Anybody reading this magazine will be able to name at least a dozen of The Beatles’ singles, and probably twice that number of their album tracks. I Saw Her Standing There, All My Loving, Got To Get You Into My Life, Back In The USSR, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Here Comes The Sun – the list goes on – are just as well known as many of The Beatles’ actual singles.
However, overseas, where the group and their producer George Martin had less control over their releases, all of the above songs, plus dozens of others, were issued on 45. In this feature, top UK collector PETE NASH spins a few discs from some of the more far-flung reaches of the Beatle empire...
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When it comes to releasing records, most pop/rock artists can be classified as either an albums group or a singles group. In the case of The Beatles, however, as with most things relating to their unique career, they either bucked the trend or simply created new ways of doing things. From 1962 until the group’s break-up in 1970, The Beatles released an unparalleled run of classic hit singles, while at the same time virtually inventing the rock album as a format.
In 2000 EMI/Apple released 1, a compilation of their chart-topping singles, which went on to become one of the biggest selling albums of all time. It even outsold some of the groups own seminal albums such as Revolver, Sgt Pepper and Abbey Road. The idea behind the release of the collection was to collect together all of the group’s UK and US No. 1 singles (a flawed concept, however, as it followed the Guinness Book Of Hit Singles’ unreliable version of the UK charts, resulting in their first ever No. 1, Please Please Me, being omitted).
With Elvis Presley’s recent chart-topping singles, various members of the media have been making a big deal about the fact that he has now had more UK No. 1 singles than the Fabs – while quietly ignoring the fact that The King actually released over four times as many single records. If you equate the percentages, it’s quite possible to speculate that had they chosen to release as many singles, The Beatles might have amassed an incredible 80 No. 1s. The release of the 1 album would have been a multi-disc box set rather than a single CD.
In reality – albeit with a few exceptions – The Beatles chose to record and release songs either specifically for an album or especially as a single, another unique aspect of their canon. However, this method of issuing their music was only true of their home territory, leaving record companies in other countries to release any Beatles track they saw fit, or indeed saw dollars, marks or yen in.
This means that the 1 album released in, say, Argentina, Germany, Greece or Sweden, moved away from its initial concept, as singles that may well have been No. 1 in that particular region were not included.
To make amends, here’s RC’s overview of some familiar (and some not so familiar) Beatles singles issued by various labels in a variety of locations around the world...
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