Post by Athenais on Nov 15, 2005 16:04:02 GMT -5
On New Year's Day 1962, the Beatles recorded 15 songs in an audition for Decca records. Decca never gave the Beatles any contract and more than 20 years passed before the recordings were officially released in September 1982 by Audiofidelity. Despite the fact that the group had long since changed its name from The Silver Beatles at the time of the Decca session (see Being A Short Diversion On The Dubious Origins of the Beatles) this album was titled The Complete Silver Beatles. Furthermore, the first official release omits the three Lennon-McCartney compositions for copyright reasons.
However, one of the numerous unofficial records, The Decca Tapes by London-based Circuit Records, claimed a quite different "first official release" in their wildly fictitious sleeve notes "The Untold Story of the Decca Tapes".
Written by 'Grid Leek', the sleeve notes tell us that an album titled The Original Beatles (including 14 of the 15 auditioned songs) WAS released in 1962, and that ten songs were also picked as singles in the same year. They even quote Decca catalogue numbers for the records. The writer obviously did a great deal of research to trace catalogue numbers from 1962, as three of the five numbers quoted do date from the period described. However, two date from mid-1961. The notes also include real catalogue numbers and release dates of official records as My Bonnie and Love Me Do.
Grid Leek further documents a meeting between Brian Epstein and Mike Smith of Decca but then tell a fictitious tale of the Beatles' attempts to secure a recording contract with Decca. When the Beatles signed their recording contract with EMI, Decca decided to put together the 14-track album The Original Beatles and issue it on 28 september 1962, exactly one week before EMI issued Love Me Do. The sleeve notes end in a significant way;
"NOTE: The untold story of the Decca Tapes is a work of historical fiction".
Beatles' records on Decca (according to "The Untold Story of the Decca Tapes")
Singles
Three Cool Cats / Hello Little Girl
(F 11339) released 19 January 1962
Sheik of Araby / September In The Rain
(F 11364) released 23 February 1962
Memphis / Love Of The Loved
(F 11405) released 20 April 1962
Searchin' / Like Dreamers Do
(F 11487) released 15 June 1962
Sure To Fall / Money
(F 11533) released 17 August 1962
Album
The Original Beatles
(LK 4437) released 28 September 1962
web.telia.com/~u66002771/decca.htm
