On this very day, February 2, 1962, The Beatles (or at least, an early iteration of them) broke through their hometown to perform their first run of shows outside of Liverpool. This was, historically, quite a big deal. Breaking out of the very local scene was the first step toward their eventual global takeover of the charts and hearts of Beatlemaniacs worldwide in less than a year’s time.
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The concert in question took place at the Oasis Club in Manchester. It was the band’s first professionally curated show outside their hometown, arranged by club manager Tony Stuart. They would perform to a modest crowd of about 300 attendees. Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon, and Pete Best performed a total of 21 different songs.
There, they debuted the song “Like Dreamers Do”, written by Paul McCartney in 1959, which would later become famous for being performed at the band’s failed Decca Records audition the month prior. At the Oasis Club show, they would also perform a number of Chuck Berry covers.
After the set, local newspapers would call the band “Polydor’s great recording stars.” The band would return to the club a total of three more times before their sharp ascension to fame in 1963. Sadly, it doesn’t look like any footage or audio from those Oasis Club sets exists today, nor does the club itself.
Pete Best Would Depart From The Beatles Soon After
Pete Best was the original drummer of The Beatles from 1960 to 1962 and was present for the Oasis Club sessions. However, he wouldn’t remain with the band for long. Ringo Starr would replace Best in August 1962, after manager Brian Epstein dismissed him at the request of the other band members.
According to lore, the band wasn’t particularly happy about his style of drumming, which was much more suitable for live music than session recording. Despite being quite popular with fans and Brian Epstein’s reluctance to change the lineup, Best was let go. His last gigs with The Beatles took place at the Cavern Club in Liverpool on August 15, 1962.
After working with a few relatively unsuccessful music groups after The Beatles, Best left the industry before returning to form The Pete Best Band in 1988.
Photo by Jones/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
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