PEOPLE who saw The Beatles at East Lancashire gigs 50 years ago have been urged to take tickets, gig posters and other memorabilia to be valued.

Over the course 1963, the Fab Four performed at the Co-operative Hall in Darwen, twice at the Imperial Ballroom, Nelson, and at King George’s Hall, Blackburn.

By the end of the year the band had been catapulted to fame, with the term ‘Beatlemania’ coined to describe the scenes of screaming fans.

January 25 marks the 50th anniversary of their Darwen performance, where for six pence teenagers could also watch The Electones, The Mike Taylor Combo and The Mustangs with Ricky Day.

On the posters advertising the show, young music lovers wanting to attend the ‘Greatest Teenage Dance’ event were warned tickets were going ‘faster than expected’ and it would be non-stop dancing 7.30 to 11.30pm.

Around 2,000 people packed out ‘The Imp’ in Nelson, which later burnt down, when they arrived on May 11, 1963, with bouncers drafted in to hold back the hordes of screaming girls. The band would return on July 31 that year.

And the Fab Four came to King George’s on June 9, in between times, supporting Roy Orbison at the end of a 21-date tour.

Their set-list included the Ray Charles’ cover Some Other Guy as well as future classics Love Me Do, From Me To You, Please Please Me and I Saw Her Standing There.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the concerts, Beatles and rock and roll memorabilia experts Tracks Ltd have invited the public to have items valued free of charge. A spokeswoman for the firm, based in Chorley, said: “We are inviting members of the public to contact us with any pop music memorabilia for a free valuation.

“Our service is an opportunity for people to have an item of memorabilia that they own appraised.

“Sometimes people want to know the history of the items they have had stored in their attics for the last 30 or 40 years.”

She said Beatles memorabilia was the most valuable, having rocketed 100 per cent in the past five years. She said: “A Beatles concert poster from Darwen, in decent condition, could now bring £4,000 to £5,000, compared with £2,000 five years ago.

“A small ticket stub could be worth £50, while a larger, more elaborate one such as those issued in 1962 or early 1963 would bring about £150.

“The sheer volume of memorabilia that has been kept by people over the years is astonishing.”

Anyone with memorabilia to be valued, call 01257 269726 or email sales@tracks.co.uk.