The Beatles Autographs - Presented by Frank Caiazzo

SI28. AN ORIGINAL PAUL McCARTNEY HANDWRITTEN BEATLES STAGE USED CONCERT SET LIST WITH 20 SONGS IN TOTAL –
           MAKING IT THE MOST EXTENSIVE BEATLES SET LIST KNOWN

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Here is a rare shot of The Beatles onstage at the Azena Ballroom on April 2, 1963,
taken by an audience member. A reproduction photograph of the best quality possible
of this photo is included with the set list:

Here are 2 letters signed letters from Roy Simmonite
detailing the fabulous story of how he obtained the Azena Ballroom set list.
One is completely handwritten by Mr. Simmonite:

An advertisement in the Sheffield Star newspaper
for The Beatles appearance at the Azena Ballroom on April 2, 1963:

A newspaper clipping with a photograph of The Beatles onstage
taken onstage by a Sheffield Star reporter:

Reproduction photographs of these 3 newspaper clippings will come with the set list.

Among the most prized of all investment-grade Beatles signed or handwritten material are stage-used set lists. These were not done for the gratification of a fan, but for the group's own private use. That these set lists survived the decades at all is incredible and, in fact, so few still exist as they were created for the moment -- to be used by the band for reference for a very short period of time and then tossed out.

There is simply no denying that, in the realm of handwritten artifacts, few pieces can approach the scarcity, historical appeal and intrinsic value of an original Beatles stage-used set list. Particularly in the early days when their show repertoire was in a constant state of flux, a set list was needed to guide their performance, to literally give them a quick reference while the concert was in progress, for the order of songs they would play at a given show. These were hastily written out -- often just prior to the show -- on whatever paper was available at the moment. The lists could be written on hotel notepaper, envelopes, paper scraps, promotional cards, even cigarette packs.

To demonstrate the extreme rarity of an authentic Beatles handwritten set list, it should be noted that, to date, only around a dozen have ever surfaced…..including those still owned by The Beatles themselves. Of these scant few still in existence, several of these lists were attached to the guitars of either John Lennon, Paul McCartney or George Harrison, and those have remained either on the guitar(s), or have since been taken off – yet kept nearby.

Of those set lists that found their way into the collector’s market (just over half a dozen), these are all tucked away in collections and rarely ever become available on the marketplace. With so few known to exist, one can only imagine just how infrequently a Beatles set list comes onto the market. The vast majority are in the hands of private collectors and will likely stay there. On a rare occasion, one will become available to those astute enough to appreciate their historical significance and extreme desirability.

Presented for your consideration, one of very few Beatles handwritten, concert-used set lists that have ever become available for the private collector -- this one dating from the spring of 1963 – written out completely in the hand of Paul McCartney for an extraordinarily long concert performance that The Beatles gave on April 2, 1963, at the Azena Ballroom in Sheffield, England. The concert was promoted by then 21 year old Peter Stringfellow, who went on to become a highly successful London-based night club owner. Starting in 1962, Stringfellow was renting St. Aidan’s Church Hall in Sheffield (also known as the “Black Cat Club”) on Friday nights and presenting local mediocre bands. Because the demand for tickets far exceeded the fan capacity at the Black Cat Club, Stringfellow was forced to find a much bigger venue, and he moved the show to the Azena Ballroom.

The songs that were to be played by The Beatles were written on the back of a March 1963 group Parlophone Records promotional photo card which measures 5 ½” x 3 ½”. The overall condition of the card is excellent, especially considering that it's 57 years old. (As a side note, the photo on the card was taken on Monday, January 21, 1963 at EMI House in London by none other than Angus McBean, the photographer credited with taking the iconic image used on the cover of the Please Please Me LP.)

The reverse of this card boasts a staggering list of no less than 20 songs all handwritten by McCartney, making this by far the longest of the known Beatles set lists for a concert that the band did in their final formation, after hiring Ringo Starr on August 18, 1962. Represented are 13 songs which were recorded by The Beatles and appear on vinyl on the Parlophone label, including 9 of the 14 tracks found on their debut album “Please Please Me”, which came out only 11 days before this concert. The recorded songs found on this list are:

“I Saw Her Standing There”, “Chains”, “Misery”, “Love Me Do”, “Baby It’s You”, “Please Please Me”, “Ask Me Why”, “Roll Over Beethoven”, “A Taste of Honey”, “Boys”, “Do You Want To Know A Secret”, “From Me To You”, “Please Please Me” (an encore performance) and “Long Tall Sally”. “From Me To You”, The Beatles’ 3^rd single in the United Kingdom which reached #1 in the charts and stayed there for 7 weeks, was released as a single 9 days after it was performed on stage at the Azena Ballroom.

The other 6 songs that The Beatles sang that evening were “Sweet Little Sixteen”, “Beautiful Dreamer”, “Hey Good Looking”, “3 Cool Cats”, “Some Other Guy” and “Keep Your Hands Off” (My Baby) – all cover songs that The Beatles were performing on and off throughout this exciting time period them – with “3 Cool Cats” appearing on the ‘Decca Audition Tapes’.

The Azena Ballroom concert was exceptionally long in comparison to other gigs they were doing at the time, which only averaged between 10 and 11 songs. The show that was guided by this set list was literally almost 2 concerts in one - with a break in between sets – as noted by Paul’s horizontal line midway down the card.

This incredible set list was obtained on the night of the concert, found left backstage after the show, by Roy Simmonite – who was the drummer for opening band “Mark Stone and the Aidens”. Included are two detailed signed letters from him – one handwritten and one typed, as well as color copies of: a photograph of him with his band onstage, a newspaper clipping advertising the event, a couple of clippings related to the Azena Ballroom show and also a quality reproduction of a photograph of The Beatles performing onstage that evening.

Keep in mind that set lists like this were never intended for fans. Most were either tossed out or kept for posterity by members of the group. The rarity of this piece cannot be overstated.

And so, for collectors of the rarest of the rare Beatles artifacts, opportunity knocks. If you've ever aspired to an original Beatles set list, here is your chance to obtain this top-drawer, rare and impressive investment-grade Beatles piece.