Calling London
Late December 1961
Merseyside promoter Sam Leach wasn’t having much luck. He thought that it was about time for The Beatles to start playing shows in London, so he booked them to play at The Palais Ballroom in Aldershot, about 40 miles southwest of the city, on December 9, 1961. Everything went wrong. Their flyers had been torn down, a newspaper ad didn’t appear in the paper, and no one showed up, not even Ivor Jay and the Jaywalkers, who were also supposed to play that night. It would be a rough one.
Brian Epstein was having a bit more success in planning the career of The Beatles. He would set up the first official photo session for the group on December 17. Now there would be plenty of great promotional materials for him to give to promoters, agents, fans, and record labels. One of those labels, Decca Records, scheduled The Beatles to come to London for an audition on January 1, 1962. Big things were finally on the horizon…
