Beatles History - 1964:  The Beatles' world tour begins in Copenhagen, Denmark

1964: The Beatles' world tour begins in Copenhagen, Denmark

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

All Day

Be the first to attend this event.

Event Description

For all the concerts they played between 1963 and 1966, The Beatles only undertook one world tour. It began on this day in Copenhagen, Denmark, and continued in the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.
In the morning The Beatles were driven by their chauffeur, BillCorbett, to London Airport where they were taken to their aeroplane aheadof the other passengers. There they signed autographs for the captain and crew. More than 6,000 fans awaited their arrival in Copenhagen, and Danish police had to quell crowds of around 10,000 who brought the city centre to a standstill. As they checked in to the Royal Hotel fans attempted to storm the doors. Ringo Starr remained in London, having been hospitalised with tonsillitis and pharyngitis the previous day. His temporary replacement, Jimmie Nicol, had to swiftly adjust to life in the whirlwind of Beatlemania for the next five dates of the tour. The group rehearsed their set in the afternoon, and Mal Evans taped the setlist to their guitars to help them remember the running order. They were also visited by the British ambassador to Denmark. The Beatles performed two shows as the KB Hallen venue, at6pm and 9.30pm, with 4,400 fans seeing each. The set list for the first concert was: I Want To Hold Your Hand, I Saw Her Standing There, You Can't Do That, All My Loving, She Loves You, Till There Was You, Roll Over Beethoven, Can't Buy Me Love, This Boy and Long Tall Sally. The order of the first two songs was switched for the second show of the night, and forall subsequent dates in the tour. At the end of the evening the stage announcer told the audience that The Beatles would not return to the stage, and a potted delphinium was thrown in protest. As the tour progressed, occasionally Twist And Shout replaced Long Tall Sally as the closer. At the Royal Hotel after the second show The Beatles were treated to a local delicacy, smorrebrodsseddel, a type of jam sandwich. Paul McCartney also sent Ringo a telegram which read: "Didn't think we could miss you so much. Get well soon."