On This Day in 1962, The Beatles Released Their Debut Single—a Song Written Before the Band Existed

October 5, 2026, 7:15pm

On this day (October 5) in 1962, the Beatles released “Love Me Do” in the United Kingdom. It was their debut single and peaked at No. 17, thanks to their already-growing following. Two years later, it would become one of their many singles to reach the top of the Hot 100 in the United States.

Interestingly, the Fab Four recorded three versions of “Love Me Do.” First, they recorded it with their original drummer, Pete Best, in June 1962. Three months later, they went into the studio with Ringo Starr to record the second version. Then, a week later, they recorded another version with session drummer Andy Wade. The first version didn’t see the light of day until Anthology 1 was released in 1995. They released the version with Starr as their debut UK single. In April 1964, American listeners heard the recording that featured Wade.

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This is one of the earliest songs co-written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. They co-wrote it in 1958, according to Beatles Bible. However, how much of a collaboration the song was depends on whose version of the story you believe. Lennon credits McCartney for the bulk of the songwriting. “I might have helped on the middle eight, but I couldn’t swear to it. I do know he had the song around, in Hamburg even, way, way before we were songwriters,” he explained.

McCartney, on the other hand, remembered things differently. “It might have been my original idea, but some of them really were 50-50s, and I think that one was. It was just Lennon and McCartney sitting down without either of us having a particularly original idea.”

“Love Me Do” Was a Huge Song for the Beatles

“Love Me Do” wasn’t just their first single or their first hit. It was also the first original song the Beatles added to their setlist. When it peaked at No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart, they knew they were doing something right. In hindsight, it was a sign of things to come.

At the time, they had been performing regularly in Liverpool, Manchester, Cheshire, and the Wirral Peninsula. They had gained enough of a following to make their first single a top-20 hit. That passionate following only grew with their subsequent releases. Within two years, Beatlemania would be a global phenomenon.

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