The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride) – the final BBC radio session – 26 May 1965

May 26, 2026

The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride) – the final BBC radio session – 26 May 1965

Wednesday 26 May 1965 | Radio, The Beatles
Piccadilly Studios, BBC, London

On 26 May 1965, The Beatles recorded their 52nd and final musical appearance for BBC radio — just over three years after their first. The session took place at the BBC's Piccadilly Studios in London between 2.30pm and 6pm, including rehearsal time. It was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 7 June 1965 under the title The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride) — a deliberate change from the usual From Us To You format, made at the group's insistence. They felt the old title no longer reflected their maturing image.

BBC Piccadilly Studios, London — The Beatles recorded their 52nd and final BBC radio session here on 26 May 1965.

The Beatles and BBC Radio

The Beatles' relationship with BBC radio had begun in March 1962, when they recorded their first session for the corporation. Over the following three years, they made 52 radio appearances — an extraordinary body of work that documented the group's development from a Liverpool beat group into the most important band in the world. The BBC sessions were, for much of this period, the primary way in which British audiences heard The Beatles perform live material: the recordings were fresher and more varied than the studio albums, and often included covers and rarities that never appeared on official releases.

By May 1965, however, the group's relationship with BBC radio had run its course. The demands of touring, recording, and filmmaking left little time for radio sessions, and the format — recording multiple songs in an afternoon for broadcast weeks later — felt increasingly at odds with where The Beatles were as artists. The 26 May session was their last.

The Title Change

The programme had previously been broadcast under the title From Us To You — a play on 'From Me To You', their 1963 number one single. By 1965, The Beatles felt this title was too closely associated with their earlier, more straightforwardly pop image. Help! was imminent, Rubber Soul was months away, and the group were conscious of the distance they had travelled since 1963. The new title — The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride) — referenced their current single and signalled, however subtly, that something had changed.

The Session

The session ran from 2.30pm to 6pm at Piccadilly Studios, including rehearsal time. The Beatles were interviewed by host Denny Piercy, and the programme also featured other guests. Seven songs were recorded:

'Ticket To Ride'
'Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby'
'I'm A Loser'
'The Night Before'
'Honey Don't'
'Dizzy Miss Lizzy'
'She's A Woman'

'Ticket To Ride' — released as a single on 9 April 1965 and the group's ninth UK number one — was the obvious centrepiece of the session, and gave the programme its title. It was one of the most sonically adventurous singles The Beatles had released to that point, with its distinctive droning guitar figure and Lennon's bleak lyric. John Lennon later described it as "the first heavy metal record".

'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' — the Larry Williams rock and roll song that would appear on the UK edition of Help! in August 1965 — was a regular live staple, with Lennon's vocal performance one of the most viscerally exciting in the group's BBC catalogue.

'Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby' and 'Honey Don't' were Carl Perkins songs that George Harrison and Ringo Starr respectively sang lead on — a reminder that the BBC sessions, unlike the studio albums, gave all four Beatles regular lead vocal spots.

'I'm A Loser' and 'She's A Woman' were both from the Beatles For Sale / Beatles '65 era, while 'The Night Before' was a new McCartney song that would appear on Help!.

Live At The BBC

The recordings of 'Ticket To Ride' and 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' from this session were released on Live At The BBC in November 1994 — the double album that compiled 56 BBC recordings from 1963 to 1965 and became one of the best-selling Beatles releases of the decade. The album reached number one in both the UK and the US and introduced a generation of listeners to the breadth and vitality of The Beatles' BBC work.

A second volume, On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2, was released in November 2013, compiling a further 63 BBC recordings.

The End of an Era

The 26 May 1965 session marked the end of The Beatles' BBC radio career — a body of work that spanned 52 appearances, hundreds of songs, and three of the most transformative years in the history of popular music. The group would continue to make television appearances and give interviews, but they never returned to record a BBC radio session. By the time Rubber Soul was released in December 1965, the idea of The Beatles spending an afternoon recording covers of Carl Perkins songs for the Light Programme felt like a memory from another world.

Key Facts: 26 May 1965

Session: The Beatles' 52nd and final BBC radio session
Studio: Piccadilly Studios, BBC, London
Session time: 2.30pm–6pm (including rehearsals)
Broadcast: BBC Light Programme, 7 June 1965
Programme title: The Beatles (Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride)
Previous title: From Us To You
Host: Denny Piercy
Songs recorded: 7
Released on: Live At The BBC (1994) — 'Ticket To Ride' and 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy'
First BBC session: March 1962

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was this The Beatles' last BBC radio session?

By 1965, the demands of touring, recording, and filmmaking left little time for radio sessions. The format — recording multiple songs in an afternoon for broadcast weeks later — felt increasingly at odds with where The Beatles were as artists. The 26 May 1965 session was their 52nd and last.

Why did the programme title change from 'From Us To You'?

The Beatles felt the old title no longer reflected their maturing image. By 1965, with Help! and Rubber Soul imminent, they were conscious of the distance they had travelled since 1963. The new title referenced their current single 'Ticket To Ride'.

Which songs from this session appeared on Live At The BBC?

'Ticket To Ride' and 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy', both released on Live At The BBC in November 1994.

What is Live At The BBC?

A double album released in November 1994, compiling 56 BBC recordings from 1963 to 1965. It reached number one in both the UK and the US and introduced a generation of listeners to The Beatles' BBC work. A second volume was released in November 2013.

What was 'Ticket To Ride'?

The Beatles' ninth UK number one single, released on 9 April 1965. John Lennon later described it as "the first heavy metal record". It gave the final BBC programme its title.