“Love Me Do” has three 1962 studio recordings because the Beatles performed it in separate sessions with Pete Best, Ringo Starr and session musician Andy White on drums. Best’s recording remained unreleased until Anthology 1; Ringo’s appeared on the original UK single and is included on Past Masters; White’s was selected for the Please Please Me album. The 2023 mix uses the recording featuring Ringo. It is not a fourth Beatles performance.
To make sense of the releases, three things must be kept apart: the session when the song was performed, the recording chosen for a particular record, and the later mix made from that recording. The documentation published in The Beatles Anthology identifies sessions on June 6, September 4 and September 11, 1962.
The three 1962 recordings compared
| Recording date | Drummer | Session and recording history | Where to find it officially |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 6, 1962 | Pete Best | The Beatles’ first EMI session; this recording was not released at the time. | Anthology 1 (1995), identified as the first version. |
| September 4, 1962 | Ringo Starr | Recording used on the initial UK single, released October 5, 1962. | Past Masters; the original single performance remixed for the 2023 edition. |
| September 11, 1962 | Andy White on drums; Ringo on tambourine | A new recording later selected for the group’s debut LP. | Please Please Me (March 22, 1963). |
These dates mark three different performances, not three remasters of the same tape. Pete Best was still in the band at the first session, but Ringo replaced him in August 1962. By the time the Beatles returned to the studio in September, the lineup had changed.
Why did Andy White play after Ringo had joined the band?
The production team decided to use an experienced studio drummer at the September 11 session. The official Anthology account associates the decision with George Martin and describes the surprise felt by Ringo, who had only recently joined. Andy White took the drum chair for “Love Me Do”, while Ringo played tambourine. This does not mean White became a Beatle or that Ringo was dismissed from the band.
The recording featuring Ringo had been made a week earlier and appeared on the earliest UK single copies released on October 5. The September 11 recording with Andy White subsequently circulated on later single pressings and was selected for Please Please Me, issued in March 1963. That is why copies of the single and the LP may contain different performances even though the song title is identical.
What is actually on each album or compilation?
- Anthology 1 (1995): the June 6 recording featuring Pete Best. The Anthology documentation says it was rediscovered in 1994 and officially released on the compilation.
- Past Masters: preserves the original UK single version, recorded on September 4 with Ringo Starr on drums. The official store’s track listing specifies the date, the drummer and its origin on the 1962 Parlophone single.
- Please Please Me (1963): contains the September 11 recording with Andy White. The official album page confirms that a later recording was chosen over the one originally issued on the single.
- 1962-1966 (2023 Edition) and the “Now And Then” / “Love Me Do” single: contain the 2023 Mix of the original UK single performance, meaning Ringo’s September 4 recording. It is neither White’s take nor a newly recorded performance from 2023.
How can you tell the Ringo and Andy White recordings apart?
One useful listening clue is the tambourine on the Andy White recording: Ringo played it while White handled the drums. The September 4 recording, with Ringo on drums, does not feature that tambourine. The Beatles Story, a Liverpool museum dedicated to the group, also identifies this difference.
Pete Best’s recording, meanwhile, is not the familiar master used for the single or the first album. It is the earlier June attempt, brought back for Anthology 1. To compare all three performances, listeners therefore need specific recordings rather than relying on the song title in an app or the cover of a particular release.
What changed on “Love Me Do (2023 Mix)”?
In 2023, Apple Corps and the record labels issued a new mix of the original single performance. The official description of the single paired with “Now And Then” explains that the 1962 track was separated into elements with machine-learning assistance and remixed in stereo. The expanded 1962-1966 collection, known as the Red Album, also includes this mix.
A remix is not a re-recording: remixing rearranges existing audio to present the voices and instruments in a different balance and spatial arrangement. A new recording would require another musical performance. “2023 Mix” therefore names the sound treatment released in 2023, while the musicians and performance still come from the September 4, 1962 recording.
For a practical credit check, use Anthology 1 for Pete Best, Past Masters and the 2023 original-single mix for Ringo, and Please Please Me for Andy White, with Ringo on tambourine. Much of the confusion disappears once the word “version” is qualified as a recording, pressing or mix.
Sources and references
- The Beatles Anthology: chronology of the three sessions
- The Beatles: Anthology 1 (1995)
- The Beatles: Please Please Me album
- Official store: Past Masters track listing
- The Beatles: announcement of the 2023 editions
- Official store: Now And Then / Love Me Do (2023 Mix)
- The Beatles Story: 60 years of Love Me Do
- The Beatles Bible: September 11, 1962 session
