London: "A Hard Day's Night"
and "Help!" locations


rear of Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo


Thornbury Playing Fields



Marylebone Station exterior
...and interior

The rear fire escape of the Hammersmith Odeon (now the Apollo) was the start of the Beatle-frolic sequence accompanied by "Can't Buy Me Love" in "A Hard Day's Night." The Odeon itself was the site of the 38 performances that made up the Beatles' series of Christmas Shows in 1964. The actual frolicking took place at the Thornbury Playing Grounds of Stanborough Road in Hounslow (and also at a helicopter launch pad at Gatwick Airport). The Marylebone Train Station was the setting for the memorable opening scenes of "A Hard Day's Night." The opening scene of John, George & Ringo running toward the camera was shot on Boston Place, the small street that runs along the right side of Marylebone Station. (Paul, disguised, is waiting in the station with his grandfather...)


Lancaster Road
Thames tow-path


Turks Head pub


Three sites from Ringo's "deserter" sequence in "A Hard Day's Night": the road where he begins his adventure (and is recognized and chased by two fans), the riverside path he wanders along and the pub he briefly terrorizes. Lancaster Road is in Notting Hill; the Thames tow-path is near Kew Bridge, and the Turks Head pub is in Twickenham.


Strand-on-the-Green		 v
165 New Bond Street


Ailsa Avenue 1965
Ailsa Avenue 1997

The storefronts of the City Barge pub, by the Thames in Chiswick, and Asprey's (then and now a famous jewelry store) were both featured in "Help." Alisa Avenue, in Twickenham, was the setting for the opening scenes of "Help," as the Beatles enter adjacent row houses that turn out to be one big Beatle home inside (though the interior was actually a set in the Twickenham film studio).


Twickenham Studios viewing theatre
Studio One at Twickenham

Twickenham Studios are a group of buildings located near the St. Margarets train station, west of Richmond and a long distance from London's city center. (The presence of the studios accounts for the Twickenham locales of many of the outdoor scenes.) The first half of the "Let It Be" film was also shot in the cavernous Studio One at Twickenham.


Cliveden House
London Pavilion Theater

Cliveden House, about an hour west of London, was the stand-in for Buckingham Palace in "Help!" The Palace scenes were filmed there, as was the brief romp-in-the-woods "Intermission," which was set in the Clivedon House grounds.
The London Pavilion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus was the site of the premieres of "A Hard Day's Night," "Help!" and "Yellow Submarine," with all the attendant chaos of Beatlemania. In the background of the photo above is the Prince of Wales Theatre, site of the 1963 Royal Command Variety Show appearance.

Click to return to the Beatle sites main page or to go to these LONDON sites: