001 - January 1

January 1

1945
American session drummer Jim Gordon is born.

1962
Test session for Decca due to start at 11.00am. Decca Studios, at West Hampstead. Recording: "Like Dreamers Do"; "Money (That's What I Want)"; "Till There Was You"; "The Sheik Of Araby"; "To Know Her Is To Love Her"; "Take Good Care Of My Baby"; "Memphis, Tennessee"; "Sure To Fall"; "Hello Little Girl"; "Three Cool Cats"; "Crying Waiting Hoping"; "Love Of The Loved"; "September In The Rain"; "Besame Mucho"; "Searchin".

After the session, Brian returns to Liverpool.

Decca's test session, at West Hampstead, of Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.

1963
End of last season of Star Club performances.

Tour of Ireland begins.

1964
"Beatles Christmas Show" at the Astoria, Finsbury Park, London.

The first edition of the BBC TV show Top Of The Pops was transmitted from an old church hall in Manchester, England.


"She Loves You", 18th week in the Top 10 (UK Record Retailer).


Please Please Me LP, 41st week in the Top 10 (UK Record Retailer).


With The Beatles LP number 1, 6th week (UK Record Retailer).


"I Want To Hold Your Hand" number 1, 5th week (UK Record Retailer).

1965
"Another Beatles Christmas Show" at the Hammersmith Odeon, London (two performances).

1966

Rubber Soul number 1, 2nd week (UK Record Retailer).


"We Can Work It Out" number 1 (US Cashbox).


"Day Tripper"/"We Can Work It Out" number 1, 4th week (UK Mersey Beat).
"We Can Work It Out"/"Day Tripper" number 1, 2nd week (Dutch Top 40).

"Yesterday" number 2, 2nd week (Dutch Top 40).

"Help!" number 27 (Dutch Top 40).

"A Hard Day's Night" covered by Peter Sellers number 37, 2nd week (UK Record Retailer).

1969
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" by Marmalade number 1 (UK Record Retailer).

1970
At the Kolnischer Kunstverein in Cologne, West Germany, the exhibition of Yoko's work "Happening And Fluxus" is shown.

1971
Radio Luxembourg aired over seven hours of continuous Beatles music to celebrate the group's tenth year in the music business. Every track played was a single or LP track by The Beatles plus tracks from solo albums.

1972
"Imagine" number 34 (Dutch Top 40).

1973
The "Liverpool Echo" publishes an interview with Ringo.

1974
Ringo turns down a role in the upcoming movie "Stardust", the sequel to "That'll Be The Day".

1977

"Mull Of Kintyre" is the first single to sell over 2 million copies in the UK.

In Los Angeles, an exhibition of Linda's photographs is on display at the Jan Baum and Iris Silverman Gallery.

1978
George composes the songs "Blow Away" and "If You Believe" while in Hawaii.

1981
Scheduled UK release date for "Walking On Thin Ice".

1983

The John Lennon Collection number 1, 5th week (UK British Market Research Bureau).

In Los Angeles, the Linda exhibition "Photographs" is displayed at the Molly Barnes Gallery.

1984
Granada TV in England premieres the documentary, "The Early Beatles: 1962-1965".

1986
In the UK, the special program "Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session With Carl Perkins And Friends" is premiered on Channel 4.

1987
The "Beatle City" exhibition runs at the West End marketplace in Dallas, Texas.

1990
Yoko announces it's the "Greening Of The World" year. She has a 12-month enviromental campaign of events to mark what would have been John's 50th year.

1997
It is announced that Paul McCartney will receive his knighthood by Queen Elizabeth.

At the Museum of Modern Art in Oxford, Yoko's art exhibition "Have You Seen The Horizon Lately" is on display.

1998
In Washington, D.C., an exhibition of Beatles photographs taken by Harry Benson is on display at the Govinda Gallery.

1999
In Tampa, Florida, the exhibition of Linda's pictures entitled "Sixties" is on display at the Tampa Museum of Art.

2001

1 number 1, 7th week (Australia ARIA Charts).

2007
The Beatles were voted as the second best British band of all time by BBC Radio 2 listeners in the UK. Queen was voted Number One.

2013
"Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever" is voted one of the UK's favourite number two singles. The poll by BBC Radio 2 and the Official Charts Company was used to find the greatest track to miss out on the number one spot. Other songs on the list were "Vienna" by Ultravox, "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, The Who's "My Generation" and Don McLean's "American Pie".