FANS of The Beatles from the region are being asked to share their stories and bring their memorabilia ahead of a historic tribute show.

Professional Fab Four superfans The Mersey Beatles are appealing for anyone who was present – or had relatives who were there – at the band’s 1962 and 1963 shows in both towns to come forward to contribute to an interactive event at the Pavilion later this year.

As part of the interactive show, The Mersey Beatles will feature treasured stories and memories from fans present at the 1962 and 1963 gigs and project them – and the names of the fans who supplied them – onto a screen on stage.

Mark Bloor, who plays John Lennon, said: “For this, our biggest UK Tour, we are playing the same venues and towns the Fab Four played back in the days of Beatlemania.

“We want as many of those fans who were at the original gigs to relive those golden days. And what better way than to capture their stories and memories than to include them as part of the show?

“So, if you were at the original gigs, or your parents or grandparents were, then please get in touch.

“We’d love to hear those stories and share them at each show.”

Rhyl and Prestatyn local historian Harry Thomas said: “We should be very proud of our Beatles heritage, Rhyl and Prestatyn are as rich as anywhere in musical history.

“There’s a lot of Beatles memorabilia in the area too, I used to have an original photo of John and Yoko visiting Ruthin castle with Julian Lennon, and a late friend of mine even had an inland revenue cheque signed by John. It went on to be sold at Sotheby’s.

“I used to get tonnes of items associated with The Beatles through advertising in the Journal, and one of my best customers was The Beatles’ chauffeur Alf Bicknell – although I didn’t realise who it was until much later.”

The Beatles’ July 14, 1962 show at the former Regent Dansette – the site of the recently closed Burton and Dorothy Perkins store on Rhyl High Street – marked the first time the band ever played in Wales and saw them rock up with original drummer Pete Best.

The event has been commemorated with a blue plaque, as has their gig in November the same year at Royal Lido – now the NOVA Centre – which Mr Thomas helped install with fellow historians.

At the time of their first trip to Rhyl, The Beatles were only paid £4 by venue owner Joe Young – whose wife dismissed the group as “scruff , long-haired boys in leather jackets and tight fitting jeans”.

A year later, they returned in July for two nights to Rhyl’s Ritz Ballroom – part of the Ocean Beach Funfair, now the Marina Quay – commanding a mammoth weekly wage of £200 and with new drummer Ringo Starr, a number one single and the beginnings of Beatlemania in place.

To celebrate, Liverpool’s Mersey Beatles are including Rhyl Pavilion in their biggest UK tour, following in the footsteps of the Fab Four by returning to towns they graced early in their career.

The Mersey Beatles will be at the Pavilion on Thursday, November 10. Anyone with stories to share is asked to email merseybeatles@rhodesmedia.com.