You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - A Beatles Fanfic

Chapter 2 - A HARD DAY'S NIGHT

••••
It's been a hard day's night
and I've been working
like a dog.
••••

"All right, boys. Settle in here for a bit and you'll be called for once your part in rehearsals are underway." Brian Epstein smoothed his necktie and looked around at the four men he was addressing. "No goofing off, then? Rehearsals are just as important as the performance itself."

The door closed behind Brian leaving the four Beatles alone in the small dressing room. George Harrison sat in a chair, head down, strumming his prized Gretch Tennessean guitar and occasionally stopping to tune a string.

Popping off of the makeup counter where he had been sitting, John Lennon walked towards the door.

"Where are you off to?" Ringo asked.

"Well I'm not sitting here in this coffin of a room all morning, am I?" John responded. "Bound to be birds all over out there dressed in skimpy cozzies. I'm going to go enjoy the scenery."

"Aye, but you know Brian'll have your head once he sees you've gone." Ringo looked at John with raised eyebrows.

"If Eppy had me head every single time I did the opposite of his wishes, I'd've been dead months ago." John turned to Paul, "You coming with?"

With a quick nod and a wink, Paul jumped up from his chair. "Come on, Richie," he said to Ringo, "sitting in this room will drive us all mad. Just a quick walk around."

"This one's important, yeh?" George grunted, finally looking up from his guitar. "Big show tonight."

John opened the dressing room door and peeked out into the hallway, then pulled his head back inside. "Aye, but we've done it before, haven't we? Just a few months ago. The Palladium may be big, but we're bigger." Taking another look out the door he added, "Come 'ed then. Just a quick jaunt around then back here."

The Beatles had made their debut on the television show Sunday Night At The London Palladium on October 13, 1963. Now, three months later, they returned for another performance on the show. The band's popularity had certainly taken off, and they were earning four times as much money tonight than they did last time for their place in the lineup.

The hallways of the dressing area were peppered with people, mostly workers donning name badges or portable two-way radios to talk to the control room. John and Paul made their way down the narrow hall leaving George and Ringo behind in the dressing room.

"Shouldn't there be more birds out here half starkers?" Paul asked, disappointed at the lack of half-dressed women hanging around. "Cozzie changes and whatnot?"

"Ah, they're either all prudes or they're onstage already." John continued to walk towards the stage, Paul following closely behind.

Once the pair made it into the open theatre they ducked behind some of the movable scenery and headed towards the audience seating. Most of the chairs were empty with only a few being occupied by random people, presumably managers, press, or possibly even other acts.

John and Paul slouched down in a pair of seats against the wall towards the back of the audience area and scanned the room. They didn't see Brian Epstein anywhere, but if he was in the studio he would no doubt find them. Brian seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to "his boys" and what they were up to.

"Aye, isn't that the bird you used to take the mick at back in the day?" Paul asked John, nudging him with his shoulder and pointing towards the stage. "The giggly one?"