Lost footage of The Beatles’ performance on Top Of The Pops has been found
Lost footage captured at The Beatles’ performance on Top Of The Pops in 1964 has been found and is due to be restored.
The Fab Four appeared on the BBC music show to play Can’t Buy Me Love and You Can’t Do That, the A-side and B-side of a single they released the following day, marking their fourth UK Number One.
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The show was recorded on the 19 March 1964 at the BBC’s Television Theatre (now known as The Shepherd’s Bush Empire), in London, right at the height of Beatlemania. The footage was believed to have not been preserved by the BBC, but film preservation group Film Is Fabulous! has managed to get hold of it.
The group says it will return the digital scan and 35mm negative film to the BBC Archives, and will hold a discussion with the BBC about making the content widely available to audiences.
In a post on Facebook, it says, “Film is Fabulous! is delighted to confirm the 35mm negative presented to John Franklin at the recent British Film Collectors’ Convention (BFCC) in Oxted [in Surrey], on behalf of the family of a deceased former industry professional, contains the missing BBC film inserts of The Beatles first appearance on Top Of The Pops.”
It continues, “Passages of the film recording show the studio, the technicians, and the make-up ladies. There were four takes of the first song, Can’t Buy Me Love, with two being aborted because of technical errors. During breaks, the Beatles openly joked, and could be seen dancing to amuse themselves.
“The other song, You Can’t Do That, had two takes. During the second of these recordings John Lennon pulled a funny face when the camera came in for a ‘close-up’. It’s an amusing piece of Beatle history.”
In other Beatles news, the first-ever official Beatles fan experience is due to open in 2027 at 3 Savile Row in Mayfair, London, where the band played their final gig.
3 Savile Row is a Grade II listed mansion, and was one of the original headquarters for Apple Corps Ltd, the band’s multimedia company. They recorded their final album, Let It Be, in its basement, and played their last gig on its rooftop in 1969.
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