Radio: Here We Go – The Beatles’ first BBC session with Ringo Starr, 25 October 1962

Thursday 25 October 1962 | Radio recording | Playhouse Theatre, Hulme, Manchester

On 25 October 1962, the Beatles recorded an edition of Here We Go for BBC radio at the Playhouse Theatre in Hulme, Manchester. It was their third appearance on the programme and their first BBC radio session with Ringo Starr.

The recording took place before a studio audience. Four songs were performed, but only three were included when the programme aired on the BBC Light Programme on Friday 26 October. Keeping those two dates distinct is essential: 25 October marks the recording, not the transmission.

Here We Go: the essential session facts

Ringo Starr’s first BBC radio session with the Beatles

The most important personnel distinction is at the drum kit. Ringo was now part of the Beatles, alongside John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. This was not the group’s first radio appearance, but it was the first radio session to feature their new regular drummer.

That wording avoids two different events being collapsed into one. The Beatles already had experience of the programme; Ringo’s arrival changed the lineup taking part in this particular session.

• John Lennon — vocals and guitar.
• Paul McCartney — vocals and bass guitar.
• George Harrison — guitar and vocals.
• Ringo Starr — drums.

For a useful contrast with the earlier Liverpool lineup, our Cavern evening article for 25 October 1961 covers a performance one year earlier with Pete Best on drums. It is a separate concert, not part of this BBC recording.

From Teenager’s Turn to Here We Go

The programme had previously been known as Teenager’s Turn – Here We Go. By the time of this appearance, the BBC had dropped the earlier prefix and the show was called Here We Go.

The name change can make the early radio chronology appear more complicated than it is. References to the earlier title and the shorter title belong to the same programme history, rather than automatically describing unrelated shows.

This edition went out on the BBC Light Programme, not BBC Radio 1. The historically appropriate service name helps keep a 1962 appearance separate from the broadcasting landscape that developed later in the decade.

Recording at the Playhouse Theatre in Manchester

The Beatles travelled to the Playhouse Theatre in Hulme for a recording before an audience. Rehearsals began at 4pm, with the programme taped between 8pm and 8.45pm.

That 45-minute interval is the programme recording window. It should not be described as a 45-minute uninterrupted Beatles concert, nor as the length of their contribution in the final broadcast.

The programme aired the following afternoon, in the approximately half-hour slot from 5pm. Detailed listings sometimes give an end time of 5.29pm rather than the rounded 5.30pm. Neither should be confused with the previous evening’s recording time.

The four songs performed for the recording

The session repertoire combined the two sides of the Beatles’ debut single with two other songs from their performing repertoire. The table distinguishes what was performed from what listeners heard on the transmission.

This is a repertoire summary, not a claim to resolve every difference in retrospective running-order listings. The important distinction is the four-song recording and three-song broadcast.

Why Sheila did not reach the broadcast

“Sheila” was left out because there was room for only three Beatles songs in the finished programme. Its omission should not be described as a banned performance or a song the group declined to play.

The song’s association with Tommy Roe explains its place in the account, but it does not mean Roe appeared at the recording. It was the Beatles’ performance of the song that was prepared for this edition.

Likewise, the fact that a song was recorded does not establish that a complete recording survives or is available on an official release. Performance, transmission and later availability are separate questions.

A radio performance, not the single master

“Love Me Do” and “P.S. I Love You” gave the programme a direct connection with the Beatles’ debut single, released in Britain earlier in October. Their inclusion placed original material alongside covers in the radio repertoire.

However, these BBC performances should not be confused with the commercial studio recordings. The Manchester venue, audience recording and programme schedule identify a separate occasion.

That distinction is particularly useful when comparing dates in a song’s history: a studio session, release date, radio recording and radio transmission can all refer to the same title while marking different events.

The Beatles’ continuing Here We Go story

This October appearance was one stage in a continuing BBC relationship. Our Here We Go article for 6 March 1963 follows the story into the next year.

Reading the sessions separately preserves the different repertoire and circumstances of each recording. A later programme’s setlist or surviving audio should not be used to fill gaps in the account of 25 October 1962.

Location map: Hulme, Manchester

The historical session venue was the Playhouse Theatre in Hulme. The map deliberately identifies the district rather than asserting an unverified modern building pin for the former theatre. It is geographical context, not a reconstruction of the recording space.

Frequently asked questions

Continue exploring: Here We Go, 6 March 1963 · Cavern evening show, 25 October 1961 · On This Day in Beatles History.