Please Please Me

11 Feb 2013

Today marks 50 years since The Beatles recorded their debut album, Please Please Me. To celebrate, the legendary day-long recording session is being recreated by a host of bands at Abbey Road Studios. It will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 and filmed for a documentary, 12 Hours to Please Me, which will be screened on 15th February.

Artists such as the Stereophonics and Mick Hucknall will be joined by people present at the original session, including engineer Richard Langham and Beatles press officer Tony Barrow. The album will be recorded in its original order, ending with 'Twist and Shout'.

'That last song nearly killed me. My voice wasn't the same for a long time after; every time I swallowed, it was like sandpaper. We sang for 12 hours, almost non-stop. We had colds and we were concerned how it would affect the record. At the end of the day, all we wanted to do was drink pints of milk.' - John Lennon, The Beatles Anthology

Pictured above: George Martin's SUMMER OF LOVE gives a behind-the-scenes look at The Beatles recording session for Sgt. Pepper in 1967. Click here to find out more.