A Beatle New Year

January 1, 1963

The Beatles return from their last sojourn to Hamburg, ready to take on the world.  But it will be a long, hard climb to the toppermost and 1963 will be the year.  It will be a year when package tours and life on the road will become much more important and one night stands in Liverpool ballrooms and lunches at the Cavern, much less so.  They and their manager Brian Epstein will take nothing for granted and agree to just about any opportunity to spread the bands fame.

They fly to London and spend the night there in preparation for a flight tomorrow to Edinburgh to start a tour of Scotland, a tour that gets off on the wrong foot when snow and wind cause cancellation of the first date in Keith (where they played in support of Johnny Gentle, on their shoestring tour just a year and a half ago).  John flies home to be with Cyn for a few hours at least and returns to Scotland on the 3rd to resume the tour at Elgin.  The next week is spent traveling from place to place, playing in ballrooms and sleeping in hotels.  On the 8th, there is an appearance on a local Glaswegian kids TV show.  (The kids show appearances really demonstrate that the entertainment powers had no clear idea what to do with this new band.)  Finally, they get a day off at home on the 9th.