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UK Release date : Friday, March 4, 1966

Yesterday

By The BeatlesEP • Part of the collection “The Beatles • The original UK EPs

Last updated on November 1, 2022

Track list

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Side 1

  1. Yesterday

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    2:09 • Studio versionA • Mono

    Paul McCartney : Guitar, Vocals George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer Tony Gilbert : Violin Sidney Sax : Violin Kenneth Essex : Viola Francesc Gabarró Solé : Cello

    Session Recording: Jun 14, 1965 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

    Session Mixing: Jun 17, 1965 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

  2. Act Naturally

    Written by Johnny Russell, Voni Morrison

    2:32 • Studio versionA • Mono

    Paul McCartney : Bass, Harmony vocals Ringo Starr : Drums, Sticks, Vocals John Lennon : Acoustic rhythm guitar George Harrison : Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer

    Session Recording: Jun 17, 1965 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

    Session Mixing: Jun 18, 1965 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

Side 2

  1. You Like Me Too Much

    Written by George Harrison

    2:39 • Studio versionA • Mono

    Paul McCartney : Bass, Piano Ringo Starr : Drums, Tambourine John Lennon : Acoustic rhythm guitar, Electric piano George Harrison : Lead guitar, Vocals George Martin : Piano, Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer

    Session Recording: Feb 17, 1965 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

    Session Mixing: Feb 18, 1965 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

  2. It's Only Love

    Written by Lennon - McCartney

    1:55 • Studio versionA • Mono

    Paul McCartney : Bass Ringo Starr : Drums, Tambourine John Lennon : Acoustic rhythm guitar, Electric guitar, Vocals George Harrison : 12-string acoustic guitar, Lead guitar George Martin : Producer Norman Smith : Recording engineer

    Session Recording: Jun 15, 1965 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

    Session Mixing: Jun 18, 1965 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road


From Wikipedia:

Yesterday is an EP by the Beatles released on 4 March 1966 by Parlophone in the UK (catalogue number GEP 8948). It was also released in Portugal and Spain. All four of the tracks also appeared on the Help! album.

In the United States, however, none of the tracks appeared on the American Help! soundtrack. Instead, “You Like Me Too Much” appears on Beatles VI, “It’s Only Love” appears on the US version of Rubber Soul, and “Yesterday,” and “Act Naturally” appear on Yesterday and Today. “Yesterday” and “Act Naturally” were also released as a single in the United States in September 1965.

The Beatles’ 11th EP was released in mono only, and the cover photograph was taken by Robert Whitaker. Each Beatle took lead vocal on a song – McCartney on “Yesterday“, Starr on “Act Naturally“, Harrison on “You Like Me Too Much” and Lennon on “It’s Only Love“.

Yesterday entered the UK EP chart on 12 March 1966, and from 26 March spent six weeks at number one. In all it remained on the hit parade for 13 weeks. The EP’s release happened to coincide with the first publication of John Lennon’s comments that the Beatles were “More popular than Jesus“.


The covers of the EPs “Yesterday”, “Million Sellers” and “Nowhere Man” are also by you. Do you remember something about those sessions?

“Nowhere Man” and “Yesterday” belong to a period of time when op art was just starting in England. And people like Peter Blake were coming to the fore… David Hockney, Brian Rise… and I worked with two people on that series of pictures. One girl was called Carol Russell, from the Royal College of Art and Stuart Bristley. We all worked together on that. It was a very difficult job because the studio was very small and it was full of many set-ups we had prepared for other jobs. And “Nowhere Man”, I don’t remember. Where was it taken? Ah yes, the ones in Chiswick Park. I think that was the day they did “Rain” and “Paperback Writer”. I think Michael Lindsay-Hogg directed the video promotions and I was there just making pictures. Good fun, yeah. Not too long ago, I just found more pictures of that session.

Robert Whitaker – Photographer – From Beatlefan #108, Sept-Oct 1997
Paul McCartney writing

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