Nicol didn't say goodbye to The Beatles; they were sleeping off the previous night's party, and he felt he shouldn't disturb them. The group was celebrating their reunion with Ringo Starr, who had missed the early part of their world tour after being struck down by acute tonsillitis and pharyngitis.
Cameras from the Australian Channel 9 recorded the sixth and final show of the Melbourne leg of the world tour. It was screened on 1 July 1964 as an hour-long special, The Beatles Sing For Shell, named after the oil company which sponsored the broadcast.
Nine of The Beatles' Melbourne performances were included in the show: I Saw Her Standing There, You Can't Do That, All My Loving, She Loves You, Till There Was You, Roll Over Beethoven, Can't Buy Me Love, Twist And Shout and Long Tall Sally.
During Long Tall Sally, a male audience member rushed onto the stage to shake John Lennon's hand.
The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein had initially agreed to allow Channel 9 to show just 12 minutes of the performance. However, after watching the recording an hour after the show he had a change of heart and increased the limit to 20 minutes.
In the end 22 minutes of The Beatles were included, the rest of the hour being footage of Australian and international performers.
It's a wonderful concert performance, and should be a highlight if the Beatles Live Project ever gets realized.
Information from The Beatles Bible.
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