JULY 14, 1962 – The Beatles’ first performance in Wales took place at the Regent Dansette Ballroom in Rhyl. Admission cost just five shillings (then 60 pence), and the night lasted from 8 pm to 11.30 pm. The Beatles were paid £4 for their performance, and shared the bill with a local group called The Strangers. A mix of tourists and locals were in the audience, and were more likely to have been at the venue to dance than to listen to the live music.The Regent Dansette was a ballroom situated at 38 High Street above a branch of Burton’s tailors. The stage was made from wood laid over billiard tables. The manager of the venue was Joe Young, whose wife worked on the cash desk. When she arrived she was surprised to hear John Lennon playing classical music on a grand piano kept in one of the rooms. Prior to the concert The Beatles (still with drummer Pete Best) spent a few hours exploring Rhyl, including the local funfair.Local resident Brent Davies remembers: “The Beatles came to Rhyl in the early 60s just before they became famous, and to get a bit more cash they crossed the Foryd Bridge and came to The Clwyd Hotel (now The Harbour) and asked my dad, Haydn Davies, who was the first licensee on the North Wales coast to put on cabaret in a pub, for some extra work. But dad being dad turned them away saying ‘I’m not having long haired yobos like that in my pub!’ Oh if he only knew.” The Beatles never returned to the Regent Dansette, but they did perform again in Rhyl in July 1963 with new drummer Ringo Starr.
