Saturday, March 9, 1963
Concert • By The Beatles • Part of the Spring 1963 Tommy Roe / Chris Montez Tour
Last updated on March 23, 2022
Location: Granada Cinema • East Ham • UK
Concert Mar 07, 1963 • UK • Nottingham
Concert Mar 08, 1963 • UK • Harrogate
Concert Mar 09, 1963 • UK • East Ham
Concert Mar 10, 1963 • UK • Birmingham
Radio show Mar 12, 1963 • Here We Go
From March 9th 1963 – The Beatles first Concert in London – Beatles in London:
On 9th March 1963, the Beatles played their first official concert in London at the Granada Cinema, East Ham. Although the Beatles were already huge in Liverpool and Hamburg, Brian Epstein delayed their London debut until they had a hit record. The Granada was typical of the Art Deco Cinemas around London that hosted pop concerts. Most of the week it would the latest films, but occasionally it would act as a music venue. The named stars of the tour were Americans Chris Montez and Tommy Roe, but the Beatles were getting so popular that it was decided that they should close the half half of the show. During this tour they sang: Love Me Do, Misery, A Taste of Honey, Do You Want to Know a Secret, Please Please Me and I Saw Her Stand There. They had about 15-20 minutes on stage – a far cry from the 6 hours a night they were doing in Hamburg only a few months before. Despite hosting many great concerts in the 60s, when demand for the cinema dropped, the Granada became a Bingo club. The building is now a ‘Flipout’ Trampoline arena.

This was the 1st concert played at Granada Cinema.
A total of 2 concerts have been played there • 1963 • Mar 9• Nov 9
Written by Bobby Scott, Ric Marlow
See song statistics for “Spring 1963 Tommy Roe / Chris Montez Tour”
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Malcolm Bland • Aug 31, 2025 • 3 months ago
My recollection, which may be faulty given the passing of time, is that there were 2 performances that night with Chris Montez top of the bill for the first. Such was the reaction to The Beatles that they were promoted to headliners for the second show with Chris Montez relegated to closing the first half.
I also remember rightly or wrongly that the Beatles final number of the evening was Twist and Shout with John's voice showing signs of strain but none the less exciting for that.
I've seen a hell of a lot of live concerts since then and the fact that the memory still lingers is, I believe, an indication that they were at the height of their powers as live performers at this time.
As an aside: I saw both performances, not because I had friends in high places but because a mate sold official programmes outside the Granada and smuggled me in for the one I hadn't paid for
The PaulMcCartney Project • Sep 07, 2025 • 2 months ago
Thanks Malcolm ! Awesome memories you are sharing with us !