The Beatles' First

The Beatles' First
Compilation album by The Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan
Released	April 1964
Recorded	March–September 1961, Hamburg, Germany
Genre	Rock and roll
Language	English, German ("My Bonnie")
Label	Polydor
Producer	Bert Kaempfert
The Beatles featuring Tony Sheridan chronology
Ain't She Sweet (1964)Ain't She Sweet1964 The Beatles' First (1964) In the Beginning (Circa 1960) (1970)In the Beginning (Circa 1960)1970
The Beatles chronology
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) The Beatles' First (1967) The Beatles (1968)
Deluxe Edition
2004 Compact Disc re-released from Universal

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The Beatles' First is the first British packaging of the 1962 German album by Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers called My Bonnie. It was recorded in Hamburg in 1961. It has been released in 1964, 1967 and 2004.

Release history

The Beatles' First was released in 1964 by German Polydor and was available in the UK as an import. On 4 August 1967, Polydor officially released the album in the UK, but with a different sleeve and catalogue number 236-201.

In the US, the album was released under the title In the Beginning (Circa 1960) in 1970 (Polydor 24-4504.)

In New Zealand, the album was released three times: firstly in 1966 (cat. no. 237632, as above), secondly in the early 70's titled The Beatles in Hamburg (cat. no. NZ SP 125), the track "Take Out Some Insurance on Me, Baby" was retitled "If You Love Me, Baby", and in 1977 as a double LP (cat. no. 118)

All subsequent releases of the Tony Sheridan/Beatles/Beat Brothers recordings are repackages of the same tracks.

This title is available in an expanded double CD set subtitled Deluxe Edition, with bonus tracks which was issued by Universal Music on 12 June 2004. The main tracks are in stereo on the first CD and in mono on the second CD. This release also contained a new sleeve. The similar album The Early Tapes of The Beatles (1984) was re-released on CD at a similar time to this deluxe edition release.

Track listing

Original LP

All vocals by Tony Sheridan unless otherwise indicated.

Side one

1. "Ain't She Sweet" (Ager/Yellen) (vocal: John Lennon) – 2:10
2. "Cry for a Shadow" (George Harrison/John Lennon) (instrumental) – 2:22
3. "Let's Dance" (Lee) (by Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers) – 2:32
4. "My Bonnie" (traditional) – 2:06
5. "Take Out Some Insurance On Me, Baby" (Hall/Singleton) – 2:52
6. "What'd I Say" (Ray Charles) (by Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers) – 2:37

Side two

7. "Sweet Georgia Brown" (Bernie, Casey, Pinkard) – 2:03
8. "The Saints" (traditional) – 3:19
9. "Ruby Baby" (Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) (by Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers) – 2:48
10. "Why" (Compton/Sheridan) – 2:55
11. "Nobody's Child" (Cy Coben, Mel Foree) – 3:52
12. "Ya Ya" (Dorsey/Robinson) (by Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers) – 2:48

Deluxe Edition

Disc one – Stereo

1. "Ain't She Sweet"
2. "Cry for a Shadow"
3. "Let's Dance"
4. "My Bonnie"
5. "Take Some Insurance On Me, Baby"
6. "What'd I Say"
7. "Sweet Georgia Brown"
8. "The Saints"
9. "Ruby Baby"
10. "Why"
11. "Nobody's Child"
12. "Ya Ya"
13. "My Bonnie" (English intro)
14. "My Bonnie" (German intro)

Disc two – Mono

1. "Ain't She Sweet"
2. "Cry for a Shadow"
3. "Let's Dance"
4. "My Bonnie"
5. "Take Some Insurance On Me, Baby"
6. "What'd I Say"
7. "Sweet Georgia Brown"
8. "The Saints"
9. "Ruby Baby"
10. "Why"
11. "Nobody's Child"
12. "Ya Ya"
13. "My Bonnie" (English intro)
14. "My Bonnie" (German intro)
15. "Let's Twist Again" (performed by Tony Sheridan)
16. "Top Ten Twist" (performed by Tony Sheridan)