Wednesday 4 November 1964 | Live performances | Ritz Cinema, Luton, Bedfordshire | By Beatles Fabdom
On 4 November 1964, The Beatles performed two concerts at the Ritz Cinema on Gordon Street in Luton. It was the 21st date of their autumn British tour and their third and final live visit to the Bedfordshire town.
The evening’s shows began at 6.30pm and 8.45pm. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr performed a ten-song set, opening with Twist And Shout and closing with Long Tall Sally. Their fee for the two concerts was £850.
Six songs came from A Hard Day’s Night, keeping the summer’s film and album at the centre of the live programme. Backstage, the group met Luton’s mayor and mayoress and signed the borough’s visitors’ book, adding a civic occasion to an otherwise tightly scheduled touring evening.
| Date | Wednesday 4 November 1964 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Ritz Cinema, Luton |
| Historic address | 16–42 Gordon Street, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 2QP, England |
| Tour | 1964 autumn British tour |
| Position in tour | 21st concert date |
| Number of shows | Two |
| Show start times | 6.30pm and 8.45pm |
| Beatles’ fee | £850 for the two concerts |
| Setlist | Ten songs at each show |
| Supporting acts | The Rustiks, Sounds Incorporated, Michael Haslam, The Remo Four, Tommy Quickly and Mary Wells |
| Compère | Bob Bain |
| Luton appearances | Third and final visit |
Two shows at Luton’s Ritz Cinema
The Ritz engagement followed the two King’s Hall concerts in Belfast on 2 November. After returning to London, the group resumed its run of English dates with Luton, then moved on to Nottingham the following evening.
The 6.30pm and 8.45pm times refer to the start of each complete show, not to the exact moment The Beatles appeared on stage. A substantial supporting bill preceded the headline set, with Bob Bain acting as compère.
The two performances were part of the same tour engagement. The £850 payment was for the evening’s pair of concerts, rather than £850 for each show.
Luton was the 21st stop in the performed itinerary, which had begun at Bradford on 9 October. Six dates remained after this engagement, taking the group through Nottingham, Southampton, Cardiff, Liverpool and Sheffield before the tour ended in Bristol on 10 November.
Setlist
The Beatles performed the following ten-song sequence 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 core of the set came from the British A Hard Day’s Night album. 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 accounted for six of the ten selections.
Five of those six also belonged to the film’s soundtrack side of the British LP. Things We Said Today appeared on the album’s second side. Together, they made this a concert programme closely tied to the record and film that had defined the group’s summer of 1964.
The running order also gave George and Ringo featured vocal spots. George sang I’m Happy Just To Dance With You, while Ringo’s I Wanna Be Your Man appeared immediately before the title song and closing number.
At either end of the set were songs associated with the group’s earlier recorded repertoire: Twist And Shout opened proceedings, Money followed, and Long Tall Sally supplied the finale. The programme combined those established stage numbers with the more recent Lennon–McCartney material.
An EP release on the same day
British record shops received Extracts From The Film A Hard Day’s Night on 4 November 1964. Its four tracks were I Should Have Known Better, If I Fell, Tell Me Why and And I Love Her.
Two of those songs, I Should Have Known Better and If I Fell, also appeared in the Luton concert set. The EP was a separate release, not a souvenir recording of the evening, but it provides a direct connection between the music in the shops and the music performed at the Ritz.
The supporting bill and compère
The show included The Rustiks, Sounds Incorporated, Michael Haslam, The Remo Four, Tommy Quickly and Mary Wells. Bob Bain was the compère, introducing the acts and linking the programme.
This was a package show rather than a standalone Beatles performance with one opening act. The two advertised start times covered the full bill, giving audiences several performers before the headline set.
The supporting cast also helps distinguish the Ritz engagement from The Beatles’ two earlier Luton appearances in 1963. By November 1964, the group returned as international stars at the head of an extensive touring programme.
Backstage with the mayor of Luton
Before their departure, The Beatles met Luton’s mayor, Councillor Frank Beckett, and the mayoress backstage. A local press photograph recorded the occasion, with two young children also present.
The group signed Luton Borough Council’s official visitors’ book. Local newspaper retrospective coverage explains that the book was taken to the musicians for security reasons, rather than requiring them to make a separate public visit to the Town Hall.
The Luton News had backstage access. Its photograph and the signed visitors’ book preserve a local record of the visit beyond the concert listings and the tour’s standard repertoire.
The meeting is described in Luton Heritage Forum’s account of the band’s appearances in the town. The surviving local coverage places the civic welcome at the concert venue.
Three Luton visits, three venues
The Beatles’ first Luton performance took place at the Majestic Ballroom on 17 April 1963. Their second visit was to the Odeon Cinema on 6 September 1963.
The Ritz concerts on 4 November 1964 completed that sequence. They were the group’s third and final appearance in Luton, but their only engagement at this particular cinema.
| Date | Venue | Place in local history |
|---|---|---|
| 17 April 1963 | Majestic Ballroom | First Luton appearance |
| 6 September 1963 | Odeon Cinema | Second Luton appearance |
| 4 November 1964 | Ritz Cinema, Gordon Street | Third and final Luton appearance |
The Ritz Cinema on Gordon Street
The Ritz stood at 16–42 Gordon Street, Luton. It had opened as the Union Cinema in 1937 and was renamed the Ritz in July 1949. Cinema history records list a capacity of 2,104 seats.
The building was part of the town’s cinema circuit as well as a venue for live entertainment. The Beatles’ two shows in November 1964 are among its best-remembered stage engagements.
The Gordon Street Ritz should not be confused with the former Savoy, later ABC, at 51 George Street. They were separate Luton cinemas. The Beatles’ final Luton engagement discussed here took place at the Ritz on Gordon Street.
The Ritz has since been demolished. The address and map below identify the historic site, not a surviving auditorium or a current concert venue.
Historic venue location map
Former Ritz Cinema site: 16–42 Gordon Street, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 2QP, England.
Open the historic Gordon Street address in Google Maps.
Studio work in London on the same day
While the touring schedule brought The Beatles to Luton, production work on their recordings continued in London. That morning, George Martin and Norman Smith worked in Studio Two’s control room at EMI Studios from 10am until 1pm.
They prepared stereo mixes of nine Beatles For Sale songs and I Feel Fine, completing editing work on Mr Moonlight. Our separate article on the 4 November 1964 mixing session covers the studio programme and the takes used.
These were different activities at different locations: control-room production in London and two live performances in Luton. Beatles For Sale was still awaiting its British release on 4 December, while the concert set remained strongly rooted in A Hard Day’s Night.
Complete 1964 autumn British tour itinerary
The performed route comprised 27 dates, including the late-added Belfast engagement. Luton was date 21. Links below lead to matching concerts already covered 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
- 4 November — Ritz, Luton: this engagement
- 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
Explore the A Hard Day’s Night era
With six songs from the album in the Luton set, A Hard Day’s Night provides the closest connection between this concert and the designs in our shop. The A Hard Day’s Night junior guitar features colourful stripes and portraits of all four Beatles.
The denim-blue A Hard Day’s Night album-cover T-shirt reproduces the familiar portrait grid associated with the record.
Frequently asked questions
When did The Beatles play the Ritz Cinema in Luton?
They performed two shows on Wednesday 4 November 1964, with the complete shows starting at 6.30pm and 8.45pm.
Where was Luton’s Ritz Cinema?
The Ritz stood at 16–42 Gordon Street, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 2QP. The cinema has since been demolished.
What did The Beatles play in Luton?
The ten-song set began with Twist And Shout and ended with Long Tall Sally. It included six songs from A Hard Day’s Night, plus Money and I Wanna Be Your Man.
How much were The Beatles paid?
The group received £850 for the evening’s two concerts.
Who supported The Beatles at the Ritz?
The supporting bill included The Rustiks, Sounds Incorporated, Michael Haslam, The Remo Four, Tommy Quickly and Mary Wells. Bob Bain was the compère.
Was this The Beatles’ final Luton appearance?
Yes. It was their third and final Luton visit, following the Majestic Ballroom on 17 April 1963 and the Odeon Cinema on 6 September 1963.
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