Born Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity on 21 May 1940, Tony Sheridan holds the distinction of having sung on The Beatles' first commercially-released music.
Inspired by his parents' love of classical music, Sheridan learned to play the violin as a child, and later switch to the guitar following the rise of skiffle and later rock 'n' roll.
He formed his first band in 1956, and two years later he appeared for the first time on the BBC television programme Oh Boy, on which he played electric guitar.
In 1960 Sheridan was offered a contract to play at Bruno Koschmider's Kaiserkeller Club in Hamburg, Germany, where he proved to be a hit with local audiences. In November that year he moved to the Top Ten, a club run by rival promoter Peter Eckhorn. Sheridan played at the Top Ten from 1960 to 1963, working originally with his backing group The Jets, and occasionally using a variety of other musicians.
The Beatles met Tony Sheridan during their first Hamburg trip in 1960, though they didn't perform together. The next year, however, saw them alternating with Sheridan's band, and occasionally backing him. Following one of these performances, a friend of orchestral leader Bert Kaempfert - also an agent for the Polydor label - recommended them for a recording session.
The sessions probably took place on 22 June 1961, on a school stage at Hamburg's Friedrich-Ebert-Halle school. The Beatles' fee was 300 marks. A number of songs were recorded, including My Bonnie, which Polydor chose to release as a single in Germany. The b-side was The Saints, a beat version of When The Saints Go Marching In.
The single, credited to Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers, was released in October 1961, and reached number five in the German charts.
With The Beatles' fanbase growing in Liverpool, demand grew for imported copies of My Bonnie. The buzz around the single inspired Brian Epstein to seek out the group, which he went on to manage.
After The Beatles found fame, the eight songs they recorded with Tony Sheridan were released on a 1964 album titled The Beatles' First.
Three songs from the session, My Bonnie, Ain't She Sweet and Cry For A Shadow - the latter a Harrison-Lennon instrumental, were released in 1995 on the Anthology 1 album. Cry For A Shadow and Ain't She Sweet, although recorded on the day of the My Bonnie session, did not feature Sheridan.
Related articles:
- Recording: My Bonnie
- My Bonnie
- The Saints
- US single release: My Bonnie/The Saints
- The Beatles' first contract to be auctioned
