Early Beatles Songs PDF

Today, it is taken for granted that bands write their own material.
Back in the late

1950s, it was practically unheard of - indeed the possibility that guitar groups could
also author their own songs is one of the many ways The Beatles themselves altered
the pop music industry. This site was created to document and celebrate the
development of this process.
The pages here will serve as a guide to The Beatles' very early songwriting efforts.
By "early" we mean tracks written by one or more of the group prior to the start of
1963 - which is to say, before the group made their name. The site does not cover
the group's recordings and performances of tracks written by others.
We have done our best to present all the songwriting history which is on record. The
information gathered and assessed here is of course based on previous work by
Beatle-ologists and authors, and we rely on them for accuracy.
Many of the songs under discussion can be found on bootlegs or official releases,
and in each case, readers are pointed to the relevant place to hear what survives of
each track. Most of them can be listened to one way or another!
We are not here to promote the trade in illicit recordings, but readers should be
aware that where bootlegs are mentioned on this site, the majority can be freely
heard via YouTube, which we would recommend as a point of reference. This is
certainly the case at the time of writing, although things could conceivably change in
the fullness of time.
Please use the form below to contact us, if you have anything to add or wish to make
any comments on the site.
Overview
There are several dozen compositions by The Beatles which definitely or probably
pre-date their first official release, "Love Me Do" - itself one of these early numbers,
dating to 1958. Many of them are fascinating in their own right, and go back to
McCartney's first ever effort, "I Lost My Little Girl" from 1956.
McCartney was The Beatles' main writer in the early days, and for some years after
he teamed up with Lennon in 1957, continued to be the dominant force. A number of
his early songs found their way into the set of The Quarry Men, with Lennon showing
sufficient inspiration to begin writing himself. Lennon's first full song is usually given
as "Hello Little Girl", from late 1957.
The joint Lennon-McCartney credit was agreed on in 1959, after the group emerged
from a fallow period following the death of Lennon's mother. By now, George
Harrison was also a group member, and although he wrote nothing in his own right
before The Beatles were famous, has the distinction of being co-credited on two of
the group's most important early recordings: "In Spite Of All The Danger" and "Cry
For A Shadow".
Evidence for the early catalogue is varied, but there are a few key sources we can
rely on. One is the group's early set lists, which where available, reveal when
particular songs were introduced. Mark Lewisohn (The Complete Beatles Chronicle)
has itemised the band's live repertoire and given dates for each song they performed
live. Individual set lists are fascinating and reveal that Lennon and McCartney were
strangely unsure of their own writing ability, with only very few originals appearing in
their live sets before 1963.
Click here for details of the group's early live set lists
Another key source are the so-called Forthlin Road tapes. These consist of audio
reels of The Quarry Men in rehearsal, captured at McCartney's home circa April
1960. Referencing these confirms the original compositions recorded must have
been written no later than that point.
Click here for details of the Forthlin Road tapes
Another valuable reference point is the bulky audio document which comes from the
1969 Get Back sessions. Many Lennon-McCartney oldies were run through, all of it
captured on tape, and in some cases these constitute the only known record of
particular compositions. (Of course, accurate dating for each early song which crops
up does not exist.) One of these, "One After 909" (written 1957), made its way onto
the final Let It Be album, thus becoming part of The Beatles' official EMI discography.
Click here for details of the Get Back recordings
There are other sources available as well, including interview remarks which shed
light on early tracks, and the eventual full recording of many of them. The most
celebrated is probably "When I'm 64", an early McCartney instrumental from around
1958, which was transformed by the addition of a 1966 lyric into one of the most
famous tracks on the legendary Sergeant Pepper album.
Others were latterly successful as well, often in the hands of other recording artists. It
is impressive to see early compositions such as Lennon's "Hello Little Girl" (1957)
and "Nobody I Know" (1961) make the Top 10 as later cover versions. One wonders
why they were not more pushy with promoting their original material back in the day.
How many songs did Lennon and/or McCartney write before they were famous? It's
the subject of debate. Hunter Davies, in his 1968 group biography, claimed 50 were
written in 1957 alone, while McCartney has claimed 100 co-writes with Lennon very
early on - although he has also admitted to sometimes exaggerating his numbers.
Subsequent research by Walter Everett and others has pinned down approximately
50 between 1957 and 1963, although there must surely be many more which have
been lost completely over the years. (Jane Asher for example is known to have
thrown out several books of hand-written Lennon-McCartney compositions in 1968,
the contents of which are unknowable.)
This site traces all the group's known original works, on a year-by-year basis. The
chronology is not precise (and in fact is likely erroneous here and there), as were are
forced to make educated guesses as to the vintage of many songs, and even then
can only pin them to the nearest year. Nonetheless, we have attempted to place the
material in order.
Some early set lists

Records exist of the repertoire of The Quarry Men and The Beatles over time, but
looking at these lists alone does not reveal which songs were current alongside
which others. For this, we need to look at specific sets known to have been
preformed on given nights.
There are not too many to examine, but the few we have reveal one very important
detail: The Beatles seemed to place relatively little importance on their own songs,
preferring to fill their sets with covers. Why is this? We don’t know for sure, but it is
reasonable to assume that they had little confidence in their own efforts. After all, the
cover versions they performed were hardly standards, so it was not a question of
crowd-pleasing.
We should also contemplate their first professional recording date, in which they had
the chance to showcase two of their own songs between backing tracks for Tony
Sheridan. The two they chose were the instrumental “Cry For A Shadow”, and, as
their centre-piece a Lennon vocal spot. But not, for example “I Call Your Name”, “One
After 909” or “Hello Little Girl”; they opted instead for “Ain’t She Sweet”, a 1927
composition by Milton Ager and Jack Yellen recently covered by Gene Vincent.
Likewise, when they did their first major audition, for the prestigious Decca label, they
pulled just three of their own tracks out, filling the rest of their set with a dozen
covers. Clearly, they weren’t too concerned with promoting themselves as writers,
preferring instead to sell themselves as performers of songs by others. Here are
some of the group’s known set lists, which underlines the point:
Beatles originals are in bold; the rest are cover versions

Early 1960
(location unknown)
(two originals)
Johnny B Goode
Gone, Gone, Gone
Ain’t She Sweet
Hallelujah
Carol
Sweet Little Sixteen
Milk Cow Blues
Move Over
True Love
Blue Suede Shoes
Honey Don’t
Lend Me Your Comb
Dance In The Streets
Up A Lazy River
Somebody Help Me
Home
Winston’s Walk
Catswalk
Rock-a-chicka
Be-Bop-A-Lula
What’d I Say
Move On Down The Line
I Don’t Care
Whole Lotta Shakin’
March (?) 1961

(Cassanova Club, Liverpool)
(no originals)
Hippy Hippy Shake

Twist And Shout
I’m Henry VIII, I Am
Moonglow
Long Tall Sally
Slow Down
(Baby) Hully Gully
Tutti-Fruitti
Till There Was You
If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody
Matchbox
Love Me Tender
Stand By Me
Good Golly Miss Molly
Memphis
Roll Over Beethoven
Money (That’s What I Want)
January 1, 1962
(Decca audition set)
(three originals)
Like Dreamers Do
Till There Was You
The Sheik Of Araby
To Know Her Is To Love Her
Take Good Care Of My Baby
Memphis Tennessee
Sure To Fall (In Love With You)
Hello Little Girl
Three Cool Cats
Crying, Waiting, Hoping
Love Of The Loved
September In The Rain
Besame Mucho
Searchin’
February 1962
(Oasis Club, Manchester)
(three originals)
Hippy Hippy Shake

The Sheik Of Araby
September In The Rain
Dizzy Miss Lizzy
Take Good Care Of My Baby
Till There Was You
Memphis
What A Crazy World We’re Living In
Like Dreamers Do
Young Blood
The Honeymoon Song
Hello Little Girl
So How Come
Ooh! My Soul
To Know Her Is To Love Her (or Hully
Gully)
Roll Over Beethoven
Love Of The Loved
Dance In The Streets
Dream
Searchin’
April/May 1962
(Star Club, Hamburg)
(no originals)
Love Is A Swingin’ Thing

Watch Your Step
So How Come
One Track Mind
I Remember You
Nobody But You
Don’t Ever Change
Buzz Buzz A Diddle-It
Just Don’t Understand
Sheila
Soldier Of Love
Almost Grown
Moonglow
Thumbin’ A Ride
Wish I Could Shimmy
July 1962
(Cavern Club)
(one original)
Words Of Love
What’s Your Name
Roll Over Beethoven
Ask Me Why
Hippy Hippy Shake
Till There Was You
Hey! Baby
Please Mr Postman
Sharing You
Your Feet’s Too Big
Dizzy Miss Lizzie
I Forgot To Remember To Forget
Matchbox
Shimmy Like Kate
Memphis
Young Blood
Dream Baby
October 6, 1962
(Hulme Hall, Port Sunlight)
(two originals)
Some Other Guy

PS I Love You
Roll Over Beethoven
Hippy Hippy Shake
Sure To Fall
Hey Good Looking
A Taste Of Honey
Lend Me Your Comb
Reminiscing
Young Blood
Love Me Do
You Don't Understand Me
Red Hot
December 1962
(Star Club, Hamburg)
(two originals)
This set comprises the contents of the so-
called Star Club Tapes, in fact recorded
over three separate nights.
Be-Bop-A Lula
I Saw Her Standing There
Hallelujah! I Love Her So
Red Hot
Sheila
I’m Talking About You
Twist And Shout
Mr Moonlight
Besame Mucho
Red Sails In The Sunset
I Remember You
I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over
You
Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey
Shimmy Like Kate
Long Tall Sally
Falling In Love Again
Roll Over Beethoven
Ask Me Why
A Taste Of Honey
Till There Was You
Where Have You Been All My Life
Lend Me Your Comb
Your Feet’s Too Big
I’m Talking About You
Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby
Matchbox
Little Queenie
Nothin’ Shakin’ (But The Leaves On The
Trees)
Road Runner
Hippy Hippy Shake
Reminiscing
The Forthlin Road tapes
These tapes consist of home recordings dating to April 1960 (or thereabouts), in
which The Quarry Men ran through at least 17 recognisable songs plus some
instrumental jams. The tapes were made at McCartney’s home at 20 Forthlin Road,
and were possibly recorded on more than one date.
The line-up on these sessions was Lennon (guitar); McCartney (guitar); Harrison
(guitar); Stu Sutcliffe (bass) and on some tracks, Mike McCartney (percussion) – the
group were without a drummer at the time. The exact contents and ordering of the
original tapes is not known.
The group decided to copy what they wanted to keep onto three fresh tapes, each
with different contents, and these are what survives. The raw originals are lost. The
tapes were given away to friends in Hamburg in 1961.
The Hans-Walther Braun Tape
Hans-Walther Braun was given the longest of the three reels, containing mainly vocal
tracks. This tape consists of a roughly 50/50 split between original songs and covers.
It is interesting to note that most of the original compositions are grouped together
towards the end. The contents of the reel are as follows.
(Note: some of the tracks on these reels have not been copyrighted and have no
formal title. We follow the title convention used on the bootleg CD, The Braun-
Kirchherr Tapes, which is the most complete publicly-known audio resource.)
Hallelujah, I Love Her So (version 1)

Hallelujah, I Love Her So (version 2)
One After 909 (version 1)
Movin’ ’N’ Groovin’
Ramrod
Instrumental #1
You’ll Be Mine
Matchbox
I’ll Always Be In Love With You
The World Is Waiting For the Sunrise
That’s When Your Heartaches Begin
Instrumental #2
Wild Cat (version 1)
One After 909 (version 2)
Some Days
You Must Write Every Day
I’ll Follow The Sun
Hello Little Girl
Wild Cat (version 2)
The Astrid Kirchherr Tape
A second reel was made up, consisting of instrumental tracks all of which were
Quarry Men originals. It was passed to Astrid Kirchherr. The contents are as follows.
Instrumental #3
Instrumental #4
Instrumental #5
Cayenne
Instrumental #6
Instrumental #7
Well, Darling
I Don’t Know
Note: Walter Everett has published the most detailed analysis of these tapes. He
uses provisional titles for some of the tracks, and two differ from the above list: "I'll Be
Leaving", which we call "Instrumental #5" and "Come On People", which we call
"Instrumental #6". Other sources give yet more names for the same songs.
The Charlie Hodgson Tape
This reel is largely unknown, but is alleged to contain publicly unheard versions of
“When I’m 64”, “Winston’s Walk” and “Ask Me Why”. Each of these is fascinating in
its own right: “When I’m 64” would have been in its original instrumental state when
recorded in 1960; “Winston’s Walk” is otherwise unknown, and this could be the only
surviving take; “Ask Me Why” is otherwise only known from 1962, suggesting this is
either an extremely early sketch, or that the rumoured contents of this reel are
inaccurate.
Leaking of the tapes
The original Astrid Kirchherr Tape was returned to the possession of George
Harrison in 1994. The Charlie Hodgson Tape, which has never been bootlegged or
even fully documented, is believed to have been purchased by Paul McCartney at
auction in 1995.
Despite being closely guarded, most of the recordings on The Hans-Walther Braun
Tape and The Astrid Kircherr Tape have been leaked to the public, through an
unknown source. Consequently a German bootleg first emerged called The
Quarrymen At Home, which was followed by different bootleg releases over the
following few years with additonal tape recordings.
Hear it
Three of the songs from the above tapes
were eventually released officially, by
way of inclusion on Anthology 1:
Hallelujah, I Love Her So

You’ll Be Mine
Cayenne
For the whole of what's been leaked to

the public, the bootleg The Braun-
Kirchherr Tapes is comprehensive.
The Get Back sessions

The story behind these recording sessions is sufficiently well-known for us not to
have to go over all the details. For much of January 1969, the group were rehearsing
and playing in front of the cameras for a planned film about the writing and making of
their next album. It was intended to culminate in a live show, although this was
compromised when the group settled for a recording session on the roof of their
Apple building in London's Mayfair.
The principle behind Get Back was for the group to eschew their more recent
recording processes wherein they relied on studio technology to build their songs,
and return to straight-forward live recording. Lennon liked the idea for its honesty,
while McCartney hoped that it would rejuvenate the group after the moody White
Album sessions. Harrison was also open to the idea of playing live again, although
he baulked at the prospect of Beatlemania-style gigs, and Ringo, as ever, was happy
to go along with the others. In the end though, things went notoriously sour, with the
group effectively breaking up during the sessions.
Another aspect of the Get Back philosophy, more rarely mentioned, is that it
suggested to Lennon and McCartney a more literal return to the old days. This is
shown in many ways: from Lennon's quip about passing the audition, to the 1950s-
style "Oh Darling", unveiled in January for the first time, to the Liverpool dive-bar
memories of "Maggie Mae" and "Polythene Pam", and the range of oldies they
jammed together - "All Shook Up", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "Lawdy Miss
Clawdy", "Cathy's Clown", etc. etc.
This last song is significant in that it got the two front Beatles back to the microphone
together - Everly Brothers-style - and McCartney also came up with "Two Of Us", a
chance for him and Lennon to harmonise together in the same way on a track
celebrating their 'going home' - which is to say, getting back to their roots.
At least 14 Lennon-McCartney oldies were captured on tape during the month, one of
which, "One After 909", even made the final cut. A few of these are otherwise
unknown, and the Get Back tapes are all that survives of them. (Given the frequency
with which these obscure titles were dredged up, we may conjecture that Lennon and
McCartney were musing an album composed mainly or wholly of old songs.)
The Get Back sessions fall into two distinct periods: the Twickenham Studio
rehearsals of January 2 to January 15, and the Apple Studio sessions of January 22
to January 30. In the Twickenham rehearsals, no actual recording was done although
audio is available from the movie reels. (Since they were not properly taped, nothing
from these sessions has been released officially.) In itemising which pre-1963
originals were played during the rehearsals, we will list them in order of appearance:
January 3
Because I Know You Love Me So

The only known recording of this track. It has been listed on countless bootlegs as
"Wake Up In The Morning", but was finally given its official title when it appeared on
the bonus disc with the album Let It Be... Naked in 2003. [1]
If Tomorrow Ever Comes

The only known recording of this track. Also widely known as "I'll Wait Till Tomorrow".
Thinking Of Linking
An extremely sketchy couple of lines were recorded on January 3. A fuller version
was taped on January 29. The first brief attempt is often listed as "I've Been Thinking
That You Love Me", or just "Thinking That You Love Me".
Won’t You Please Say Goodbye

The only known recording of this track.
One After 909

Six takes were captured between January 3 and January 9, with several more made
after the group reconvened at Apple. The version from the rooftop gig on January 30
was included on the Let It Be album. [2]
January 7
When I’m 64
Previously recorded and released by The Beatles.
January 8
Just Fun [3]

The January 8 recording is extremely brief. It was sung through again at some point
by McCartney, without instrumental accompaniment.
Too Bad About Sorrows

This was a rough vocal attempt, but the song was better recorded on January 22.
George Harrison famously quit the group on January 10, causing the sessions to
break down. After an interlude he returned to the fold, but the entire Get Back project
was then to be reinvented. The group convened at Apple, where they started
recording on proper studio equipment, for what was supposed to become their next
LP. Billy Preston was now involved in the sessions, where more oldies were revived:
January 23
Please Please Me
Previously recorded and released by The Beatles. Another "Get Back" version was
taped on January 25.
January 24
Fancy Me Chances With You

This track, previously known as "I Fancy Me Chances", appeared on the bonus disc
with the album Let It Be... Naked with the title above, which is therefore now its
official name. [1]
Hot As Sun
During this, McCartney brought up the songs "Looking Glass" and "Winston's Walk",
though no version of either was played.
Catswalk
Following the mention of "Looking Glass" and "Winston's Walk", McCartney recalled
the common style and played a very brief snippet of "Catswalk" on acoustic guitar.
January 25
I Lost My Little Girl
January 28
Love Me Do
Previously recorded and released by The Beatles. This was of course their first single
in 1962, and appropriately rounds off this selection of retrospective jams.
The 'rooftop' concert was performed on January 30, and followed the next day by
some final studio recordings of a few McCartney numbers. In the event, Get Back
was not released - although after heavy re-production by Phil Spector, some of the
recordings were issued as Let It Be in 1970.
McCartney in particular was unhappy with it and come 2003, he had it stripped down,
repaired and re-released without its studio production (Let It Be... Naked). Included
with the release was a bonus disc of chatter and outtakes, inviting a peek into the
1969 sessions. Likewise, the original Let It Be film takes us close to events, with its
intimate camera work. In both cases, rare oldies can be heard.
Hear it
[1] Let It Be... Naked features two tracks from
the above list, officially released for the first
and (so far) only time: "Because I Know You
Love Me So" and "Fancy Me Chances With
You".
[2] "One After 909" appears officially on Let It

Be and Let It Be... Naked, and in the film Let
It Be.
[3] A snippet of "Just Fun" can also be heard

in the Let It Be Film.
The Get Back sessions have been
bootlegged so widely that a list of available
albums would warrant a website of its own.
Some of the above can be heard on almost
all bootlegs circulating.
One of the most astonishing bootlegs of all

time, A/B Road is a set of no fewer than 82
CDs, running to almost a hundred hours, and
purporting to contain everything recorded in
January 1969. Of course it contains
everything above.
Listening full-time, Mondays to Fridays, for 8-

hour days, it would take two and a half weeks
just to hear it all once!
1956
In 1956, Paul McCartney was a 14-year-old with an interest in music, and had
already learned his way around both trumpet and piano. His father Jim bought him
his first guitar (an acoustic model by German makers Framus), mainly so that he
could indulge his interest in the emerging skiffle idiom.
Late in 1956 McCartney tried his hand at songwriting for the first time. It would be
nearly a year before he was to meet John Lennon and join The Quarry Men, and in
the intervening period he wrote a number of originals which he was eventually able to
show to the group.
Although some of these may have been late 1956 efforts, it is logical to assume that
the bulk of them were composed during the following year. The only one we can
confidently date to 1956 is the one he claims as his very first: "I Lost My Little Girl".
The rest are assumed 1957, and details can be found there.
1957
Paul McCartney was building a small but growing catalogue of self-composed titles
through 1957, before he had joined his first band. Lennon meanwhile had taken up
the guitar and put a skiffle group together with some school friends, although they
had no original material to perform.
McCartney first saw The Quarry Men on stage in July 1957, and on meeting them
was shortly invited to join. When he became a member he presented many of his
own songs to the group which they took up, thereby galvanising front-man Lennon,
who followed McCartney's lead and began writing himself. The two also began
composing together, often escaping to McCartney's home on Forthlin Road to write
or rehearse.
Thanks to Mark Lewisohn, we know which songs The Quarry Men performed in the
second half of 1957, and thus we are able to date the following originals to that year.
(A few of McCartney's could conceivably have been penned at the end of 1956,
although we cannot be sure which.)
McCartney has identified his first co-write with Lennon as "Too Bad About Sorrows".
For the sake of chronology, we will look at McCartney's ostensibly solo contributions
first:
Like Dreamers Do (Mainly by McCartney)
Thinking Of Linking (Mainly by McCartney)
Hot as Sun (Mainly by McCartney)
Years Roll Along (Mainly by McCartney)
Too Bad About Sorrows (Lennon/McCartney)
Just Fun (Lennon/McCartney)
One After 909 (Mainly by Lennon)
Hello Little Girl (Mainly by Lennon)
Winston’s Walk (Mainly by Lennon)
Keep Looking That Way
Looking Glass
That’s My Woman
1958
So far as The Quarry Men were concerned, 1958 was most notable for the fact that
George Harrison was recruited to the fold in the early part of the year. Although
Lennon was sceptical of the guitarist, principally because he was younger than the
rest of the group, Harrison was a friend of McCartney who successfully argued the
case on his behalf.
According to known records, few new songs were added to the group's repertoire this
year. Almost all of those known are principally McCartney efforts, including what
would later become The Beatles' first proper single.
The highlight of the group's year came in July, when they went into the studio for the
first time to cut a two-sided disc for private use, consisting of McCartney's "In Spite
Of All The Danger" and a version of "That'll Be The Day". However soon afterwards,
Lennon's mother was killed by a drink-driver, causing him to retreat from the group
almost completely.
The Quarry Men would do little more over the next year or so, although in the latter
part of 1958 they are known to have entered a talent competition to win a spot on a
TV show. (They eventually baled out, needing to catch the last bus home.)
In Spite of All the Danger
Love Me Do
When I’m 64
Catswalk
I Call Your Name
1959
Following the loss of his mother in 1958, Lennon did not re-focus his attention on The
Quarry Men until the middle of this year. Harrison had in fact spent some of 1959
playing with the Les Stewart Quartet while the group were laying low. As it transpired,
The Quarry Men were now entering a transitional phase with several members
dropping out and others joining, the Lennon-McCartney-Harrison team now more
clearly forming a long-term nucleus.
Toward the end of the year, The Quarry Men found their most promising opening yet
- a chance to play at Allan Williams' new rock & roll oriented club, the Jacaranda.
Although additions to their song book seem to be few this year, at some stage
Lennon and McCartney agreed that any new songs written by either would receive a
joint credit. This arrangement would hold throughout the rest of their working time
together.
I’ll Follow the Sun
1960
By the start of 1960, The Quarry Men were finding a new impetus. This is reflected in
the number of new group compositions which appear on the radar. Many of these are
confirmed through some April recordings made at Paul McCartney's home on Forthlin
Road, several of which have only ever circulated on bootlegs. (It is possible some of
these were begun in late 1959, but no record of them exists prior to their taping.)
With no drummer present for the recording, the group line-up that day was
McCartney–Lennon–Harrison–Stu Sutcliffe, the latter having joined the group as
bassist in January. At around the same time, The Quarry Men dispensed with their
original name, the Quarrybank school after which they had christened themselves no
longer of much relevance, and adopted the identity of The Silver Beetles. In this new
guise, they undertook their first tour, as support for Johnny Gentle, before finally
becoming The Beatles in June.
Another step forward occurred in August, when Pete Best was recruited as
permanent drummer, in readiness for the group's first long-term residency in
Hamburg, where they would establish themselves as a professional band. This initial
visit turned out to be less than resounding, the group eventually straggling home one
by one. Nevertheless, 1960 had been a key year for The Beatles, who were now on
the verge of making a breakthrough.
Love of the Loved
You’ll Be Mine
Cayenne
Some Days
You Must Write Every Day
Well, Darling
I Don't Know
Untitled instrumentals
1961
Better established as a gigging band, The Beatles secured arguably their most
valuable engagements in February, with their first dates at Liverpool's Cavern Club.
Soon afterwards, they were headed back to Hamburg for a spell of just over three
months, playing the Top Ten club. Two more important developments would ensue,
the first being Stu Sutcliffe's departure from the band during the spring, with
McCartney replacing him on bass. The Beatles were close to their ultimate line-up,
now a quartet consisting of Lennon-McCartney-Harrison-Pete Best.
The second development was their first professional recording date, working as
backing group to Tony Sheridan. It was as a result of the Sheridan session, and the
knowledge among the group's Liverpool fans that they had a record available, that
Brian Epstein was alerted to The Beatles and paid a visit to the Cavern in December,
with an offer to manage the group.
Cry For A Shadow
Hold Me Tight
I’ll Be On My Way
Tip of my Tongue
Nobody I Know
I’m In Love
1962
New manager Brian Epstein wasted little time in getting The Beatles before the major
labels. On New Year's Day, the group auditioned for Decca with a lengthy set
consisting of twelve covers, plus three of their own oldies (none of which were ever
recorded officially): "Love Of The Loved", "Like Dreamers Do" and "Hello Little Girl".
Decca famously turned them down, but after a third stint in Hamburg (this time at the
Star Club), The Beatles were invited to audition for EMI on June 6. They were of
course accepted by George Martin, on the strength of a four-song demonstration,
three quarters of which was tellingly penned by Lennon-McCartney.
One final detail remained; Martin was dissatisfied with Pete Best's drumming, the
upshot of which was his prompt sacking by the other Beatles. In came Ringo Starr,
and the famous quartet was finally complete.
Their first single, "Love Me Do"/"PS I Love You", was released on October 5, 1962.
A couple of rehearsal tapes are said to have been captured in 1962, featuring early
compositions. One of them is almost certainly non-existent however.
Pinwheel Twist
PS I Love You
Ask Me Why
Please Please Me
Fancy Me Chances With You
Rumoured tapings from 1962

In the early 1970s, rumours started doing the rounds that The Beatles had recorded a
rehearsal at the start of 1962, which happened to feature a good number of otherwise
obscure original compositions.
Despite the explosion of interest in Beatles outtakes, and the advent of the internet, no
evidence of such a tape has surfaced. For the record, the songs supposed to have been
performed - and recorded - are:

Years Roll Along
Winston’s Walk
Looking Glass
Thinking Of Linking
This legend may have arisen through misreporting, or deliberate embellishment of an actual
rehearsal tape, once thought to date to March 1962. The tape was recorded in an empty
Cavern Club, with The Beatles performing "One After 909", "Catswalk" and "I Saw Her
Standing There".
This last track was not written until September 1962, so the rehearsal must be from towards
year-end. Ringo Starr would have become drummer by then, which the audio also supports.
Other pre-1963 compositions

Several other early songs are known, but the precise year of composition cannot be
pinned down. The following date to some point between 1956 and 1963:
You're In My Little Book
The songs below are known through the 1969 Get Back sessions:
Because I Know You Love Me So
If Tomorrow Ever Comes

Won’t You Please Say Goodbye
The songs below may or may not pre-date 1963:
Do You Want To Know A Secret
There’s A Place
What Goes On
A World Without Love
The songs below are claimed to have been co-written with others:
I’ve Just Fallen For Someone
Tell Me If You Can
List of pre-1963 songs

A World Without Love [Status uncertain]
Ask Me Why [1962]
Because I Know You Love Me So [Date unknown]
Catswalk [1958]
Cayenne [1960]
Cry For A Shadow [1961]
Do You Want To Know A Secret [Status uncertain]
Fancy Me Chances With You [1962]
Hello Little Girl [1957]
Hold Me Tight [1961]
Hot As Sun [1957]
I Call Your Name [1958]
I Don’t Know [1960]
I Fancy Me Chances - see "Fancy Me Chances With You"
I Lost My Little Girl [1956]
I Saw Her Standing There [1962]
I’ll Be On My Way [1961]
I’ll Follow The Sun [1959]
I'll Wait Till Tomorrow - see "If Tomorrow Ever Comes"
I’m In Love [1961]
I've Been Thinking That You Love Me - see "Thinking Of Linking"
I’ve Just Fallen For Someone [Status uncertain]
If Tomorrow Ever Comes [Date unknown]
In Spite Of All The Danger [1958]
Just Fun [1957]
Keep Looking That Way [1957]
Like Dreamers Do [1957]
Looking Glass [1957]
Love Me Do [1958]
Love Of The Loved [1960]
Nobody I Know [1961]
One After 909 [1957]
Pinwheel Twist [1962]
Please Please Me [1962]
PS I Love You [1962]
Some Days [1960]
Tell Me If You Can [Status uncertain]
That’s My Woman [1957]
There’s A Place [Status uncertain]
Thinking Of Linking [1957]
Thinking That You Love Me - see "Thinking Of Linking"
Tip Of My Tongue [1961]
Too Bad About Sorrows [1957]
Wake Up In The Morning - see "Because I Know You Love Me So"
Well, Darling [1960]
What Goes On [Status uncertain]
When I’m 64 [1958]
Winston’s Walk [1957]
Won’t You Please Say Goodbye [Date unknown]
Years Roll Along [1957]
You Must Write Every Day [1960]
You’ll Be Mine [1960]
You're In My Little Book [Date unknown]
Early songs officially released

Many songs from the early Lennon-McCartney catalogue were completed and then
officially released while The Beatles were together. The list below shows the 14 pre-
1963 songs which found their way onto official Beatles records. (Plenty more have
surfaced via demos or live recordings rounded up for Live at the BBC and Anthology
1, but these are not itemised here.):
Ask Me Why
Cry For A Shadow
Do You Want To Know A Secret
Hold Me Tight
I Call Your Name
I’ll Follow the Sun
Love Me Do
One After 909
Please Please Me
PS I Love You
There’s A Place
What Goes On
When I’m 64
Several more early compositions were donated to external artists, most of whom
were being managed by Brian Epstein. Practically all were released as singles. We
have a list of 11, given below, and one of these, "I Call Your Name", was
subsequently recorded and released by The Beatles themselves, and so appears in
both lists. (Out of interest, UK chart positions are given in brackets for each release.)
A World Without Love - Peter and Gordon (1)

Catswalk - The Chris Barber Band (-)
Hello Little Girl - The Fourmost (9)
Hot As Sun - Paul McCartney (not released as single)
I Call Your Name - Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas (1, as B-side)
I'll Be on My Way - Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas (2, as B-side)
I'm in Love - The Fourmost (17)
Like Dreamers Do - The Applejacks (20)
Love of the Loved - Cilla Black (35)
Nobody I Know - Peter and Gordon (10)
Tip of My Tongue - Tommy Quickly (-)
We should also mention the song "I’ve Just Fallen For Someone", released by
Johnny Gentle under the pseudonym Darren Young, and alleged to have been co-
written by John Lennon. This puts around two dozen early compositions in the public
domain prior to The Beatles' conclusion in 1970.
Hello Little Girl

In his famous 1980 interview with David Sheff, John Lennon acknowledged that
“Hello Little Girl” was his first composition, citing a slightly complex set of inspirations:
“I remember some’30s or ’40s song which went, ‘You’re delightful, you’re delicious,
da da da…Isn’t it a pity that you are such a scatterbrain.’ That always fascinated me
for some reason or another. It’s also connected to my mother – it’s all very Freudian.
She used to sing that one, so I made ‘Hello Little Girl’ out of it.”
So in Lennon’s recollection, its genesis lies with his mother Julia, the song she was
taken to singing recognisable as Cole Porter’s “It’s De Lovely”. However it also
seems likely that Lennon, in his first writing effort, was taking a cue from McCartney’s
first song, “I Lost My Little Girl”, as revealed by the coincidence of titles.
Further musical inspiration is also apparent. Although ostensibly a Lennon effort, the
song was taken up by The Quarry Men as a two-part harmony number, in the style of
Buddy Holly – their inspiration could have been “Words Of Love”, an early 1957 song
on which Holly double-tracked his own harmony vocal, and which The Beatles would
later record. In The Quarry Men’s arrangement of “Hello Little Girl”, McCartney
handled the higher lines to Lennon’s low lead.
As first recorded, during the 1960 Forthlin Road sessions [1], The Quarry Men’s
version is slow as compared to later renditions, revealing the Holly connection more
readily. The Quarry Men performed the track live for some years, and The Beatles
incorporated the number in their rehearsal set for Decca in January, 1962. This
recording shows work having been done on the number since the 1960 take, with a
new middle-8 in place and a faster pace to the track. [2]
It’s inclusion for Decca indicates that they must have rated it among their dozens of
originals available, and on February 12, 1962, they performed a version for the BBC,
by way of an audition for a subsequent broadcast slot – but no recording of this
version has survived. (Although the group were accepted by the BBC, their
subsequent appearance on the show Teenager’s Turn on March 8, consisted only of
cover material.) Thereafter, the group’s interest in the song waned and it is not known
in their repertoire after 1962.
Come mid-1963, with Brian Epstein’s groups making commercial inroads, this
leftover Lennon-McCartney number was offered to other artists to cover. First in the
queue were The Fourmost, a Liverpudlian quartet about to launch their careers.“Hello
Little Girl” was recorded for their first single at Abbey Road, on July 3, with George
Martin producing. According to Martin’s diary, the session was down as an “artist
test”, although the recording made that day would become the official release,
rewarding The Fourmost with a UK number 9 hit. [3] (They would follow it up with
another Lennon-McCartney relic, “I’m In Love”, which also charted well.)
The Fourmost’s version shows the song sped up again from The Beatles’ 1962
arrangement. Otherwise it differs little. For reasons unclear, another of Epstein’s acts,
Gerry & The Pacemekers, recorded a close copy on July 17, possibly with a view to
releasing it on single themselves – a would-be follow-up to “How Do You Do It”. In
the event, this version remained in the can and they instead released “I Like It”,
written by Mitch Murray, which took them back to the top of the UK charts. [4] The
Fourmost were thereby able to cash in, the single being released on August 30,
1963.
In Many Years From Now, Paul McCartney gave his modest estimation of both song
and group: “Unfortunately the words aren’t too wonderful. They're a bit average, but
The Fourmost were eager to have a hit and they were very good friends of ours.
They were more of a comedy group, a really very funny cabaret act, and when it
came to making a record and being serious on a TV show, they always laughed and
giggled. They were always having such a laugh, it was very difficult for them. They
just weren’t the kind of guys who were going to get a major hit.”
The single misleadingly credits authorship to McCartney-Lennon.

Hear it
[1] The Forthlin Road tapes are widely
available on bootleg.
[2] The Decca audition version has been

released officially by The Beatles on
Anthology 1.
[3] The Fourmost’s version (right) should

probably be seen as definitive. It can also
be heard as the lead-off track on side 2 of
The Songs Lennon and McCartney Gave
Away (MFP, 1971).
[4] Although Gerry & The Pacemekers did

not issue their version in 1963, it surfaced
in 1991 on CD and is now readily
available (eg, on The Essential Gerry and
the Pacemakers).
Hot As Sun
“Hot As Sun” is an early instrumental, which McCartney has said dates to “1958 or
59”, but which Mark Lewisohn suggests was being performed as early as 1957. No
Quarry Men recording survives however.
The first audio document comes from the 1969 Get Back rehearsals, with The
Beatles jamming the track on January 24. The run-through is led by McCartney on
acoustic guitar, with an electric guitar (Harrison?) playing along.
Although the song was an instrumental, McCartney improvises some ‘la-la-la’ vocals
and vaguely audible words, which become clear only with the phrase, ‘Woman like
you’. He doesn’t appear to take the song seriously however, throwing in some
ludicrous spoken lyrics for fun. After about a minute and a half he loses interest and
asks Lennon if he recalls the song “Looking Glass”instead. [1]
The song was thereafter abandoned but something must have played on
McCartney’s mind, as a year later he recorded a new version, as a medley with
“Glasses”. This quasi-calypso recording became track 6 of his debut solo LP,
McCartney (April 1970). [2] His thoughts of writing a lyric seem to have been
forgotten though; the track remains in its instrumental state.
In late 1979, McCartney’s group Wings toured the UK, and included “Hot As Sun” in
their sets. Some recordings from the concerts have been bootlegged. The tour
culminated in an appearance at Hammersmith Odeon for the benefit, Concerts For
the People of Kampuchea. Wings appeared on stage on December 29, 1979. “Hot
As Sun” was performed as the 11th track of their 20-song set, and this version can be
heard on a recent re-issue of McCartney. [3]
Bizarrely, Tim Rice picked up the song and finally added a slushy, romantic lyric in
1980, recording a version with Elaine Page for her eponymous 1981 album. [4]
(Noosha Fox, formerly of the group Fox, released a cover of this version as a UK
single in 1981.)
Extract from Tim Rice’s lyric:
Hot as sun he was

Hot as sun because
He knew he had it made
The women all rushed to join his queue

Even men did too
I thought he overdid it a shade
Cold as ice I was

Cold as ice because
I’d gone out on a limb
And my responsibility
Was to see that he
Noticed that I had not noticed him
Hear it
[1] The Get Back rehearsals are widely
available on bootlegs.
[2] McCartney’s solo recording is

definitive, and is readily available on
McCartney (right).
[3] The live version by Wings is included

as a bonus cut on the 2011 CD re-issue
of McCartney.
[4] Elaine Page’s version with lyrics can

be heard on her 1981 album, and also on
the CD, Sweet Memories: The Essential
Elaine Page (2008).
Paul McCartney was 14 when he wrote “I Lost My Little Girl”, which constitutes his
first attempt at composing a song. We can confidently date it to 1956 since
McCartney recalls it was written shortly after his mother’s death on 31 October 1956.
Although he denies the lyric is consciously about this event, he has conceded, “Of
course, any psychiatrist getting hold of those two bits of information would say it was.
It’s fairly obvious with a title like ‘Lost My Little Girl’.”
Rudimentary, as one might expect, the song revolves around three chords, G down
to C though G7, which played on his Framus acoustic, creates an obvious descent on
the top E string. A hint of McCartney’s future writing gifts can therefore be heard in
the contrapuntal motion of the vocal melody, which ascends against this downwards
chord run.
McCartney has since recalled, “I must have played it to John when we met and we
decided to get together,” leading some commentators to suppose it was showcased
to Lennon on the day they first met. In fact this is not the case, although the song
must have been shown to Lennon soon thereafter, since it entered The Quarry Men’s
set list in 1957, and remained current into 1959.
No audio of The Quarry Men performing the song is known, although it is rumoured
(probably falsely) that a version was taped in 1962, which has never yet been heard
publicly. Despite The Beatles forgetting about it for the rest of the 1960s, it is one of
several early songs to crop up in the taped rehearsal sessions for Get Back, jammed
on 25 January 1969. In this rough and ready run through, Lennon takes lead vocal
although his undisciplined singing largely obscures McCartney’s melody line [1].
The song turned up again circa 1973, when McCartney taped a personal demo at the
piano [2]. Interestingly, this rendition includes a contrasting section absent from the
1969 recording, which was probably newly written. (Tellingly, the extra lyric reads,
“Gather round people, let me tell you the story of the very first song I wrote”.) It is
plausible that this was recorded with a view to McCartney or Wings making a formal
version of the number, which never materialised.
The song was remembered repeatedly by McCartney. In 1978, Melvin Bragg

interviewed him for a South Bank Show special, wherein McCartney explained the
development of the melody and then ran through about 13 seconds of the song, at
the piano. In 1982 he was filmed at George Martin's Air Studios, and again played
and sang the basic song at the piano. (This was broadcast on French television, in
March 1982.)
The song was finally recorded in something resembling a finished version, in a live
stage performance at Limehouse Television Studios, London, in January 1991.
McCartney was performing for the MTV “Unplugged” series, and his acoustic set,
with backing group, duly found it way onto vinyl and CD [3]. It was copyrighted
(correctly) to McCartney alone; had The Beatles released a version, it would almost
certainly have become a Lennon-McCartney copyright. This live version clocks in at a
modest 1:45 but may be considered definitive, with the contrasting passages heard in
the 1970s demo retained.
McCartney introduced the track with the words, “Now, we’re gonna play a song which
was the first song I ever wrote, when I was 14.” After the performance he shed a little
light on why it took some thirty four years for the song to surface: “We never did it
because of that line, ‘Her hair wouldn’t always curl’. [We] couldn’t handle that line!”
Hear it
[1] The Version from January 1969 has
long been available on bootlegs.
[2] The rehearsal version from the early

1970s has circulated on bootlegs.
[3] McCartney’s acoustic live version

appeared in 1991, as track two of
Unplugged: The Official Bootleg (right).
In Spite of All the Danger

This song occupies two spots in musical history. One, it is the first original Beatles
song ever recorded; and two, the resultant disc is considered the world’s most
valuable record – although only one authentic copy is known, the owner a certain
Paul McCartney.
The song was written in deliberate imitation of Elvis Presley. In Mark Lewisohn’s The
Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, McCartney is quoted as saying, “It’s very
similar to an Elvis song, but I’m a bit loathe to say which! I know which one! It was
one that I’d heard at scout camp when I was younger and I’d loved it.” The germinal
track has not been revealed, but Walter Everett has nominated “Tryin’ to Get To You”
from 1956 as a candidate.
Interestingly, although a McCartney song, The Quarry Men version was sung by
Lennon. (According to Mark Lewisohn, The Quarry Men included the song in their act
during 1958 and 1959.) The track, while primitive, is by no means a compositional
disaster, with a memorable melody and some good group harmonics. Nonetheless it
has tended to be dismissed, rather unfairly for a song written by a 16-year-old, Ian
MacDonald for example, calling it “a dreary doo-wop pastiche, [which] has little to
recommend it”.
This historic number was captured for posterity in the summer of 1958, when it was
recorded by The Quarry Men at Phillips Sound Recording Service, located at 38
Kensington in Liverpool (studio owner Percy Phillips’ home address). The group –
consisting that day of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, John‘Duff’ Lowe (piano) and
Colin Hanton (drums) – recorded it live into a single microphone, along with a
rendition of Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be The Day”. They subsequently had the songs
copied to either side of a 78rpm, 10-inch acetate, for a fee of 17/6. The original tape
was recorded over.
“In Spite of All the Danger” was naturally given a guitar solo by Harrison, and naive in
the legalities of the music business, both parties assumed it deserved a joint
composer credit which was bestowed at the time and written on the label. It has
subsequently been copyrighted, and so history has captured the only McCartney-
Harrison track ever.
The disc, which nominally had “That’ll Be The Day” as the A-side, was kept on a
time-share basis by the group members, swapping hands every week! It ended up
remaining in the custody of John ‘Duff’ Lowe, who kept it until placing it up for auction
through Sotheby’s in 1981. News of the auction was out though, and before it took
place, McCartney contacted Lowe and agreed a private purchase of the disc. The
sale price was never disclosed, but was likely to have been several thousand
pounds.
Recognising the poignancy of this artefact, McCartney had sound engineers clean up
the recording as best they could, and had 50 replica copies manufactured, which he
gave out to friends that Christmas. [1] Their whereabouts are not documented, but
one supposedly authentic pressing was auctioned on Ebay in 2004, fetching $1,500.
George Martin is known to own another of the 50 duplicates.
The stuff of legend in the 1980s, “In Spite of All the Danger” was finally unveiled to
the wider public in 1995, with its inclusion in the Anthology project. This edition has
the original pared down by around 40 seconds to 2:44. [2] Of course no-one outside
of the select few has heard the full version (it has never been bootlegged) and so the
missing portion can not be known – although it is generally thought that the edit
removed a repeated verse and chorus. (Bootlegs purporting to contain the full-length
original are taken from the Anthologyversion and re-edited to extend the play time
again.)
Once in the public domain, the composition was available for cover versions,
undoubtedly the most note-worthy of which was released in 2004, by a group called
The Quarrymen, made up of former members. Included on the CD Songs We
Remember (alongside “That’ll Be The Day”) the song featured Eric Griffiths, Rod
Davis, Len Garry and Colin Hanton. [3]
During his summer tour of 2004, and at further US dates in 2005, Paul McCartney
included “In Spite of All the Danger” in his set lists, usually as a solo acoustic number
with audience participation. (The 2004 tour also generated the only full version of
“Just Fun”.) Similarly he included the number in a live show in Abbey Road’s Studio
2, on July 28, 2005. This set has not been officially released, but has been
bootlegged on both CD and DVD. [4]
One other version worthy of note is a recording made for the 2009 film, Nowhere
Boy, dramatising John Lennon’s teenage years. The film includes a plausible
recreation of the 1958 recording session for “In Spite of All the Danger” and “That’ll
Be The Day”. Its soundtrack officially released these film versions, credited to a group
call The Nowhere Boys, but of particular interest is a release of these two tracks,
back-to-back on 7-inch single. [5]
While this offers a glimpse of what might have been, had The Quarry Men cut the
tracks for official release in 1958, it also serves as a novel gap-filler for Beatles
collectors. As for the true original disc, its value today is impossible to estimate, but
would certainly be reckoned in the hundreds rather than tens of thousands.
Beatles collectors. As for the true original disc, its value today is impossible to
estimate, but would ce
Hear it
[1] The replicate acetates (right) are
extant, but effectively impossible to
obtain.
[2] The shorter version is widely available

on Anthology 1.
[3] The Quarrymen CD Songs We

Remember can be purchased through the
group’s official website, as well as other
internet outlets.
[4] The intimate set from Abbey Road

Studios has been put out under the title,
Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road.
There are countless other bootlegs
available from his 2004-05 concerts with
several versions of “In Spite of All the
Danger”.
[5] “That’ll Be The Day” / “In Spite of All

the Danger” was issued to mark Record
Store Day in 2010 (a world-wide
promotion to attract trade back to record
shops). The single was issued on RCA, in
a black and white company sleeve.
Just Fun
This song almost certainly dates to 1957, since it has been cited by McCartney a
number of times as contemporary with “Too Bad About Sorrows”,the first Lennon-
McCartney co-write. Mark Lewisohn also dates it to 1957, stating that The Quarry
Men performed it from then until 1959.
In his autobiography, Many Years From Now, McCartney remembers the track,
“There was one [early song] called ‘Just Fun’ we couldn’t take any further:
They said that our love was just fun

The day that our friendship begun
There’s no blue moon that I can see
There’s never been in history...
"Oops! It's horrible, this is horrible. When we heard that rhyme we just went off that
song in a big way. We were never really able to fix it either. But they’d get written
down and we’d play ’em. We’d say,‘Wow, we’ve written some songs, you know, d’you
wanna hear them? “Said our love was just fun...”’
“We’d do some good rhythm on the guitars, and we probably harmonised a little
together, so, you know, for people who’d never seen anyone who could write songs
before, we were probably quite a good little sideshow. So we just developed the art,
gradually, gaining in confidence. So we did this every so often through a number of
months. We did ‘Just Fun’, ‘In Spite of All the Danger’…”
This “horrible”song is not known to have been played after 1959, until the Get Back
sessions in 1969 where it was remembered. There are two examples of the song
from these sessions. One consists of an extremely brief quotation by Lennon on
January 8; After singing aimlessly through the start of “Too Bad About Sorrows”, he
sings a rough line from this track, “There’s no blue moon in history”, provoking a
ripple of laughter from the others. [1]
(This moment is notable for the fact Harrison then asks, “Where’s the paper”, and
Lennon, presumably picking it up to pass it over, reads out a headline, “Queen says
‘no’ to pot-smoking FBI members” – a remark which Phil Spector would later edit onto
the start of Harrison’s “For You Blue” on the Let It Be album.)
The second Get Back example can be seen at around 9 minutes into the Let It Be
movie. McCartney, as if being interviewed for the camera, recounts writing it with
Lennon while playing truant from school, and sings an impromptu rendition of the first
verse. (We have not been able to precisely date this recording, although it is from the
Twickenham Studios sessions, which ran until January 15 before moving to the Apple
studios.) [2]
A similar artefact is known from 16 November 1999: McCartney was being

interviewed on the television show The Big Breakfast, when he sang through the
same lines, in much the same style. [3]
The fullest version however also happens to be the least audible, and comes from an
audience-level taping made in 2004. McCartney was due to perform at Letzigrund
Stadion in Zurich on the night of June 2, and during the afternoon played the longest-
known version of “Just Fun” as part of his sound check. The recording has seeped
out on bootlegs.
McCartney can be heard strumming through the song on acoustic guitar, the first time
chords can be heard behind the vocal line. (There are some odd bird noises audible
on the tape, probably an actual bird near the recorder; the stadium is open-air.) What
is equally intriguing is the appearance here of a second verse, with different lyrics.
Sadly the quality of the tape is so poorthat these words cannot be clearly heard. It is
possible these were ad-libbed, although McCartney sings them with casual
assurance, as he had the first verse. He also adds on a repeating two-chord coda,
probably original. [4]
Hear it
The song has never been released on
anything official, but the four known items
have all been bootlegged. To recap:
[1] Lennon singing a line from the Get

Back Sessions (1969) - Available on
numerous Get Back bootlegs.
[2] McCartney singing verse 1 in the Let It

Be film (1969) - Available in the Let It Be
movie (right).
[3] McCartney singing verse 1 on The Big

Breakfast (1999) - Available on the
bootleg, The Beatles Unbootlegged 19.
[4] McCartney singing the whole song in

sound check in Zurich (2004) - Available
on the bootleg, Betty Lee Met Gary 3.

This obscure song is named by Mark Lewisohn as a feature of The Quarry Men's live
repertoire from 1957 to 1959.
It also surfaced in a letter written by McCartney around 1960, plugging the group’s
writing talents. Sadly nothing else is know of the track.
Like Dreamers Do
“Like Dreamers Do” was one of McCartney’s early songs which became a Quarry
Men and Beatles staple, being performed live continuously from 1957 into
1962.Years later, McCartney and Harrison noted the similarity of style to Paul
Whiteman's orchestral oldie "I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise", suggesting an
influence from McCartney's father.
According to McCartney (who described the song as “very bad”), the group’s
arrangement was weak, but it became a Cavern Club favourite, particularly among
female audience members. When The Beatles auditioned for Decca, “Like Dreamers
Do” was their opening track, and one of just three self-composed titles on offer that
day [1].
By the time they were recording their first album, the group had a stronger suite of
songs waiting, and the disliked “Like Dreamers Do” was apparently consigned to
history. However, by 1964 Beatlemania was in full flow, and anything with the
Lennon-McCartney tag was a potential hit. Meeting the Birmingham group The
Applejacks at a television rehearsal, The Beatles offered them “Like Dreamers Do” as
a follow-up to their first single for the Decca label, “Tell Me When”.
The Applejacks’ version had Mike Leander as “musical director”, who would later
score McCartney’s “She’s Leaving Home” for Sgt Pepper, and comes across as more
poppy with its tinkling piano parts. The single was released in June 1964 but peaked
at a disappointing number 20 on 4 July [2]. The group would also cover Lennon-
McCartney's "Baby's In Black" during their brief time in the spotlight.
Hear it
[1] The Beatles’ Decca audition version,
after circulating on bootlegs for years,
was officially released on Anthology 1 in
1995.
[2] The Applejacks’ cover was released

on 45 as Decca F.11916 (right) and
although not included on their only album,
has since surfaced on retrospective
group CDs. It can also be heard on the
MFP album, The Songs Lennon and
McCartney Gave Away (1971).
Looking Glass
This song was an instrumental which The Quarry Men are known to have performed
from 1957 to 1959. No recording is thought to exist, although it is one of several early
songs rumoured, without evidence, to have been taped in 1962.
There is a faint possibility that we can identify Lennon as its main composer (or at
least, the one who christened the song); the title hints at Lewis Carroll’s Through The
Looking Glass, known to have been a favourite of Lennon’s during his teens and an
influence which would reappear in his later years (eg, the line in “Lucy In The Sky
With Diamonds”, referencing ‘looking glass ties’).
McCartney cited “Looking Glass” in a letter to a journalist named Low, circa 1960. It
was mentioned again by him on January 24, 1969, during theGet Back sessions, as
he ran through a rendition of another early number, “Hot As Sun”:
McCartney: "How did 'Looking Glass' go?"

Lennon: "I've no idea. I've never..."
McCartney: "It was one of the... 'Winston's Walk'... they were all..."
[at this point McCartney plays a twiddly guitar figure, demonstrating the style]
That McCartney recalls it more keenly than Lennon may imply that he was behind the
song after all. If the guitar figure he played was an indication of the song's style, then
it sounds more like his work. It is impossible to say for sure. It' a pity Lennon's
memory failed him, or we would have had an audio record of the song.
Love Me Do
“Love Me Do” has a unique place in the hearts of Beatles fans – and indeed in
popular music. It was of course the group’s first official release for Parlophone, and
has been reissued countless times on single, EP and album.
“Love Me Do” is considered principally a McCartney number, which he wrote in 1958

– although he stated in Many Years From Now that it was a co-write with Lennon:
“‘Love Me Do’ was completely co-written. It might have been my original idea but
some of them really were 50-50s, and I think that one was.” Lennon himself has
suggested otherwise, and accepted wisdom is that McCartney was in fact the main
instigator.
Curiously enough, the song does not appear on the radar until 1962, despite being
written four years earlier. Once released it became a staple of the act for a year or
two, and there are plenty of Beatles versions in existence. A full listing here would be
overly laborious, and so we will sketch the song’s various incarnations in outline:
EMI audition version [1]

This recording was made on June 6, 1962, with Pete Best on drums. It served as The
Beatles’ demonstration for George Martin. This under-par performance would lead to
Best’s sacking shortly afterwards.
‘Ringo’version [2]
Once The Beatles were accepted by Parlophone, they were called in to record the
song properly on September 4. Ringo Starr was now drumming, and 15 takes were
made. (All bar one have perished.) This became the group’s first ever release in
October 1962.
‘Andy White’ version [3]

George Martin was reportedly unhappy with the September 4 session, and
concerned that new recruit Starr might not have been up to scratch, he called on
session drummer Andy White for a remake. 18 takes were done on September 11, all
bar one now lost. (Ringo can be heard shaking a tambourine.) To Starr’s eternal
chagrin, this version was included on the group’s first album, Please Please Me.
Shortly thereafter George Martin destroyed the master version of Starr’s take, making
Andy White’s the standard for subsequent releases. When Beatlemania was in full
swing in America, this version was used for the US single on the Tollie label. It
topped the US singles chart on May 30, 1964.
BBC versions[4]
The song was performed live many times during 1962 and 1963 in concert and for
BBC radio. The Beatles recorded eight different versions of “Love Me Do” for the
BBC.
‘Get Back’version [5]

On January 28, 1969, The Beatles busked the song as part of the Get Back
sessions. This version is much slower and bluesier than the standard recordings.
(The same day they recorded several versions of “One After 909”.)
Since The Beatles split up, “Love Me Do” has retained a special status among the
group’s recordings. It has appeared as the lead track on several compilation albums
including The Beatles 1962-66, 20 Greatest Hits, Past Masters and 1. On the 20th
anniversary of its first release, it was re-issued on single and charted at number 4 in
the UK. It has been marketed on 7-inch, 12-inch, picture disc, CD single and cassette
single, as well as digital download.
Paul McCartney version [6]

At the very start of the Beatles’ recording career, Lennon-McCartney songs were
published by Ardmore & Beechwood. Although the group eventually lost control of
the Northern Songs catalogue, McCartney was able to re-acquire rights to “Love Me
Do” and “PS I Love You”, and has since taken to performing a medley of the two
songs, as “PS Love Me Do”.
Ringo Starr solo version [7]

Starr also revisited this song, capturing a version with Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, for
his Vertical Man album of 1998.
Hear it
We don’t have room to list every relevant
appearance of this famous song. Here
are a few:
[1] The audition version featuring Pete

Best was included on Anthology 1 in
1995.
[2] The ‘Ringo’ version was issued as the

group’s inaugural 45, and polled 17 in the
UK charts in 1962/3 (right). The master
tape of Starr’s version was destroyed but
a fresh master was created by copying a
pristine copy of the original single in
1980. It has since appeared on CD on
Past Masters volume 1.
[3] The Andy White version first appeared
on Please Please Me, followed by the
EP, The Beatles Hits (1963). This version
is easily the more common and appeared
on the album 1 which was assembled
from all the group’s UK and US chart-
toppers. (In the US, it was the Andy
White version which appeared on single,
and so was utilised on this LP.)
[4] All the BBC recordings have been

bootlegged. One was officially released
on The Beatles Live at the BBC – the
version taped on July 10, 1963 for Pop
Go The Beatles (broadcast on July 23).
[5] The ‘Get Back’ version appears on

numerous bootlegs.
[6] McCartney’s medley can be heard on

a range of bootleg releases. The only
official release so far was on the CD
edition of the live single “Birthday” (1990).
A studio version was included on an
obscure Japanese edition of his album
Flowers in the Dirt, also in 1990.
[7] Starr’s version appears on Vertical

Man (1998). A live version by him can be
heard on the album VH1 Storytellers
(1998).
One After 909

“One After 909” dates to 1957, and constitutes Lennon’s take on the ‘freight train
blues’ style (the ‘909’ of its title being a rail car). This song has the distinction of
stretching, from first performance to final release, right through The Beatles’ career
together. The discussion below outlines its history in the group’s repertoire.
The earliest audio recordings date to 1960, when two versions were taped at Forthlin
Road, which to all intents and purposes present the song in its finished form. [1] It
was captured again in 1962, in another two renditions, during a rehearsal at the
Cavern Club. [2] By now, the song had evolved into a slow strut, losing its original
freight-train style. In fact these Cavern recordings present “909” at the end of its
concert lifespan, the song being permanently shelved by the end of 1962.
It next surfaced in the spring of 1963. Having exhausted most of their viable originals
on the Please Please Me album, The Beatles were in need of a new song for their
third EMI single. The studio was booked for March 5, with “One After 909” and
“Thank You Girl” in the frame.
“909” could have ended up as the A-side but as it turned out, Lennon and McCartney
wrote “From Me To You” just days before the recording session, and it soon became
apparent that this would become their next hit. In any case, five takes of “One After
909” were attempted, which surprisingly caused the group problems, with each
musician mis-timing their parts or mis-remembering the structure. Ultimately, the only
complete take was below par, and was not issued. [3]
Fast-forward to Get Back 1969, and “One After 909” was an obvious contender for a
re-run in sessions dominated by a return to roots. It first appeared on day two of
proceedings (3 January) and was returned to around half a dozen times during the
Twickenham rehearsals. Initially played straight, Quarry Men style, it was tried out
with extravagant wah-wah, then put to one side again.
On January 28, by which time Billy Preston had joined the group, “909” was revived
yet again, along with another classic oldie, “Love Me Do”. Quickly jammed into shape
in another half a dozen or so rehearsals, the track was scheduled into the rooftop
session of January 30, where a rollicking performance became the finished take.
“One After 909” was placed as the lead-off on the unreleased Get Back LP, although
when re-produced and restructured as Let It Be, “909” had slipped down the order
and was tucked halfway into side 2. [4] It can also be heard in the Let It Be movie,
and on Let It Be… Naked.
Never especially popular, “One After 909” was a favourite among the group,
McCartney stating at one point that although not a great song, “is a great favourite of
mine”. In fact, McCartney has performed it live more than once during his post-
Beatles career, bootlegs of which have appeared. [5]
Hear it
[1] The Forthlin Road versions have been
bootlegged widely, for example on the
CD, The Quarry Men At Home. One of
these takes can also be heard in the
Anthology video.
[2] The Cavern rehearsals are also widely

bootlegged, eg on Strong Before Our
Birth (which also contains one of the
1960 versions). Bootlegs in circulation
sometimes claim these recording to have
been made in Hamburg. Whilst it is likely
the track was performed in Hamburg, no
tapes of the song being played there
have survived.
[3] Although the 1969 version is
considered definitive, the 1963 recordings
are the only formal studio takes made. A
sample can be heard on Anthology 1,
where takes 4 and 5 were edited together
to create a complete rendition. The whole
session has (inevitably) been bootlegged.
[4] The Let It Be version (right) secures

the track in The Beatles’ official
EMI/Apple canon.
[5] McCartney’s live renditions do not

tend to deviate from the Let It Be version
(and therefore, from the original Quarry
Men arrangement). One recording, made
in New York on 13 December 2010 can
be heard on the bootleg, Paul McCartney
Live At The Apollo Theater.
That's My Woman
No recording is known of “That’s My Woman”, a song which has barely been
mentioned over the years. Indeed, we do not know which of the songwriting Beatles
came up with the tune.
Mark Lewisohn gives it as a Quarry Men track performed live in 1957, 1958 and
1959, whereafter it seems to have disappeared completely.
Thinking of Linking
The inspiration for McCartney’s “Thinking Of Linking” came from a cinema
advertisement for a furniture company. George Harrison stated in the Anthology book
(page 97), “I remember once sitting with Paul in the cinema on the corner of Rose
Lane, not far from where he lived, near Penny Lane. They showed an ad for Link
Furniture: ‘Are you thinking of linking?’ Paul said, ‘Oh, that would make a good song,’
and he wrote one that went, ‘Thinking of linking my life with you’.” (Harrison was not a
member of the Quarry Men until 1958. Although “Thinking Of Linking” is believed to
date to 1957, Harrison knew McCartney already and could quite easily have been
privy to the song’s genesis.)
McCartney himself has stated, “‘Thinking of Linking’ was terrible! I thought it up in the
pictures, someone in a film mentioned it ‘we’re thinking of linking’and I came out of
there thinking, ‘That should be a song. Thinking of linking, people are gonna get
married, gotta write that!’.”
He did just that, and recalls composing it at the front window of his home on Forthlin
Road: “I seem to remember writing it just after I’d had the flu. I remember standing in
the parlour looking out through lace curtains of the window… There was a
commercial on the cinema for Link Furniture called Thinking Of Linking, when we
went to the pictures.”
The song was probably never developed much beyond its one, repeated verse.
However it became a Quarry Men live number in 1957, staying in their sets until
1959. Sadly no audio exists from this period, although there is an unsubstantiated
rumour that a recording was made in 1962.
The song reappeared during the Get Back project of 1969. It was first brought up on
January 3, the second day of work on Get Back, and was tested out during a
sequence of oldies. McCartney can barely remember it, attempting to sing a line but
failing to recall tune or words correctly – although it remains recognisable compared
to other known versions. McCartney’s improvised vocal sounds like, “Well I’ve been
thinking that you love me, tell me that…” – and at that point he loses his way and
breaks down, remarking, “There were a few others [early tracks] that were alright, in
their way”, and moving on to “Won’t You Please Say Goodbye”.
Unaware of how “Thinking of Linking” went in 2001 (the relevant recordings had not
yet surfaced for comparison), Walter Everett regarded this snippet as a separate
song, titling it “I’ve Been Thinking That You Love Me”. Due to the lyrical and melodic
differences from “Thinking Of Linking”, subsequent bootleggers have followed his
lead, giving it that title (or sometimes the shorter “Thinking That You Love Me”), and
creating the false impression that this is a different composition in its own right.
At some point during the Get Back sessions, Lennon and McCartney probably made
an effort to remember the song, since it surfaced again on January 29 in a more
faithful reading. This time Lennon is vocalising, running through a rendition of Buddy
Holly’s “Peggy Sue Got Married”. Noticing that the chords fit “Thinking Of Linking”
exactly, he switches lyrics and the Beatles song falls into place. Where the chord
sequence shifts to the middle-8, Lennon follows, supplying his own sketchy words:
“… When you say you care … you are everywhere”. (Although tempting to supose
that the chords to “Thinking Of Linking” were based on Holly’s from the start, "Peggy
Sue Got Married" was later. There is nonetheless a possibility that the lines in the
middle-8 are half-remembered from the original text of “Linking”.)
Given how little significance seems to have attached to the song, it was surprising to
find that the ‘Threetles’ (McCartney, Harrison and Starr) selected it for a run-through
in front of the cameras as part of the Anthology project. The result, though brief,
comes across as one of the moments of genuine camaraderie between McCartney
and Harrison, who smiles his way through the harmony vocals and takes to some
solo guitar detailing. (Mid-way through they come to a halt, and McCartney mentions
the Link Furniture advert which inspired the song.)
The Threetles version was filmed on June 23, 1994, but was not originally broadcast
as part of Anthology. However it was included on the bonus DVD when the box set
came out, finally making the track available to the public in what is probably the best
of the known renditions, albeit without Lennon’s presence.
Note: Several bootleggers have erroneously given "Thinking Of Linking" as the title of
one of the instrumentals on the Forthlin Road tapes (in fact, "Cayenne"). The error
has been compounded by faulty notation claiming that the recording was made in
Hamburg. Thus, songs listed as 'Thinking of Linking, Hamburg 1960' should not be
taken literally.
Hear it
The bootleg versions of 1969 are
available in several places, but the
version in the Anthology DVD box set
(right) provides the clearest account of
the song.
Too Bad About Sorrows

This track has the distinction of being the very first Lennon-McCartney co-write,
dating to late-1957. In Many Years From Now, Paul McCartney recalls the genesis of
their writing partnership:
“We would sit down with a school notebook which I have to this day, an old tattered
copybook, blue lines on white paper, and I would write down anything we came up
with, starting at the top of the first page with, ‘A Lennon-McCartney Original’.On the
next page, ‘Another Lennon-McCartney Original’; all the pages have got that. We saw
ourselves as very much the next great song writing team. Which funnily enough is
what we became! We started off, I think, with a song called ‘Too Bad About Sorrows’.
They all had very simple chord structures but we learned our craft that way.”
According to Mark Lewisohn, the song was introduced to The Quarry Men’s stage act
immediately, and was retained until 1959. Sadly, very little of it has survived. No trace
of the early performances exist, but this is yet another song which shows up during
the Get Back sessions of January 1969.
It first surfaced on January 8, when Lennon began spontaneously singing the tune,
although the rest of the band ignore him, continuing to tune up and sound their
instruments regardless. (After three casual lines, Lennon switches to singing a line
from “Just Fun”, causing McCartney to laugh.)
“Too Bad About Sorrows” was remembered again on January 22, when McCartney
tears into it with Presley-esque gusto. However he soon loses his confidence, and
the rest of the group also falters, only to re-launch into inappropriate rhythms and
wrong chords (presumably as a joke) before coming to a halt at around the minute
mark.
Another audio fragment exists from an interview McCartney did with Melvin Bragg for
the South Bank Show in 1978. Recounting the stories of his first compositions,
McCartney sang just the hook line from "Too Bad About Sorrows" without
accompaniment.
These rudimentary versions are all which survives of this historic composition. They
are available on a range of bootlegs, particularly the 1969 recordings.
When I'm 64
Another track which would eventually become a standard, “When I’m 64” was
devised by McCartney around 1958, and originally consisted of a vaudeville-style
instrumental. In this respect, McCartney was doubtless inspired by his father’s
interest in music-hall, and seems to have associated the track with McCartney senior;
in the Anthology book (page 22) McCartney states that he composed the music on
his father’s piano when he was 16.
What the track sounded like in the 1950s is difficult to say. There is supposedly
a1960 recording in existence, although this has never been publicly aired. Its lyric
was added years later when McCartney’s father turned 64, although there are
suggestions that the words were part-written much earlier. (Lennon spoke of them
adding “more” words in 1966.)
The Beatles are not known to have performed it until 1960. According to legend, they
would use the track as a time-killer during hours-long shows in Hamburg when their
electrical equipment repeatedly overheated and they were forced to improvise at the
piano. Thus, it cropped up in their stage act intermittently until 1962.
The song became part of The Beatles’ official discography with its release on Sgt
Pepper in 1967. [1] It was in fact the first track recorded for the album, in December
1966. McCartney’s father Jim turned 64 on July 7, 1966, so the lyric was probably
composed or at least finished up in the second half of that year. The finished number
is a fondly nostalgic homage to the older generation, appearing on the
psychedelicPepper, in the words of Ian MacDonald, “like a comic brass fob-watch
suspended from a floral waistcoat”.
“When I’m 64” turned up again alongside many other oldies during the ‘Get Back’
sessions of 1969. [2] On January 7, McCartney was idly jamming his bass line from
the song “Speak To Me” (soon to be released on Apple Records by Jackie Lomax)
and commented,“A beautiful geriatric Beatles song, ‘When I’m 64’” – whereupon he
began quoting the lyrics. This in turn led to an impromptu jam of the song on piano
and bass. (Since McCartney was on bass, the piano was probably Lennon.)
Interestingly, they stuck with the chords and bass to “Speak To Me”, with the“When
I’m 64” lyric running over the top. All in, this episode accounted for around a minute’s
audio.
It is difficult to estimate what resemblance the 1966 version has to the original
conception. What might the song have sounded like when first written? A tantalising
suggestion can be heard on McCartney’s DVD, In The World Tonight, which contains
footage of him at piano, running through the music. [3] McCartney plods away at the
chords, while whistling the melody over the top, with some hammy improvisations
here and there. This brief snippet is probably somewhere near the original idea for
the song.
Hear it
[1] The Sgt Pepper recording is of course
world-famous, and is The Beatles’ only
officially released recording of the track.
Consequent of its inclusion in the Yellow
Submarine film, the track also appears on
the associated ‘songtrack’ album.
[2] The ‘Get Back’ version appears on

numerous bootlegs, for example,
Complete Apple Trax vol.3.
[3] McCartney's whistled improv is

featured on several sources, the official
one being In The World Tonight (DVD)
released in 1997 (right).
Winston's Walk
This song is probably the work of Lennon, whose middle name was Winston. (He
was born during a World War II air raid, and given the name in respect of Churchill.)
According to Mark Lewisohn, the song, which was an instrumental, was performed by
The Quarry Men between 1957 and 1959.
No recording of it has been released, but it was apparently taped at Forthlin Road in
1960, and lies unheard on the so-called Charlie Hodgson Tape. It is also one of
several tracks rumoured to have been recorded in 1962, but without any evidence.
McCartney brought the song up in conversation during the Get Back project, on
January 24, 1969. He likened it to “Catswalk” and the similarly obscure “Looking
Glass”,suggesting that all three were in the same general style.
His impromptu demonstration on guitar reveals that these songs were possibly all up-
tempo, intricate guitar numbers, vaguely in the Spanish style, although it must be
said that the evidence is slight.
Years Roll Along

No recordings are known of “Years Roll Along”, which is one of several very early
Beatles numbers rumoured to have been taped in 1962, but without substantiation.
The song is documented as a live Quarry Men number by Mark Lewisohn, who notes
it as featuring in their live sets from 1957 to 1959.
The song has not been forgotten by its author Paul McCartney; in his 1997 memoirs,
Many Years From Now, he recalled it as one which he had not got around to
finishing, although it had been on his mind. He quoted the line, ‘It might have been
winter when you told me’, which is tantalising, but remains all that is known of the
composition.

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What were The Beatles' early songwriting efforts focused on?

What were The Beatles' early songwriting efforts focused on?

What were some of the sources used to document The Beatles' early songs?

What were some of the sources used to document The Beatles' early songs?

Today, it is taken for granted that bands write their own material.

Back in the late

Click here for details of the Forthlin Road tapes

Click here for details of the Get Back recordings

Some early set lists

Beatles originals are in bold; the rest are cover versions

March (?) 1961

Hippy Hippy Shake

Hippy Hippy Shake

Love Is A Swingin’ Thing

Some Other Guy

The Hans-Walther Braun Tape

Hallelujah, I Love Her So (version 1)

The Astrid Kirchherr Tape

The Charlie Hodgson Tape

Leaking of the tapes

Hallelujah, I Love Her So

For the whole of what's been leaked to

The Get Back sessions

Because I Know You Love Me So

If Tomorrow Ever Comes

Won’t You Please Say Goodbye

One After 909

Just Fun [3]

Too Bad About Sorrows

Fancy Me Chances With You

I Lost My Little Girl

[2] "One After 909" appears officially on Let It

[3] A snippet of "Just Fun" can also be heard

One of the most astonishing bootlegs of all

Listening full-time, Mondays to Fridays, for 8-

I Lost My Little Girl

Like Dreamers Do (Mainly by McCartney)

Thinking Of Linking (Mainly by McCartney)

Hot as Sun (Mainly by McCartney)

Years Roll Along (Mainly by McCartney)

Too Bad About Sorrows (Lennon/McCartney)

Just Fun (Lennon/McCartney)

One After 909 (Mainly by Lennon)

Hello Little Girl (Mainly by Lennon)

Winston’s Walk (Mainly by Lennon)

Keep Looking That Way

In Spite of All the Danger

I Call Your Name

I’ll Follow the Sun

Love of the Loved

You Must Write Every Day

Cry For A Shadow

I Saw Her Standing There

Fancy Me Chances With You

Rumoured tapings from 1962

Keep Looking That Way

Other pre-1963 compositions

You're In My Little Book

Because I Know You Love Me So