Unseen Beatles footage to be released

Candid footage of the Fab Four from the height of Beatlemania is to be seen for the first time to mark the 40th anniversary of their US debut.

The access all areas film recorded their first footsteps in America, capturing John, Paul, George and Ringo’s effect on a massive new audience.

It is now to be issued on DVD next month along, and includes groundbreaking moments such as The Beatles’ legendary appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The intimate scenes were shot by pioneering film-makers Albert and David Maysles who shot closely at the shoulder of the quartet.

They formed part of a black and white 40-minute film shown in the US and on UK TV in 1964. But the footage has now been upgraded and extended to 80 minutes using unseen footage.

And the DVD – called The Beatles First US Visit – also includes a 50-minute ‘making of’ with further scenes which have not been used before.

The original film, for which the cameramen had unprecedented access which would be virtually impossible today, is widely seen as setting a benchmark for rock and roll films.

The Beatles fame had already reached epic proportions in the UK, following their appearance on Sunday Night At The London Palladium in October 1963.

And by the time they touched down in New York on Pan Am flight 101 on February 7 of the following year, there were thousands of fans waiting, mirroring the scenes at home.

Their US trip was a two-week frenzy, helping lift the nation from its gloom in the wake of Kennedy’s assassination.

With I Want To Hold Your Hand at No.1 in the US charts – the first British group to achieve such a feat, the Maysles Brothers shadowed the band in dressing rooms, hotels and night clubs, at photo-sessions and press conferences.

They travelled together in limos and on trains as the Liverpudlian group headed from New York to Washington and on to Miami.

The non-stop whirl captured in the film was almost a precursor for the activities in their hit movie movie A Hard Day’s Night.

The DVD – to be released in the UK on February 9 – also includes The Beatles’ first concert at The Washington Coliseum and their three historic Ed Sullivan performances – which were seen by a record 73 million viewers.

The film will have premieres in New York, Los Angeles and London.