Name a music industry record, and chances are the Beatles hold it. With the release of their 1963 debut album Please Please Me, a quartet of shaggy-haired musicians from Liverpool forever altered the listening experience of rock music enthusiasts. Comprised of George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Star, the Beatles remain the best-selling artists of all time more than five decades after their split. That’s perhaps what makes the events that occurred in North London on this day in 1962 all the more mystifying in hindsight.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon Differed on the Beatles’ Failed Decca Audition
“Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr. Epstein.” While former Decca Records head Dick Rowe denied ever uttering these words on Jan. 1, 1962, they have continued to endure in Fab Four lore as an example of monumentally poor judgment.
The way Rowe told it, he gave Decca A&R representative Mike Smith a choice between the Beatles and another “guitar group,” Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. Smith chose the latter mainly for logistical reasons—their hometown of Dagenham was closer to the West Hampstead studio than Liverpool.
Nonetheless, it was a pretty crushing blow for manager Brian Epstein and the Beatles, who had been working overtime to secure a record deal for the band. By this point, Columbia, His Master’s Voice, and other labels had already shot them down.
Along with original drummer Pete Best, Harrison, Lennon, and McCartney began their trek to London on New Year’s Eve 1961, with then-road manager Neil Aspinall behind the wheel. Aspinall got lost, resulting in a 10-hour trip.
The Beatles would go on to perform 15 songs, including “Searchin’”, “Three Cool Cats”, “The Sheik of Araby”, “Like Dreamers Do” and “Hello Little Girl.”
For his part, Paul McCartney could see their point after listening to the tapes. We weren’t that good, though there were some quite interesting and original things,” the iconic bassist has said.
His primary songwriting partner, Lennon, disagreed. “I wouldn’t have turned us down on that. I think it sounded OK,” he said, adding, “I think Decca expected us to be all polished. We were just doing a demo. They should have seen our potential.”
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Brian Epstein Refused to Give Up
Disheartened, an otherwise undeterred Epstein requested the audition tapes from Decca and continued his quest. And three months later, producer George Martin eventually signed the Beatles to EMI’s Parlophone Label.
Featured image by K & K Ulf Kruger OHG/Redferns