The Events That Happened In The Beatles “Rattle Your Jewelry” Concert

A Night To Remember

On November 4, 1963, The Beatles appeared at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London for the Royal Command Performance with the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret as part of the audience. The bill included over a dozen other acts as well such as Joe Loss and his orchestra, the Clark Brothers, Marlene Dietrich, Max Bygraves, and Charlie Drake to name a few.

A few months earlier, the Fab Four’s debut album Please Please Me was released which helped establish them as full-fledged rockstars. Sans the hysterical, high-pitched screaming of their fans, they powered through their setlist and at the same time, proved that they sounded just as good live. They kicked it off with From Me To You. Paul McCartney told the crowd before launching into a cover of Meredith Willson’s Till There Was You, “The next song that we’d like to sing now is, one that’s … a bit slower.”

But the highlight of the show was during their closing number. Before they performed their last song for the night, John Lennon proceeded to deliver what would become one of his funniest and most famous lines. He said, “For our last number I’d like to ask your help. The people in the cheaper seats clap your hands. And the rest of you, if you’d just rattle your jewellery. We’d like to sing a song called Twist And Shout.”

And that’s how people remember that performance – four charming, mischievous boys who’d go on to become legends not just in rock ‘n roll but in pop culture too.

Check out the clip below.