The flash-point for the album came with the song 'Free as a Bird' – the three remaining Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr re-working a John Lennon demo recording given to McCartney by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. Track 24 features EMI session drummer Andy White, in place of Ringo.ĭisc Two contains performances from comedy duo Morecambe and Wise's popular television programme, Two of a Kind, as well as the opening song from their famed performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, which introduced the band to most of the US in 1964. Track 22 is the original recording of ' Love Me Do', which would be re-recorded by the group four months later for their first single. Tracks 21–22 are the only surviving recordings of the Beatles' first EMI session. The song ' My Bonnie' would be their introductory single in England, featuring Sheridan on lead vocal and guitar. Some songs from this session were released on the 1962 album My Bonnie, credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. It is of historical interest as the only official release of performances with Best and Sutcliffe in the band – Sutcliffe, the band's original bass player during 1960, and sporadically during the group's second Hamburg season, appears on the disc-one tracks ' Hallelujah, I Love Her So', ' You'll Be Mine' and ' Cayenne' while Best, who was the official drummer from just prior to the group's first departure for Hamburg in August 1960 until 15 August 1962 when he was replaced by Ringo Starr, is on Disc One, tracks 10–12, 15–19 and 21–22.ĭisc One, tracks 10–12, were recorded at a session in Hamburg where the Beatles served as the back-up band to the English rock and roll musician Tony Sheridan. The album includes material from the Beatles' days as the Quarrymen, through the Decca audition to sessions for the album Beatles for Sale.

The Anthology albums were remastered and made available digitally on the iTunes Store on 14 June 2011, individually and as part of the Anthology Box Set. It reached number 2 on the UK albums chart. The album topped the Billboard 200 album chart and was certified 8× Platinum by the RIAA.

It contains ' Free as a Bird', the first new Beatles song in 25 years, which was released as a single two weeks after Anthology 1. It is the first in a trilogy of albums with Anthology 2 and Anthology 3, all of which tie in with the televised special The Beatles Anthology. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the period 1958–64, including songs with original bass player Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best. Anthology 1 is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 20 November 1995 by Apple Records as part of The Beatles Anthology series.

The beatles anthology 1