"Pop Go the Beatles" episode number nine, number nine, etc.

The ninth episode of this popular BBC radio show was taped at the same time as number eight and number ten. Probably taped in between both (naturally) on July 16 1963 at BBC Paris Studio in London, England.
The host for this particular show is the same as the other two; namely Rodney Burke. This taped performance was recorded during the early evening. Unlike the previous episode, this one contains some original composed music as well as the first time we hear the new single !
The show starts with the Little Richard cover "Long Tall Sally" which is sung by Paul. The official version for EMI would only be recorded and released the following year. The A-side of the second single is then performed - John's "Please Please Me". The new single is promoted by way of a live performance of "She Loves You"; the first time this is performed live for the BBC and giving the fans to hear a preview of the single before release. Sandwiched in between the A and B side of the new single is a cover of Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got A Hold On Me" which would be featured on the group's second LP to be released later in the year. The B side of the new single is now played in the form of "I'll Get You" sung jointly by John and Paul. This episode is completed with a cover version of "I Got A Woman" sung by John.
Most of the show is available on bootleg via the way of LP: "Yellow Matter Custard" "Outakes 1", "Beautiful Dreamer" and "The Beatles at The Beeb, Volume Five" It can also be heard on disc four of the CD box set "The Beatles - The complete BBC Sessions". Two of the songs were made official via Apple - "Long Tall Sally" and "I Got A Woman" which can be heard on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "Live At the BBC".

"Pop Go The Beatles" episode number eight

Moving on to the middle of July in 1963, the Beatles once again performed for the BBC on their radio show from the Paris Studio in London. Actually, three shows were taped this day but for this entry we will concentrate on the first taping. The date was July 16 1963. The host for this show is Rodney Burke.
Let's take a look at the tunes performed on this episode. The first song is "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)", an Elvis cover which features some really, really good playing by Ringo. Definitely a hightlight for the drummer. This is followed by "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" - another cover but this time originally recorded by Buddy Holly.  The third song performed is a cover version of "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey" with the Little Richard arrangement. This tune would eventually be recorded for the Beatles' fourth LP "Beatles For Sale" but this performance is recorded nearly a year before the commercial version.
The next song performed is the Teddy Bear's classic: "To Know Her Is To Love Her" which was also taped during the Decca Auditions on the first day of 1962. This version is much tighter featuring Ringo on the drums rather than Pete Best for the earlier taping. Following this is a cover version of "The Honeymoon Song" taken from the soundtrack for the movie "Honeymoon" logically enough. Another version of the song would pop up on the Apple LP "Postcard" by Mary Hopkin with Paul on acoustic guitar and production. Lastly, The Beatles perform a version of "Twist And Shout" being the last song from the first LP. All the songs performed are covers with no original compositions played (for this episode).
The show can be found on bootleg LP including "Yellow Matter Custard", "Airtime", "The Beatles At the Beeb, Volume Four" as well as CD four of the "Complete BBC Sessions" Great Dane box set.

"Pop Go The Beatles" episode number Seven.

Recorded on the same day as the previous episode; the date being July 10 1963 and at the same location as well: Studio Five, Maida Vale Studios in London Town. This certain episode also contained the same host (as all this was recorded in one day !!) Rodney Burke.
Let's run down some of the songs performed for the tape recorders on this episode: A couple of covers being previewed for the upcoming second Beatles' LP, a future 1964 EP contender and some mish-mash as well.
The first song performed is "Memphis, Tennesee" sung by John and a cover of the Chuck Berry classic. I've noticed a lot of Chuck Berry sung through John; a very big influence for sure ! This is followed by an original "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" which is sung by George but penned by the songwriting team of Lennon/McCartney (mainly John); a song from the first LP. The next song is the cover sung by Paul "Till There Was You" which would appear on as yet to be completed second LP "With The Beatles" released later in the year (November to be exact; the 22nd to be even more exact). The Carl Perkin's cover "Matchbox" is up next with Ringo on vocals. A version of the song would later appear on the "Long Tall Sally" EP released in 1964. The next song covered is "Please Mister Postman" sung by John with lads on backing vocals and this one would also appear on the as yet to be released upcoming November spectacular "With The Beatles" LP.  Paul completes this episode with a rendition of "The Hippy Hippy Shake".
This episode can be found on the bootleg LP "Broadcasts" as well as the LP "Airtime". Another alternative can be found on the bootleg LP "The Beatles at the Beeb, Volume Four". Keep in mind that three of the above tunes have been released commercially on the Apple 2-LP/2-CD "Live At The BBC". "Memphis, Tennesee", "Matchbox" and "The Hippy Hippy Shake" can be found on the above.

"Pop Go The Beatles" episode number Six.

On the tenth of July 1963, The Beatles recorded a radio show in London for the BBC. The studio used was Studio Five, Maida Vale. The host for this programme was Rodney Burke.
Once again, The Beatles performed a few songs that they would never officially release for EMI and all of which are commercially available as of the mid 90s.
The first song in the show is "Sweet Little Sixteen" sung by John followed by "A Taste Of Honey" (sung by Paul) from the first LP. Next up is a George vocal on the slightly obscure "Nothin' Shakin' (But the Leaves on the Trees)", a rock-a-billy number. The Beatles' first A-side single is then performed "Love Me Do" with Paul on vocal. Following this, a Johnny Burnette number is played with a John vocal "Lonesome Tears In My Eyes" with triple guitar strumming later used by John on his own composition "The Ballad of John and Yoko".  Lastly, an Everly Brothers tune is next in the form of "So How Come (No One Loves Me)" sung by John and George in harmony.
All of the above songs have been bootlegged on various discs over the years including "Yellow Matter Custard", "Young Blood", "Airtime", etc. They were eventually all pulled together on the excellent LP "The Beatles At the Beeb, Volume Four" and also on the Gread Dane CD box set "The Complete BBC Collection".
All of the above tunes were released commercially on Apple's 2-LP/2-CD "Live At the BBC".

The Beat Show - Live from Manchester

On July 03 1963, The Beatles performed live in Manchester at the Playhouse for the BBC. This show was recorded in the evening. The host for this show is Gay Byrne.
Three songs were performed although only two have shown up on the "Complete BBC Sessions" box set: The first song is the current single (at the time) "From Me To You" and this particular version has not appeare don bootleg. The second the third songs are both from the first LP; these being "A Taste Of Honey" and "Twist and Shout".

"Pop Go the Beatles" episode number Five.

On July 02 1963 (the day after the recording session for the "She Loves You/I"ll Get You" single) The Beatles recorded a BBC radio performance at Studio Five, Maida Vale Studios in London. The host for the show on this particular day was Rodney Burke.
This is one of the best BBC shows that is available to the public. Most of the songs from this show are currently out in commercial form on the 2-LP/2-CD "Live At The BBC" from Apple. The show consists of only one song from the first LP and the rest of the tunes are covers that have never been recorded for commerical purposes (and never showed up on the official Beatles catalogue until 1995 and the above mentioned album).
The first song played is an Elvis cover "That's All Right Mama" which is sung by Paul. This is followed by "There's A Place" from the first LP. A Chuck Berry cover is up next with John singing "Carol". The next tune is one of my favourites; the soulful Arthur Alexander "Soldier Of Love (Lay Down Your Arms)" - a great job by Lennon on this one. "Lend Me Your Comb" is performed after a short intro to the song by Rodney Burke and finally Paul lets out a great vocal for his cover of "Clarabella".
This particular episode has been heavily bootlegged on LP titles such as : "Piece Of Mind", "Rare Beatles", "Soldier of Love" "Broadcasts" "The Beatles At the Beeb, Volume Three" and on the complete sessions CD box set. As stated above, all of songs (with the exception of "There's A Place") have been commercially released on the Apple album but I've included it for continuity purposes.

"She Loves You" Remix Stereo 2

On July 01 1963 at EMI studios (Abbey Road) number two, The Beatles recorded both sides of their latest single. The A side was to be "She Loves You" while the B side was to be "Get You In The End". The title of the B side was changed, however, before release to "I'll Get You".
An interest bit of recording history: the original master reels for this session have been lost or destroyed by 1966. A little carelessness on behalf of EMI considering that this single was one of the best selling singles up to the time in the UK. Strange, in fact. The loss of the reels created a problem.
When came time to create a stereo mix for the A-side, it would be impossible to do correctly without the master reels. How to remix? Well, the EQ was re-arranged to have the bass in one channel (left) and the high end in the other channel (right). This concept was used on the EMI UK only LP "The Beatles Oldies...But Goldies" Christmas 1966 release. A little known fact is that there was another attempt to create a stereo remix (known as Remix Stereo 2) which basically moved the chorus and some guitar parts from the left channel to the right channgel. The RS 2 mix was never used but the take announcement (by Geoff Emerick) and the mix are available on bootleg.
Both announcements and mixes (stereo 1 and 2) for "She Loves You" can be found on "Abbey Road Tape Volume One" and on the CD "Turn Me On, Deadman"

It's Just Another "Saturday Club"

The Beatles recorded a "Saturday Club" radio show for the BBC on June 24 1963. The recording took place at the Playhouse Theatre in London. The host for this particular show was Brian Matthew.
This recording contains two covers, three upcoming tunes from the not-yet-released second LP "With The Beatles" and the current single.
Lots of Chuck Berry tunes on this show. In fact, the first cover is "I Got To Find My Baby" sung by John Lennon. This is followed by "Memphis, Tennessee" which is also sung by John. The third song in the set is the Motown "Money (That's What I Want)" which would be recorded for thier second LP and be the last track on side 2. Following this rocker, we hear Paul sing the showtune: "Till There Was You" - the song would also find it's way on the second LP. The current single "From Me To You" is performed next with John and Paul sharing vocals. Finally, we get to hear George on "Roll Over Beethoven". A version of this would turn up on the Beatles' second LP as well.
The vinyl LP "Outakes 1" (sic) feature some of the tunes while most of the show is available on the bootleg LP "The Beatles At the Beeb, Volume Two" and on CD as "The Complete BBC Sessions".

"Easy Beat" Live Performance

On June 19 1963, The Beatles headed to the Playhouse Theatre in London to perform in concert for a live audience. The occasion was also recorded for an episode of "Easy Beat" on BBC radio so I guess this falls under the catagory of both concert performance and radio performance.
The host for this show was Brian Matthew. The concert took place in the evening with a very enthusiastic audience of mainly young teenage girls (as was the norm for the time).
The first song to be played live for the crowd is the cover "Some Other Guy" with both John and Paul on the lead. This is followed by a slower song "A Taste of Honey" ; the cover from the first LP with Paul singing the lead. Next up are the two sides of the latest 45 single: both original material "Thank You Girl" with John and Paul on vocals and they end with the A-side "From Me To You" with once again John and Paul on vocals.
"Some Other Guy" and "Thank you Girl" made it to commercial release with the 2-LP/2-CD version of Apple's "Live At the BBC" while these tunes and the rest of the show can be found on the LP "The Beatles at The Beeb, Volume One" and the usual suspect on CD "The Complete BBC Sessions".

"Pop Go The Beatles" Episode Four

Another radio performance for the BBC, this time recorded on June 17 1963 in Studio 5, Maida Vale Studios in London, England. The host for this particular show is Lee Peters.
The musical numbers for this show all stem from the current Beatles' LP at the time "Please Please Me" and they are broadcast in the same order as heard on the LP. This is not unusual when one hears the other shows as the band was prone to promote the lastest offering; usually the new single and it's B-side.
The show starts with the original tune "I Saw Her Standing There" with Paul on vocal. The next number features John on the cover "Anna (Go To Him)". The next song features Ringo on vocal and is a cover of "Boys". George is featured next on the cover of "Chains". An original number is next featured and the B-side to the first single "P.S. I Love You" sung by Paul. Lastly, the closing number being the excellent cover "Twist And Shout" screamed by John. :)
The show can be heard on the LP "The Beatles At The Beeb, Volume Three" and also on the usual CD box Set: "The Complete BBC Sessions".

"Pop Go The Beatles" Second Episode

Although it looks like we are going backwards in time, we are actually going forwards. I am presenting the BBC radio show as of the dates they were recorded and not actually the dates in which they were aired. Therefore, we travel to June 01 1963 and note that the second session for the BBC on this day was aired before the earlier reocrding session for the BBC made previously on the same date. I hope you're not confused.
The recording took place in the mid afternoon.  This particular show would be aired on June 11 1963 during the dinner hour ( 5:00PM). The show was recorded at the BBC Paris Studio in London.
The host is once again Lee Peters. The tunes for this show are available on bootleg: the first one being a cover version of "Too Much Monkey Business" with John on vocal. Another cover follows with the song "I've Got To Find My Baby" also sung by John. The third tune to be performed by the Beatles is a cover version of "Youngblood" with shared vocals. All three of these cover tunes would not be recorded nor released as any official EMI release during the 1960s.
As the show progresses, three songs from the first LP are promoted via the BBC performance, the first one being Paul's cover of "Till There Was You", John's cover of "Baby It's You" and the only original composition that exists for this show: the first single "Love Me Do"
Parts of this show appeared on the vinyl LP bootlegs "Youngblood" (which featured the title track) and "Beautiful Dreamer". Another better version can be heard on the LP "The Beatles At The Beeb, Volume Two". On CD, you can find the show on "The Complete BBC Sessions" on the second disc (June 1963).
In 1994: "I've Got To Find My Baby" , "Youngblood" and "Baby It's You" were officially released via Apple on the "Live At The BBC" 2-LP/2-CD set. The following year, "Baby It's You" was the title for the Apple single/CD single.

"Pop Go The Beatles" Third Episode

If you are following my posts in chronological order, you may be asking yourself if I skipped a show. Since I am going by what was "recorded" before what was actually "aired" for the BBC, this is the way it was done:
June 01 1963 was an extremely busy day for the Beatles. It was decided that not one but two shows for the upcoming "Pop Go The Beatles" series be recorded at BBC Paris Studios in one day. This is why the first one recorded was taped in the morning and into the early afternoon. It just so happened that the morning recorded ended up being the third episode aired. The afternoon recording which ended up being the second episode aired will be discussed in the next post. (Whew) !!
Although the two episodes were recorded in one day, the host remained the same; both were hosted by Lee Peters. This particular recording would be aired on the BBC on June 18 1963 which happens to be Paul's 21st birthday.
The first song to be performed (apart from the main theme) is "A Shot of Rhythm and Blues", a cover sung by John and never officially recorded for EMI. The next song to be performed is another cover that was never officially recorded for EMI and once again sung by John: "Memphis, Tennessee". The Beatles stop to give a short rendition of "Happy Birthday" for Paul and then launch into "Till There Was You" from the first LP and sung by Paul. The next song is a cover of George's hero Carl Perkins entitled "Sure To Fall" which is oddly sung by Paul. The Beatles (as a group) did not record this tune for EMI although Ringo officially released a version of the song during his solo career. The Beatles perform another cover entitled "Money (That's What I Want)" sung by John and this tune would be released later in the year for the second LP "With The Beatles". Lastly, the current single is promoted with a performance of "From Me To You".
The songs from this episode are scattered during the early vinyl bootleg days on such titles as "Wonderful Picture Of You", "Youngblood" and "The Beatles At The Beeb, Volume Three". On CD, "The Complete BBC Sessions" also contains tunes from this episode.

The first "Pop Go The Beatles" on BBC

And so the radio blitz continues: I'm always amazed at how much work the Beatles were doing in the year of 1963. Another example: after performing at the Playhouse Theatre, three days later on May 24 1963. The Beatles appear at the Aeolian Hall in London to perform for the first of many BBC inspired shows this time aimed specifically for the group: "Pop Go The Beatles".
On this particular date the following songs were performed and recorded and eventually aired on June 04 1963 around the supper time. The first song being a cover and sung by George: "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby"; eventually recorded as the last tune on the "Beatles For Sale" LP in October 1964. The current single was also performed "From Me To You" but is unavailable as of this writing. The next song to be played is from the current LP at the time: "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" which is the second George lead vocal from this show. Next up is the song "You Really Got A Hold On Me" which would be on the forthcoming "With The Beatles" LP releasesd 5 months after this show. Next is another song from the current LP "Misery" with vocals shared between John and Paul. Lastly, a cover version that was never commercially released on EMI "The Hippy Hippy Shake" with vocal from Paul.
At the beginning and end of the show is the theme song "Pop Go The Beatles". There are two versions of the theme song that show up on bootlegs. The shorter intro and the longer outtro both bookend the performances that are heard.
This show can be heard on "The Beatles At the Beeb, Volume two" on LP as well as the usual Great Dane BBC complete Sessions box set on CD.

Steppin' Out At The Playhouse

On the same day as the previous post, May 21 1963, The Beatles performed live in front of an audience at the Playhouse Theatre in London. I suppose all of their equipment was left at the theatre for the afternoon since the "Saturday Club" recording was done in the morning and this performance was later in the evening.
The live set was broadcast on the BBD on a show entitled "Steppin' Out" and the Beatles were introduced by a BBC lad named Diz Disley (LOL). Anyway, some of the songs performed that evening included "Twist and Shout", "Roll Over Beethoven", "Thank You Girl", "From Me To You", "Please Please Me" and "I Saw Her Standing There".
Only the last two songs are available for your listening pleasure on bootleg: the vinyl LP version being the Transcription series "The Beatles At The Beeb, Volume One" and on CD as "The Complete BBC Sessions" box set as the last two songs on CD 1.

Recording for Saturday Club

On May 21 1963 The Beatles headed out to the Playhouse Theatre in London to record for an upcoming BBC radio performance on "Saturday Club". They were top of the bill for this performance and most of the songs are available on bootleg. The host for this show is Brian Matthew; the actual airing of the show was four days after the recording date.
For this show, the following songs were performed: "I Saw Her Standing There" (the opening track for their current [at the time] LP), "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" (another LP track sung by George Harrison), "Boys" (another current LP track sung by Ringo), "Long Tall Sally" ( a cover of the Little Richard track that would not be recorded by the Beatles for almost another year and an eventual title track for an EMI EP), "From Me To You" (the current single at the time), and finally "Money (That's What I Want)" ( a second cover that would be released later in the year on their second LP; the closer in fact.) The show also features John, George and Ringo reading song request letters from fans.
The performances and the reading of letters for the show can be found on the LP "The Beatles At The Beeb, Volume One" as well as the "The Complete BBC Sessions" Great Dane box set on CD 1. There is also another version on CDR "The Complete BBC Sessions - Upgraded".

"Bad To Me" demo.

Brian Epstein had asked the Beatles (principally) John and/or Paul to write a song for one his "stable" of performers, Billy J. Kramer. This happened in early 1963 and the song itself was probably written late April/ early May 1963.  The song was professionally recorded by Kramer in late June of 1963 and eventually achieved the number one spot in the charts.
"Bad To Me" was the song given away. This Lennon/McCartney tune was written mainly by John but the verses sounds (to me, anyway) very McCartneyesque.
A demo of the song from an acetate given to Dick James and later sold at auction by his Alister Taylor has appeared on various bootlegs. The demo contains a performance by John and Paul on acoustic guitars and both sing on the demo. The demo was probably recorded between mid-May and early-June. The demo also has a bit of a different arrangement than the official Kramer release.
The demo can be found on both "Not For Sale" and "File Under:Beatles" on LP. It can also be found on CD under the titles "Vinyl To The Core" and "Acetates".

Swinging Sound '63

On the evening of April 18 1963, The Beatles performed live in concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. BBC radio decided to simulcast two songs for broadcast (the two songs in question being their latest single "Thank You Girl" and "From Me To You".
When it came time for the live broadcast, The Beatles made an artistic decision to substitute "Thank You Girl" and play "Twist and Shout" instead. The latter song was shortened by removing part of a verse in order for it to have the same approximate length as the original planned B-side. The hosts for the evening were George Melly and Rolf Harris.
Therefore, two songs: "Twist And Shout"/"From Me To You" are available for your listening pleasure on the bootleg LP "The Beatles At The Beeb, Volume One" as well as the "Complete BBC Sessions" CD Great Dane box set.

"Side By Side" for the last time

On April 04 1963, The Beatles had a lunch time session for BBC radio. The reason for the taping was to appear on the BBC program "Side By Side". The recording of the show took place at the BBC Paris studios in London.
It was decided to perform six songs (including the show's theme song) but only five of the songs have appeared on bootleg and one song in particular has appeared on a commercial release by Apple.
The show starts with the "Side By Side" theme song and is followed by a cover tune entitled "Too Much Monkey Business" sung by John Lennon. The next song is rumoured to be the first single "Love Me Do" which alas has not been released in any form yet. The next song recorded for the show is sung by Ringo and is his to feature from the first LP: "Boys".
This is followed by a very interesting choice of material. The Beatles decided to play an original composition for broadcast on the BBC yet never properly recorded this composition for any EMI product at the time. This was very unusual. The song in question is "I'll Be On My Way" sung by Paul McCartney (who probably wrote most of it). It has a very breezy feel to it. The song was eventually given to Billy J. Kramer.
The last song to be performed for this BBC session is a version of their third single; "From Me To You". The host of this radio show was John Dunn. The performance was broadcast at the end of June 1963.
"I'll Be On My Way" has been released on various bootlegs over the years including: "Rough Notes", "The Beatles Vs. Don Ho", "Happy Birthday", "Directly From Santa Claus" and was commercially released on Apple's "Live At the BBC".
The entire show - minus "Love Me Do" can be found on the complete BBC Collection box set from Great Dane as well as the LP "The Beatles At The Beeb, Volume One" on Beeb Transcription Records :)

A Live Performance For A New Single

On April 03 1963, The Beatles arrived at the Playhouse Theatre in London to record live in concert for the BBC radio show "Easy Beat". The main reason was to promote the newest single "From Me To You".  A tape of the performance exists on bootleg. The song is introduced by BBC host Brian Matthews along with a guest appearance of Gerry Marsden (of the Pacemakers). The intro has Mr. Matthews asking Mr. Marsden if the song will be a number one hit with Mr. Marsden repeating "I Hope So" and the quoting his own his "How Do You Do It?" which of course was a huge hit for the Pacemakers but turned down for release by The Beatles.
It's a good version of the tune. The sound is not the best, but the speed and musicianship is very good. Very much worth a listen.
This performance is available on the "Meet The Beeb" and "The Beatles At The Beeb W/Pete Best (sic)" vinly LPs as well as on The Complete BBC Sessions Great Dane box set.

One of two for "Side By Side"

The Beatles appeared at the BBC studios Piccadilly in London on April 01 1963 in order to record two radio shows for future broadcast. Both recordings were intended for the "Side By Side" show with host John Dunn and house band the Karl Denver Trio. Unfortunately, only one of the shows has turned up on bootlegs (the second broadcast in mid-May is available and the first broadcast for late April is unavailable).
The theme song is the title of the show: "Side by Side" with vocals by John, Paul and George and the backing is the Karl Denver Trio. Songs performed for the show include "Long Tall Sally" (which at this point in the Beatles' career, had not yet been recorded officially for EMI), "A Taste Of Honey", "Chains" (both from the current at-the-time LP), the B-side to their new single "Thank You Girl" and finally ; Ringo's vocal number from the current at-the-time LP "Boys".
The tunes from the show and a bit of chat can be found on the bootleg LP "The Beatles At the Beeb Volume Two" as well as on the Great Dane box set "The Beatles - The Complete BBC Sessions".

A "Saturday Club" radio performance

The Beatles were back at the BBC on March 16 1963 in order to plug the lastest music from the debut LP as well as the new single plus other covers. The location for the performance was at the BBC Broadcasting Place in London.
The "Saturday Club" performance starts with two songs from the LP : "I Saw Her Standing There" (shortened for this performance) and "Misery". This is followed by two covers originally written and recorded by Chuck Berry: "Too Much Monkey Business" and "I'm Talking About You" (both numbers sung by John Lennon). The Beatles finish up by playing their single "Please Please Me" followed by a cover version of "The Hippy Hippy Shake" sung by Paul.
All of these can be found on the Great Dane box set "The Complete BBC Sessions". The host for this radio show was Brian Matthews who conducts interviews with the band.

"Here We Go" radio performance.

The day after the recording of their thrid single, March 06 1963, The Beatles were booked to perform for the BBC radio show "Here We Go". The band performed three original compositions: "Misery", "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" and "Please Please Me". All three songs were from the upcoming "Please Please Me" LP. The first two songs would appear as covers for other artist later in the month ; Kenny Lynch covering "Misery" and Billy J. Kramer covering "Do You Want To Know A Secret?". The location of this performance is from the Playhouse Theatre in Manchester.
All three songs appear on the Great Dane label on the CD "Attack of the Fille Beebs, episode one" which uses the familiar William Stout artwork.

"From Me To You" session outtakes.

The Beatles returned to EMI studio 2 in order to record the follow up single to the previously released "Please Please Me/ Ask Me Why" 45 hit. The date was March 05 1963. The session lasted from mid afternoon and throughout most of the evening.
The single was originally to be the two songs: "Thank You Girl" as the A Side and "From Me To You" (a recent composition) as the B side. This was switched around after the arrangement for "From Me To You" was improved on.
The outtakes for "From Me To You" include the first four takes with the arrangement pre guitar solo. The remaining takes ( 5,6,7 and 8) include the middle solo. The song gets as far as take eight which would be used as the basic track for the commercial release. Six edit pieces are also available on bootleg featuring the harmonica overdub as well as vocal overdubs.
The outtakes for "Thank You Girl" feature six takes at the attempt of a basic track with the final take six being used for the commercial release. An edit piece for the ending of the song is attempted as well. The Beatles perform the edit piece from takes seven to thirteen (this edit piece is the one used on the commercial single).
Once both songs were completed, The Beatles turned their attention to a third song: "One After 909". there are no complete takes of the song. Four takes of the song feature breakdowns and take five is basically an edit piece of the ending. Most of the "complete" versions of this song are an edit of takes four and five made in 1976 and the same two takes edited in different spots in 1984 by Geoff Emerick. This version can be found on both the "Sessions" LP as well as the "Anthology 1" commercial release. The entire session can be heard on Vigotone's "March 5 1963 Plus the Decca Tape".

"Please Please Me" Outtakes

February 11 1963 is an important date in musical history. This is the day that The Beatles entered EMI studios (number 2) to record 10 songs in approximately 10 hours and completed their first LP !! Yes, folks...the LP was completed in one day !! The first LP was recorded basically "live" off the floor with every one playing and singing at the same time. There were a few overdubs (mainly percussion, handclaps, double tracking vocals, etc.) but the basic tracks were all live. Fortunately, a lot of the outtakes from this LP are still circulating. In fact, as the Beatles' career moves forward, the method of recording and the reliance of more overdubbing becomes more frequent and true outtakes of the song seem to be less and less. A lot of the "Please Please Me" LP reels have made their way to bootleg, so they are available for your listening pleasure. The LP name was the title track of their second single. Both sides of the first and second single are available on the LP hence only 10 songs recorded on this day.
The first song recorded that day was the original composition: "There's a Place" - all previous attempts at the song (12 takes) are available on various bootlegs mentioned below. Take 13 was the take used on the LP. The second song available is another original composition: "I Saw Her Standing There" - all 12 takes are available on various bootlegs mentioned below. An edit of takes 09 (for the count-in) and take 01 (for the main body of the song) were used as well as edit pieces (handclaps) for the later takes (a mixture of takes 10 and 12). The next original composition "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" is available as takes 07 and 08 (both being backing vocal/percussion overdub takes). Take seven features the back up vocals throughout the whole song but this was changed by take 08 which is also the version heard on the LP. The first cover version appears: "A Taste Of Honey": we can hear both takes 06 and 07 which are, once again, double tracking Paul's vocal. Take 07 is the take used for the LP. We have 08 takes available from the original composition: "Misery". The final version of "Misery" used for the LP ended up being take 16 with overdubbed piano courtesy of George Martin who added this on February 20 1963.
The remaining tracks for the LP are all available commercially and I have not heard outtakes of these.
Most of these outtakes can be heard on the "Ultra Rare Trax" series (mostly volumes 3-4" LP and on the first volume of the "Unsurpassed Masters" series as well.

Saturday Club Debut

The next two years or so would be the busiest years for the Beatles with a various amount of radio appearances, television and concerts and finally recording. On January 22 1963, the Beatles played live at the BBC for their debut on the program "Saturday Club".
The Beatles ended up playing both of their A-sides singles up to that point: "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me". They also performed three covers including "Some Other Guy", "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" and "Beautiful Dreamer".  The host for this particular show was Brian Matthew and the location of the performance was a the Playhouse Theatre in London.
The three cover songs can be found on the bootleg LP "Beautiful Dreamer". The first A-side single "Love Me Do" can be found on the CD bootleg box set "Mythology, Volume 1". The second A-side single has not yet been released as this performance.

Mach Shau !!

For the rest of the year 1962, The Beatles recordings include a fragment of a radio performance conducted for the BBC program "Here We Go". The song (A Taste Of Honey) shows up timed as less than a minute on the bootleg CD "Artifacts".  This is the first instance of hearing Ringo's drumming for the BBC. The show was tape October 25 1962.
A month later at EMI studio two (November 26 1962), The Beatles recorded their second single "Please Please Me/Ask Me Why". This is available commercially in mono and stereo on the LP and CD of the same name.
Lastly, The Beatles were scheduled to finish the year in Hamburg Germany at the newly opened "Star Club" and were taped during their performance at the club by Adrian Barber. The performances were taped on December 28 and December 31 1962 although they may have been taped in between. Most of the material from these tapes come from the earlier December 28 performance. Most of the songs can be found on the "Live At the Star Club" 2-LP commercial release. Some of the stray songs can be found on the bootleg LP "Mach Shau!". Songs include "A Taste Of Honey/ Till There Was You/ Where have You Been All My Life?/ Lend Me Your Comb/ You're Feets Too Big/ I'm Talking about You/ To Know Her Is To Love Her/ Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby/ Matchbox/ Little Queenie/ Nothin' Shakin' but The Leaves On The Trees/ Roll Over Beethoven/ Be-Bop-a-Lula/ I Saw Her Standing There/ Hallejulah I Love Her So/ Red Hot/ Sheila/ Twist and Shout/ Mr. Moonlight/ Sweet Little Sixteen/ Besame Mucho/ Red Sails In The Sunset/ I Remember You/ I'm gonna Sit Right Down and Cry Over You/ Kansas City/ Shimmy Like Kate/ Long Tall Sally/ Falling In Love Again (Can't Help It)/ Road Runner/ The Hippy Hippy Shake/ Money (That's What I Want)/ Reminising/ Ask Me Why" plus a lot of banter and guest waiters singing. It's entertaining but the sound is bad mono and horrible.

Rehearsing at the Cavern Club

One of the rare instances where there is a recording of The Beatles rehearsing at an empty Cavern Club (probably between shows in the afternoon), let alone ANY tape of the Beatles rehearsing anywhere !! Ringo had only been in the band for a couple of months and the first single (Love Me Do/ P.S. I Love You) had been recorded. This rehearsal took place sometime in October/November 1962.
The songs available on bootleg are as follows: "I Saw Her Standing There" (which would open the first LP), two takes of "One After 909" (first recorded March 1963 but not released at the time; later to appear as a re-make on the "Let It Be" official release) and finally two takes of "Catswalk" (unreleased by the Beatles but given to Chris Barber Band to cover. As the song was given away by the composer (Paul), the name of the song was changed to "Catcall").
I have found both "One After 909" and "Catswalk" which are track one and two respectively on the bootleg LP "NOT FOR SALE" (pictured above). It's also available with the tracks "I Saw Her Standing There" and "One After 909" on the bootleg double CD "Anthology Plus" which mistakingly claims the recordings to be from Spring (rather than Fall) 1962 and claims Pete Bests on drums although the style of playing is clearly Ringo.

Live At the Cavern (Part Two) !!

Well, it seems that Granada TV had filmed the Beatles at the Cavern on August 22 1962 but were unhappy with the recording aspect of the film. So it was on September 05 1962 that Granada TV brought their tape recorders and recorded the Beatles re-performing "Some Other Guy" and the idea was to sync the audio to the film. Simple enough (assuming that The Beatles played the song at the same tempo as the previous performance, I guess).
Anyway, two songs were recorded: "Some Other Guy" and "Kansas City/ Hey Hey Hey Hey". The introduction to "Some Other Guy" is once again supplied by Bob Woller (Cavern in-house DJ) with the words: "OK, this is it. The Beatles sing 'Some Other Guy'". The introduction to the "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey" is done by Paul with the words: "Had a couple of requests to do a tune called 'Kansas City' , so we'd like to do 'Kansas City' ".
This alternate version of "Some Other Guy" can be found on the vinyl bootleg: "The Stereo Walk" as well as the CD "Puttin' On The Style". The version of "Kansas City" can be found (in a shortened form) on the "Anthology" documentary DVD/ VHS.

Live At the Cavern !!

On August 22 1962, Granada TV wisely decided to film The Beatles performing a gig at the Cavern Club. The footage is a noon session with the introduction by Cavern DJ Bob Wooler: "At this midday session at the Cavern, we proudly present The Beatles". There is a shot of the stage from the audience's point of view and they play "Some Other Guy". The camera moves up and eventually showing John and Paul. There is also footage from the side and various angles of the stage but I'm not sure which songs the Beatles are performing at this point. All of the footage has the "Some Other Guy" music in the back ground.
This version of "Some Other Guy" also features someone in the audience shouting "We Want Pete" at the end of the song.
The footage with this version of "Some Other Guy" can be found on both the "Complete Beatles" documentary and the "Anthology" documentary as well. The soundtrack of this version is also found on the Silent Sea bootleg series.

"How Do You Do It" recording session.

On September 04 1962, The Beatles walked back into the EMI recording studio in order to produce candidates for their upcoming first single. The session was produced by George Martin in studio two. It seems that The Beatles had been given a demo of a Mitch Murray written song entitled "How Do You Do It" and George Martin had asked that the band learn the song and it would be recorded on this date as one of the candidates for the single.
It seems that the recording was completed in one take (with a second overdub take of handclaps). The singing and playing are fine, but also sound a little reserved. It would have made an "all right" release. The next song completed in over 15 takes was "Love Me Do" which ended up commercially released on the UK and Canadian single. This version features Ringo on drums (this session was also his first with the group). It seems that George Martin didn't think much of the drumming for this version and it was edited according to Norman Smith (the engineer for the session) quite drastically. I have a hard time hearing any major edits to the song myself.
"How Do You Do It" and "Love Me Do" were both mixed in mono only and no true stereo mixes of these songs exist. I still don't understand how George Martin could have been dis-satisfied with Ringo's drumming when the former song was completed in only one take with no drumming problems whatsoever.
"How Do You Do It" first appeared on a vinyl bootleg single in the middle 1970s. It also appears on the vinyl bootleg LP/CD  "Ultra Rare Trax, Volume One" and the bootleg CD "Unsurpassed Masters, Volume One. An edited (by George Emerick) version of "How Do You Do It" appears on the "Sessions" bootleg and finally officially released on the 3-LP/2-CD Apple "Anthology 1" project.

Teenager's Turn - Here We Go (Again) !!

On June 11 1962, The Beatles made another radio performance on the BBC network. This was the second and last time Pete Best was on drums for a radio performance. The studio were these tunes were recorded was The Playhouse Theatre in Manchester.
Some of the Beatles Fan Club were bused down from Liverpool (for a fee) in order to participate in the clapping, screaming, etc. They recorded three songs that have been released on bootleg: the first one being the only Lennon/McCartney original for the evening: "Ask Me Why" with John on vocal, the second one being "Besame Mucho" which was also auditioned a few days earlier at the first EMI session, this one having Paul on vocal and finally the third song being "A Picture Of You" written by Joe Brown and being sung by George.
This show has been spread out on bootleg LPs with "A Picture Of You"on the LP of the same name, "Besame Mucho" coming from the "Directly from Santa Claus" LP (the picture disc version appearing above) and the entire show being released on "Meet The Beeb" and "The Beatles At The Beeb with Pete Best" LPs. The Great Dane box set has the entire show as well.

"Besame Mucho"/ "Love Me Do" Outtakes

Well, not really outtakes as such. More like "unreleased" artist demos. These two selections come from the first time The Beatles entered the EMI Studios in London (now called "Abbey Road" Studios). The date of the artist test was June 06 1962. The band consists of John, Paul, George and Pete Best. The first part of the artist test was conducted with Ron Richards behind the board and George Martin was called in after the second song (according to various sources).
The Beatles performed four tunes on this historic occasion. The first two songs exists but I don't know what happened to the tapes for the last two. The first song recorded was "Besame Mucho". For some reason, I just don't understand why The Beatles would perform the same song that they performed for the Decca Audition earlier in January of that year. The song is latin flavoured and really does not represent the band's direction at the time. Maybe they just liked the song. Paul on vocals for this one.
The next tune recorded was a version of "Love Me Do". An original where John sang the title line at first but it intruded with his harmonica playing so Ron Richards made Paul sing the line. The two last songs recorded were "P.S. I Love You" and "Ask Me Why". All originals with the exception of the first song. Both latter titles would end up on the B sides of the first two singles.
The version of "Besame Mucho" would end up as a possibility for the early 1980s EMI "Sessions" project and be released on the bootleg of the same name. The version of "Love Me Do" comes from an acetate found at George Martin's home in 1994 (WTF ???) and was used on the 3-LP/2-CD "Anthology 1" issue.
This is also the first and last time Pete Best recorded at EMI with The Beatles. George Martin was not impressed with his drumming skills. Simply listen to "Love Me Do" on "Anthology 1" and you will see why.

"Sweet Georgia Brown"/"Swanee River"

The Beatles conducted one last recording session for Bert Kaempfert Productions (as they were contracted with him until the end of June 1962). The contract would be nulled with the condition that the Beatles perform this last recording on this day. It's still not clear to me why the Beatles were in the studio - it has been said that they were there to complete an LP with Tony Sheridan. Interestly, Mr. Sheridan did not attend this session and only two titles were recorded (one which remaims unreleased) !!
"Sweet Georgia Brown" was arranged by Paul McCartney with the line-up of John, Paul, George and Pete as well as pianist Roy Young. The backing tracks were completed on this day and the Tony Sheridan vocals were added on June 07 1962 (all at Rahlstedt Studios in Hamburg, Germany).
A second version of "Sweet Georgia Brown" was recorded on January 03 1964 with a new lead vocal once again over dubbed by Tony Sheridan which alluded to The Beatles Fan Club, their hair, etc.
The first version was issued in mono on the German EP "Ya Ya" in 1962 and not released in stereo until the EP "Hambug Twist" in 1997 !!
The second version with the new lead vocal was first released on a French EP "Ain't She Sweet" in mono in 1964. The stereo version was issued on a 10 inch French LP entitled "Les Beatles".
All of the above "Sweet Georgia Brown" versions can be found on the CD - "Beatles Bop - Hamburg Days" along with the book on Bear Records.
As for the second recording "Swanee River", the tapes has somehow been destroyed or misplaces through time. A different version of the song with Tony Sheridan but not featuring the Beatles backing track has been released unde the moniker "The Beat Brothers".

Teenager's Turn - Here We Go !!

The first BBC live appearance for the Beatles (with Pete Best) was on March 07 1962 recorded at the Playhouse Theatre in Manchester, England.
The Beatles taped three songs for the broadcast (which was conducted the next day). The three songs were all covers: "Dream Baby" by Roy Orbison sung on this broadcast by Paul, "Memphis, Tennesee" by Chuck Berry sung by John and "Please Mr. Postman" by the Marvelettes also sung by John.
This particular broadcast can be heard on the "Wonderful Picture of You" bootleg LP or on the first CD in the Great Dane CD Box set "The Beatles; The Complete BBC Sessions".

The Decca Tapes

On New Year's Day January 01 1962, The Beatles arrived at the Decca Studios in London for a recording audition in order to hear them perform. The head of Decca at the time, a certain Dick Rowe, had asked one of his staff, a certain Mike Smith, to check out the band and have them come down to London if he liked what he saw. Mike Smith liked what he saw and booked the studio. In those days, I suppose New Year's Day was not a holiday like it is today.
Anyway, 15 songs have been issued over the years from this day's work. These tunes are a great example of the early Beatles with Pete Best on drums. The band sound nervous and tired, especially Paul.
14 of the songs first surfaced as seven singles on the "Deccagone" fan club label. All of the singles have picture sleeves.
The entire 15 songs set was eventually released on LP in various forms with my copy being "The Decca Tapes" on the Circuit label and "The Decca Sessions 1.1.62" LP from Topline Records (catalogue number TOP 181. The songs on both of these LPs run slightly fast. The Topline version only contain 12 of the songs (covers) and do not contain the three Lennon-McCartney originals.
The Decca Audition songs include: "Money", "Till There Was You", "Sheik Of Araby", "To Know Her Is To Love Her", "Take Good Care Of My Baby", "Memphis", "Sure To Fall", "Three Cool Cats", "Crying, Waiting, Hoping", "September In The Rain", "Besame Mucho", "Searchin'" plus the originals "Like Dreamers Do", "Hello Little Girl" and "Love Of The Loved". Most of these songs would eventually find their way onto official EMI records, BBC sessions or given away to other artists during the 1960s.
Apple officially released five of the songs on the Anthology 1 compilations:"Like Dreamers Do", "The Sheik Of Araby", "Hello Little Girl", "Three Cool Cats", "Searchin'".

"Ain't She Sweet" session.

The next day on June 24 1961, the Beatles along with Tony Sheridan moved to another studio to complete the three day recording sessions started on June 22. Three songs were recorded on this day: "Ain't She Sweet" had a John Lennon vocal, "Take Out Some Insurance On Me Baby" and "Nobody's Chile" both covers by Jimmy Reed and Hank Snow respectively featuring Tony Sheridan on vocals.
The location of the recordings were at Studio Rahlstedt in Hamburg Germany.
None of these recordings would be used until they were released two years later on a French EP (in mono) and a French 10-inch LP (in stereo). "Nobody's Child" appeared as a B-side in the UK on Polydor NH 52-906 on January 31 1964. "Ain't She Sweet"/"Take Out Some Insurance On Me Baby" appeared in May 1964 in the UK on Polydor and in June 01 in North America on ATCO 6302. All three appear on "The Beatles' First" LP (Polydor 236-201) in the UK and re-released as a single on ATCO as "Ain't She Sweet" with a differenct B side "Nobody's Chile" on ATCO 6308. all three songs were featured on the LP "The Amazing Beatles and Other Great English Group Sounds" on Clarion 601 in North America on October 17 1966. All songs appear on "The Beatles Circa 1960 - In The Beginning" on Polydor 24-4504 LP in North American among other configurations during the last 40 years or so.

My Bonnie sessions

The next studio sessions for the Beatles occurred while they were in Germany playing at the Top Ten Club. In May 1961, Tony Sheridan was signed to a record deal with Polydor and The Beatles were hired to back up Mr. Sheridan for some recording sessions.
The sessions took place on June 22 and 23 1961. The following songs were recorded: "My Bonnie" (with both the German and English intro), "The Saints", "Why" and "Cry For A Shadow" (this last song being an original Lennon/Harrison composition). All of the above were recorded in amazing sounding stereo although the original versions were first released in mono.
"My Bonnie"/ "The Saints" was first released in Germany on a single in mono, "Why" and "Cry For A Shadow" were first released in mono on a French EP. Eventually, all of the tracks were released in mono and stereo on various compilations (E.G. the first two tracks on the "My Bonnie" LP and "Let's Do the Madison" LP, all four tracks on "The Beatles Featuring Tony Sheridan & Guests", the first track for "The Best Of Tony Sheridan", all four tracks on "In The Beginning (circa 1960)", etc.)

"That'll Be The Day"/ "In Spite Of All The Danger"

The first "professional" recordings by the upcoming young lads from the 'Pool. Various members of the "Quarrymen" including John, Paul and George along with John Lowe on piano and Colin Hanton on drums. The year was 1958. The exact date is unknown to me.
The "studio" was owned by a certain Mr. Percy Phillips who would (for a fee) record the lads direct onto a 10 inch 78 rpm shellac disc.
The two songs chosen for the occasion consisted of a Buddy Holly cover and an original. The Buddy Holly cover was "That'll Be The Day" sung by John. The other side of the 78 consisted of the original McCartney/Harrison composition "In Spite Of All The Danger" which - oddly enough - also sounds like John.
Once the recording was completed, the 78 was passed around from band member to band member and finally rested in John Lowe's dresser drawer for 23 years until mid 1981. The disc was to be auctioned off but instead was bought by Paul McCartney who currently owns the original disc.
Both songs are available with a lot of noise reduction on the "Anthology 1" 3 LP/2CD set.

On to the next round...

Now that we've seen all of the commercial releases (well, most of them anyway). Let's move on to to other pastures and we'll be taking a look at the bootleg and pirate releases and songs and things like live, outtake and otherwise "different" version of the tunes we all know and love.

The Beatles In Mono (box set)

On the same day of release as the Beatles stereo remastered box set (September 09, 2009), Apple also released another box set of the mono mixes for 10 albums including "Please Please Me"/"With The Beatles"/"A Hard Day's Night"/"Beatles For Sale"/"Help!"/"Rubber Soul"/"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"/"Magical Mystery Tour"/"The Beatles (White Album)".  The catalogue number for the set is Apple 099969.
This set also contains some unique mixes for both the "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" sets. The original stereo mixes from the LP versions are included (the other stereo mixes similar to the 1987 releases on CD are contained on the stereo box set - mainly differences in panning for the vocals). The set also contains a 2-CD compilation entitled "The Beatles Mono Masters" which collects the non-LP tracks mixed in mono during the sixties. The set also contains a 44 page book with photos and liner notes by Kevin Howlett.
The outer box is white with a black frame (opposite to the stereo box) with the box set title in black and the Apple logo beneath it. The side of the box also has the box set title in black. The back of the box has a slick stuck on with the box set title and an explanation of the contents. At the bottom are the bar code, catalogue number, Apple logo, the band website address and the trademark logos. The side of the box opens up to reveal an interior half angled box containing the CDs and the booklet.
All of the CDs have outer clear vinyl sleeves (similar to the Japanese re-sealable type). All of the reproduction artwork, layouts, inserts and inner sleeves are present and re-create the look of the 1960s mono Lps (in miniature form, of course). The Beatles Mono Masters 2-CD has a white cover and the title in black on the front the title on the spine, the disc one and disc two tracklisting on the back, Apple logo, band website adress and copyright information at the bottom. This bonus disc also has the outer clear sleeve and is gatefold revealing a black and white photo of 1963 era Beatles. The labels are Yellow/black Parlophone for disc one and the whole Apple label for disc two. The tracklisting for disc one: "Love Me Do" (version w/Andy White), "From Me To You", "Thank You Girl", "She Loves You", "I'll Get You", I Want to Hold Your Hand", "This Boy", "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand", "Sie Liebt Dich", "Long Tall Sally", "I Call Your Name", "Slow Down", "Matchbox", "I Feel Fine", "She's A Woman", "Bad Boy", "Yes It Is" and "I'm Down". Disc two: "Day Tripper", "We Can Work It Out", "Paperback Writer", "Rain", "Lady Madonna", "The Inner Light", "Hey Jude", "Revolution", "Only A Northern Song", "All Together Now", "Hey Bulldog", "It's all Too Much", "Get Back", "Don't Let Me Down", "Across The Universe" and "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)". Note that the four mono mixes for the "Yellow Submarine" LP are included but were never used on the original LP and Billy Preston gets credit for "Get Back" and "Don't Let Me Down" on the back cover.
The booklet also has a white cover with the box set title on the front. The back cover features a black and white photo of the band from the March 25 1963 session. The book has an introduction and a track-by-track liner notes for all of the songs contained on the 2 bonus discs. Also included are the tracklisting for all of the mono CDs contained in the set with photos of the front cover and a bonus photo. The production credits for each disc and the publishing for each disc are also included. Various photos of the Beatles throughout thier active career are also included throughout the booklet. Very classy indeed !!
The front and back covers of the CDs are the same as the original mono LPs. Even the tri-fold construction on the back of the covers is reproduced !! Nice.  "Please Please Me" has the Black/Gold Parlophone label on the CD - "With The Beatles" to "Pepper" have the Yellow/black Parlophone labels. "Magical Mystery Tour" has the rainbow Capitol label. "The Beatles (White Album)" has the whole Apple lable for disc one and the half Apple label for disc two. All inserts are present: "Beatles For Sale" is gatefold; "Pepper" has the funky inner sleeve, gatefold and cut-outs/insert. "Magical Mystery Tour" has the booklet present in the gatefold. The White Album as the poster/four individual photos and is a top loader similar to first mono presses in 1968 ! A truly nice package and well worth getting ! Highly recommended. This was truly done right by Apple !!
Originally, this package was to be limited but as time has gone by, it seems that there are quite a few copies still available through the normal channels.
As a side note, the stereo box set has definitely been counterfeited with cheap reproductions so beware of this as well !!

The Beatles Remastered Stereo Box Set.

The Beatles Remastered Stereo Box set was released on September 09 2009. The ads for the set contained the reference to 09.09.09. which is interpreted as the phrase from "Revolution No. 9" (a track from "The Beatles (White Album)".  The catalogue number for the box set does not appear on the outer bos. My particular set was bought in Canada which I will use for reference.
This release was quite welcome at the time of it's release. All of the CDs contained replace the 1987 stereo CDs. The remastering was done at Abbey Road Studios by Guy Massey and Allan Rouse. The set contains the following CDs: "Please Please Me", "With the Beatles", "A Hard Day's Night", "Beatles for Sale", "Help!","Rubber Soul", "Revolver", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Magical Mystery Tour", "The Beatles", "Yellow Submarine", "Abbey Road", Let It Be" and "Past Masters". All of the above CDs use the UK tracks with the exception of "Magical Mystery Tour" which was originally on the Capitol label, "Yellow Submarine" uses the 1969 version rather than the "Songtrack" version. "Past Masters" and "The Beatles" contain 2-CD configurations. The set also contains a DVD mini documentary on the "making of" for the various CDs contained within the set.This box is not available on vinyl.
The outer cardboard slipcase of the box is black at the front with a thin white border. "The Beatles" logo and a full Apple are also present. The sides of the slipcase have "The Beatles" logo. The back of the slipcase contains the thin white border along with green and white lettered blurbs indicating what is contained inside and mini photos of the front covers of the CDs. The Apple, Capitol, DVD, Quicktime and advanced CD logos are at the bottom along with the Beatles website address and the copyright information. The inner case has the same front and sides as the outer case. The back of the inner case contain "The Beatles" logo and a sliced Apple.
The "Please Please Me" CD has a tri-fold digipack style cover with a 20 page booklet tucked into the left panel which features the whole Apple logo on a white background. The other two panels have photos from the era. The booklet contains photos from the era as well as liner notes from Kevin Howlett and Mike Heatley. The CD label has the early Parlophone gold style which the original LP contained.The tracklisting is contained on the back cover along with the copyright information and Apple/EMI/Capitol/ etc. logos.
The "With The Beatles" CD also has the tri-fold cover although the Apple is on a black background. A 20 page booklet is also present with photos and liner notes of the area penned with the same authors as above. The CD label contains a simile of the Yellow/Black Parlophone style used on the original LP.
The "A Hard Day's Night" CD has the tri-fold and booklet. Apple is on a white background and the label is Yellow/Black Parlophone.
The "Beatles For Sale" CD has the tri-fold and booklet (lots of nice photos from Abbey Road studios !!). Apple is on a black background and the label is Yellow/Black Parlophone.
The "Help!" CD has the tri-fold and booklet (featuring some colour photos). There are recording notes by George Martin contained in the book. Apple on a white background and the label is Yellow/Black Parlophone. Like the others, tracklisting on back cover.
The "Rubber Soul" CD has the tri-fold and booklet. Apple is on a white background and the label is Yellow/Black Parlophone. The "Revolver" CD also has the tri-fold and booklet. Apple is on a black background and the label is Yellow/Black Parlophone.
The "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is tri-fold and the booklet for this CD has been expanded to 32 pages. There is an intro by Paul McCartney and George Martin. The lyrics are also printed. The Apple logo is on a red background. The label is Yellow/Black Parlophone.
The "Magical Mystery Tour" CD is tri-fold and the booklet has been expanded to 36 pages with the reproduction of the entire LP booklet first released on Capitol, the lyrics and liner notes. The Apple is against a white background and the label is the 60s Capitol "Rainbow" version.
The "The Beatles (White Album)" CD comes in a white slipcase with "The Beatles" embossed at the front. The back of the slipcase contains the tracklisting. The cover itself opens twice to reveal the four photographs of the individual band members taken from the portrait photos originally released with the double LP. The booklet is tucked behind the John photo containing 28 pages and notes as well as the complete lyrics. The first CD is behind the Paul photo with the label being the full Apple. The second CD is behind the George photo with the label being the sliced Apple. A tiny reproduction of the original poster is behing the Ringo photo.
The "Yellow Submarine" CD has the tri-fold and 20 page booklet. The Apple is on a white background and the label is a full Apple.
The "Abbey Road" CD has the tri-fold and 16 page booklet. The Apple is on a white background and the label is the full Apple.
The "Let It Be" CD has the tri-fold and 22 page booklet. The Apple is on a black background and the label is the full Apple.
The "Past Masters" CD contains 2CDs. It is tri-fold and contains a 30 page booklet. The first CD is tucked in the middle pocket and has the Yellow/Black Parlophone label while the second CD is tucked in to the right pocket and has the full Apple label. The Apple on the left is on a black background.
The "Mini Documentaries DVD included in the box set is gatefold. The front cover has "The Beatles" logo on front and the title. The inner sleeve shows a photograph of the Beatles taken at Abbey Road during the "Sgt. Pepper" sessions. The back cover has the chapter listings, credits, the Apple logo and the copyright information.
All of the above are true stereo with the exception of "Love Me Do" (both the Ringo and Andy White versions), "P.S. I Love You", "She Loves You", "I'll Get You", "Only A Northern Song" and "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" which are the original mono mixes; the stereo tapes do not exist for the songs above.

The Beatles 09.09.09 Sampler

In the middle of the summer 2009, it was announced by Apple that the Beatles catalogue would finally be released in remastered stereo. This announcement was a God-send to all Beatles fans who had waited since 1987 to have the music sounding as good as possible with the modern technology available. The entire UK canon plus "Magical Mystery Tour" and "Past Masters" would finally be released on compact disc complete with bonus DVD and either as individual discs or as a box set. But more on that later....

A 2-CD sampler was issued to radio stations around the world in early September 2009 (exact date unknown). The title of the sampler is: "The Beatles 09.09.09 Sampler" in reference to the fact that both a stereo and mono box set of the remasters was to be released on September 09 2009 and the date chosen in reference to the "number 9...number 9...number 9" quote from the "Revolution No. 9" track on the Beatles double "White Album". The catalogue number for the sampler is Apple 5 0999 6 84414 25.

The two compact discs are housed in a gatefold CD cover. The background is black and the front cover has the Beatles logo in white along with the sampler title. The spine print also includes the title of the sampler. Very plain, very simple. The back cover consists of the tracklisting for disc one and disc two. 16 songs on each CD for a total of 32 songs.

The inner sleeve, if you will, reveals text on the left panel explaining that the catalogue is to be released in remastered stereo along with instructions to "listen". The "all rights" claim is below the text. On the right side panel, all of the front cover art work to the collection is reproduced in miniature form along with the producer's credit and technical information. The Apple logo is underneath the information along with the Beatles website address.

CD 1 has the reproduction Parlophone label similar to the original vinyl. The background is black and the Parlophone lettering is yellow. The trademark symbol (in yellow), the record speed (33 1/3) and stereo lettering are silver. Underneath the center hole is the sampler title and "disc 1" followed by the artist name and "made in UK" underneath. The catalogue number is to right. CD 2 has the reproduction of the full Apple label from the side 1 vinyl records. The background is black filled out by the huge full Granny Smith Apple. The sampler title is above the center hole and the catalogue number is to the left. The artist name is once again below.

The tracklisting is as follows: CD 1 "I Saw Her Standing There", "I Wanna Be Your Man", "This Boy", "Things We Said Today", "Eight Days A Week", "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", "If I Needed Someone", "Rain", "Here, There and Everywhere", "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!", "The Fool On The Hill", Glass Onion", "Mother Nature's Son", "Hey Bulldog", "Something", "Two of Us". CD 2 "Please Please Me", "All My Loving", "If I fell", "Honey Don't", "I'm Down", "I Need You", "Day Tripper", "Drive My Car", "And Your Bird Can Sing", "She's Leaving Home", "I Am The Walrus", "Back In The USSR", "Long, Long, Long", "All Together Now", "Come Together", "I've Got a Feeling".

The Beatles "LOVE" CD Sampler

Another project, another sampler. This time Apple released a CD Sampler for the "LOVE" project in both the UK and North America in the fall of 2006. The catalogue number on my copy is Apple 0946. My copy is a North American description with the major differences (as in most cases) is the placement of the "Capitol" or "Parlophone" logos and the "FBI" warning on the North American version but not on the UK versions.

The front cover has the Beatles logo in dark, dark brown (almost black) against a white background. The Beatles jumping silouettes are in red with the "LOVE" logo in red and black. There is small print along the bottom of the front cover stating "Licensed for promotional use only. See package for details".

The back cover features the artist and title written in the dark brown/black followed by the tracklisting, composer credits and publisher. The production credit of George Martin and son follows the tracklist. The Apple logo is to the left and the Capitol logo (in North America) or Parlophone logo (in the UK) is on the right. This is followed by the wetsite address and trademark information. On the North American copies, the FBI logo follows. Underneath all this at the bottom of the back cover is the copyright information. All the text is written against a white background.

The disc itself is silver with white perimeter print containing the all right /manufacturing information. The bottom of the CD has the "LOVE" logo in outline alont with the jumping silouettes. On the left is the Capitol and Apple logos (Parlophone for the UK) and to the right is the Compact Disc logo.

The CD contains four tracks from the commercial CD/2-LP: 1. Strawberry Fields Forever (Love Version). 2. Octopus's Garden (Love Version). 3. Lady Madonna (Love Version). 4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Love Version).

Each Beatle is represented beginning with John, then Ringo, then Paul, then George.

The Beatles "LOVE"

A new project released by Apple/EMI was entitled "LOVE". The tracklisting consists of mash-ups for the soundtrack to the Cirque Du Soleil Vegas show using re-mixed Beatles songs. The soundtrack was first released in CD format for the UK on November 20 2006 and for North America a day later on November 21 2006. The catalogue number for the CD is Apple 09463 and there are two choices in format : one being a regular CD and other being a CD/DVD-Audio (which plays in 5.1).

The 2-LP vinyl version of "LOVE" was released five months later on April 30 2007 worldwide although the vinyl was manufactured in England. The catalogue number for the vinyl version is the same as the other formats: Apple 09463 - the sub numbers vary depending on the format.

The front cover for this project shows a colourful yellow and red swirly background. The band logo is on the left in a dark brown (almost black) colour, the "LOVE" title has the letters in dark brown/black with the out lines of the letters in red and this is surrounded by the band members in red silouette from the original Dezo Hoffman photograph taken on Monday March 25 1963 at Allerton Golf Course in Liverpool. The band members have been re-arranged with the original line up on the black and white Hoffman photo as John, Ringo, George and Paul from left to right. On the "LOVE" front cover the member have now become Ringo, Paul, John and George from left to right.

Let's start with a description of the CD/DVD-Audio which I happen to own: there is an outer slip with the front cover as described above. The top and bottom of the slipcase have the front cover logo, the title of the project, Apple, Capitol and catalogue number. The back of the slip contains the tracklisting, the UPC code, the FBI logo and warning (all on the left side). The back also contains the band member silouettes, the website address, various logos, trademarks, composer information and copyright information (all on the right side).

The digipack opens has the front cover and the back is simply the yellow/reddish background with the internet address, composer's credits, copyright and various logos ; FBI, Dolby, DTS, DVD, Apple, Capitol at the bottom. The digipack opens up to reveal more of the background and then opens to reveal the two discs with the tracklisting on either side of the openings. The disc labels feature the background colours and the front cover logos in yellow on the CD and in brown on the DVD-audio. The Apple logo is featured on the left hand side. (The Capitol logo is above it on my North American copy). Copyright information is printed on both discs in white along the perimeter of the disc (s). The CD format also contains a 28 page booklet with an introduction by George Martin and Giles Martin with credits and copyright information. The rest of the booklet features various colourful images and the band members, scene images from the Cirque Du Soleil stage show and various montages.

The LP version features two discs and a gatefold cover. The front cover is the same as the CD, the back cover has the tracklisting under the individual sides in brown, the internet address, the Apple, Parlophone UPC code and Cirque Du Soleil logos from left to right. Underneath are the copyright information. The spine contains the catalogue number, the artist/title, "music from EMI" and the Apple logo. The inner gatefold photo reveals a colourful montage with the band members. The large book has the same information as the CD booklet but much, much more colourful, larger and nicely designed.

The two records come in white inner sleeves, Side A and B have a red label with the yellow front cover logo, the tracklisting for each side, the side letter on the right, the parlophone and Apple logos on the left and the copyright information written in yellow along the perimeter. Side C and D have a yellow label with the red front cover logo, same as above with the exception of the perimeter print being red instead of yellow. Both records are on black vinyl.

The tracklisting is as follows:

"Because"/"Get Back"/ "Glass Onion"/ "Eleanor Rigby"/ "Julia (Transition)"/ "I Am the Walrus"/ "I Want To Hold Your Hand"/ "Drive My Car/What You're Doing"/ "Gnik Nus"/ "Something"/ "Blue Jay Way (Transition)"/ "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite/I Want You (She's So Heavy)/Helter Skelter"/ "Help!"/ "Blackbird/Yesterday"/ "Strawberry Fields Forever"/ "Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows"/ "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds"/ "Octopus's Garden"/ "Lady Madonna"/ "Here Comes The Sun"/ "The Inner Light (Transition)/ "Come Together/Dear Prudence"/ "Cry Baby Cry (Transition)"/ "Revolution"/ "Back In The USSR"/ "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"/ "A Day In The Life"/ "Hey Jude"/ "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)"/ "All You Need Is Love".

The Beatles' The Capitol Albums Vol. 2 Sampler

In early April 2006, Apple/Capitol/EMI released a CD sampler for the Capitol Albums Vol. 2. The catalogue number for the CD is Apple/Capitol DPRO 0946.

The front cover is similar to the previous volume 1 sampler; the middle has the large black label with rainbow perimeter print and the white playhole in the middle. The center of the label has the band logo in yellow and red with the title underneath in white along with the Capitol logo. The four front replica covers are as follows: "The Early Beatles" in the upper left; "Beatles VI" in the upper right; "Help!" in the lower left and "Rubber Soul" in the lower right.

The back of the sampler has the same colour design as the previous volume 1 sampler: purple into red into orange into yellow etc. The band logo is at the top in white followed by the title. Underneath is the tracklisting twice (once for stereo and once for mono), the production credit to George Martin in black followed by the composer credits. The blurb "From The Capitol Albums: Vol. 2" in black and indicated which songs appear for the first time in stereo. At the lower left are the Apple/Capitol/Compact Disc/ and FBI logos appear. Finally, at the bottom is the catalogue number and copyright information.

The CD has the black label with rainbow perimeter. The artist and title are at the top in white, the tracklisting in white under the playhole. The Capitol logo is at the left and the catalogue number, compact disc logo and EMI logo are at the right. At the bottom is the Apple logo and in the perimeter rainbow colours are the copyright information and FBI warning.

The tracks include "Baby It's You" and "Boys" from "The Early Beatles" collection; "What You're Doing" and "'I Don't Want to Spoil The Party" from the "Beatles VI" collection; "The Night Before" and "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" from the "Help!" soundtrack; "Think For Yourself" and "I've Just seen A Face" from the "Rubber Soul" collection. All tracks are offered in stereo followed by (mainly fake) mono mixes.