THE BEATLES PLAYED STOCKTON FOR THE FINAL TIME

A female fans gets on stage at The Beatles' first Stockton gig in 1963

It was 50 years ago that The Beatles rocked the Globe Cinema in Stockton.Fresh from their record-breaking tour of the States, the Fab Four were on the sixth stop of their fifth UK Tour.

They had first come to Stockton on 22 November 1963. They played at the Globe on that occasion too.

Their second album, With The Beatles, was released the same day. On the other side of the world, around half-an-hour into the concert, John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas.

There was no TV in the cinema and The Beatles heard the news via word of mouth before they went on stage. One of the support acts that evening was The Vernons Girls. Vernons Girls member Jean Owens (now Samantha Jones) remembers hearing the news from John Lennon. “Have you heard John Kennedy’s been shot?” he said as the girls made their way to the stage.

Copy of Evening Gazette October 16, 1964 reporting The Beatles' visit to Stockton

It wasn’t until after the curtain came down that they found out President Kennedy was dead. Rumours spread that the second house, due to begin at 8:30, would be cancelled but the show went on.

 

The Beatles returned to Stockton on their next UK tour 11 months later.

It would be their last visit to the town.

They had played in Manchester the night before and had been driven to Stockton in their famous Austin Princess by chauffeur Alf Bicknell.

They arrived in Stockton on Election day, Thursday 15 October.Prior to the first of two houses that night, The Beatles were interviewed in their hotel room by Tyne Tees Television news crew.

Sat around a table, drinking cups of tea and smoking cigarettes, The Beatles were asked about the elections. “Alright if you win” joked John.

The Fab Four were in a playful mood, joking that they were still on the dole - “Don’t tell Harold (Wilson)” said George. John and Ringo joked about taxes on cigarettes.

“Don’t tax them, Harold” pleaded John with Ringo adding “It’s bad enough as it is”.

Paul was asked if he planned to one day become Prime Minister.He dismissed the job saying it would be “a hard day’s grind”. The interview was screened the following evening on North-East Newview.

The Beatles arrived at the Globe cinema on High Street an hour behind schedule.

However, they still found time to attend the press conference arranged by the cinema manager George Skelton.

When the press entered Skelton’s office they were faced with only three Beatles. Still in a playful mood, Ringo had hid in a cupboard until he was discovered by an Gazette reporter.

The Beatles then took some time to meet fans backstage before the show began.Fans paid between ten shillings and 6 pence and five shillings and 6 pence for the privilege to see The Beatles perform live.A total of 2,500 fans packed the Globe for the first house but not everybody was lucky enough to see their heroes live.

Local girl Geraldine Davison had been bought a ticket for her 20th birthday.

Unfortunately, Geraldine was in a wheelchair and the cinema was considered unsafe for her and she was refused admission to the show.

Geraldine’s friend bought her a Beatles record instead. Geraldine then wrote to Ringo, explaining her predicament and wishing him luck for the show.

To her surprise, Ringo sent her a signed photo and Geraldine was delighted. That wasn’t the end of her luck.Cinema manager George Skelton presented her with a tour programme signed by all four Beatles.The first house began at 6.15pm and along with The Beatles, fans also got to see Motown star Mary Wells.The Queen Of Motown, as she was known, had just had an international hit with My Guy. The other support acts were all managed by Brian Epstein’s company NEMS.

They were Sounds Incorporated, The Remo Four, Tommy Quickly, Michael Haslam and The Rustiks. The compère for the evening was comedian Bob Bain.

When The Beatles came on the stage the screaming started and the jelly babies began to fly. In an interview, George had said that he liked jelly babies but then joked that John always stole his.

Beatlemania greeted the Fab Four at both of their Stockton shows

 

Thousands of fans sent both George and John boxes of jelly babies in the post before the habit of throwing them onto the stage began. There was four ambulance men and six nurses on duty that night and four girls fainted during the first house.

But not everybody in the audience was a screaming teen. 68-year-old Winifred Kirby had taken her granddaughter Susan to the show.

During The Beatles’ performance, Winifred kept her fingers firmly in her ears.

The Stockton Express reported that The Beatles enjoyed themselves more than The Rolling Stones had the previous month.

John was waving comically at the crowd and the other three Beatles were all smiles and enthusiasm. They played for half an hour, playing ten songs in total.

They began with two rocking covers, Twist And Shout and Money (That’s What I Want). They then played five songs; Can’t Buy Me Love, Things We Said Today, I’m Happy Just To Dance With You, I Should Have Known Better and If I Fell.

All of which came from their latest LP and first movie A Hard Day’s Night. For their next song Ringo took the mike and sang I Wanna Be Your Man before the group finished off with their latest chart-topper, A Hard Day’s Night and the Little Richard number Long Tall Sally. The Beatles played a second show that night at 8.30pm before travelling to Hull the next day.

They were paid a total £850 for their appearance in the town. 50 years later the memories of the day The Beatles came to Stockton are still strong.

The Globe Cinema was opened in 1935 and is now a Grade II listed building. The cinema was closed in 1990 and is currently undergoing restoration work.

A Globe Theatre has stood on the site since 1913. During the 1950s and 1960s it played host to many famous acts including Buddy Holly, The Rolling Stones and Cilla Black.