I SAW HER STANDING THERE

On this day in music history: February 11, 1963 - The Beatles record their debut album “Please Please Me” in Studio Two at Abbey Road Studios in London. Following the huge success of their second single “Please Please Me”, the band are given the green light to record a complete album. Acting quickly, producer George Martin has them perform material that is a part of their current stage act. Working with engineer Norman Smith behind the board, it is recorded for a cost of only £400 ($630.24 US) live to two-track tape with very few overdubs done after the fact. The band record eleven songs in the nine hours and forty-five minutes (between 10 am and 10:45 pm with a lunch break and two tea breaks in between) it takes to complete the album. The albums iconic cover photo (taken by photographer Angus McBean) is shot in the stairwell of EMI Records Manchester Square offices in London. This location is decided upon after the initial idea of photographing the band in front of the insect house at the London Zoo is vetoed by the owners of the zoo. Released on March 22, 1963, the album is an instant smash, holding down the top spot on the UK album chart for thirty weeks, until it is replaced by their second album “With The Beatles” in November of 1963. The album is not issued in its original UK configuration in the US until February of 1987. “Please Please Me” goes on to become one of the best selling albums in history.

another favourite song of all time and all the excitements of the opposite sex . . . . .dancing and such . . . . . she was just 17 if you know what I mean . . . . . . .