It was not always plain sailing for the band in the early years
The Beatles on Granada TV’s Late Scene Extra show in 1963(Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The Beatles enjoyed an incredible rise to stardom in the early 1960s but they almost fell at the first hurdle. Having gained a name for themselves playing the clubs of Liverpool and Hamburg, the band were on the lookout for a record deal at the end of 1961.
Manager Brian Epstein was trying to secure meetings with labels in London but It was not going particularly well. He was rejected by Columbia, HMV, Pye, Philips and Oriole but did manage to book meetings with EMI and Decca.
Decca’s Mike Smith then came to Liverpool to see John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best perform at the Cavern in December 1961, after which he invited them to audition in London on New Year’s Day 1962. It took the band 10 hours to drive down from Liverpool to London on New Year’s Eve, getting lost in the process.
Mr Smith himself was late to the audition, said to be a little worse for wear after the previous night’s celebrations. The band played and recorded 15 songs, selected by Brian, but they were rejected a month later.
According to Brian’s autobiography, the band were told “guitar groups are on the way out” by Dick Rowe from the record label. Decca chose instead to sign Dagenham-based band Brian Poole and the Tremeloes who had also auditioned on New Year’s Day.
It is believed Decca’s decision was influenced by the lower travel expenses the East London band would require. But Mr Rowe denied making the “guitar” comment to Brian for the rest of his life.
All hope was not lost for The Beatles as the ever-savvy Brian remained in negotiations with EMI throughout the process with Decca. Though the label’s producers initially rejected the band, they signed for subsidiary Parlophone following a June 1962 audition, arranged after George Martin had heard the demos they had recorded with Decca.
With Ringo Starr swapped in for Pete Best on the drums, The Beatles recorded their first single ‘Love Me Do’ at EMI’s Abbey Road studios in September 1962 and it was released by Parlophone the following month, peaking at 17 in the UK charts thanks to big sales in the North West of England. The rest, as they say, is history.
The important Decca tape was sold at auction for £35,000 in 2012. Its authenticity is debated as it has 10 songs on it but the band recorded 15.
However, five of the tracks recorded for the Decca demo – ‘Searchin’, ‘Three Cool Cats’, ‘The Sheik of Araby’, ‘Like Dreamers Do’ and ‘Hello Little Girl’ were released as part of compilation ‘Anthology 1’ in 1995.