The following article appeared in New Musical Express on May 10, 1963, page 10
Those fabulous Beatles have paid a chart-sized tribute to the NME with their latest hit, "From Me To You"-because the title is based on our popular readers' letters column, "From You To Us"!
Says John Lennon: "As I explained recently, Paul McCartney and I wrote the number on a coach journey between York and Shrewsbury. We were on the Helen Shapiro tour at the time.
"We puzzled us was why we'd thought of a name like "From Me To You". In fact, it had me thinking until only recently, when I picked up the NME to see how we were doing in the charts. Then I realized-we'd got the inspiration from reading a copy on the coach! Paul and I had been talking about one of the letters in the 'From You To Us' column."
Says Paul: "We had such a fairly easy job thinking up tunes, we used to worry whether we were copying from someone else. Then we realized it was probably because they had such a simple melody. These days, if we think up a tune very quickly we know we've got a hit!"
Beatles' compositions and recordings are becoming so hot these days that there are even rumours-in Liverpool-of "black market" Beatles discs!
One NME reader wrote to me mentioning that 400 copies had been in circulated of them singing, "Some Other Guy."
The story seems to have arisen following a visit to Liverpool's Cavern beat club by a Granada TV unit. As you may know, The Cavern is almost a "holy of holies" on the Liverpool pop scene! In the past few years such artists Gerry And The Pacemakers, The Big Three and Billy J. Kramer have guided a lot of their stage experience there.
During Granada's visit to the club, the technicians made a demostration disc of The Beatles singing "Some Other Guy". However only two or three copies were made-not 400!
There is no doubt that the groups few recording for the German Polydor label have become collector's pieces. These include a single with Tony Sheriden, "My Bonny", and an EP issued in France-and I've heard stories of fans fervently searching the Continent to get a copy!
I'm happy to report that success still hasn't changed The Beatles. I knew them a year ago and they've remained the same happy-go-lucky crowd, as modest as ever.
"There's only one big difference," Paul told me, "it's the fact that nowadays we're recognised wherever we go. Mind you, it does get a bit comic at times.
"For instance, I might be in a cafe and a girl will come up and say, 'You're one of The Beatles, aren't you?' 'Yes,' I say. 'No, you're not,' she says. 'You just look like him.'
"But I am one of The Beatles,' I answer-wounded dignity and all that. After that she might say 'Come off it, big 'ead!' and there I am frantically looing through my pockets trying to establish my identity! It's happened to the others."
None of The Beatles has celebrated by buying very much. "We got a record player for our van," said Paul, "but I can't think of anything else. The royalties haven't come in yet. When that happens...who knows?!"