The Morecambe And Wise Show • Saturday, April 18, 1964

About

From Anthology 1 liner notes:

Three songs from the four performed by the Beatles during an appearance on the British TV comedy series The Morecambe And Wise Show. It was a meeting of two teams at the top, for Eric Morecambe, the jokester, and Ernie Wise, his straight man, were recognised as Britain’s favourite comic act, establishing a reputation that lives on beyond Morecambe’s death in 1984, a passing that saddened the nation.

This Boy and I Want To Hold Your Hand – the B- and A-sides of the Beatles’ fifth single, a widely successful 45 released at the end of November – were performed first, before the Beatles joined Morecambe and Wise for a comedy skit, Eric mistaking the Beatles for the Kaye Sisters (a British singing trio popular in the late 1950s) and calling Ringo “Bongo”, and George Harrison describing the Beatles as “the ones with the big fat hairy heads”, a parody of Morecambe’s perennial joke that Wise had “short fat hairy legs”.

The comics and musicians then agreed to join forces for a musical number. Ernie and the Beatles kitted themselves out in boaters and striped jackets to perform Moonlight Bay (sung by Alice Faye in the 1940 movie Tin Pan Alley and by Doris Day in the 1951 film On Moonlight Bay) with piano backing provided by Kenny Powell. Eric, meanwhile, who had rushed off to dress for the performance, returned in a “Beatles” wig and collarless jacket, shouting “yeah yeah yeah”, “twist and shout” and (in the manner of Gerry and the Pacemakers’ kit) “I like it”. The collaboration ended with the Beatles’ trademark “ooohhh”, underlining the group’s willingness to self-mock – a trait that is always appreciated by a British audience.

Asked in 1994 to name his favourite of the many television programmes the Beatles had appeared on, Paul McCartney scarcely hesitated in responding The Morecambe And Wise Show.

Last updated on July 9, 2017

ATV Studios

This was the 1st and only concert played at ATV Studios.

Setlist for the concert