The Beatles’ first album turns 60

When the album “Please Please Me” was released in the UK on March 22, 1963, it shot straight into the Top 10 of the UK album charts. Six weeks later it was number one and stayed there for 30 weeks. It also spawned a string of hit singles, including “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Twist and Shout”.

But the record was a rushed job. It was mostly recorded in one day by Liverpool’s Fab Four while Paul McCartney and John Lennon had a cold.

At the time, the band had a tight schedule of shows in small clubs or as an opening act for other artists. With a growing fan base and as mainstays of the popular Liverpool Cavern Club, “The North’s No. 1 Rock Combo” sometimes played two shows a day. On New Year’s Eve 1962, The Beatles performed what proved to be their last show at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, a venue where they had played in homes since the 1960s.

The Beatles’ first number one

Between shows, producer George Martin of EMI Records – to which the band signed in 1962 – called the band to Abbey Road Studios in London. The single “Love Me Do”, released in October 1962, reached number 17 in the charts, but still made the Beatles famous across the country.

A successor had to come quickly. Martin desperately wanted to record “How Do You Do It”, written by songwriter Mitch Murray, but the Beatles wanted to release their own composition.

They looked to John Lennon’s “Please Please Me”, which was recorded in September 1962 at the same sessions that “Love Me Do” was written. Peppered with sexual innuendo, the lyrics to “Please” seem almost raunchy by the standards of the time.

Producer Martin didn’t like the style of this version of the song – too monotonous, too slow. And then they were all back in the studio recording the single that would catapult The Beatles to number one.

When recording was finished, Martin was confident: “You’ve just recorded your first number one”. On January 11, 1963, the B-side single “Ask Me Why” was released and Martin proved him right.

The hit single, meanwhile, helped the Beatles promote their daily concert schedule, with manager Brian Epstein now firmly at the helm. It wasn’t long before Martin called them back to the studio on February 11, 1963. The first long-play record was to be made – and in one day!

The Fab Four’s 13-hour recording marathon

George Martin wanted to get the original, raw sound of the Fab Four.

The band was united, having played so many shows, and managed to record the remaining ten songs live – in addition to the four existing titles.

For the last number, “Twist and Shout”, John had to give his ragged voice a rest, forcing Martin to go with a rough take that has delighted millions of Beatles fans to this day.

Martin only used a two-track recorder and only a few instruments were mixed. It took between 15 and 90 minutes per song.

After almost 13 hours, gallons of tea, milk, throat lozenges and cigarettes, the songs were recorded, with Martin later adding some piano tracks.

Despite the rather simple recording technique, the production costs were relatively high: 400 pounds, which would be around 8,500 euros today.

The Beginning of Beatlemania

It was unusual for a band to put so many of their own songs on a debut album at any one time: only six of the 14 tracks on “Please Please Me” were cover versions.

The fact that the Beatles convinced their producer to record their own material meant that the Lennon-McCartney duo was quickly recognized as a songwriter. Paul and John agreed to always use both names, even if a song was written by only one of them.

The “Please Please Me” album still sounds fresh and tests the band’s and George Martin’s perfectionism and conviction to break new ground.

The first of 12 studio albums, the debut feature not only marked the beginning of global Beatlemania, but also the birth of a new way of making pop music that would inspire future generations of musicians.

This article was originally written in German.