We love you yeah, yeah yeah! Relive Beatlemania at Tamworth Assembly Rooms

Get ready to twist, shout and relive the songs of yesterday when Beatlemania returns to Tamworth Assembly Rooms - 57 years to the day that the famous band performed at the venue in 1963.

February 1st, 2020 will see the Counterfeit Beatles take to the stage of the new look Tamworth Assembly Rooms in a night that is set to excite the audience (almost) as much as the original group did in the ‘60s.

The Counterfeit Beatles are considered to be one of the UK’s most sought after international acts, regularly performing in high profile gigs, such as headlining Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival for a crowd of 80,000. They have also performed at Beatlemania in Greece - an event which had full TV and radio coverage.

The Counterfeit Beatles bring an authentic Beatles experience to the stage, using equipment that is an exact replica of the most influential band of all time, as well as several costume changes to showcase each era of The Beatles’ fame.

This event comes to Tamworth Assembly Rooms to celebrate the 57th anniversary of The Beatle’s performance at the venue on Friday, February 1st 1963, just months before they were rocketed to superstardom. Whilst not yet a household name, at that time the band was gaining in popularity, and had recorded ‘Please, Please Me’ two weeks before their visit to Tamworth, which reached Number 2 in the charts.

The Beatles’ visit to Tamworth brought the town’s teenagers out for a night of pop rock despite the ‘Great Freeze’ the country had been experiencing at the time. Even though The Beatles were not taking to the stage until 11:45pm, doors to the venue had to be closed at 9pm and hundreds were turned away.

The lucky few who managed to secure entry were given a night to remember. An attendee of the 1963 event, Tony McDonald, wrote in the Herald: “The Beatles are one of Britain’s top instrumental vocal groups, and I, for one, was very grateful seeing them at Tamworth.”

The Tamworth Herald reviewed the event, writing that ‘local teenagers gave hit recording group The Beatles a rip-roaring welcome’ and ‘such was the reception they got that The Beatles have promised to return – real soon’. While this return never did happen, as it was only months before Beatlemania took the world by storm, the Counterfeit Beatles will be bringing Beatles’ magic back to the Tamworth Assembly Rooms stage.

If anyone has any memories or memorabilia from the 1963 event, the Tamworth Assembly Rooms team would be very interested to hear about it. You can get in touch by emailing tarartsdevelopment@tamworth.gov.uk. 

The Beatles’ connection to Tamworth was celebrated as part of this year’s Tamworth in Bloom, with a raised flowerbed display on Moor Street Island, in homage to the acts that have performed at the historic Tamworth Assembly Rooms over the years.

The tribute band will be taking to the stage of the new-look Tamworth Assembly Rooms as part of the opening season, after the venue has undergone a major £5 million refurbishment. The ambitious project to bring the historic Tamworth Assembly Rooms into the 21st century includes extensions to the side and rear to create a more modern and versatile building, with more space for a wider variety of events and entertainment.       

Doors to the event will open at 7pm for a 7:30pm start to the show. Tickets cost £20 and £18 concessions. They are available online at www.tamworthassemblyrooms.co.uk, in person from Tamworth Tourist Information Centre in Marmion House weekdays, Tamworth Castle on Saturdays, or by calling the Box Office on 01827 709618. Tickets for this event are selling fast with only a quarter remaining, so book soon to avoid disappointment.

You can stay in touch with all the news about the Tamworth Assembly Rooms refurbishment and the opening season of events by following the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TamworthAssemblyRooms/.