Album: Help!
Artist: The Beatles
Release Date: August 6th, 1965
This week we are celebrating the 52nd anniversary of The Beatles’ 5th studio album Help! This album also serves as the soundtrack for the movie of the same name directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles. The movie was released on July 29th in the United Kingdom and August 25th in the United States.
The North American release of the album differed greatly from the United Kingdom’s release and some critics claim the album suffers because of the removal of key songs. ‘Yesterday’, ‘I’ve Just Seen a Face’, ‘It’s Only Love’, and ‘Tell Me What You See’ were all removed from the American version of the album and were replaced with soundtrack scores from the film.
Although the song Help! turned into one of the more famous Beatles’ songs, it actually came from a dark time in John Lennon’s life. In a 1980 interview, Lennon talks about the song, “The whole Beatles thing was just beyond comprehension. I was subconsciously crying out for help”.
The album did very well in sales, having reached #1 in the UK, Australia, Germany, and the United States and was awarded platinum status in 2013 after the British Phonographic Institute made a change to their sales award rules.
The film features The Beatles traveling around the world to places such as the Austrian Alps, Bahamas, and England to try and escape a cult who is chasing them after Ringo is sent one of their sacrificial rings.
U.K Track Listing
Side One
- Help
- The Night Before
- You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
- I Need You
- Another Girl
- You’re Going to Lose That Girl
- Ticket to Ride
Side Two
- Act Naturally
- It’s Only Love
- You Like Me Too Much
- Tell Me What You See
- I’ve Just Seen a Face
- Yesterday
- Dizzy Miss Lizzy
-Mark Goodwin, Music Correspondent
