My Record Lies Over the Channel

September 1961

Polydor releases an EP of the recordings made in June by Tony Sheridan and the "Beat Brothers" into the German market.  (Beatles sounds too much like Peedles, Deutsch slang for a certain male body part.  Not exactly good for the image.  Hence the name change.)  In Europe in the 60's EP (Extended Play) recordings were very common format for retailing music.  They didn't become accepted in the US until much later.

In that day and age, when communication was as likely to be by letter as by telephone and email and blogging had not shown up in the most fevered dream of even the craziest sci-fi writer, the Beatles themselves probably didn't hear about it until weeks later.  The songs included on it are the famous "My Bonnie", a Sheridan original called "Why", a Lennon/Harrison original instrumental - "Cry For a Shadow" and the traditional jazz standard "The Saints" aka "When the Saints Come Marching In".

The Beatles are on out commercial vinyl for the first time!  Blissfully ignorant of  that fact, the band continues playing the Cavern, the Aintree Institute, Hambleton, and St Johns Hall.  Does music store entrepreneur Mr Epstein notice their omnipresence on the scene?