This Day in Beatle History

March 31

1969 (Mar 31) - George and Pattie to Court

George and Pattie Harrison appear in court in Surrey to answer recent charges of marijuana resin possession. Each are fined 250 pounds.

1969 (Mar 31) - John and Yoko in the Bag

Having finished their ‘bed in’, John and Yoko fly to Vienna where they hold a press conference from within a bag. The Apple press office sends acorns (representing peace) to all world leaders.

1969 (Mar 31) - John Lennon Film 'Rape' Airs in Australia

A short John Lennon film entitled Rape appears on Australian TV.

1972 (Mar 31) - Beatles Fan Club Officially Closed

The Beatles Official Fan Club closed. The Beatles Monthly magazine had ceased three years previously.

2008 (Feb 20) - Beatles' Autographed Rolling Stones Album Auctioned

A 1976 Rolling Stones album bought for £2 at a car boot sale sold for £4,000 at an auction. The ‘Black and Blue’ LP was signed by John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Paul and Linda McCartney and George Harrison as well as members of the Rolling Stones. The seller obtained the album after haggling the cost down from £3.

April 1

1961 (Apr 1) - Beatles Begin Residency in Hamburg

The Beatles began a three-month residency at The Top Ten Club, Hamburg, playing 92 straight nights. The group played for seven hours a night on weekdays and eight hours at weekends with a fifteen-minute break every hour. It was during this visit that Astrid Kirchherr cut Stuart Sutcliffe’s hair into the style destined to become known as the “Beatle haircut” which The Beatles later adopted themselves.

1966 (Apr 1) - John Inspired for 'Tomorrow Never Knows'

John Lennon bought a copy of Timothy Leary’s ‘The Psychedelic Experience’ and ‘The Tibetan Book Of The Dead’, where he read near the beginning of the book’s introduction; “When in doubt, relax, turn off your mind, float downstream,” which captured Lennon’s imagination and became the first line of ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, (which he recorded 5 days later).