The Beatles in East Anglia

It's fifty years this week since The Beatles toured the region. The Fab Four played The Granada Theatre in Bedford half a century ago not as the headline act but supporting the then far more popular 16-year-old sensation Helen Shapiro.

The Beatles went on to tour Peterborough, Cambridge, Northampton, Luton, Norwich, Ipswich, Southend, and Great Yarmouth.

ITV Anglia's Natalie Gray's been delving through the archives and meeting some of the fans who saw the the Beatles at the beginning. Click below to watch her report.

Hundreds of people camped out overnight in August 1964 to snap up Beatles tickets at the Ipswich Gaumont.

2,600 tickets were bought in the first hour but once the queues disappeared there were still 400 tickets left.

Click below to watch Anglia Television archive film from the time with a report from Chris Kelly:

It's fifty years this week that The Beatles toured the Anglia region. The Fab Four played the Granada Theatre in Bedford half a century ago on March 12th 1963 not as the headline act but supporting the then far more popular sixteen-year-old sensation Helen Shapiro.

They went on to tour Peterborough, Cambridge, Northampton, Luton, Norwich, Ipswich, Southend, and Great Yarmouth.

Click below to watch a rare Beatles interview with Anglia Television's John McGregor in October 1964 when the band were playing Ipswich.