First released: 1995, November 21

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At last, after years of shoddy repackaging of previously available material, and years of ignoring the fans pleas for the release of unreleased material ... here it is, The Beatles first official bootleg !

This Anthology set follows the Beatles chronologically from the birth of the Quarrymen, through to the end of 1964 ... except that it begins with "Free As A Bird". It contains previously unreleased versions by the Beatles (mostly in mono) from the archives of E.M.I., Polydor and Decca. Plus some live material from radio and T.V. broadcasts. It is augmented with a couple of interview segments that discuss the relevant times.

The producer and project leader was George Martin.

From 22nd May 1995 George Martin with occasional assistance from Paul, George and Ringo began to re-listen, and mix tracks intended for The Beatles Anthology albums.
George Martin said, "I am trying to tell the story of the Beatles lives in music, from the moment they met to the moment they split up in 1970. I have listened to everything we ever recorded together. Every take of every song. every track of every song, virtually everything that was ever committed to tape and labelled "Beatles". I have heard about 600 items in all"

Additional research was by Mark Lewisohn, a local man from Essex who is responsible for the two most essential books about the Beatles ... "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions", and "The Complete Beatles Chronicle".

This release was a triple L.P. or on a double C.D. set with the cover design by Klaus Voorman.