The recordings made by the Beatles, a rock group from Liverpool, England, from their inception as the Quarrymen in 1957 to their break-up in 1970 and the reunion of their surviving members in the mid-1990s, have huge cultural and historical value. The studio session tapes are kept at Abbey Road Studios, formerly known as "EMI Recording Studios," where the Beatles recorded most of their music. While most have never been officially released, their outtakes and demos are seen by fans as collectables, and some of the recordings have appeared on countless bootlegs. Until 2013, the only outtakes and demos to be officially released were on The Beatles Anthology series and its tie-in singles and anniversary editions.Bits of some previously unreleased studio recordings were used in The Beatles: Rock Band video game as ambient noise and to give songs studio-sounding beginnings and endings. In 2013, Apple Records released the album The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, which includes previously unreleased outtakes and demos from 1963, to stop the recordings from falling into the public domain.
Except where noted, all of the following songs are written by Lennon–McCartney and all single and album releases are for the United Kingdom.
1958
Phillips' Sound Recording Services
In the spring or summer of 1958, The Quarrymen recorded two songs at Phillips' Sound Recording Services in their hometown of Liverpool. It was the group's first recording session, for which they paid 17s 6d (87.5p or £ in ). The recordings were pressed onto a mono 10-inch 78 rpm shellac disc, then the sessions tapes were erased to be reused with new customers. Because of the low quality and age of the recordings, the songs are filled with a hiss but are still listenable. The record was not intended for release but for the Quarrymen's personal use.
In 1981, Lowe sold the record to McCartney for an undisclosed amount. McCartney then had audio engineers attempt to improve the sound quality.
Recordings
"That'll Be the Day" (Allison–Holly–Petty) – released on Anthology 1 (2:07) "In Spite of All the Danger" (McCartney–Harrison) (3:25) Edited (1990s) – released on Anthology 1 (2:44)
Personnel
Musicians: Colin Hanton – drums George Harrison – backing vocals, guitar John Lennon – vocals, guitar John "Duff" Lowe – piano Paul McCartney – backing vocals, guitar
Production staff: Percy Francis Phillips – engineer
1960
The Quarrymen Demos
The Quarrymen recorded several low-quality, homemade, mono demo tapes. Those known to still exist are:
"I'll Always Be in Love with You" "One After 909" with Mike McCartney (1:42) Another demo of "One After 909" is known to exist. "Some Days" "Well, Darling" (5:11) "Wildcat" John Lennon's spoken nonsense with radio
Although it is known that Lennon wrote "Winston's Walk" and that McCartney wrote "Ask Me Why" and "When I'm Sixty-Four" during this time, no demo tape of those compositions has ever turned up, but one is believed to exist.
Early Beatles Homemade Recordings
As they did when they were the Quarrymen, the Beatles recorded several low-quality, homemade, mono demo tapes. The tapes are the only known recordings featuring their former bass guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe. From the 16 known demos made in early 1960 at McCartney's house, only three have been released.
Recordings
"Hallelujah, I Love Her So" (Charles) (2:22) Edited and speeded up (A to B-flat) (1990s) – released on Anthology 1 (1:13) "You'll Be Mine" – released on Anthology 1 (1:38) "Cayenne" (McCartney) (2:30) Edited (1990s) – released on Anthology 1 (1:14)