The Beatles Singles

[Rob]

So this is something I've been interested in putting together for a while now, each week I'm going to put a Beatles single in this post (A side and B side), starting with their first and finishing with their last.


I'm really interested in how the music evolved over the time in the 60s and if it's as interesting as I think it will be, I might do it with other artists over a certain time. I'm not going to be doing solo released singles or singles done with other artists such as Tony Sheridan and it will be on the UK timeline as I think in the US there's a inconsistency with Love Me Do being released a few years after it came out in the UK.

Now their first single in the UK was Love Me Do with a B-Side of PS. I Love You (not that crappy rom-com with Hilary Swank) and whilst it didn't do particularly well in the UK charts initially outside of Liverpool, it was still their introduction to the world as John, Paul, George and whichever drummer featured on the single. Admittedly, I prefer PS. I Love You as a song, but that might be because Love Me Do is totally over-played and corny. Both songs came from the album Please, Please Me which to be fair as far as their albums go wasn't the greatest, but it was a fantastic development of music at the time and it showed the evolution coming out of Liverpool at the time.

The Beatles - Love Me Do

The Beatles - Love Me Do (Single Released 05/10/1962)


The Beatles - P.S. I Love You

The Beatles - Ps. I Love You (B-Side)

[Rob]

Okay I've realised this is going to take a year if I do this once a week... But that's okay, in a year we will probably of heard Hey Jude by Paul McCartney about 30 times for some event or another.

The next single is Please Please Me, which was Beatles first ever number 1. Don't be fooled about Love Me Do, that did not chart at number 1 until 1964 when it was re-released in America. Love Me Do peaked at Number 17 in the UK, whilst Please Please Me hit the number 1 spot in the UK according to official charts at the time on 22nd February 1963, and like Love Me Do, failed to make an impact in the US despite being released on the 25th February 1963.

For me, Please Please Me was a Lennon composition and originally showed signs of blues and skiffle, which Lennon was a fan. However after advise from producer George Martin, the song was adapted to be more peppy and included more harmonies.

The B-Side was Ask Me Why, which was another Lennon composition which was part of the Beatles live performance going back to the days of Sutcliffe and Best, pre-Ringo. For me, these two songs are early signs of Beatles brilliance. The genius in the writing of the songs and the influences drawn from multiple genre's comes as early as these songs.

The Beatles - Please Please Me

The Beatles - Please, Please Me (Single Released 11/1/1963 (UK), 25/2/1963 (USA))


The Beatles - Ask Me Why (2009 Stereo Remaster)

The Beatles - Ask Me Why (B-Side)

[Rob]

No massive descriptions this week. I'm knackered! You'll just have to take my word that this, being the first or second Beatles number 1 in the UK (depending which charts you're to believe), is the moment the band really started on this momentum that they had going for all those years. Now this song isn't on any of the Beatles LP's but was released as a single. If you ask me this sounds more Liverpudlian than anything they had released to date. I'm sure Glad All Over by the Dave Clark Five was heavily influenced by this song. From Me To You was the first Beatles song to chart in America, though it was only off the back of a cover by Del Shannon.

The Beatles: From Me To You

From Me To You (Single Released 11/04/1963 UK, 27/05/1963 USA)


The Beatles - Thank You Girl

Thank You Girl (B-Side)