Some of the earliest known Beatles recordings, which the band laid down with singer Tony Bennett while on residency in Hamburg, Germany in the early Sixties, are to be officially released on CD for the first time.
‘The Beatles With Tony Sheridan: First Recordings‘ , will be available on a deluxe double CD format, and is due to hit the shelves in the US on November 8th, though a UK release date has yet to be confirmed.
The package will contain a special booklet featuring rare photographs from the period taken by Astrid Kirchherr, fiancee of Stuart Sutcliffe, who was a member of The Beatles during a portion of their time in Germany. In addition, copies of band contracts, poster art, and handwritten biographies by each member of the group will also be included.
It was music executive Bert Kaempfert who brought The Beatles, still with Pete Best on drums at the time, and singer Sheridan together after witnessing them perform in a German nightclub in 1961.
Amongst the songs recorded were ‘Ain’t She Sweet‘ with John Lennon on lead vocals, and an instrumental take of the George Harrison track ‘Cry For a Shadow‘.