It was a Sunday night in December and the famous Leicester venue had not seen the like before – or since. It was Sunday, December 1, 1963 and hundreds of adrenaline-fuelled fans encircled Leicester’s De Montfort Hall. They were desperate to intercept the mop-haired four on their arrival. When word got round The Beatles had arrived, furious rain-soaked fans let out one tremendous shout and raced round to the front gates.
These photos from the Leicester Mercury archive, some previously unpublished, tell the story of what happened next.

Gifts, letters and presents were thrown on stage. In the background here a VOX AC30 amplifier – known as the sound that powered the 1960s – sits on the stage