‘Help!’, The Beatles’ 10th Parlophone single, was released just before the world première of the film of the same name.
The single was issued as Parlophone R 5305, with the b-side ‘I’m Down’. ‘Help!’ was here issued with a slightly different lead vocal from that on the album of the same name.
It entered the UK charts on 29 July, and from 5 August spent three weeks at number one. In all it spent 14 weeks in the charts.
In 1965 the single retailed at six shillings and eight pence.
Also on this day...
- 2018: Paul McCartney live: Abbey Road Studios, London
- 2013: Paul McCartney live: Plains of Abraham, Quebec City, Canada
- 1969: Recording: Oh! Darling, Come Together, The End
- 1968: Recording, mixing: Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey, Good Night
- 1967: The Beatles go sightseeing in Greece
- 1964: Live: The Night Of A Hundred Stars
- 1963: Live: Odeon Cinema, Weston-super-Mare
- 1962: Live: Kingsway Club, Southport
- 1961: Live: Blair Hall, Liverpool
- 1960: Live: Grosvenor Ballroom, Wallasey
Want more? Visit the Beatles history section.
I believe the vocal was different from that of the stereo version of the album because only the mono mix was released as a single. In the mono box set the “Help” album also has that different lead vocal.