Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producers: George Martin, Ron Richards
Engineer: Norman Smith
6 June 1962 was the date of The Beatles’ historic first visit to EMI Studios at 3 Abbey Road, St John’s Wood, London.
The session took place in studio 2 from 7-10pm. The Beatles first ran through a number of songs, and then recorded four. Precise numbers of takes are unknown, but they were taped in the following order: ‘Besame Mucho’, ‘Love Me Do’, ‘PS I Love You’, and ‘Ask Me Why’.
The Beatles didn’t make a very good impression, apart from visually. I mean, we heard nothing of John and Paul’s songwriting ability. They had tiny little Vox amplifiers and speakers, which didn’t create much of a sound at source. Of course, every sound engineer wants some kind of sound at source that he can then embellish and improve, but I got nothing out of The Beatles’ equipment except for a load of noise, hum and goodness-knows-what. Paul’s was about the worst – in those days we had echo chambers to add onto the reverberation, and I had to raid the Studio Two echo chamber in order to fix him up with a sound so that we could get something down on tape.
Sound On Sound
Paul McCartney’s bass amp wasn’t the only problem during the session.
We actually had to tie string around John Lennon’s guitar amplifier to stop the rattling. There were also problems with Pete Best’s drums – his cymbals, I believe. But we eventually got everything sorted out and finally we started to record.
Recording The Beatles, Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan
Most documentation for the session has long been destroyed, but we know it was produced by George Martin with assistant Ron Richards, and was The Beatles’ only EMI session to feature Pete Best on drums; when the band returned to Abbey Road on 4 September 1962, Ringo Starr was the group’s new drummer.
Prior to the session Brian Epstein assembled a list of song suggestions, the majority of which were never recorded by The Beatles at EMI.
Ron Richards was initially in charge of the session – George Martin was only brought in when balance engineer Norman Smith was struck by the quality of ‘Love Me Do’. It was unusual for a producer to be present for an artist test. However, on this day Martin stayed for most of the session.
The control room door opened and in walked George Martin himself. And I thought to myself, ‘This must be some kind of special artist test for him to show up.’ Because producers didn’t normally attend artists test. It was always their assistants. And, of course, up to that time, George was not involved at all with any guitar groups. He did a lot of comedy records, like Peter Sellers and stuff like that.
Recording The Beatles, Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan
Smith instructed tape operator Chris Neal to fetch Martin, who took over the rest of the session. Afterwards he invited them to the control room to talk and listen to the playback.
We gave them a long lecture about their equipment and what would have to be done about it if they were to become recording artists. They didn’t say a word back, not a word, they didn’t even nod their heads in agreement. When he finished, George said ‘Look, I’ve laid into you for quite a time, you haven’t responded. Is there anything you don’t like?’ I remember they all looked at each other for a long while, shuffling their feet, then George Harrison took a long look at George and said ‘Yeah, I don’t like your tie!’ That cracked the ice for us and for the next 15-20 minutes they were pure entertainment. When they left to go home George and I just sat there saying ‘Phew! What do you think of that lot then?’ I had tears running down my face.
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
Only the recordings of ‘Besame Mucho’ and ‘Love Me Do’ survive today – the former was discovered in a private collection in the 1980s, and the latter in 1994. Both appear on the Anthology 1 album.
The other recordings were destroyed after it was decided that nothing from the session could be commercially released – a practice not uncommon in the early 1960s.
They left, and George turned to me and said, ‘Well, what do you think?’ And I said, ‘I’ve seen a lot of groups come in for artists test, but this one – there is something special about them. I can’t tell you what, but there is something there.’ As I said, the test hadn’t gone too well, and I wasn’t impressed by their sound. But they had an appealing quality, a kind of charisma. And I told George, ‘In my view, I think they should be signed.’ And I’ll never forget, his last words to me before he left were, ‘Okay. I’ll think about it.’ Now, there was quite a bit of controversy that came about after that, as to whether they were actually signed before the artist test. A lot of it that came out did make sense as to why, in my view, George Martin turned up himself for an artist test, when no other producer ever did that. As I said, it was always their assistants.For the artist test, it was George Martin himself. And there was no question of them them being signed at that time. But, later I began to wonder, ‘Were they already signed? Is this why George Martin himself turned up? Was it because this was the first time that he’d seen them? Was there something more attached to the whole thing?’
Recording The Beatles, Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan
Ken Townsend was the tape operator on the session. He later recalled how The Beatles failed to make much of a lasting impact.
We did that test, and the tape went into the library. And about a week later, Norman says to me, ‘Here Ken, what’s the name of that group we had in last week? I’ve got to send a tape down to Manchester Square.’ I said, ‘The Beatles’. I mean, he’d actually forgotten the name of the group!
Recording The Beatles, Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan
Also on this day...
- 2024: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City
- 2023: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Bellco Theatre, Denver
- 2022: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Beacon Theatre, New York City
- 2019: Paul McCartney live: Kohl Center, Madison
- 2018: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Olympia Theatre, Paris
- 2014: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Casino Rama, Rama
- 2011: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Crocus City Hall, Moscow
- 2004: Paul McCartney live: T-Mobile Park, Prague
- 1997: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City
- 1993: Paul McCartney live: CNE Stadium, Toronto
- 1992: Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band live: Blockbuster Pavilion, Charlotte
- 1989: US album release: Flowers In The Dirt by Paul McCartney
- 1968: Radio: The Kenny Everett Show
- 1968: BBC interview with John Lennon and Victor Spinetti
- 1968: Recording, mixing: Don’t Pass Me By
- 1966: Recording, mixing: And Your Bird Can Sing, For No One, I’m Only Sleeping, Tomorrow Never Knows, Eleanor Rigby
- 1964: The Beatles live: Blokker, the Netherlands
- 1961: The Beatles live: Top Ten Club, Hamburg
- 1960: The Silver Beetles live: Grosvenor Ballroom, Wallasey
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
Man, Norman Smith’s account of this initial audition/session for EMI is a gem. Glad it’s been made available for us. Thanks.
The fact George Martin did not initially attend the session indicates that he did not regard The Beatles as an important priority and it is possible he had arranged the session merely as a favour to Brian Epstein. It was probably for him at best a chance to move away from the novelty recording market into the pop mainstream. If it did not work out all he had lost was and hour and a half of studio time. The fact that Norman Smith, the engineer, spotted what was unique about the group and immediately sent for his boss was crucial to what followed. George Martin recognised it and too backed his judgement by allowing the group’s first release to be Love Me Do. That unique factor was of course the great song writing talents of Lennon and McCartney. Before The Beatles and indeed for some time after they scored hits with their own material record companies refused to release artists’ own compositions in favour of US R’n’B covers or Tin Pan Alley compositions. It is to George Martin’s enduring credit that he allowed Love Me Do to be The Beatles’ first release and did not insist on How Do You Do It. Subsequently that song did lay the foundation for Gerry Marsden’s career which still continues on the 60’s Revival circuit.
Here’s a question someone out there may have the answer to. If George Martin was so critical of Ringo’s drumming why was the version with him drumming ever released at all. Clearly Pete Best was a clunker and he had to go for stylistic reasons amongst other things. But Ringo had been the bedrock best behind Rory Storm &the Hurricanes for years and drummed in a quintessentially R’n’B style. Who made the decision to release Ringo’s version as the single and who was responsible for changing the version on the Hits EP and the first LP?
The Beatles were too far ahead of their time, even for that loat at Abbey road… history is telling this right now….and if George said ..I don`t like your tie..he was probably right. Listening to George Martin in the Scorsese movie ”in the material world”… well,what a disappointment.
Just finished Tune In. Fascinated at reading about all the behind-the-scenes legal maneuvering & company politics concerning their signing to EMI & this 1st recording session, plus the next 2 & how the songs for the 1st single were actually selected. Mark Lewisohn says that The Beatles were all unaware of how involved it all was. I wonder if they ever knew, & I also wonder how much of a revelation this book will be to Paul & Ringo even now…
The history we thought we knew has been proven false by Mark Lewisohn’s “Tune In” book. He has finally got to the bottom of how the Beatles were signed to EMI. Turns out this was not an audition at all – the deal was done before the session was arranged. Indeed, the group were in Hamburg when they were offered a contract – they’d never even met George Martin or EMI. There was no audition at all, just an agreement based on EMI’s publishing arm (Ardmore & Beechwood) wanting to get their hands on the rights to “Like Dreamers Do”. They got the group signed up in order to bag this, and potentially other copyrights! Brian Epstein didn’t even know what was happening down in London, let alone the Beatles who were out of the country. Lewisohn has nailed it.
In my blog Comprehensive Beatles, I already made the case years ago that this was not an audition. The paperwork provided by Lewisohn in Chronicles is sufficient to prove that. In George Martin’s “Summer of Love” is also the idea that an audition DID take place in March 1962.
( https://comprehensivebeatles.blogspot.com/2010/10/1962-june-6.html )
But regarding the new facts or factoids in “Tune In,” I must admit that is fascinating.
Brian Epstein threatened to stop selling EMI records in his chain of shops if they did not give The Beatles a recording contract. EMI gave them an inexperienced producer, Martin, on a small label, Parlophone. This was to appease Epstein. The could have been the worst band in the world, but they were going to have a recording contract and a single issued to keep EMI sales up in the North West of England via NEMS. Many people then would buy classical and folk records and records from catalogues. It was not just the latest top 20 records people bought. A drop in these significant sales from NEMS outlets would be significant for EMI.
Pete Best is adamant that this was no artists recording test and if they were not up to it would not be invited back. He said it was the real thing with a record being issued on the market.
Brian Epstein sounds like a real crook. JMO
Brian Epstein was not a crook – that term is more applicable to Allen Klein and Stan Polley.
My guess is that “Ask Me Why” and “P.S. I Love You” were erased due to Pete Best’s messy drumming. (If “Love Me Do” is anything to go by). They weren’t even worth saving.
Smith’s somewhat varying accounts show how memory, decades later, can jumble things.
For instance (though not terribly important), the Beatles didn’t have Vox amplifiers until the following month. Epstein made a deal with Vox for the intitial AC-30s as a direct response to Martin and Smith telling them they needed “professional” equipment. It was Lennon’s beat-up Fender amp and Harrison’s beat-up Gibson amp that were offensive, as well as McCartney’s Selmer Truvoice with (possibly) Adrian Barber’s “coffin” speaker.
He also seemed a bit confused as to whether GeorgeM just showed up in the control room or whether he himself sent for Martin.
Time marches on…
Now that it’s been established once and for all that the group (which at the time was John, Paul, George and Pete) WAS actually signed to EMI when this first session took place, that brings up another question… Even though Pete was axed from the group before the next session in September, would he or would he not still be under contract to EMI?
What I’d give to hear a recording of John singing lead on “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”!
I have listened to the performance of “Love Me Do” cut on this date (it’s available on “Anthology 1”) and Pete Best’s drumming is very inconsistent and lacklustre, thus exposing his limitations.
To me, it sounds like he was putting almost no effort into playing the drums correctly.
Listening to all of Pete Best’s recordings (both Beatles and post-Beatles), it sounds like he put next to no effort into ANYTHING he ever recorded.
Precisely, Bill.
I bet that Paul, as the bassist, must’ve been feeling very frustrated with Pete’s one-dimensional drumming and erratic timing and a rhythm section is not going to work well if one can play well, but the other can’t.
I’ve recently read (on another site – sorry, Joe) that the complete original tape of this first EMI session wound up in the possession of Geoff Emerick, and was unknown about and undiscovered until after his death. Is there any truth to this? If so, it would be interesting to hear pre-Ringo/Andy White studio recordings of “P.S. I Love You” and “Ask Me Why”.