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The Early Days of the Fab Four
Photos from the onset of Beatlemania.
For more 50th anniversary Beatles coverage, read Blogging the Beatles.
Today is the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me. To mark the occasion, we’ve rounded up these highlights from the early days of Beatlemania, from fall 1963 to the end of 1964.
![beatles_2 The Beatles arrive January 15, 1964 in France at the Bourget airport near Paris, to perform their first series of concerts outside of Britain.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_2.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AFP/Getty Images
![beatles_14 A tearful Beatles lover pleads unsuccessfully with a policeman to carry her fan button to Ringo.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_14.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by Bob Daugherty/AP
![beatles_1 Police officers push back fans who stand behind police lines to see The Beatles in 1964.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_1.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AP
![beatles_11 The Beatles perform at the palladium in London, England, in Nov. 1963.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_11.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AP
![beatles_8 Ringo Starr of The Beatles samples an apple during a visit to Australia House in London, England, 1964.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_8.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AP
![beatles_3 The Beatles rehearse for their forthcoming television show at Wembley Studios, London, April 1964.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_3.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AP
![beatles_7 BEATLES HARD DAYS NIGHT SET](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_7.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AP
![beatles_6 The Beatles, from left, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison, are suspended in midair above the stage during rehearsal for their part in the charity show "Night of 100 Stars".](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_6.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by Bob Dear/AP
![beatles_10 The Beatles, from left, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, take a fake blow from Cassius Clay, who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_10.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AP/File
![beatles_5 The curtain rises on the British singing group The Beatles, September 16, 1964, at a charity show in New York City.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_5.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AP
![beatles_13 Beatles fans show emotion during a concert at Ernst-Merck-Halle in Hamburg, Germany on June 26, 1964.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_13.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by Heinz Ducklau/AP
![beatles_12 The Beatles perform at the Memorial Coliseum in Dallas, Texas, Sept. 18, 1964 on their second U.S. tour. On drums, right, is Ringo Starr.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_12.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AP
![beatles_4 The Beatles provide both inspiration and instruction for Church of England Children’s Society orphans as they paint mop topped Easter eggs.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_4.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by AP
![beatles_9 The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, with his hair standing out, sent 15,000 screaming and shrieking teenagers to their feet in Dallas, Sept. 19, 1964.](/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/03/the_beatles_50th_anniversary_please_please_me_photos/beatles_9.jpg.CROP.original-original.jpg)
Photo by Ferd Kaufman/AP