UK single release: I Want To Hold Your Hand

The Beatles’ fifth UK single was an instant smash, with pre-orders of more than a million copies.

‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ and its b-side, ‘This Boy’ had both been recorded on 17 October 1963. They were mixed by producer George Martin for mono and stereo four days later.

Within a week of its release, I Want To Hold Your Hand had reached the number one spot in the singles chart, displacing ‘She Loves You’. At that point The Beatles held numbers one and two in both the album and singles chart.

More significantly, the success of I Want To Hold Your Hand proved to doubters that The Beatles were no flash in the pan. It finally made America sit up and listen, paving the way for the British invasion of 1964.