CP4. Fully Signed "The Beatles Show" Program From September 1963
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CP4. Fully Signed "The Beatles Show" Program From September 1963
On Wednesday, September 4, 1963, The Beatles launched a four-night run of shows
promoted by John Smith, a leading London concert promoter. This wasn't the first
series of Beatles gigs Smith had promoted. His first booking with the group had
been for a show in Oxford the previous February. He had also booked several
dates in support of Brian Epstein's Mersey Beat Showcase starting in Croydon on
April 25th of that year. Because several of these Showcase concerts had to be
cancelled, Epstein offered Smith this September mini-tour, for which the
headlining Beatles earned £250 a night. The shows, compered by Ted King, also
featured supporting acts Ian Crawford, Mike Berry, The Fourmost, Rockin' Henri
and Patrick Dane's Quiet Five.
The four-night package kicked off on September 4th at the Gaumont Cinema in
Worcester, followed the next night by a show at the Gaumont Cinema in Taunton.
On the 6th - the third night - they played the Odeon Cinema in Luton before
concluding the "tour" on the 7th with
a show at Fairfield Hall in Croydon.
Smith had a special 8-page program printed for this 4-nighter and the one
offered here has been signed by all four Beatles on the back cover. This
autographed page features four individual Beatle portraits taken in November
1962 by the group's close friend from their Hamburg days, Astrid Kirchherr. Each
Beatle has signed beautifully next to his own portrait
in dark blue ballpoint pen. Because these shows took place at a time when fans
still had in-person (though increasingly more limited) access to the band, this
program was likely signed after one of the four shows on the tour.
The program, which measures 7" x 9-1/2", has been folded vertically down the
middle and there is some wear to the top of the front cover. There is also a
very light, almost imperceptible horizontal fold on the program. None of these
folds affect the cover signatures on the back cover which remain as bold as the
day they were signed.
From their fledgling days as The Quarrymen in 1956-57 through the end of August
1966, it was all about touring for The Beatles. Still, Beatles-signed concert
programs are very rare indeed and are seldom offered for sale. This is your
opportunity to own a gorgeous, authentic example signed during the group's
heyday as the most popular act in their native Britain -- just five months
before they arrived in America and, in effect, conquered the world…..$22,500
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