THE BEATLES' PAVILION GIG IN BATH

It has been 52 years since The Beatles played to a packed-out crowd at The Pavilion.

It was an extremely hot but entertaining evening, according to reports, as the fab four performed songs from their LP Please Please Me.

Bath resident Simon Hurford walked past the music venue that Monday evening (June 10) and, more than half a century later, has released a book about the Beatles in Bath and the memories of some of those fans who were lucky enough to get tickets.

He completed his book, Twist and Shout - The Beatles In Bath 1963, earlier this year and he was contacted by people following an appeal in the Bath Chronicle a year ago.

He said: "I was thinking about writing it for a long time. I was worried a lot of people who went there then have either left Bath or have died but had a lot of feedback following the appeal last year. It was really good.

"People continue to love the Beatles, even now. They are still very popular and are part of our cultural history.

"Bath was a one-off concert but it was standout one. It was the Beatles at their peak I think."

That night, the band from Liverpool were supported by Chet and the Triumphs and The Colin Anthony Combo. When Simon walked by, aged 12, he saw hundreds of people outside the Pavilion who had been unable to get inside.

He said: "I would like to have gone to that concert. I remember walking past and just hearing a big noise. It was like an aeroplane taking off. You could hear it from Parade Gardens.

"I could almost touch the excitement of the occasion from outside. There were hundreds of people still outside.

"Everyone knew they were going somewhere. They were at the peak of their powers at the time. They were still enjoying performing."

The Beatles, enjoyed a decade together after starting up in 1960.

Simon, of Bloomfield Grove, is working on a new book called Pop at the Pavilion and wants to hear from concert-goers, stewards and artists who went to the venue between 1963 and 1969.

Artists which played there at the time included Jimmy Hendrix, The Who, The Kinks, and The Rolling Stones.