’t think the Beatles will do anything in this market.” Brian Epstein and EMI recently convinced Capitol to finally release a Beatles single in the US, and the label committed to releasing "I Want To Hold Your Hand" on January 13th. However, the growing popularity brought on by WWDC's playing of the record causes Capitol to release the single on this date two weeks early. Both of the label's pressing plants in Scranton, PA and Los Angeles shift into high gear to keep up with the astronomically high demand. The song immediately enters the US charts, debuting on the Cash Box Top 100 at the #80 slot on January 11th. It reaches the #1 spot just two weeks later. The song also reaches #1 in Billboard and Music Vendor. Beatlemania has taken hold in America.

January 10, 1964 - Introducing... The Beatles is released in the US as Vee-Jay 1062, the group's first album release in America. The album is a reissue of Please Please Me, only missing "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" due to the fact that American pop albums only have six tracks per side instead of seven. The album goes to #2 on the US Album chart, kept out of the #1 spot by...

January 20, 1964 - Meet The Beatles is released in the US as Capitol 2047. The album is mostly a reissue of With The Beatles. However, Capitol removes all of the cover songs with the exception of "Till There Was You" in fear that the American public would be turned off by remakes. Replacing the cover songs are both tracks off the "I Want To Hold Your Hand" single and "This Boy". The album becomes their first #1 album in the US.

 

[YellowSubmarine93]

January 30, 1964 - "Please Please Me" b/w "From Me To You" is released in the US as Vee-Jay 581. This a a soft re-release of the single that came out last year, only with a different B-Side. This single has no trouble charting this time, making it to the #3 spot in Billboard. It is kept out of the #1 spot by two other Beatles records.

February 7, 1964 - The British Invasion officially begins as the Beatles land at JFK Airport where thousands of fans are waiting for them, thanks to heavy promotion by New York City radio stations. At first the Beatles think that the president's plane is about to land, but they quickly realize that the reception is all for them. After going through customs and immigration, the group holds a rather hectic (at and times humorous) press conference at the Pan Am gate. After this, the group is taken to their hotel.

February 9, 1964 - The Beatles perform live on The Ed Sullivan Show. The broadcast is viewed by an estimated 73.7 million people nationwide, setting an all-time record for television viewership. This performance seals their place in music history.

February 11, 1964 - The Beatles perform their first concert in the US at the Washington Coliseum in Washington DC. A film is made of the concert by CBS, which is released in US theaters on March 14th.

February 18, 1964 - The Beatles meet Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, at his training facility in Miami, FL.

February 25, 1964 - Back in England, The Beatles start recording songs for their next album and soon to be started film, A Hard Day's Night.