Above: From left to right George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and John Lennon photographed in 1963 outside one of the Regan venues

Our concert to celebrate the 51st. anniversary of the first ever Beatles gig in Birmingham at the Ritz Ballroom on King's Heath's York Road is a sell-out.

Fletchers Bar on York Road directly opposite the former ballroom will be packed to the rafters from 3 to 6 p.m. on Sunday 16 February.

All tickets were sold within less than 5 days of them going on sale as Beatlemania returns to King's Heath after 51 years.

The Beatles appeared at the Ritz Ballroom - one of 4 venues run in the 1950's and 60's by the legendary Irish couple Ma and Pa Regan - on 15 February 1963 shortly after releasing their second single "Please Please Me". Originally scheduled to appear on 11 January, they had been prevented by blizzard like conditions from making the 11 mile journey to King's Heath from one of the Regans other venues - the Plaza in Old Hill.

When they did eventually make it on 15 February Beatlemania had really started to take off and the Beatles were only able to enter the Ritz by climbing up a ladder from Milford Place. In fact, the Fab Four almost had to appear as the Fab Three after George Harrison arrived late by taxi and was trapped by screaming fans.

"Tell them to turn that racket down" is what Pa Regan is rumoured to have shouted while they were practising! But he was a very happy man really. He had persuaded their manager Brian Epstein to agree to them performing for their previously agreed fee even though they were now No. 1 in the charts! They performed the rescheduled gig at The Ritz during a break from The Helen Shapiro Tour on which they started off as only 4th out of the 11 acts on the bill!

Autographs of the four Beatles signed at the Ritz Ballroom were sold at Christies auction house on 24 June 2010.
According to the vendor she was picking up her coat from the coat room after the concert when she met Paul McCartney coming out of the toilets. After giving her his autograph she followed him into the bar where he called her over to meet the rest of the band who gave her their autographs too. She then took up Paul's kind offer of a lift back into town in their van where she sat on his lip and shared a kiss!!!

Those lucky enough to secure tickets should have a great afternoon's entertainment as we celebrate a landmark event in King's Heath's musical heritage

A great line-up of top local musicians has already been lined up but any other musicians who would like to appear at the anniversary event should contact:                                 

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Clockwise: Autographs of John Lennon, Paut McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison

signed at the Ritz Ballroom that were auctioned at Christies on 24 June 2010.

Get the festive season off to a great start by coming along to our Xmas Xtravaganza at Fletchers on Sunday 1st December featuring some of the most popular musicians from our 2013 Lazy Sunday Afternoon Sessions.

Included in the line-up will be the very young and talented Harriet Harkcom who brought the audience to their feet at our Rolling Stones Fest with her version of "Wild Horses", the sensational SwiftBeat who performed a rousing set at our Rock 'n' Roll Revival event, the amazing 6-5 Specials skiffle band, the great Mr Apollo playing fantastic roots rock and the irrepressible Dave Diz so this should prove to be another really enjoyable afternoon in King's Heath.

The show will start at 3 p.m. and end at 6 p.m.

Advance tickets cost just £2.50 from the Kitchen Garden Cafe or www.wegottickets.com (plus 25p booking fee). Tickets on the door will cost £3.

A new documentary and nearly 4 hours of live music will make up a special Rolling Stones Festival to be held in King's Heath on Saturday 14 September to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of their legendary performance at the former Ritz Ballroom on YorK Road.

Formed in London in 1962 when Brian Jones met up with childhood friends Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones started out playing blues music taking their name from the title of a song by Muddy Waters. For the whole of 1962 they played exclusively in the London area. But all that began to change on 7 June 1963 with the release of their first single a cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On". Just a few months later on 14 September 1963 they played one of their first gigs outside London and their first ever in Birmingham at the Ritz Ballroom. Joining them on the tiny stage were Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. Later the same night they went on to perform at The Plaza in Old Hill another of Ma and Pa Regan's clubs. The next evening they had to return to London to play at The Great Pop Prom in London at the Royal Albert Hall!

Centred around top local musicians performing their favourite Rolling Stones songs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m at Fletchers Bar on York Road directly opposite the former balllroom, the Festival will also include the screening at 1 p.m of a new documentary about the early days of the group plus recorded music and many specially invited guests.

Advance tickets costing only £4.00 are now on sale and can be purchased from the Kitchen Garden Cafe on York Road or £4.40  from www.wegotickets.com/event/237421

Space is limited for this historic event so it is really advisable to book in advance. Any remaining tickets will cost £5 on the day.

Local residents Bob Prew and Ken Whittaker who are organising the event said "The Rolling Stones are one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time and it is amazing to think that they once played in King's Heath. We are determined to keep the spirit of The Ritz alive despite the fire that destoyed the building in March. We have already held some great events this year to celebrate performances by The Beatles, The Kinks and Dusty Springfield but want as many Stones fans as possible to come to King's Heath on 14 Sept to make this the biggest and best so far".

An impressive line up of musicians has aleady been drawn up but any others interested in performing on Saturday 14 September should contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To read Birmingham Mail reporter Mike Lockley's background article click below:-

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/music/pals-memories-life-wih-rolling-5728422

Their love of 1960's pop music has just brought two Coventry University students their music degrees. And it will now also be bringing them to King's Heath to perform at our “Girls on Top” session on Sunday 4 August to celebrate the great female pop stars of the 1960's.

Vocalist Melissa Gill aged 21 and pianist Hannah Maydwell aged 24 formed their duo “That Sixties Vibe” as part of their final year of studies for their Music Composition Degree. They said “We recently organised a Charity Night and a member of the audience told us they had read in the Birmingham Mail that young up and coming musicians were needed for a concert in King's Heath. We thought it would be a fantastic opportunity for us and we are very excited that we have been given the opportunity to perform at such a great event”.

King's Heath Walk of Fame Organisers Bob Prew and Ken Whittaker said “We now have a great line-up of young talent for our show. Present day female stars like Adele and Duffy owe a great deal to the trail blazing role played in the 1960's by female singers such as Dusty Springfield and Sandie Shaw. We are thrilled that Melissa and Hannah and a whole new generation want to continue to celebrate the musical legacy of the 1960's”.

That Sixties Vibe will be joined by other young female singers including Jo Rose and Barni Scott in a 3 hour show compered by top comedienne Sheila M as seen on Sky TV . And young male musicians like Robert Lane will also be paying homage to the 1960's female stars. Starting at 4 p.m. the “Girls On Top” show will take place at Fletchers in King's Heath as part of our series of sessions to commemorate the heritage of the Ritz Ballroom where many of the 1960's pop legends performed before they were famous. including Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Helen Shapiro and Cilla Black. 

Tickets will cost £3 on the day but advance tickets are available for just £2.50 from the Kitchen Garden Cafe on York Road or £2.75 when buying directly from "wegottickets.com" by clicking here 

An article by Jasbir Authi of the Birmingham Mail entitled, "Could you be the star of 60s-style all-girl gig?" can be found by clicking here.