1963 had seen the release of The Beatles’ first two albums – Please Please Me and With The Beatles – as well as them achieving five number one singles including ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’. The latter was released in the UK on 29 November but was kept from the number one spot for two weeks. This was due to a resurgence in the popularity of ‘She Loves You’ following the media storm that kick-started Beatlemania.
A few weeks later, on 26 December, ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ became the first Capitol Records Beatles release in the USA. It sold a quarter of a million copies in the first three days and worked its way up Billboard Hot 100 to the number one spot on 1 February.
The Beatles’ arrival in America six days after securing their first US number one couldn’t have been any better timed, even though their scheduled American visit and television appearance on the popular Ed Sullivan Show had been booked long before the single was even released.
The band landed at New York’s Kennedy Airport on 7 February to be greeted by 3,000 screaming fans. This was unprecedented, even for a band that had already become accustomed to hordes of followers at home in Britain and in Europe. Within two days, their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show had put them in front of around 40% of the entire population of the country – an estimated 73 million people.
By the time the The Beatles performed their first American concert to 20,000 fans at the Coliseum in Washington D.C. on 11 February, Beatlemania had taken a firm grip on America. They returned to the UK as conquering heroes.
