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A Hard Day's Night
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A Hard Day's Night

First released: 1964, July 10

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Additional information
Label Parlophone
Catalogue No. PCS 3058 (Stereo)
PMC 1230 (Mono)
CDP 7 46437 2 (CD)
Release date 10th July 1964
26th February 1987 (CD)
Total time 29:45
U.K. Album Chart Detail Entry Date: 18th July 1964
Highest Position: 1 ... for 21 weeks from 25th July 1964 (Consecutively!)
Weeks in Chart: 38 + 1 week 16th January 1971 (No.30) + 4 from 7th March 1987 (CD release, reached no.30)

Songs recording date and information:

  1. A Hard Day's Night - Recorded 16th April 1964 in 9 takes (4 of which were breakdowns). Final mix - take 9
  2. I Should Have Known Better - Recorded 25th February 1964 with 3 takes. Recorded 26th February 1964 a further 19 takes (4-22). Final mix - take 9 with overdubs from take 22
  3. If I Fell - Recorded 27th February 1964 in 15 takes. Final mix - take 15
  4. I'm Happy Just to Dance With You - Recorded 1st March 1964 in 4 takes. Final mix - take 4
  5. And I Love Her - Recorded 25th February 1964 with 2 takes (discarded version). Recorded 26th February 1964 a further 17 takes (3-19). Recorded 27th February 1964 a further 2 takes (20-21). Final mix - take 21
  6. Tell Me Why - Recorded 27th February 1964 in 8 takes. Final mix - take 8
  7. Can't Buy Me Love - Recorded 29th January 1964 (in Paris !) in 4 takes. Final mix - take 4
  8. Any Time at All - Recorded 2nd June 1964 in 11 takes. Final mix - take 11
  9. I'll Cry Instead - Recorded 1st June 1964 in 8 takes. Final mix - take 6 & take 8 edited together
  10. Things We Said Today - Recorded 2nd June 1964 in just 3 takes. Final mix - take 3
  11. When I Get Home - Recorded 2nd June 1964 in 11 takes. Final mix - take 11
  12. You Can't Do That - Recorded 25th February 1964 in 9 takes (5 breakdowns). Final mix - take 9
  13. I'll Be Back - Recorded 1st June 1964 in 16 takes (Takes 1-9 backing track only). Final mix - take 16

 

The Beatles third official L.P. release.
Once again The Beatles had advance orders of over 250,000 copies, ensuring an immediate number 1.
By the end of the year it had sold 600,000, eventually selling almost 800,000 copies in Britain. Once again, the American version of this album was different, in that it only featured the tracks from the film, plus some George Martin film score. The remaining tracks appearing on a second L.P. entitled "Something New". With these two selling over three million in the States, global sales of "A Hard Day's Night" can be put at over 4,000,000.

For the week of 5th August 1964, for the first (and only ?) time in history The Beatles were No.1 in the album AND singles chart in the U.K. AND America with the same titled single and L.P. - "A Hard Day's Night".

This is the first and ONLY Beatles album to have every track written by Lennon/McCartney, with the seven tracks on side 1 all included in the film, and the 6 on side 2 not featured.


One splendid single and one splendid LP, to tie in with one splendid film. Sales of both formats were vast, on a global scale, and it's worth nothing that the LP is comprised entirely of Lennon-McCartney compositions, the only such occurrence in the Beatles' career.

- Mark Lewishon "The Beatles Recording Sessions"