The Beatles at the Odeon Cinema, Manchester

While in central Manchester I walked down to the spot where the original Odeon Cinema once stood on Oxford Street. The Beatles played there on a 12-date tour with Roy Orbison on Thursday 30th May 1963. Sadly the cinema is history. There's mammoth glossy building there now with thirteen floors of "Tech Enabled" offices to rent. Manchester Council will be rubbing their hands at the extortionate business rates they can charge.

The band performed a seven song set and even though Beatlemania wouldn't start for another five months (from their first television appearance on 13th October) elated teenagers almost drown out the lads. I'm not sure who went on stage first but the volume of the screaming told that Roy Orbison was secondary. You've got to feel sorry for the poor lad.

In total The Beatles performed about 1,400 concerts and less of 20 of them were in Manchester, not many considering it's only an hour to Liverpool. They did only one here on Oxford Street. The cinema closed its doors for the last time in 2004 and it was pulled down. The new building is something that wouldn't be out of place in London or New York. Who cleans all those windows? I did a salute and left.