Previously lost footage of The Beatles performing on the BBC's Top Of The Pops from 1964, has been found.
The footage shows the Fab Four performing on the show on 19 March 1964, recording performances of 'Can't Buy Me Love' and 'You Can't Do That', A side and B side of a single, which were released a day later, and secured them a fourth UK Number one.
These performances were not preserved by the BBC, like many early episodes of Top Of The Pops, and were not seen for decades. Throughout the 1960s, the BBC wiped and reused tapes, which would have led to the loss of countless episodes of many of their iconic shows, including Top Of The Pops.
But now, Film Is Fabulous, a film preservation group have said that they were presented with a 35mm BBC negative of the performance by the family of a former deceased industry professional at the recent British Film Collectors' Convention in Surrey.
They have said they will restore this footage and return it to the BBC Archives.
In a statement posted on social media, the group said: “Discussions will also be held with other parts of the corporation to ensure the content is made available to a wide audience".
They continued: “Recorded on the 19th March 1964, at the BBC’s Television Theatre (since renamed The Shepherd’s Bush Empire), in London, the inserts beautifully captured the Fab Four at the height of Beatlemania".
“Passages of the recording show the studio, the technicians, and the make-up ladies. There were four takes of the first song, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, with two being aborted because of technical errors. During breaks, the Beatles openly joked, and could be seen dancing to amuse themselves.”
“The other song, ‘You Can’t Do That’, had two takes. During the second of these recordings John Lennon pulled a funny face when the camera came in for a ‘close-up’. It’s an amusing piece of Beatle history", they added.
The Beatles on ToTPs
Film is Fabulous! is delighted to confirm the 35mm negative presented to John Franklin at the recent film convention in Oxted, contains the The Beatles first appearance on Top of the Tops. pic.twitter.com/hPvOjqPR8u
— filmisfabulous (@filmisfabulous) June 18, 2026
If this piece of film is successfully restored, it would be the oldest surviving footage of The Beatles on Top Of The Pops.
Earlier this month, it was announced that The Beatles would be officially celebrating Global Beatles Day, an annual celebration, led by fans and inspired by some of their most iconic moments, which will be celebrated on June 25.
Last month, former Beatle, Paul McCartney released his new studio album, The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, his first solo record in over five years. Find out more on this from Nova here.
