HOW THE BEATLES CONQUERED TELEVISION
1962
Aug. 22—Live: Cavern Club
It may have been the 126th lunchtime performance by the Beatles—and their 218th overall—at the famed venue, but it was the first one captured by TV crews. Four days after Ringo Starr officially joined the band, a Manchester–based TV crew for Granada Television filmed a few moments, intending them to be used on local program Know the North. The band played “Some Other Guy” and “Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!” in an exuberant, head-shaking style that would come to be their signature.
Oct. 17—People and Places
The Beatles made their television series debut with an appearance on this local Manchester program, singing “Some Other Guy” and their brand-new single, “Love Me Do.” They returned 12 days later and sang “Love Me Do” again. Fans already couldn’t get enough.
Dec. 4—Tuesday Rendezvous
Their first London television performance was on this popular children’s show. Along with “Love Me Do,” the lads added “P.S. I Love You.” Also appearing on that episode: glove puppets Fred Barker and Ollie Beak.
1963
Jan. 13—Thank Your Lucky Stars
Their most important television appearance to date came with this performance of “Please Please Me” on the popular music series.
Jan. 16—People and Places
In this appearance, the Beatles lip-synched to “Ask Me Why” and “Please Please Me” before they went off to record four songs for the Here We Go radio program in England.
May 12—Thank Your Lucky Stars
For the first time, the group topped the bill in this, their fourth time on the show, playing along to new hits “I Saw Her Standing There” and “From Me to You.”
May 16—Pops and Lenny
Host Terry Hall and his puppet Lenny the Lion welcomed the band for their second appearance on national BBC television for live performances of “From Me to You” and a shortened version of “Please Please Me.”
June 22—Juke Box Jury
The BBC series where panelists listened to new songs and rated whether or not they’d be hits was a “miss” for first-time featured juror John Lennon, who was then still smarting from recent bad press after a drunken altercation with a friend. Lennon quickly dismissed all the songs, including Elvis Presley’s “Devil in Disguise,” adding that the King of Rock ’n’ Roll was now sounding a bit like popular crooner Bing Crosby. “Poor ol’ Elvis,” he added. The next day, the band headlined the Summer Spin edition of Lucky Stars.
Aug. 22—Day by Day
It was another in a series of lip-synching appearances (this time it was “She Loves You”). But on this same day, the band also shot the cover photo for their second album, With the Beatles.
Oct. 4—Ready, Steady, Go!
For their debut performance on the trendy British music show, this time the lads wore their famous gray buttoned-up suits. As artist Peter Blake remarked at the time, “To me it sounded like very good rock ’n’ roll. But it wasn’t just the music; it was their personalities, the way they looked, the whole thing.”
Oct. 13—Sunday Night at the London Palladium
How loudly did the fans scream during this evening’s edition of Val Parnell’s all-the-rage variety show? So much so that the press coined the term “Beatlemania” to
