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The Beatles' legendary US trip in 1964 sparked global Beatlemania. The band left London not knowing what to expect.

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The Fab Four touched down in New York on 7 February 1964. The pilot had radioed ahead and told the band that thousands of fans were awaiting them.

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At an impromptu press conference the Beatles were asked if they could really sing or if they were "nothing but a bunch of British Elvis Presleys".

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"Are you for real?" The Beatles were asked as they hit the US. Their fans certainly thought so.

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The band are credited with lifting the US out of a depression following Kennedy's assassination.

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More than 73 million people watched the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show on 9 February.

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I Wanna Hold Your Hand was a number one single in the US backed by a $50,000 campaign.

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Ed Sullivan booked the band when he saw crowds greeting the band's return from Sweden to Heathrow, London, in October 1963.

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The Beatles' two-week tour, including this concert in Dallas, changed the face of US music forever and heralded a British music invasion.

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A brief stop over in Los Angeles caused pandemonium...

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... and at concerts the screaming and hysteria of the fans became so commonplace the band eventually stopped performing.