The Capitol’s concerns were understandable. The singles “Please Please Me”, “From Me To You” and “She Loves You” were released in the US in 1963 and had limited success, so they did not want to release “I Want To Hold Your Hand”.
The band’s manager Brian Epstein and parent company Capitol EMI managed to sway the label, and on Boxing Day 1963, about a month after Kennedy’s assassination, the single hit American stores.
Its impact was huge, and by the first week of February it was at the top of the US charts and held that position for seven weeks.
The success meant that over 3,000 fans and a large group of press were at the airport when the band landed.
For Spencer Lee, it was what came next, not what came before, that led to their worldwide success.
“I think the people who shouted for The Beatles at the airport were young and didn’t know much about politics,” he said.
“The Ed Sullivan Show was the turning point for me.”
