Paul White who was a Capitol Canada record executive, decided that The Beatles sounded quite different, and so he had them released on a single in Canada. The single didn't enter the charts (or even failed to generate an interest), but at least it was a start.
Three weeks later the first "American" single was released: Please Please Me / Ask me Why, this time on the Vee-Jay Records label.
It's great to read about The Beatles in hindsight. But Maureen Cleave was right about one thing:"John Lennon has an upper lip which is brutal in a devastating way. George Harrison is handsome, whimsical and untidy. Paul McCartney has a round baby face, while Ringo Starr is ugly but cute. (He’s called Ringo because he wears two on each hand.)"
"It takes you back, doesn’t it? To the early days of rock ‘n’ roll."
Big pop stars signed for summer shows [Jet Harris and Tony Meehan, The Beatles]In the same magazine on page 9 was an interview with the Beatles:
You've pleased-pleased us!—say The BeatlesIt proved to be a very interesting interview. Since it was published more than 50 years ago, I post some excerpts here below for your enjoyment
"Things are beginning to move for the Beatles, the R&B styled British group which crashed into the NME charts this week at No. 17. The disc -- 'Please Please Me' -- follows closely on the heels of their first hit 'Love Me Do,' written by group members John Lennon and Paul McCartney."Paul then goes on to talk how easy it is to write songs.:
We also wrote 'Please Please Me,' but that hasn't exhausted our supply of compositions. We've got nearly a hundred up our sleeves, and we're writing all the time!They also spoke of the upcoming Helen Shapiro tour, and how the boys wrote a song for her (which she never recorded):
The boys are rehearsing their act for the forthcoming Helen Shapiro tour when I met them in their hometown of Liverpool on Sunday. And at Norrie Paramor's request, they were composing a song for Helen to record when she goes to Nashville shortly.The interviewer goes on to talk about the Beatles' sound and the record they made with Tony Sheridan:
Said Paul: "We've called it 'Misery,' but it isn't as slow as it sounds. It moves along at quite a steady pace, and we think Helen will make a pretty good job of it. We've also done a number for Duffy Power which he's going to record."
This isn't the Beatles' first taste of success. The clipped negro sound they achieve has brought them a fantastic following in Germany, where they had a Polydor single in the charts more than a year ago. They spent Christmas performing in Hamburg -- their fifth visit.According to the magazine, Little Richard himself was a big fan of the Fab Four:
In the North of England, too, they've built up a reputation that takes some beating. In the past I've seen them billed with equal prominence alongside such names as Little Richard and Joe Brown!And then comes the nicest bit, where a prediction is made about their chances of making it big:
Talking of Little Richard, the rock 'n' roll star became one of the Beatles' biggest fans during his recent visit. He told me: "I've never heard that sound from English musicians before. Honestly, if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes I'd have thought they were a colored group from back home."
So far it seems that only Northern fans and visiting American stars have appreciated their talents (the Crickets went overboard when they heard them), but 'Please Please Me' will change everything. Already Southerners have been flocking to buy the disc since it was released two weeks ago.Even in early 1962 it was clear that George Martin's influence and opinions were important for the success of the Beatles:
Comments John: "We tried to make it as simple as possible. Some of the stuff we've written in the past has been a bit way-out, but we aimed this one straight at the hit parade."
At the sessions at which 'Please Please Me' was recorded, shortly before Christmas, the boys' recording manager, George Martin, told me: "The thing I like about the Beatles is their great sense of humor as well as their talent."
It looks like a bright future for the Beatles, but knowing them, I don't think they'll let it go to their heads. It'll be a long time, for instance, before they forget the time they provided the music for Janice the Stripper in a Liverpool nightclub...!
