** The following events in Beatles history all took place on November 23. **
[B] 1963
The Beatles, on a tour of Britain, perform two shows at City Hall,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
[B] 1964
US release of double LP "The Beatles Story" (Capitol). Documentary
album with mostly narrative, a few interviews, and a very brief
clip of "Twist and Shout" from the August 23 concert at the
Hollywood Bowl. 17 weeks on Billboard chart; highest position #7.
[B] 1964
US release of Beatles single "I Feel Fine/She's a Woman" (Capitol).
11 weeks on Billboard chart; highest position #1.
[B] 1964
The Beatles tape an appearance for the television program "Ready,
Steady, Go!" They lip-sync to their songs "I Feel Fine", "She's a
Woman", "Baby's in Black", and "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey". They
also give an interview with host Keith Fordyce. Recorded at
Wembley Studios, Wembley. Broadcast on November 27.
[B] 1965
The Beatles, at Twickenham Film Studios, shoot 10 black and white
promo films for 5 songs (9 of which will eventually be broadcast on
television), miming to "We Can Work It Out", "Day Tripper",
"Help!", "Ticket to Ride", and "I Feel Fine". Three versions of
"We Can Work It Out" are filmed, all featuring John sitting at an
organ, one opening with a photo of John with a sunflower over one
eye, and one with The Beatles wearing their "Shea Stadium" suits.
Three versions of "Day Tripper" are shot, while one version each of
"Help!" and "Ticket to Ride" are filmed. Two versions of "I Feel
Fine" are done. Many of the promo clips will be broadcast on "Top
of the Pops" and "Thank Your Lucky Stars" in the UK, and one film
each of "We Can Work It Out" and "Day Tripper" will be shown on the
US television program "Hullabaloo" (January 3, 1966).
[B] 1967
The British television show "Top of the Pops" broadcasts The
Beatles' "Hello Goodbye". However, since the UK Musician's Union
had instituted a ban on lip-sync performances, the "Hello Goodbye"
film promos that The Beatles had recorded at the Saville Theatre on
November 10 could not be used. So "Top of the Pops" broadcasts a
film clip from "A Hard Day's Night" as the song "Hello Goodbye" is
played. To put it mildly, The Beatles are annoyed.
[G] 1967
George Harrison in the recording studio (Studio Three, EMI Studios,
London). Producing another "Wonderwall" recording session. He
works with two oboists, one trumpeter, and two flautists.
[B] 1968
"Hey Jude" is the #1 single in the US for the ninth week in a row.
This is its last week at #1.
[G] 1970
US release of George Harrison single "My Sweet Lord/Isn't It a
Pity" (Apple). 14 weeks on Billboard chart; highest position #1.
[O] 1970
US release of Stephen Stills LP "Stephen Stills", which contains
the songs "To a Flame" and "We Are Not Helpless". Ringo Starr
(using the name "Richie") plays drums on those two songs. Released
in the UK on November 27, 1970.
[R] 1973
UK release of Ringo Starr LP "Ringo" (Apple). Songs: "I'm the
Greatest", "Hold On (Have You Seen My Baby)", "Photograph",
"Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond)", "You're Sixteen", "Oh
My My", "Step Lightly", "Six O'Clock", "Devil Woman" and "You and
Me (Babe)".
[B] 2000
The Beatles' compilation album "1" hits number one on the music
charts of 19 countries in its first week of release. Included
among those countries are the UK, US, Japan, France, Germany,
Canada, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and Venezuela. This
beats The Beatles' previous record of topping the charts in 10
countries within the first week of release of their November 1995
album "The Beatles Anthology 1". During the past week 750,000
copies of "1" were sold in Japan; 595,000 copies were sold in the
US (second to the 855,500 copies of "Anthology 1" sold during its
first week); and 313,000 copies were sold in the UK, making "1" the
fastest-selling album of the year. This degree of success was
somewhat unexpected since the album consists of a collection of The
Beatles' number one singles, all originally released between 1962
and 1970. US sales were more than double initial projections; "1"
becomes The Beatles' 19th album to top US charts. US sales were
undoubtedly boosted by the November 17 broadcast of a television
special covering The Beatles' career, "The Beatles Revolution",
which was shown on ABC-TV and which attracted an estimated 8.7
million viewers. The album "1" was advertised heavily during the
broadcast. The TV special, a joint production of ABC-TV and the
cable channel VH1, will be re-broadcast this evening on VH1.
Additional interest was generated by the opening of The Beatles'
first official website, "www.thebeatles.com", on November 13 and
the release of the book "The Beatles Anthology" on October 5. The
surviving Beatles' reaction to the success of "1"? According to a
spokesman, they are "dead chuffed".
[B] 2000
US cable channel VH1 re-broadcasts a 2-hour television special,
"The Beatles Revolution", about the career of The Beatles and their
impact upon world music and culture. Among those who were
interviewed for the special and whose comments are included are
Eric Idle, Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, Lenny Kravitz, Sting,
and Mike Meyers. The show, a joint production between VH1 and
ABC-TV, was originally broadcast by ABC on November 17. VH1 is
scheduled to broadcast "The Beatles Revolution" again on November
25. Following tonight's showing is a one-hour installment in VH1's
"Legend" series about John Lennon, and that is followed by a
one-hour installment in VH1's "Behind the Music" series about
Julian Lennon.
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