All my loving for the Beatles who rocked the Empire Theatre stage in Sunderland 62 years ago today
Beatlemania was alive and kicking when the Fab Four performed twice on a Sunderland stage - on this day 62 years ago.
It was on November 30, 1963, that John, Paul, George and Ringo sold out the Empire Theatre.
Hundreds of fans screamed and sang as The Beatles belted out a 10-song set. They performed numbers such as Till I Saw Her Standing There, From Me To You, and All My Loving.
Fans said they could barely hear the music
Online reports say the atmosphere was one of total hysteria, with loud screaming from the audience often drowning out the music itself.
Many fans who attended later recalled that the noise level was so high they could barely hear the songs.
The Beatles performed first at 6pm that night and the show lasted for around half an hour.
They were back on stage for a second stint at 8.30pm and their set also included numbers such as Twist And Shout, and Roll Over Beethoven.
Sunderland was their 25th date
The Sunderland concert was the 25th date of a huge UK tour that saw the band performing two shows per night in 34 towns across the country.
And it could hardly have been more timely as their second album called With The Beatles had just been released eight days earlier. Half a million advance sales were secured even before the album came out.
But the November gig in Sunderland was a lot different to the two other times they performed on Wearside that year.
The Beatles were not top of the bill when they appeared at the Empire in early 1963. That honour went to 16-year-old Helen Shapiro, who had already had a number one with her song Walkin Back To Happiness.
Retro at The Rink
Fellow stars Kenny Lynch and Danny Williams also had hits at that time, with Up On The Roof and Moon River respectively. They were also in a star-studded line-up which had Dave Allen as the compere.
The Beatles meanwhile were on the rise with their first chart entries of Please Please Me and Love Me Do.
That was in February 1963 and they were back again in May to perform at The Rink.
And by the time they made their third appearance – back at the Empire – in December 1963, they were household names.
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