When The Beatles performed at Gaumont Theatre in 1963

The Beatles were riding high on the success of their hit song "She Loves You", which marked their third number one in the UK music charts. Additionally, they had three other songs in the top twenty and a Royal Variety Performance by the time they played the gig on December 13, 1963.

Their popularity had spread far and wide, with reports of frenzied teenage fans causing chaos at their concerts making headlines across the country.

The frenzy of Beatlemania had firmly taken hold of Southampton, mirroring its widespread impact across Britain and even over the pond.

Enthusiasm for the Beatles extended beyond just teenage girls. Even the typically serious Echo couldn't contain their excitement for the Friday evening concerts, leading them to release a comprehensive four-page supplement.

In the month of December prior, the band with the peculiar name, who were little known outside their hometown of Liverpool and the German city of Hamburg, released Love Me Do, which reached the 15th spot in the charts.

"It was an incredible evening," a staff reporter told Echo readers the following day on December 14, 1963.

"Feverish.Tumultuous.Deafening. If the atmosphere could have been bottled it would sell. Saints v Manchester United in the Cup semi-final at Aston Villa [Manchester United had defeated Second Division Saints one nil the previous April, and the disappointment continued to fester] had nothing on this."

The Echo even published brief biographies of John, Paul, George and Ringo, a history of the "Mop Tops" and a full-page portrait of the boys suitable for sticking on bedroom walls.

"Inside the Gaumont at both houses a capacity 2,000 - the girls outnumbering the boys three to one - almost shrieked the building off its foundations.

"Little girls near-hysterical bobbed in their seats as though they were electrocuted, waved giant photos of the Beatles. It sounded like a slaughterhouse.

“My man of the evening: Gaumont manager Ken Watts who dealt with The Beatles like a military operation and without loss on either side.

“He organised the way they arrived four hours early; their change of car from Austin Princess to Consul on the outskirts of the town; the coach decoy around the back as the four dashed in the front.

“He organised the way the stage was guarded, front and back, so that invasion was impossible

“He organised the getaway and told nobody how it was to be done. ‘Even my own mother didn’t know’ he said.

“And that was after he had failed to hire a van because of insurance difficulties.

“Only once was Ken Watts’ network breached: schoolgirls Penny Allen and Judy Stewart, 16 and 15, got behind his lines 24 hours before the show - and hid in the theatre.

“‘They were found in a dressing room on the fifth floor and put out.’ said mr Watts.

“‘It’s heartbreaking,’ said Penny. ‘So near and yet so far…’”

In those carefree early days, the Fab Four were not seen as controversial or political, despite the frenzy they caused among young girls.

As time went on, they became much more edgy.

John Lennon would draw inspiration from literary icons like Lewis Carroll, James Thurber, and Spike Milligan in his writings. Music critics would eventually analyse their music, dissecting and lauding their work in a serious fashion.

From their explosive arrival in America to the controversial statement of being "more popular than Jesus," the band left a lasting impact on millions of people across the globe. Their journey took them from being chased out of the Philippines for allegedly snubbing President Marcos to their final electrifying live performance at Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1966.

Throughout it all, the screams of adoring fans echoed in their ears.

Their bold claim of being "more popular than Jesus" caused an uproar.

The Fab Four even found themselves swiftly ousted from the Philippines for supposedly disrespecting President Marcos and his partner Imelda.

And up to their final electrifying live roof-top show at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, 1966, where, as ever, the sound of frenzied screams from adoring fans filled the air around them.

"After the show," the reporter "saw several girls who had squealed one squeal too many, being physically sick. One girl was crying as if she had been bereaved ... "

"Even if, as I discovered, when I tried to speak to somebody, I actually couldn't hear my own voice, my eardrums were so numbed."

At the time of their tour, the band did not have monitor speakers as part of their equipment. They later revealed they were unable to hear themselves or each other due to the overwhelming noise created by the enthusiastic fans.

This was one of three concerts the Beales played at The Gaumont. They wowed the crowds there on May 20, 1963, as well as November 6, 1964.