The Early Tapes of The Beatles

The Early Tapes of The Beatles is the first digital release of a long line of releases comprised of what are essentially same handful of pre-Beatles tracks performed by members of The Beatles when they performed as the backup band of singer Tony Sheridan very early in their carrer.

This digital reissue is nearly the same as a long list of albums issued by Polydor targeting Beatles fans.

The first such release entitled The Beatles' First was released in Germany in 1964. It was issued in the U.K. in 1967 with the same title and a different cover and again in 2004 on CD as a Deluxe Edition with a different cover. In 1969, a Canadian version entitled Very Together was released featuring the same tracks as the The Beatles' First album. In 1970 these tracks issued as In the Beginning (Circa 1960) in the United States. It was later issued under the title The Beatles in Hamburg in New Zealand. All of these albums derived from the January 5, 1962 release of the album My Bonnie by Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers (though My Bonnie contains several tracks not featured on these releases and vice versa).

The Early Tapes of The Beatles album contains the same tunes as The Beatles' First with the addition of "Kansas City" and "Ready Teddy" (both credited to Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers). It's unclear if the three members of what would become The Beatles - John, Paul, and George - actually played on these additional tracks. It has been established that they did not play on at least several of the tacks put out on The Beatles' First and subsequent reissues despite the album's title.

The ambiguity lies with the name "The Beat Brothers" which at times was comprised of future Beatles and at other times musicians that were not associated with The Beatles. The name "The Beat Brothers" was, in effect, something of a generic label used by Sheridan for his backing band as different musicians that came and went.

The album was reissued - yet again - on the Spectrum label (an offshoot of Universal Music Group) with a different album art in 2004.