Film of The Beatles' first ever "Top Of The Pops" appearance has been uploaded to YouTube. Taped 19 March 1964 for insertion into the 25 March edition, pieces of "Can't Buy Me Love" and (at the very end) "You Can't Do That" are on the film. However, this is not the original film, or a video tape from the BBC. This is home film footage that someone has made by pointing their 8mm movie camera at the TV screen.
Still, this is all we have from this performance, so it's of historical significance. The Beatles were filmed at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, then called BBC's Television Theatre. The Beatles were filmed using film stock, not video - and it appears the film is projected on to a big canvas behind the live dancers on the show, six days later when the programme aired. Who would have thought we would actually see this?
A big thank you goes to John C. Winn for identifying the footage.
Still, this is all we have from this performance, so it's of historical significance. The Beatles were filmed at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, then called BBC's Television Theatre. The Beatles were filmed using film stock, not video - and it appears the film is projected on to a big canvas behind the live dancers on the show, six days later when the programme aired. Who would have thought we would actually see this?
A big thank you goes to John C. Winn for identifying the footage.