A Day in the Life Blog

The Beatles at the Locarno Ballroom, West Derby Rd. in Liverpool.

A special Valentine's Day dance. It was the Beatles' first appearance at this Liverpool ballroom, although the Quarry Men did perform here a few times in late 1950's skiffle contests.

The Beatles at the Majestic Ballroom, Hull

The Beatles were at the Azena Ballroom, on White lLn. Gleadless, Sheffield, Yorkshire and Astoria Ballroom, on King St. Oldham, Lancashire

So, it really wasn't unusual for pop groups in 1963 to record an entire album in one day - quality and care were forsaken but budgets were adhered to. What was rare was the Beatles' ability to turn out a brilliant debut album under these circumstances. Please Please Me, the 14-track LP for which all ten recordings were made this day, remains a first-class collection of great performances. There can scarcely have been 585 more productive minutes in the history of recorded music.

Only two sessions (10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 2:30 to 5:30 pm were originally booked, the 2nd session ended at 6:00 and a third, 7:30 to 10:45, was added. The Beatles weren't fully fit, John had a bad cold which affected his voice. Tea, milk, cigarettes and "Soothing and Comforting" Zubes lozenges helped.

A basic run-down of the day: They reached 10 takes of "There's a place" and nine of a song at this point titled "Seventeen" (later changed to "I saw her standing there") Then 7 takes of "A taste of honey", 8 of "Do you want to know a secret", 3 more of "There's a place" 3 more of "I saw her standing there" and 11 of "Misery".

13 takes of "Hold me tight" (this song would remain unreleased until a re-make recorded on September 12, 1963 was included on the group's second album with "With the Beatles",  3 takes of "Anna (Go to him), one of "Boys", 4 of "Chains", 3 of "Baby it's you" and finally, the closing number, 2 takes of "Twist and Shout" (the first of which was chosen for the album).

An article in the February 22nd edition of NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS, and later in POP WEEKLY (probably the work of the same author), suggested that the Beatles also recorded a version of "Keep your hands off my baby" at this session. But the complete set of the day's recording sheets do not mention this title, nor does it appear in the tape library log.

Please Please Me was released in Britain on Friday, March 22, 1963 where it was the best-selling LP for 30 straight weeks, until it was dislodged by "With the Beatles".

THE BEATLES ACTUALLY TOOK A DAY OFF TODAY, 50 YEARS AGO.......

For the Beatles, these Sunderland shows marked the last night of the Shapiro tour's first leg, to be resumed on February 23rd. The Beatles did not participate in two February 10th "houses" at the Embassy Cinema in Peterborough (where their place on the bill was temporarily filled by Peter Jan and the Jaywalkers) because they had to be in London first thing in the morning on February 11, ready to record.

Probably the highlight of an otherwise uneventful tour happened after these two "houses", when the Beatles, Helen Shapiro and Kenny Lynch were ejected from a Carlisle Golf Club dance at  the Crown and Mitre Hotel in the town Center. The reason? The Beatles were wearing leather jackets.

The Beatles at Regal Cinema, Kirkgate, Wakefield, Yorkshire

The Beatles at the Granada Cinera, St. Peters St. in Bedford, Bedfordshire

The Beatles at the Shapiro package tour at Gaumont Cinema, Hallgate, Doncaster, Yorkshire