The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' first English tour lasted from 2 February 1963 until 3 March 1963. The Beatles were fourth on an eleven-act bill headed by 16-year-old Londoner,

Helen Shapiro Helen Kate Shapiro (born 28 September 1946) is a British pop and jazz singer and actress. While still a teenager in the early 1960s, she was one of Britain's most successful female singers. With a voice described by AllMusic as possessing "t ...

. Other acts on the tour were the Red Price Band, The Kestrels, The Honeys (UK), Dave Allen,

Kenny Lynch Kenneth Lynch, OBE (18 March 1938 – 18 December 2019) was an English singer, songwriter, entertainer, and actor. He appeared in many variety shows in the 1960s. At the time, he was among the few black singers in British pop music. He was appo ...

and Danny Williams. They were also joined briefly by

Billie Davis Carol Hedges (born 22 December 1945) who was known professionally as Billie Davis, is an English singer who had hits in the 1960s, and is best remembered for the UK hit version of the song, " Tell Him" (1963) and "I Want You to Be My Baby" (1 ...

during the latter part of the tour. The tour was organised by the Arthur Howes Agency. This was the first time that the Beatles had worked with Howes.

Programme

The programme for the tour was: *Red Price Band *The Honeys *Dave Allen *The Beatles *Dave Allen *Danny Williams : —Interval— *Red Price Band *The Kestrels *Kenny Lynch *Dave Allen *Helen Shapiro

Set list

The Beatles typical

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

for the shows was as follows (with

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

s noted): #"

Chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

" (

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian ...

) #" Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

) #"

A Taste of Honey ''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...

" (Paul McCartney) #"

Please Please Me ''Please Please Me'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two sin ...

" (John Lennon / Paul McCartney) Two other songs were used as prepared alternatives during the tour: #"

Love Me Do "Love Me Do" is the official debut single by the English rock band the Beatles, backed by " P.S. I Love You". When the single was originally released in the United Kingdom on 5 October 1962, it peaked at number 17. It was released in the United ...

" (Paul McCartney / John Lennon) #"

Beautiful Dreamer "Beautiful Dreamer" is a parlor song by American songwriter Stephen Foster. It was published posthumously in March 1864, by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York. The first edition states on its title page that it is "the last song ever written by Steph ...

" (Paul McCartney)

Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour dates

The Shapiro tour was split into two parts.

Part 1

The first part lasted from 2 to 10 February, although the Beatles did not play on the 10th, as they needed to be in London early on the 11th. The Beatles played two dates at the

Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely asso ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

on 3 and 4 February, before joining the Shapiro tour again on the 5th. ''All dates from Lewisohn'' On 11 February, the Beatles recorded the ten tracks that, together with their two previously released singles, formed their debut album, ''

''. From 12 to 22 February, they played a number of dates on their own, before joining the Shapiro tour again on the 23.

Part 2

The second part lasted from 23 February until 3 March. Travelling to

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Shr ...

on 28 February 1963, Lennon and McCartney wrote the next Beatles single, "

From Me To You "From Me to You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in April 1963 as their third single. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The song was the Beatles' first number 1 hit on what became the official ...

". ''All dates from Lewisohn''

Instruments and equipment

Instruments The Beatles had on the tour, shown here for each member of the group. John Lennon *1958

Rickenbacker 325 The Rickenbacker 325 is the first of the Capri series of hollow body guitars released in 1958 by Rickenbacker. Overview It was designed by Roger Rossmeisl, a guitar craftsman from a family of German instrument makers. Production models were sh ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

*1962

Gibson J-160E The Gibson J-160E is one of the first acoustic-electric guitars produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The J-160E was Gibson's second attempt at creating an acoustic-electric guitar (the first being the small-body CF-100E"''As implied by its ...

electro-acoustic guitar An acoustic-electric guitar is an acoustic guitar fitted with a microphone or a magnetic or piezoelectric pickup. They are used in a variety of music genres where the sound of an acoustic guitar is desired but more volume is required, especiall ...

(used as backup) *1962 Vox AC-30 amplifier Paul McCartney *1961

Höfner 500/1 The Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass (sometimes nicknamed the "Beatle Bass" or "Cavern Bass") is a model of electric bass manufactured by Höfner under several varieties. It was introduced in 1955 and gained celebrity status during the 1960s as the prim ...

hollowbody Violin bass *Quad II/22 Amp modified by

Adrian Barber Adrian Barber (13 November 1938 - 8 August 2020 in Ilkley, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England) was a musician/producer who is most noted for recording the Beatles ''Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962'', producing the Allman Brothers Ba ...

*1962 Adrian Barber "Coffin" speaker cabinet George Harrison *1957 Gretsch Duo Jet hollowbody electric guitar *1962

(used as backup) *1962 Vox AC-30 amplifier

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

*Premier Mahogany drum kit ** 20×17" bass drum ** 12×8" rack tom ** 16×16" floor tom ** 14×4" Premier Royal Ace wood-shell snare drum

References

;Bibliography * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beatles' 1963 Winter Tour, The 1963 concert tours 1963 UK Winter Tour 1963 in the United Kingdom Concert tours of the United Kingdom February 1963 events in the United Kingdom March 1963 events in the United Kingdom