The Beatles: 10 Incredible Rarities You Can Listen To Right Now
8. How Do You Do It?
Producer George Martin wanted How Do You Do It? to be The Beatle’s debut single but the band had other ideas. They disliked the song and thought it would damage their credibility with fans and peers back home in Liverpool. Instead of the Mitch Murray penned track, they persuaded Martin to go with their own original song Love Me Do.
Love Me Do is a charming but slight song and far from The Beatle’s finest hour. It’s easily outclassed by the singles that would follow, like Please Please Me and From Me To You and She Loves You. Nonetheless, Love Me Do was an important step, setting the precedent that this was a band who wrote their own hits, rather than interpreting other songwriters’ work.
Martin went on to produce a version of How Do You Do It? by Gerry and The Pacemakers. This version topped the charts, validating Martin’s view that the song had hit potential.
Luckily for the curious amongst us, the super producer had insisted The Beatles at least make an attempt at the song before letting them have their own way. Despite some tweaks made by the band, The Beatles’ version of How Do You Do it? is not dissimilar to the Pacemakers’ hit single but it’s great to hear with Lennon’s inimitable lead vocal. You can find it on Anthology 1.