The Singles Collection 1962–1970
The Singles Collection 1962–1970 is a series of reissued singles by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in Britain on 5 March 1976 by EMI,[1] following the expiration of the Beatles' contract with the company in January, and close to six years after the band's break-up.[2] The collection comprises all 22 of the Beatles' UK singles,[3] which were originally issued between October 1962 and March 1970 on either the Parlophone or Apple record labels,[4] together with a new single pairing "Yesterday" with "I Should Have Known Better".[1]
| The Singles Collection 1962–1970 | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the box available with the full set of singles | |
| Box set by | |
| Released | 5 March 1976 |
| Genre | Rock, pop |
| Label | EMI |
History
According to EMI, the series was a re-promotion rather than a reissue campaign, since all the Beatles' singles had remained in print and were widely available.[5] The project resulted from the success of the 1973 double-album sets 1962–1966 and 1967–1970,[6] which the former Beatles had endorsed, and which contained all of their British single A-sides and double A-side tracks.[7] Each of the discs in the 1976 collection was packaged in a green and black sleeve, on one side of which was a photo of the group from a period roughly contemporaneous with the single.[1] The records were available in a matching Singles Collection 1962–1970 box to customers who bought all 23 of the discs.[1]
The re-packaging campaign was a commercial success,[8][9] with 1 million singles sold in the first month.[10] The response coincided with media speculation regarding rival bids from two US promoters for the Beatles to reunite for a satellite concert broadcast.[11] Reflecting this resurgence of interest, BBC Radio 1 produced the program The Beatles Again, which highlighted the group's continued influence on pop music; in a feature article in Reveille, an EMI spokesman described the campaign as an "amazing" success, with teenagers as young as thirteen becoming fans of the Beatles.[8] The re-packaged singles all charted on the UK Singles Chart, and "Yesterday" peaked at number 8.[12] During one week in April 1976, the band had an unprecedented 23 entries in the UK top 100 positions.[13] Although EMI and its North American counterpart, Capitol Records, were no longer obliged to consult the artists, John Lennon approved of the re-packaged singles.[5] This tacit approval contrasted sharply with the former Beatles' reaction to the 1976 themed compilation album Rock 'n' Roll Music, which Capitol assembled without consulting EMI.[14]
The series was first re-packaged for international release in December 1982 as The Beatles Singles Collection.[15] Issued as a box set by EMI's World Records division, this collection also included three Beatles singles that had been released after March 1976: "Back in the U.S.S.R.", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"/"With a Little Help from My Friends" and "The Beatles' Movie Medley".[15]
Box-set contents
Catalogue numbers and release dates per Harry Castleman and Walter J. Podrazik's All Together Now,[16] Nicholas Schaffner's The Beatles Forever,[17] and Keith Badman's The Beatles Diary Volume 2.[1]
| Single A-side(s) | Catalogue number | Original release date |
|---|---|---|
| "Love Me Do" | Parlophone R 4949 | 5 October 1962 |
| "Please Please Me" | Parlophone R 4983 | 11 January 1963 |
| "From Me to You" | Parlophone R 5015 | 12 April 1963 |
| "She Loves You" | Parlophone R 5055 | 23 August 1963 |
| "I Want to Hold Your Hand" | Parlophone R 5084 | 29 November 1963 |
| "Can't Buy Me Love" | Parlophone R 5114 | 20 March 1964 |
| "A Hard Day's Night" | Parlophone R 5160 | 10 July 1964 |
| "I Feel Fine" | Parlophone R 5200 | 27 November 1964 |
| "Ticket to Ride" | Parlophone R 5265 | 9 April 1965 |
| "Help!" | Parlophone R 5305 | 23 July 1965 |
| "We Can Work It Out" / "Day Tripper" | Parlophone R 5389 | 3 December 1965 |
| "Paperback Writer" | Parlophone R 5452 | 10 June 1966 |
| "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine" | Parlophone R 5493 | 5 August 1966 |
| "Strawberry Fields Forever" / "Penny Lane" | Parlophone R 5570 | 17 February 1967 |
| "All You Need Is Love" | Parlophone R 5620 | 7 July 1967 |
| "Hello, Goodbye" | Parlophone R 5655 | 24 November 1967 |
| "Lady Madonna" | Parlophone R 5675 | 15 March 1968 |
| "Hey Jude" | Apple R 5722 | 30 August 1968 |
| "Get Back" | Apple R 5777 | 11 April 1969 |
| "The Ballad of John and Yoko" | Apple R 5786 | 30 May 1969 |
| "Something" / "Come Together" | Apple R 5814 | 31 October 1969 |
| "Let It Be" | Apple R 5833 | 6 March 1970 |
| "Yesterday" | Parlophone R 6013 | 5 March 1976 |
The Singles Collection (2019)
The Singles Collection is a box set consisting of reissues of the original singles and to be released on 20 November 2019.[18][19][20] The set includes all the singles mentioned above, excluding "Yesterday", and features a custom double A-side of "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love". The artworks vary throughout various country releases.
| The Singles Collection | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box set by | ||||
| Released | 20 November 2019 | |||
| Recorded | 1962-1970, c. 1977, July 1980, 1994-1995 | |||
| Studio | EMI Studios, London, Pathé Marconi Studios, Paris, Olympic Studios, London, Trident Studios, London, Apple Studios, London, The Dakota, Bermuda, Sussex, England | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop | |||
| Label | Apple | |||
| Producer | George Martin, Jeff Lynne ("Free as a Bird", "Real Love") | |||
| The Beatles chronology | ||||
| ||||
References
- Badman 2001, p. 177.
- Woffinden 1981, pp. 93–94.
- Womack 2014, pp. 123–24.
- Schaffner 1978, pp. 186, 206.
- Woffinden 1981, p. 94.
- Womack 2014, pp. 115, 123.
- Rodriguez 2010, pp. 119–21.
- Badman 2001, pp. 180–81.
- Bagirov 2008, p. 110.
- Schaffner 1978, pp. 186–87.
- Rodriguez 2010, pp. 292–94.
- Rodriguez 2010, p. 293.
- Badman 2001, p. 180.
- Woffinden 1981, pp. 94–95.
- Womack 2014, p. 123.
- Castleman & Podrazik 1976, pp. 12–87.
- Schaffner 1978, p. 206.
- Lifton, Dave. "Beatles to Release 'The Singles Collection' Vinyl Box Set". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- Kreps, Daniel; Kreps, Daniel (16 October 2019). "The Beatles Announce 'The Singles Collection' Vinyl Box Set". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- "THE BEATLES: THE SINGLES COLLECTION". The Beatles. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
Sources
- Badman, Keith (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-7119-8307-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Bagirov, Alex (2008). The Anthology of the Beatles Records. Rostock: Something Books. ISBN 978-3-936300-44-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1976). All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-25680-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980. Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-9093-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Schaffner, Nicholas (1978). The Beatles Forever. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-055087-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Woffinden, Bob (1981). The Beatles Apart. London: Proteus. ISBN 0-906071-89-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Womack, Kenneth (2014). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39171-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)