Signed first pressing

Bidding battle by fans for rare Beatles single

On Monday evening (as of 8 p.m.), the highest bid for the rare single was 24,760 US dollars (almost 23,000 euros).

(Bild: RR Auction)

Well-heeled fans of the Fab Four are currently engaged in a real bidding battle for a Beatles single that is almost 62 years old at the US auction house RR Auction. The object of desire is a first English pressing signed by all four members of the band. On Monday evening (as of 8pm), the highest bid was 24,760 US dollars (almost 23,000 euros) ...

The single is the first Beatles single "Love Me Do/PS I Love You", which was released in England on October 5, 1962 on the German-British Parlophone label. What makes it particularly rare and valuable is the fact that each of the four members of the legendary Liverpool band has immortalized themselves with an autograph on the B-side label.

This happened - just one day after the release of the single - at Dawson's Music Shop in the small town of Widnes, Cheshire, during a half-hour signing session. On this occasion, the mushroom heads - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - put their signatures on the record with a ballpoint pen.

The Beatles, whose first single "Love MeDo" (the picture shows a rare promo version) was released on October 5, 1962.

(Bild: APA/dpa, eBay.com, krone.at-Grafik)

Single only makes it to number 17 in the English charts
Although sales were rather sluggish at the time - the record only made it to number 17 in the English charts - it established the impending success of the four mushroom heads from Liverpool, who were only known to a few Brits outside their hometown and in nearby Manchester itself at the time.

The Beatles recorded the song on September 4-11, 1962 with producer George Martin, also known as the "fifth Beatle", at the now legendary Abbey Road Studios in northwest London. Because Ringo Starr, who had only joined the band in mid-August, was still a blank slate for Martin, he hired the experienced session drummer Andy White, who sat behind the drums for all 18 takes of "Love Me Do" on the second of the two recording days, while Ringo only played the tambourine.

On the B-side label, each of the four members of the legendary Liverpool band has immortalized themselves with an autograph.

(Bild: RR Auction)

Four versions of the song with three drummers
Starr can still be heard on the recording from September 11th, playing the tambourine. However, the record company EMI initially released the version with Starr on drums on October 5, 1962. It was only when the single was reissued the following April that the September 11th recording with White was used, which - much to Starr's chagrin - can also be heard on the debut album "Please Please Me".

In 1995, the Beatles even released a long-lost third version with their former drummer Pete Best on the album "Anthology 1". Things had gone much worse for him than for Starr. In the summer of 1962, Best was still drumming during the rehearsal recordings of "Love Me Do". A short time later, the Fab Four parted ways with him. In the fall of 2023, an AI-generated stereo version of "Love Me Do" (with Ringo on drums) was released to coincide with the release of the song "Now And Then".

Biggest pop phenomenon of all time
The rest is history: The Beatles made their breakthrough with their second single "Please Please Me", which was released on January 11, 1963. The album of the same name, recorded a month later on a single day, stormed to the top of the charts a few weeks later. After that, there was no stopping them. Singles and albums were released practically every week and the quartet from Liverpool became the biggest pop phenomenon of its time - and probably beyond.

An interesting detail: In Germany and Austria, the debut single "Love Me Do" was only released on March 4, 1963, five months later than in Great Britain, the Beatles' home country - completely unthinkable today ...