On this day in 1962, The Beatles’ first performance in Wales took place at the Regent Dansette Ballroom in Rhyl.
Admission cost just five shillings (25p), and the night lasted from 8pm to 11.30pm. The Beatles were paid £4 for their performance.
They shared a bill with a local group, The Strangers. They were Jeff Sutton (guitar & vocals), Dennis Rothwell (guitar), Pat Shuttle (bass guitar) and Pete Williams (drums).
A mix of tourists and locals were in the audience, and were more likely to have been at the venue to dance than to listen to the live music. The stage was made from wood laid over billiard tables.
The Regent Dansette was a ballroom situated at 38 High Street above a branch of Burton’s tailors. The manager of the venue was Joe Young, whose wife worked on the cash desk. When she arrived she was surprised to hear John Lennon playing classical music on a grand piano kept in one of the rooms.
Prior to the concert The Beatles spent a few hours exploring Rhyl, including the local funfair.
The Beatles came to Rhyl in the early 60s just before they became famous, and to get a bit more cash they crossed the Foryd Bridge and came to The Clwyd Hotel (now The Harbour) and asked my dad, Haydn Davies, who was the first licensee on the North Wales coast to put on cabaret in a pub, for some extra work. But dad being dad turned them away saying ‘I’m not having long haired yobos like that in my pub!’ Oh if he only knew.
Brent Davies
The Beatles never returned to the Regent Dansette, but they did perform again in Rhyl, on 19th and 20th July 1963. Their other performances in Wales included Prestatyn on 24th November 1962; Mold on 24th January 1963; Abergavenny on 22nd June 1963; Llandudno from 12–17th August 1963; and Cardiff on 27th May 1963, 7th November 1964 and 12th December 1965.
Comments from BBC website include:
JoAnne Francis, Rhyl: My grandfather had the Regent Ballroom in Rhyl and the Beatles played there before Ringo joined the band. The stage was wood built over the billiard tables and my nan said during the day John Lennon was playing classical music on the piano, and lots of girls arrived to see them before the gig and my nan sent them away.
Richard Evans: I saw The Beatles – with Pete Best on drums – at the Embassy Dansette Ballroom in Rhyl on 14th July 1962. I think it cost 2/3 to get in – that’s about 14p today. They were supported by local band The Strangers.
Jess Ballard, Holywell: I was working in the cash box [at Rhyl] at the time and so was my husband, the band leader who went under the name ‘Duke Gordon and the Ritz Showband’. The main Beatles hits at the time I believe were ‘Please Please me’ and ‘Love Me Do’.
Brent Davies: The Beatles came to Rhyl in the early 60s just before they became famous, and to get a bit more cash they crossed the Foryd Bridge and came to The Clwyd Hotel (now The Harbour) and asked my dad, Haydn Davies, who was the first licensee on the North Wales coast to put on cabaret in a pub, for some extra work. Dad being dad turned them away saying ‘I’m not having long haired yobos like that in my pub!’
