man who made one of the first full-length recordings of the Beatles playing live said the experience had “changed his life”.
John Bloomfield, who was 15 years old at the time, said he had gone “from boy to man … in that moment” and that the concert was “something we had never vaguely experienced”.
The show took place at Ode boarding school Buckinghamshire on April 4, 1963, when the band played at the school’s theater.
The recording was shared by the BBC almost exactly 60 years after it was made.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s First rowMr Bloomfield, now in his 70s, said the event seemed “ridiculous” in retrospect.
“Nobody knew who the Beatles were at this school, but they showed up and played an incredible concert and that was the early ’60s as far as we’re concerned – it was fantastic,” he said.
Mr Bloomfield added that he was “very miffed” that the “unknown” musicians took away his own band’s performance that night.
“This all seems so utterly ridiculous in hindsight,” he said.
Describing the Beatles’ arrival at the school, he said he had expected “something more dramatic” after the world-famous rock stars arrived at the venue in a low-key manner.
“They and their equipment and their crew all arrived in two saloon cars. I was expecting a big bus or something – nope,” he said.
“Two Ford Zodiacs showed up and everything came out, including their podium suits – it was a bit of a disappointment, I was expecting something more dramatic.”
(I had) no idea what was going to happen, and then the curtains went back and they started… I’d say I was growing up at that point
About the live concert, he continued: “(I had) no idea what was going to happen, and then the curtains went back and they started… I would say I was growing up at that point.
“It sounds a bit exaggerated, but I realized this was something from another planet.
“It was something we had never vaguely experienced … we were stunned.”
Part of the recording was played as part of the Front Row episode, in which the Beatles can be heard at requests from boys in the audience.
The concert was organized by Mr. Bloomfield’s fellow student, David Moores, who had written manager Brian Epstein.
The band had charged £100, the equivalent of around £10,000 today.
After the show, the band members had met some schoolboys and enjoyed a meal of chicken and chips, which they reportedly “eaten”.
The full episode of Front Row is available on BBC Sounds.