THE BEATLES | Royal Variety Performance Programme, signed by all four Beatles, 1963

THE BEATLES

ROYAL PERFORMANCE IN THE PRESENCE OF HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN MOTHER ON THE EVENING OF MONDAY NOVEMBER 4TH 1963 AT THE PRINCE OF WALES THEATRE, LONDON

Souvenir Programme SIGNED BY ALL FOUR BEATLES on the lower cover, also signed by Marlene Dietrich, Wilfred Bramble, and Harry H. Corbett, 48 pages, folio, fully illustrated, stiff card covers

The 1963 Royal Variety Performance was a key moment for the Beatles. It came at the height of the first wave of Beatlemania: 'She Loves You' had been in the charts since August; 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' was about to be released with advance sales of a million; the London Palladium had been besieged by hysterical fans when the band played there in October ; and they had just returned from their first foreign tour (five days in Sweden) since their Hamburg days. The Royal Variety Performance was a highly prestigious and long-established charity event, attended by the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, at the London Palladium. The televised event famously gave the world one of its first tastes of John Lennon's wit when he asked for audience participation: "The ones in the cheap seats clap their hands. The rest of you just rattle your jewellery." 

The other entertainers who signed this programme also performed at the 1963 Royal Variety Performance. Marlene Dietrich sang with Burt Bacharach on piano, whilst Wilfred Bramble and Harry H. Corbett performed a sketch as their popular comedy characters Steptoe and Son. Bramble went on to play Paul's grandfather in A Hard Day's Night the following year.

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