Wednesday, December 8, 1965
Sheffield • 6:15pm show
Concert • By The Beatles • Part of the The Beatles' 1965 UK Tour
Last updated on November 23, 2025
Wednesday, December 8, 1965
Concert • By The Beatles • Part of the The Beatles' 1965 UK Tour
Last updated on November 23, 2025
Location: Gaumont Theatre • Sheffield • UK
Concert Dec 07, 1965 • UK • Manchester • 8:45pm show
Interview Dec 07, 1965 • The Beatles interview for WDRC
Concert Dec 08, 1965 • UK • Sheffield • 6:15pm show
Concert Dec 08, 1965 • UK • Sheffield • 8:50pm show
The previous day, The Beatles had travelled by road from Liverpool to Manchester to perform two concerts. As the two cities are only 35 miles apart, they had planned to return to Liverpool after the shows. However, due to a thick mist, they were forced to remain in Manchester and were booked into the Midland Hotel for the night — despite having brought no luggage with them.
On this morning, Neil Aspinall’s first task was to buy toothpaste and four toothbrushes. The Beatles and their entourage then set off from Manchester to Sheffield. Since the start of their UK tour in Glasgow, they had faced challenging winter conditions, and their eighty-mile journey to Sheffield was no exception, with heavy rain and flooded sections of the road.
Before the concerts, they checked into their accommodation — a small country club in the village of Spinkhill, a few miles outside Sheffield.
The Beatles performed two concerts in Sheffield, the first at 6:15 pm and the second at 8:50 pm. Also appearing on the bill were the Moody Blues, the Paramounts, Beryl Marsden, Steve Aldo, the Koobas, and the Marionettes.
Gaumont manager Harry Murray had devised an unlikely way of getting The Beatles into the theatre, but it worked very well. They phoned him five minutes before they were due to arrive and he told them to come straight to the front entrance. Police and security men were gathered at the stage door when the car arrived at the front, dropped them off, and they walked straight in, in sight of the large queues but before anyone could realise what was happening.
Ringo commented: “It was unusual for us. Normally we have to hide in vans or go in through back entrances. They did not realise outside what was going on.”
From “Beatlemania! The Real Story of the Beatles UK Tours 1963-1965” by Martin Creasy, 2011
Before the show, Jerry Stevens — the compère for the entire tour and a native of Sheffield — presented The Beatles with two Top Stars Special awards. One was for being voted the most popular band, and the other for “Help!” being voted the most popular single of the year, as chosen by the readers of the Sheffield Star newspaper.
The Sheffield Star said they were presenting The Beatles with an award and as I was a local guy on the show could I do it? I said yeah, that would be great. They published a picture and it is one of my proudest pictures – there I am up on the stage surrounded by the four Beatles. I remember John saying to me – I’m not sure if it was that night – that it’s terrible, playing your home town. He didn’t really enjoy playing Liverpool, he said, because so many people knew them. A lot of people in showbiz felt like that, but I was quite surprised when he said that, though I knew exactly what he meant.
Jerry Stevens – 2010 interview – From “Beatlemania! The Real Story of the Beatles UK Tours 1963-1965” by Martin Creasy, 2011
NEIL ASPINALL, THE BEATLES’ ROAD MANAGER CONTINUES HIS DIARY
Wednesday, 8th December
My very first job this morning was to hurry out and buy tubes of toothpaste and four toothbrushes!
Today we drove from Manchester to Sheffield, an eighty-mile trip which was made a little hazardous by large patches of flood water on the roads beyond the famous Snake Pass.
“I wonder how much it would cost to make this thing watertight,” chuckled George as we splashed through the floods.
“Can you drive a submarine, Alf?” John asked their chauffeur.
As soon as we arrived at the Gaumont Theatre in Sheffield, the press wanted to see George. Apparently Pattie Boyd’s London flat had been broken into while she was away. George’s gold disc award for A Hard Day’s Night — he’d left it at Pattie’s place a short time ago — was amongst the stolen items.
Tonight we are staying some miles out of Sheffield at a quiet little country club situated in the village of Spinkhill. […]
From Fabulous208 – August 6, 1966
Stolen Beatle Record
SHEFFIELD, England (AP) — The Beatles’ George Harrison is asking for public help in getting back his “golden” record of one of their hits, “A Hard Day’s Night.”
He said he gave the record to a girl friend, Patti Boyd, and it was stolen from her London apartment.
“The disc is not actually worth much, but there is a great deal of sentimental value,” Harrison said.
From The Daily Times – December 9, 1965
This was the 1st concert played at Gaumont Theatre.
A total of 2 concerts have been played there • 1965 • Dec 8 6:15pm show• Dec 8 8:50pm show
Written by George Harrison
Written by Johnny Russell, Voni Morrison
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