Decca Studios, Broadhurst Gardens, London
Then a "bank holiday" only in
Scotland, the Beatles undertook their most important assignment
to date this fresh New Year's Day morning: their first formal
audition for a British record company, Decca.
Recording at the company's London studio - situated less than two
miles from rival EMI's in Abbey Road - the Beatles nervously
taped 15 songs, chosen by Brain Epstein to show off every facet
of their talent. The likely order of performance was: Like
Dreamers Do, Money (That's What I Want), 'Till There Was You, The
Sheik Of Araby, To Know Her Is To Love Her, Take Good Care Of My
Baby, Memphis, Sure To Fall, Hello Little Girl, Three Cool Cats,
Crying, Waiting, Hoping, Love Of The Loved, September In The
Rain, Besame Mucho and Searchin'. In other words, three
Lennon-McCartney originals (Like Dreamers Do, Hello Little Girl
and Love Of The Loved), two eccentric arrangements of old
standards, seven cover versions of 1950s material - encompassing
rock and roll, R&B and C&W - two soft ballads and a
contemporary chart hit.
It's unlikely that the Beatles were given any opportunity to
perform more than one take of any song, and each was recorded
strictly live onto two-track mono tape, no overdubbing permitted.
Decca's A&R assistant Mike Smith was in the control room - it
was he who had seen the Beatles at the Cavern Club 19 days
earlier - and the audition began around 11.00 am, ending
approximately an hour later.
Had they done enough to pass? Smith promised to let Epstein know.
(thanks to Mark Lewisohn)
During the 1980s and 90s several LPs and later CDs appeared with tracks from the audition, some of them omitting the 3 Lennon-McCartney compositions. 5 of these CDs are reviewed on this website. Pick out the best!
