Editing Please Please Me (section)

==Background==
[[The Beatles]] originated in the [[skiffle]] scene of [[Liverpool]] in the late 1950s, and by 1961 had solidified their lineup with  [[John Lennon]] on rhythm guitar, [[Paul McCartney]] on bass, [[George Harrison]] on lead guitar, and [[Pete Best]] on drums. The band mostly played [[cover song]]s, although Lennon and McCartney [[Lennon–McCartney|had a budding songwriting partnership]] that also contributed material. They returned to [[Liverpool]] in late 1961 after a stint in [[Hamburg]] backing English singer [[Tony Sheridan]], and releasing a single with Sheridan, "[[My Bonnie (song)|My Bonnie]]", on which they were credited as "The Beat Brothers". Shortly after their return they were approached by [[Brian Epstein]], a music store manager who recognized the group's local popularity and became the group's new manager. After a failed audition at [[Decca Records]] at the beginning of 1962, Epstein was eventually able to sign the group to [[EMI]] that May.

EMI offered the Beatles a recording contract on its [[Parlophone]] label run by [[George Martin]]. Though Martin was drawn to the Beatles' personalities and charisma, he was initially unconvinced that they could write hit songs.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=766}} Their first session, on 6 June, with Best on drums, resulted in no recordings suitable for release.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=643}} Martin reacted negatively to Best's presence and insisted on the use of a [[session musician|session drummer]] in his stead; although this was standard procedure at the time, the band took this as a cue to drop Best in favour of [[Rory Storm|Rory Storm and the Hurricanes]] drummer [[Ringo Starr]]. Their second session, on 4 September and now with Starr on drums, produced "[[Love Me Do]]", which became their first single several weeks later, and an early version of "[[Please Please Me (song)|Please Please Me]]".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=696}} On 11 September, the band re-recorded "Love Me Do" with session drummer [[Andy White (drummer)|Andy White]] and recorded "[[P.S. I Love You (Beatles song)|P.S. I Love You]]", which became the [[B-side]] to "Love Me Do".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=701}} They also recorded a sped-up version of "Please Please Me", which Martin believed had hit potential but required more work.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=696}}

Martin doubted the commercial appeal of "Love Me Do" and was surprised when it reached No. 17 on the British charts in November.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=749}} Now convinced that the Beatles could write hits, Martin met the Beatles on 16 November and made two suggestions for their upcoming work. First, he suggested that they re-record "Please Please Me" and issue it as the Beatles' second single. Next, he proposed that they record a full album—a recommendation Beatles historian [[Mark Lewisohn]] deemed "genuinely mind-boggling" because the Beatles were so new to the music scene and because the album market was dominated by adult buyers, not teenagers.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|pp=764–765}} On 26 November, the Beatles held another session for "Please Please Me" (to be backed with "[[Ask Me Why]]"), after which Martin predicted that they had just made their first number one record.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|pp=773}}

As the Beatles had extensive stage experience and a large following of local fans in Liverpool, Martin proposed the band could record a [[live album]], primarily of Lennon–McCartney songs at their resident venue, the [[Cavern Club]], in December.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=765–766}} Martin planned to attend the Beatles' 18 November Cavern concert to gauge its suitability for recording, though he postponed this visit until 12 December.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=766}} Upon his visit to the Cavern, Martin decided the acoustics would be unsuitable and decided to record a traditional studio album in February 1963; as the Beatles had already recorded four songs for release, they would record another ten to complete the album.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=787}} In the meantime, Martin also solicited the Beatles' input for album names; McCartney suggested ''Off the Beatle Track''.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=767}}

The single "Please Please Me" was released on 11 January 1963 and reached number one on the ''[[NME]]'', ''[[Melody Maker]]'', and ''[[Disc (magazine)|Disc]]'' charts.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=24}} In early February, the group undertook their [[The Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour|first national tour]], and they planned to record their album during a break in the tour on 11 February.