Ticket To Ride

I bought The Beatles' Help! a couple of weeks ago, a seventh pressing (Oct 1980-Oct 1982) for £4.  First released in 1965 it was their fifth album and features seven songs from the film of the same name on Side 1.

The Beatles - Help! (1965)

It produced two number one singles at the time; Help! and Ticket To Ride, which were both Lennon and McCartney songs.  The album also features two cover versions; the country song Act Naturally sung by Ringo and Larry Williams' Dizzy Miss Lizzy sung by John.

Two Harrisongs are also present; I Need You and I Like You Too Much.  Paul's evergreen Yesterday (recorded by Paul alone) wasn't released as a single in the UK until 1976 once their contract with EMI had expired.  The Beatles had originally refused a release because they felt it was really a solo record that didn't fit in with their work as a whole.  It then reached no.8.  The song is famously one of the most-covered songs, with versions running into the thousands!

The front cover does not actually spell out 'help' in semaphore as originally intended, as the sequence was deemed not aesthetically pleasing.  The UK version actually spells out 'nujv', although it is a partial reverse print of the original photos that spelled 'lpus' or 'help us'!

The album reached no.1 in the UK.  The US version is very different, featuring only songs from the film plus parts of the original score.  It also reached no.1 on the Billboard chart.

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