Album
Please Please Me
Please Please Me is the Beatles' debut studio album, released on Parlophone on 22 March 1963 and produced by George Martin. Its 14 tracks mix covers with songs written by Lennon and McCartney, which was unusual at the time and pointed towards the self-contained rock band. The four songs from their first two singles, "Love Me Do" and "Please Please Me" among them, sit alongside the new material, though the album uses a different version of "Love Me Do".
Martin first considered a live recording at the Cavern Club, but the venue proved unsuitable, so the band cut the album in a single day at EMI Studios on 11 February 1963. Martin added overdubs to "Misery" and "Baby It's You" nine days later. It stayed in the UK Top 10 for over a year, a debut record that stood for fifty years. In America it appeared only in altered forms, such as Introducing... The Beatles. Rolling Stone placed it 39th in its 2012 list of the 500 greatest albums.
Please Please Me: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 32:42Tracklist
- 1I Saw Her Standing ThereJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:56
- 2MiseryJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney1:50
- 3Anna (Go to Him)Arthur Alexander2:58
- 4ChainsCarole King and Gerry Goffin2:26
- 5BoysLuther Dixon and Wes Farrell2:28
- 6Ask Me WhyJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:28
- 7Please Please MeJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:02
- 8Love Me DoJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:22
- 9P.S. I Love YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:04
- 10Baby It’s YouBacharach, David, Dixon2:38
- 11Do You Want to Know a SecretJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:00
- 12A Taste of HoneyBobby Scott and Ric Marlow2:05
- 13There’s a PlaceJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney1:53
- 14Twist and ShoutBert Russell Berns and Phil Medley2:33
- Produced by
- George Martin, Ron Richards
- Recorded at
- Abbey Road Studios: Studio 2, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 1, EMI, London, Abbey Road Studios
- Recorded
- 11 September 1962 – 20 February 1963
- Mixed at
- Abbey Road Studios: Studio 1, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 2
- Engineered by
- Norman Smith, Stuart Eltham
- Photography
- Angus McBean
- Label
- Parlophone
- Length
- 32:42
Line-up
- George Harrison · electric guitar, handclaps, background vocals, lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- John Lennon · electric guitar, handclaps, background vocals, lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals
- Paul McCartney · handclaps, electric bass guitar, lead vocals, background vocals, vocals
- Ringo Starr · drums (drum set), handclaps, lead vocals, tambourine, maracas, percussion
- George Martin · piano, celesta · guest
- Andy White · drums (drum set), bongos, percussion · guest
Singles
- “Love Me Do" / "P.S. I Love You” · 5 October 1962
- “Please Please Me" / "Ask Me Why” · 11 January 1963
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1963–64 | 32 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1963–64 | 155 |
| UK (Melody Maker) · 1963–64 | 1 |
| UK (New Musical Express) · 1963–64 | 1 |
| UK (Record Mirror) · 1963–64 | 1 |
| UK (Record Retailer) · 1963–64 | 1 |
| US Billboard Top Compact Disks · 1963–64 | 2 |
| West Germany (Musikmarkt) · 1963–64 | 4 |
| Dutch Albums · 1963–64 | 24 |
| Finnish Albums · 1963–64 | 25 |
All 19 charts
| Swedish Albums · 1963–64 | 27 |
| Portuguese Albums · 1963–64 | 29 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1963–64 | 32 |
| Spanish Albums · 1963–64 | 53 |
| Italian Albums · 1963–64 | 64 |
| Swiss Albums · 1963–64 | 74 |
| Austrian Albums · 1963–64 | 75 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1963–64 | 76 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1963–64 | 78 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina · 2011 | Platinum |
| Australia · 2009 | Gold |
| Canada | Gold |
| Denmark · 2020 | Platinum |
| New Zealand | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2020 | Platinum |
| United States | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
96.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
8.9k
ListenBrainz listeners
511k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
71k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 22 March
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More from The Beatles
Full discography →
My Bonnie
1963
Twist and Shout
1963
The Beatles’ Hits
1963
No. 1
1963
With The Beatles
1963
Introducing… The Beatles
1964
Meet The Beatles!
1964
Twist and Shout
1964
The Beatles With Tony Sheridan and Guests
1964
All My Loving
1964
Souvenir of Their Visit to America
1964
The Beatles’ First!
1964
The Beatles’ Second Album
1964
The Beatles Beat
1964
The Beatles’ Long Tall Sally
1964
Four by the Beatles
1964
Requests
1964
Long Tall Sally
1964
A Hard Day’s Night
1964
Something New
1964
More Requests
1964
Ain’t She Sweet
1964
Extracts From the Film ‘A Hard Day’s Night’
1964
Extracts From the Album ‘A Hard Day’s Night’
1964
Beatles for Sale
1964
Beatles ’65
1964
In Italy
1965
4-By the Beatles
1965
The Early Beatles
1965
Beatles for Sale
1965
Beatles for Sale, No. 2
1965
Beatles VI
1965
Help!
1965
Rubber Soul
1965
The Beatles’ Million Sellers
1965
Yesterday
1966
Greatest Hits, Volume 1
1966
Yesterday and Today
1966
Nowhere Man
1966
Revolver
1966
A Collection of Beatles Oldies
1966
Strawberry Fields Forever
1967
Norwegian Wood
1967
Magical Mystery Tour
1967
Yellow Submarine
1969
Hey Jude
1970
In the Beginning
1970
Let It Be
1970
1962–1966
1973
1967–1970
1973
Rock ’n’ Roll Music
1976
The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl
1977
1962 Live at Star Club in Hamburg
1977
Love Songs
1977
The Beatles Collection
1978
Rarities
1980
The Beatles Ballads
1980
From Liverpool – The Beatles Box
1980
E.P. Collection
1981
Reel Music
1982
20 Greatest Hits
1982
23: The Number Ones
1983
The Early Tapes of The Beatles
1984
Past Masters · Volumes One & Two
1988
Live at the BBC
1994
Anthology 1
1995
Anthology 2
1996
Anthology 3
1996
Yellow Submarine Songtrack
1999
1
2000
Let It Be… Naked
2003
The Beatles The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1 2004
The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1
2004
The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2
2006
Love
2006
The Beatles
2009
Mono Masters
2009
The Beatles in Mono
2009
Tomorrow Never Knows
2012
On Air – Live at the BBC, Volume 2
2013
The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963
2013
The U.S. Albums
2014
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
2017
The Beatles
2018
Abbey Road
2019
Get Back: The Rooftop Performance
2022
Anthology 4
2025
Anthology Collection
2025
The best of 1963
All of 1963 →More on Parlophone
The label →
OK Computer
Radiohead · 1997
Revolver
The Beatles · 1966
Requests
The Beatles · 1964
More Requests
The Beatles · 1964
Norwegian Wood
The Beatles · 1967
The Bends
Radiohead · 1995
Pablo Honey
Radiohead · 1993
With The Beatles
The Beatles · 1963
Beatles for Sale
The Beatles · 1964
Pin-Ups Radio Show
David Bowie · 2013
The Endless River
Pink Floyd · 2014
A Collection of Beatles Oldies
The Beatles · 1966
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1963-04-26 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 26 April 1963 | ignored lone early release dated 1963-03-22 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 22 March 1963 | |
| Wikidata | 22 March 1963 | |
| UK / Europe release | 22 March 1963 | earliest UK or European date |
67 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Universe | other | |
| — | XE | Parlophone | 077774643528 | other |
| — | CA | Capitol Records | 077774643528 | other |
| 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 22 March 1963 | GB | Parlophone | original | |
| April 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| April 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 26 April 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| May 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| May 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| May 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| May 1963 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| December 1963 | AU | Parlophone | other | |
| 1964 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1964 | DE | Hör Zu | other | |
| 1964 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1965 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1965 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1966 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1966 | DE | Hör Zu | other | |
| 1969 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1969 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1969 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1969 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 10 September 1969 | JP | Apple Records | other | |
| 1970 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1971 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1976 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1976 | JP | Apple Records | other | |
| 1979 | DE | Apple Records | other | |
| 1980 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1981 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 21 January 1982 | JP | Odeon | other | |
| 1984 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1984 | GB | Parlophone | other | |
| 1985 | GB | Parlophone | 5099910421918 | other |
| 1986 | JP | Odeon | other | |
| November 1986 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | other | |
| 1987 | US | Parlophone | 077774643528 | other |
| 1987 | AU | Apple Records | 077774643528 | other |
| 1987 | US | Parlophone | 077774643528 | other |
| 1987 | GB | Parlophone | 5099910421918 | other |
| 26 February 1987 | XE | Parlophone | 077774643528 | other |
| 26 February 1987 | GB | Parlophone | 077774643528 | other |
| 26 February 1987 | US | Parlophone | 077774643528 | other |
| 27 February 1987 | JP | Odeon | 4988006610712 | other |
| 21 July 1987 | US | Capitol Records | 077774643511 | other |
| 1988 | US | Capitol Records | 077774643511 | other |
| 1992 | XE | Apple Records | 077774643528 | other |
| 1992 | GB | Apple Records | 077774643528 | other |
| 1992 | US | Apple Records | 077774643528 | other |
| 1993 | XE | Apple Records | 077774643528 | other |
| 1994 | BR | EMI Odeon Brazil | 077774643528 | other |
| 1995 | US | Capitol Records | 077774643511 | other |
| 1995 | GB | Parlophone | 0077774643511 | other |
| 11 March 1998 | JP | EMI | 4988006739956 | other |
| 2009 | US | Apple Records | 094638241621 | remaster |
| 9 September 2009 | US | Apple Records | 094638241621 | remaster |
| 9 September 2009 | XE | Apple Records | 094638241621 | remaster |
| 12 November 2012 | XE | Parlophone | 094638241614 | remaster |
| 13 November 2012 | US | Parlophone | 094638241614 | remaster |
| 8 September 2014 | XE | Parlophone | remaster | |
| 2015 | FR | Apple Records | 0600753568224 | other |
| 24 December 2015 | XW | EMI Catalogue | 00602547670113 | remaster |
| 2019 | XW | UMC | 00602567725275 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| coverartarchive | 1210×1221 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |