Further to your story in The Argus (June 1) about The Beatles’ appearance at The Hippodrome in Brighton on Sunday, June 2, 1963, I remember seeing them but, as others have mentioned, I couldn’t recall any songs as I couldn’t hear them.

If you asked us what we were screaming for we would have had no idea – it was just general hysteria but so enjoyable.

I recall that Roy Orbison was on the bill too. Because he wore dark glasses we thought he was blind. I am ashamed to say that as 14-year-old girls with no tact we pulled faces at him continually from our front-row seats convinced he wouldn’t know. Imagine our embarrassment when we discovered he always wore dark glasses and had nothing wrong with his eyesight.

I have fond memories of going to see many variety shows with our grandparents at the Hippodrome in the 1950s – we used to travel there on the bus, Grandpa bought us some chocolates from the sweet shop over the road (now Choccywoccydoodah) and we would pile in, two or three to a seat and enjoy the spectacle.

Our grandparents regularly reserved a few seats every Saturday night and would phone the box office to say how many they wanted.

Each act was identified by a red-light number at the side of the stage and, during the interval, I recall the fire safety curtain would be lowered to show a fabulous mural depicting a boy pasting billboards. It doesn’t sound that great but I thought it was magical at the time.

As a teenager, my friends and I saw the Rolling Stones, Cliff Richard And The Shadows and the Dave Clark Five at the Hippodrome, as well as other acts around Brighton including The Who at what is now the Sea Life Centre.

They were happy days – the Hippodrome was always packed and had a wonderful atmosphere, giving many a lifelong love of theatre.

M Jacobs, Nevill Avenue, Hove

I wasn’t at the Hippodrome the night The Beatles played in 1963 (I was seven at the time and my parents weren’t rock ’n’ roll enough to let me go to a pop concert) but I have spoken to a couple of people who were there when I was researching for my book: Beatlemania! The Real Story Of The Beatles’ UK Tours.

For that’s what this night was – part of a UK tour The Beatles undertook in May and June 1963. And they were not the only high-profile entertainers on the bill. Sharing the spotlight with them was Roy Orbison and The Beatles’ Liverpudlian counterparts Gerry And The Pacemakers. Young pop fans got quite a bit for their shillings.

I wish I had a fiver for every fan I spoke to who told me they didn’t hear anything for the screaming – the front few rows probably heard a bit, if they weren’t screaming themselves, of course.

Screams or not, those fans would definitely not have heard She Loves You that night (as your article implied) as it hadn’t been written, let alone recorded. And the songs from A Hard Day’s Night would have been heard during a later concert of The Beatles at the Hippodrome in 1964.

The Beatles’ setlist for that May/June 1963 tour consisted of Some Other Guy, Love Me Do, Please Please Me, From Me To You, Do You Want To Know A Secret, I Saw Her Standing There and Twist And Shout.

Martin Creasy, Fleet, Hampshire