The Ed Sullivan Show

So you’re 15 when you meet John — he’s 16, I believe. And then you go through the Quarrymen, Johnny and the Moondogs, the Silver Beetles, and then we land on the Beatles. We were just talking about being in this city right now, in New York, and thinking about when you arrived here on February 7th, 1964, at JFK, to screaming fans, and then went to the press conference at the Plaza, to the almost hysterical media to greet you, and then of course played the Ed Sullivan Show a couple of days later. When you look back on that time, or you see video of it — what do you see? What do you feel? What do you remember?

Well, I remember the thrill that it was for us, because, as I’ve said, all the music we loved came from America. So we just loved the idea of America. Now, then it was “give me your huddled masses” — it was the land of democracy. So it’s sad these days to see it getting eroded a bit. But, in answer to your question, it was a thrill. The fact that our music was on the radio, on American radio, in America — it was like, “Wow, unbelievable.” We didn’t quite know some of the TV shows we were doing. Like Ed Sullivan — we’d never heard of him. He was only really famous over here; he didn’t make it to England. And people like Walter Winchell, who were huge names over here. And they’d say, “It’s really big,” and we’d go, “Oh.” It didn’t faze us. It was just like, “Okay, it’s another gig.” But I look back and I see these young boys being amazed at where they’ve landed and what they’re going through. And, as I said before, because we knew each other and we’d all come up together and done a lot of stuff before we came to America, it was great — we all experienced the same kind of things, and we were all in it together, like a little tight group.

But when you get off that plane and you see that crowd and you see the genuine hysteria — you experienced some of that in the UK, but you maybe didn’t expect that here?

No. We didn’t know whether it was going to happen here. We couldn’t work out how it would happen — “How would they know we were at the airport?” But what actually happened is, the captain of a plane always wires ahead to the airport he’s going into, and he heard there were loads of fans. So we knew there were loads of fans, and that made us very excited. So that’s great — what a great welcome. And so then we came down the stairs, and we felt very at home.

Paul McCartney – From interview with NBC, May 31, 2026

From Paul McCartney’s “1964: Eyes of the Storm” — When the Beatles Came to Miami – YouTube:

In a series of conversations filmed at Books & Books in Miami, Florida, some of the Beatlemaniacs who greeted the Fab Four during the band’s first trip to America – then just kids – reflect upon the images of their city found in Paul McCartney’s new book 1964: EYES OF THE STORM, the wonder of meeting one’s heroes, and the power of photography to return us to life’s pivotal moments.

Deauville Hotel

This was the 1st and only concert played at Deauville Hotel.

Setlist for the rehearsal

1. She Loves You

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

2. This Boy

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

3. All My Loving

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

4. I Saw Her Standing There

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

5. From Me To You

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

6. I Want To Hold Your Hand

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

Setlist for the concert

1. She Loves You

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Album Available on The Ultimate Live Collection Vol. 04

2. This Boy

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Album Available on The Ultimate Live Collection Vol. 04

3. All My Loving

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Album Available on The Ultimate Live Collection Vol. 04

4. I Saw Her Standing There

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Album Available on The Ultimate Live Collection Vol. 04

5. From Me To You

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Album Available on The Ultimate Live Collection Vol. 04

6. I Want To Hold Your Hand

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Album Available on The Ultimate Live Collection Vol. 04

Going further