1964

1964

MCMLXIV. Leap Year.

Starts on a Wednesday, ended on a Thursday.


 * FA Cup Winners: West Ham United (beat Preston North End 2-3, 02 May)


 * Christmas Number One: The Beatles - I Feel Fine/She's A Woman
 * Eurovision Song Contest: Copenhagen, 21 March 1964
 * UK Eurovision Entry: Matt Monro - I Love The Little Things (2nd)
 * Contest Winner: Gigliola Cinquetti - Non ho l'età (Italy)


 * Blue Peter Team: Christopher Trace & Valerie Singleton; Sandra Michaels for two editions as stand-in for Singleton.


 * Doctor Who: William Hartnell
 * Big Christmas Day entertainment on BBC1: Christmas Night With The Stars

Main events

 * Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria (29 January)
 * Liverpool FC win Football League First Division title
 * The Beatles visit the USA for the first time; first film A Hard Day's Night released (06 July)
 * The Sun newspaper goes into circulation 15 September
 * Olympic Games in Tokyo (from 10 October)
 * Harold Wilson becomes PM (16 October)
 * Death penalty abolished in the UK

TV
(channel and first broadcast date in brackets)

New shows

 * Top of the Pops (BBC, 01 January), The Likely Lads (BBC, 04 December), Play School (BBC2, 21 April, Match of the Day (BBC2, 22 August), Crossroads (ITV, 02 November), Seven Up! (ITV, 05 May), Stingray (ITV, 04 October)

Shows ending

 * Ghost Squad, This Is Your Life (BBC, until 1969),

Other TV events

 * BBC Two begins transmissions, BBC TV becomes BBC One

Radio

 * Workers' Playtime (Light Programme) ends
 * Radio Caroline begins transmissions (28 March)

Music

 * Biggest selling single: The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love (UK), I Want to Hold Your Hand (USA)
 * Biggest selling album: The Beatles - Beatles For Sale
 * Compilation albums: Frank Ifield - Greatest Hits, Buddy Holly - showcase,
 * Debut albums: The Hollies - Stay With The Hollies, Dusty Springfield - A Girl Called Dusty, Manfred Mann - The Five Faces of Manfred Mann
 * Eponymous debut albums: Kinks, The Animals, The Rolling Stones

Films

 * Wonderful Life (Cliff Richard), A Hard Day's Night (The Beatles), Goldfinger (James Bond), The Yellow Rolls-Royce, Zulu, Dr. Strangelove, Kissin' Cousins, Viva Las Vegas (both Elvis Presley), Mary Poppins,

Births

 * Jane Horrocks (18 January), Christopher Eccleston (16 February), Prince Edward (10 March), Andy Bell (25 April 1964), Bonnie Langford (22 July), Liza Tarbuck (21 November)

Birthdays

 * 20: Brenda Lee
 * 30:
 * 40:
 * 50:
 * 60:
 * 70:

Deaths

 * Name Surname (day)