The Palais Ballroom, Aldershot sat on the corner of Queens Road and Perowne Street and was owned and run by Bob Potter. The site had previously been Miles & Miles Upholsterer & Army Camp Furnishers, which had burnt down in 1912, before being rebuilt as Pickford Removals’ warehouse, then converted into the Palais De Danse or Palais Ballroom as it was sometimes called.
On 9 December ’61, The Beatles played their first gig in the south there. A mess up with advertising led to only 18 people turning up, when manager and promoter Sam Leach sent a cheque to the Aldershot News that they refused to deposit because new advertisers had to pay in cash. The night was billed on posters and handbills as a “Liverpool v London Battle of the Bands” featuring The Beatles and Ivor Jay and the Jaywalkers; who failed to show. The Beatles’ then manager, Leach, had thought Aldershot was much nearer London and had told them he’d arranged for all the record company scouts to come – none did!
Of the gig, The Beatles original drummer, Pete Best, stated “Halfway through one number, George and Paul put on their overcoats and took to the floor to dance a foxtrot together, while the rest of us struggled along, making enough music for them and the handful of spectators. We clowned our way through the whole of the second half, John and Paul deliberately played wrong chords and notes and added words to the songs that were never in the original lyrics.”
Terry McCann, who drove the Beatles down that day, laughed when asked for his memories of that night. “People weren’t impressed…particularly with me on the drums, because that’s what happened for a quarter of an hour or so. Pete had got fed up at one point and I went and played on a few songs. I had done that type of thing before. I could keep a beat, but it wouldn’t have been very good. That’s the sort of night it was. The Beatles were disappointed with the whole thing and were getting on and off the stage – hence the pictures of George waltzing on the dance floor with John and drinking beer.” A few of the audience also donned their coats and went over to The Central Ballroom, Aldershot instead.
The Beatles had been booked to play the following Saturday, and three more nights after that, but they never returned. The following Saturday, 16 December, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes took The Beatles place at The Palais, with Ringo Starr on drums. This time the Aldershot News ran Leach’s advert and 210 people showed up, but Leach cancelled the remaining three shows he had booked. A couple of months, in early ’62, later Emille Ford and the Checkmates played The Palais, supported by The Skeletons.
The building was later used by Radio Rentals and reportedly burnt down again, with flats now sitting on the site today.
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