The record that launched career of the famous Fab Four has been unveiled this week at The Beatles Story, located on The Albert Dock.
The unique acetate disk features a Beatles recording of ‘Hello Little Girl’ on one side and ‘Til There Was You’ on the other – more than 50 years after it was cut as a demo as they searched for a record deal.
Operations manager for The Beatles Story, Charlotte Kelly, told JMU Journalism: “We are delighted to have such a unique piece. It has a fascinating story behind it and we feel it fits very nicely into the exhibition here. It will be on display in the Abbey Road section, which is the main exhibition here.”
The record was presented by band manager – Brian Epstein to George Martin of EMI on February 13th 1962, 55 years ago after being cut in the Personal Recording Department in a HMV record store in Oxford Street, London. The demo recording eventually led to The Beatles being signed to EMI’s Parlophone label, giving the band the breakthrough they had been looking for.
Handwriting from Epstein himself gives the record a hint of its rarity, whilst the recognition of what it led to makes it a piece of Beatles history. Visitors will also notice ‘Hello’ has been misspelt on one of the labels as ‘Hullo’.
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Marketing Executive at The Beatles Story, Dave Milner, told JMU Journalism about the exhibition’s new edition: “This piece in particular is fascinating. Not only does it feature Brian’s handwriting; it is credited as the record that launched The Beatles – that ‘Holy Grail’ artefact. It is an original piece and it’s great to have it here as it’s one of a kind and for all the people in Liverpool and for the tourists visiting the city it offers them something unique to come and see.”
Members of the public can catch a glimpse of the record down at the award-winning Liverpool attraction where it will be on display for the next three years.
Meanwhile, director and former actor, Ron Howard, was victorious at the Grammy’s this weekend, winning best music film for ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – the Touring Years’. The film is a detailed look back at the band’s early years of Beatlemania.