By Dave Jennings

It was a freezing night in Mold, January 1963, but one that all present will never forget.

This was the night The Fab Four warmed the hearts of 200 lucky fans inside the Mold Assembly Room, as they witnessed history in the making.

Now these memories are brought vividly to life in a stunning exhibition of photographs by Mike McCartney, brother of Sir Paul, in the Atlas Gallery in London.

Whilst Paul was learning his craft as a musician in one room of the family home in Forthlin Road, Allerton, Mike was teaching himself photography in another. He was therefore perfectly placed to capture the evolution of the world's greatest band.

Now, almost 60 years later, Mike has also put his photographs together in a book, Mike McCartney's Early Liverpool, and one of the most striking is of John Lennon in the dressing room in Mold.

Speaking about that night, and his iconic photograph of Lennon, Mike's first thoughts were about the temperature.

Read more: Remembering the night The Beatles came to Mold

He said: "I remember more than anything how cold it was. Everyone was wearing leather gloves, scarves and long coats but things soon warmed up when The Beatles hit the stage. The place was only small but it was packed, with plenty more outside who couldn't get in.

"I love the picture of John as he seems lost in his guitar and totally at peace. I think the basket and the coat pegs show the down to earth surroundings they were used to playing in, just as they were on the threshold of stardom."

Mike also remembers a connection to the Wrexham Leader on the night as David Sandison, who wrote Off Beat, the paper's pop column, conducted one of the first in-depth interviews with the group.

He adds: "I took a picture of Dave with 'Our Kid' in Mold and that's also in my book. Dave was a lovely lad and we kept in touch.

"The booking for the show was made in October 1962, with a fee of £50, which was still a lot for a group at that time.

"However, by the time the show came around, Love Me Do had been a hit and Please Please Me had been released.

"The band were charging a lot more for their shows by then. I've seen it said that they didn't want to play the Mold show as they were only getting £50 and that's not true. The boys loved playing and were keen to come and do the show."

Mike went on to describe long-standing connections to North Wales for both him and The Beatles.

He said: "I got married in Corwen and dad used to have a cottage there down by the river where we would go fishing.

"Portmeirion is also a beautiful place. In my view Clough Ellis, the man who designed it, was a genius.

"Brian Epstein had his own cottage there, where he could go to escape the pressures of Beatlemania. George Harrison, bless his soul, also used to love visiting it."

Mike's photographs show a time now long-gone but that is still of huge cultural importance and North Wales will always be part of it.

• Mike McCartney's Early Liverpool, the new limited edition book by Mike McCartney, is now available to order from MikeMcCartneyBook.com