Monday 2 November 1964 | Live performances | King’s Hall, Belfast | By Beatles Fabdom
On 2 November 1964, The Beatles performed two shows at the King’s Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The date had originally been intended as a rest day during their British autumn tour, but promoter Arthur Howes arranged a late booking that brought John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr back to Belfast.
The group flew from London to Aldergrove Airport during the afternoon, performed the two concerts that evening and returned to London the following day. Their ten-song set combined six selections from A Hard Day’s Night with earlier repertoire and a closing performance of “Long Tall Sally”.
It was The Beatles’ second and final visit to Northern Ireland. Their previous Belfast engagement had taken place at the Ritz Cinema on 8 November 1963, almost a year earlier.
| Date | Monday 2 November 1964 |
|---|---|
| Venue | King’s Hall, Balmoral, Belfast |
| Historic address | Lisburn Road, Balmoral, Belfast, BT9 6GW, Northern Ireland |
| Number of shows | Two |
| Booking | Late addition by promoter Arthur Howes to a planned rest day |
| Arrival | Flight from London to Aldergrove Airport that afternoon |
| Setlist | Ten songs at each show |
| Northern Ireland visits | Second and final visit |
| Departure | Return to London on 3 November 1964 |
How a rest day became two Belfast concerts
The King’s Hall engagement was added to an already substantial touring schedule. The Beatles’ 1964 autumn tour had begun in Bradford on 9 October and would continue until Bristol on 10 November.
On 1 November, the group played the Astoria in Finsbury Park, London. The following day had been set aside for rest, but the Belfast booking changed that plan. After the afternoon flight to Aldergrove, the band faced two evening audiences rather than a night off.
The date also changed the geographical reach of the tour. Most of its venues were in England, Scotland and Wales; Belfast added the Northern Ireland engagement to that sequence.
The next scheduled concert date was Luton on 4 November, following the group’s return flight to London on 3 November.
Arrival at Aldergrove and the return to Belfast
The journey began in London and brought the musicians to Aldergrove Airport, outside Belfast. Their arrival formed part of the same day’s schedule as the King’s Hall performances.
The sequence was straightforward: an afternoon flight, two concerts that evening and departure the next day. This was a short visit built around the shows, not an extended Northern Ireland residency.
It also differed from the group’s previous Belfast appearance. In November 1963 they had performed at the Ritz Cinema; in 1964 the booking was at the much larger King’s Hall at Balmoral.
Two shows at the King’s Hall
The King’s Hall engagement consisted of two separate concerts. BBC retrospective coverage reports a combined audience of 16,000 across the evening, with approximately 8,000 people attending each show.
The audience total refers to both performances together, rather than to a single crowd inside the hall at once. The two-show arrangement required the first audience to leave before the second entered.
The same BBC account recalls the scale of the event through promoter Trevor Kane’s memories of clearing one audience and admitting the next. It places the concerts within the venue’s wider history as one of Belfast’s major spaces for large public events.
Setlist
The following ten-song sequence was performed at both shows.
- Twist And Shout
- Money (That’s What I Want)
- Can’t Buy Me Love
- Things We Said Today
- I’m Happy Just To Dance With You
- I Should Have Known Better
- If I Fell
- I Wanna Be Your Man
- A Hard Day’s Night
- Long Tall Sally
Six songs from A Hard Day’s Night
The set had a strong connection with A Hard Day’s Night. “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Things We Said Today”, “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You”, “I Should Have Known Better”, “If I Fell” and the title song all belonged to that album.
Those six selections occupied much of the middle and latter part of the programme. They connected the Belfast performance with the music associated with The Beatles’ first feature film and its accompanying British album.
The remaining songs linked the show with earlier parts of the repertoire. “Twist And Shout” opened the set, “Money” followed, Ringo’s vocal on “I Wanna Be Your Man” appeared near the end, and “Long Tall Sally” provided the finale.
The running order gave room to several lead voices rather than treating the group as a band with a single singer. “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You” featured George’s lead vocal, while “I Wanna Be Your Man” was Ringo’s contribution.
A Hard Day’s Night merchandise for the 1964 era
The A Hard Day’s Night junior guitar brings the album and film-era imagery into a colourful instrument design, with the four Beatles represented across its striped body.
The Beatles’ second and final Northern Ireland visit
The Belfast shows took place almost a year after the group’s Ritz Cinema appearance on 8 November 1963. The two visits belonged to different touring periods and different venues.
The King’s Hall concerts were their final live appearances in Northern Ireland as The Beatles. That makes the date a distinct endpoint in the band’s local performance history, rather than another stop in a continuing series of Belfast visits.
It is useful to keep Northern Ireland and the wider island’s concert history distinct. This article concerns the two Belfast engagements, at the Ritz in 1963 and King’s Hall in 1964.
The King’s Hall before and after The Beatles
The hall was constructed in 1933–34 as a permanent exhibition space for the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society at the Balmoral Showgrounds. The site’s heritage account dates its official opening to 29 May 1934.
Its uses extended well beyond concerts. Exhibitions, public meetings, sporting events and other gatherings formed part of the building’s history. The Beatles’ 2 November 1964 performances became one of its most widely remembered musical engagements.
The historic site has since entered a different phase of use and redevelopment. Visitors should distinguish the 1964 concert venue from the present King’s Hall Health and Wellbeing Park project.
Complete 1964 autumn tour itinerary
The itinerary below follows the performed route from Bradford to Bristol, including the late-added Belfast date. Linked October performances have their own articles in this series.
- 9 October — Gaumont, Bradford
- 10 October — De Montfort Hall, Leicester
- 11 October — Odeon, Birmingham
- 13 October — ABC, Wigan
- 14 October — ABC, Ardwick, Manchester
- 15 October — Globe, Stockton-on-Tees
- 16 October — ABC, Hull
- 19 October — ABC, Edinburgh
- 20 October — Caird Hall, Dundee
- 21 October — Odeon, Glasgow
- 22 October — Odeon, Leeds
- 23 October — Gaumont State, Kilburn, London
- 24 October — Granada, Walthamstow, London
- 25 October — Hippodrome, Brighton
- 28 October — ABC, Exeter
- 29 October — ABC, Plymouth
- 30 October — Gaumont, Bournemouth
- 31 October — Gaumont, Ipswich
- 1 November — Astoria, Finsbury Park, London
- 2 November — King’s Hall, Belfast: two shows, this engagement
- 4 November — Ritz, Luton
- 5 November — Odeon, Nottingham
- 6 November — Gaumont, Southampton
- 7 November — Capitol, Cardiff
- 8 November — Empire, Liverpool
- 9 November — City Hall, Sheffield
- 10 November — Colston Hall, Bristol
King’s Hall location map: Lisburn Road, Balmoral
The historic King’s Hall address is Lisburn Road, Balmoral, Belfast, BT9 6GW, Northern Ireland. The map targets the named King’s Hall site at Balmoral, not Belfast city centre or Aldergrove Airport.
Open the King’s Hall site in Google Maps. This marks the historic concert location; it is not a claim that the hall operates today as it did in 1964.
The album-cover look of 1964
The A Hard Day’s Night album-cover T-shirt in denim blue features the familiar grid of band portraits, matching the record that supplied six songs in the Belfast set.
Frequently asked questions
When did The Beatles play King’s Hall in Belfast?
They performed two shows on Monday 2 November 1964.
Why was Belfast added to the tour?
The date had been intended as a rest day, but promoter Arthur Howes arranged a late booking for two King’s Hall shows.
How many songs did they perform?
They performed ten songs at each show, beginning with “Twist And Shout” and ending with “Long Tall Sally”.
How many songs came from A Hard Day’s Night?
Six: “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Things We Said Today”, “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You”, “I Should Have Known Better”, “If I Fell” and “A Hard Day’s Night”.
Was this The Beatles’ final Northern Ireland visit?
Yes. It was their second and final visit to Northern Ireland, following their Ritz Cinema appearance on 8 November 1963.
When did they leave Belfast?
They flew back to London on 3 November 1964, the day after the concerts.
Venue history: King’s Hall heritage. Audience recollections: BBC history of King’s Hall concerts.
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