Our 8th episode finds the Beatles in previously unimaginable circumstances. Before the Summer of 1963, the absolute best that the band could have expected would have been a nice short run of popular hits, with coverage by the BBC and a fan base that stretched beyond their hometown borders of Liverpool.

Even that ambition would have seemed unlikely back in 1962, especially for an average band from the northern provinces of Great Britain, but the Beatles were no longer ‘average’. In actuality, they had grown beyond exceptional and created an entirely new category for themselves. By the summer of 1963, they were a British phenomenon. In America, a “beatle” was still a misspelled name for a bug, but in England, John Paul, George and Ringo were seemingly everywhere at once, and that was nearly true.

Very few bands worked as hard as the Beatles did in 1963. Before then, the band members had grown extremely tight with one another because of shared circumstances and the bond that grows from sharing a common goal. Now, they were inseparable. Touring from gig to gig, interspersed with an endless series of radio and TV appearances, and promotional stops meant that the four Beatles couldn’t get away from one another even if they wanted to. This show captures the Beatles in the middle of this frenzy, with most songs taken from their appearances on the BBC.

Songs include;

1) I’ll Get You (45 RPM b-side)

2) Lend Me Your Comb

3) That’s All Right Mama

4) Soldier of Love

5) Carol

6) Clarabella

7) A Taste of Honey

8) Memphis, Tennessee

9) Lonesome Tears in MY Eyes

10) Sweet Little Sixteen

11) Nothin’ Shakin’

12) Hippy Hippy Shake

13) So How Come Noone Loves Me

14) Matchbox

15) Love Me Do