Recorded during the fifth edition of the BBC’s Pop Go The Beatles radio show, ‘Lend Me Your Comb’ had been a part of the group’s stage act since the late 1950s.

The Beatles based their arrangement on Carl Perkins’ version, which had been the b-side of his 1958 single ‘Glad All Over’. A live recording by The Beatles was made at the Star-Club in Hamburg in December 1962, and has since been circulated widely on bootlegs.

The BBC version was taped at Maida Vale Studios on 2 July 1963, and was first broadcast on Pop Go The Beatles on 16 July. The group played six songs, four of which – ‘That’s All Right (Mama)’, ‘Carol’, ‘Soldier Of Love’, and ‘Clarabella’ – were released on 1994’s Live At The BBC. A fifth, ‘There’s A Place’ – the only Lennon-McCartney original played that day – remains unreleased.

The Live At The BBC collection was weighted towards the radio recordings of songs which hadn’t made it onto official releases; however, for reasons unknown, ‘Lend Me Your Comb’ was held back until 1995, when it appeared on Anthology 1. It was also issued on 2013’s On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2.

Lyrics

Lend me your comb
It’s time to go home
I’ve got to confess
My hair is a mess

Your mammie will scold
Your pappie will shout
Unless we come in
The way we went out

Kissing you was fun, honey
But thanks for the date
I have come to run, honey
But you know, baby, it’s a-getting late

Just wait till I
Straighten up my tie
Lend me your comb
We got to go home

Kissing you was fun, honey
But thanks for the date
Well I must come to run, honey
But sugar bugger, it’s a-getting late

Just wait till I
Straighten up my tie
Lend me your comb
We got to go home


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