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{{Short description|1963 studio album by the Beatles}}
{{About|the album|the song|Please Please Me (song)||Please Please Me (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Please Please Me
| type         = studio album
| artist       = [[the Beatles]]
| cover        = Please Please Me.png
| border       = yes
| alt          = A photo of the Beatles – Ringo, Paul, George, and John – looking down over a stairwell railing
| released     = {{Start date|1963|3|22|df=y}}
| recorded     = 11 September 1962{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=20}} – 20 February 1963
| studio       = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| genre        = {{Flatlist|
*[[Beat music|Merseybeat]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/merseybeat-ma0000012018/albums |title=Pop/Rock " British Invasion " Merseybeat |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=19 September 2013 |archive-date=28 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728155323/http://www.allmusic.com/style/merseybeat-ma0000012018/albums |url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[rock and roll]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Carlin|first=Peter Ames|title=Paul McCartney: A Life|page=[https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneylif00carl/page/82 82]|url=https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneylif00carl|url-access=registration|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|date=3 November 2009|isbn=978-1-4165-6209-2}}</ref>
*[[pop music|pop]]<ref name="sputnikmusic"/> }} 
| length       = {{Duration|m=31|s=59}}
| label        = [[Parlophone]]
| producer     = [[George Martin]]
| chronology   = [[The Beatles]]
| prev_title   = 
| prev_year    = 
| next_title   = [[With the Beatles]]
| next_year    = 1963
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = Please Please Me
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Love Me Do]]" / "[[P.S. I Love You (Beatles song)|P.S. I Love You]]
 | single1date = 5&nbsp;October 1962
 | single2     = [[Please Please Me (song)|Please Please Me]]" / "[[Ask Me Why]]
 | single2date = 11&nbsp;January 1963
}}
}}

'''''Please Please Me''''' is the debut [[studio album]] by English [[Rock music|rock]] band [[the Beatles]]. Produced by [[George Martin]], it was released in the [[United Kingdom]] on [[EMI]]'s [[Parlophone]] label on 22&nbsp;March 1963. The album's 14 tracks include [[cover song]]s and original material written by [[Lennon–McCartney|the partnership]] of band members [[John Lennon]] and [[Paul McCartney]].

The Beatles had signed with EMI in May 1962 and been assigned to the Parlophone label run by Martin. They released their debut single "[[Love Me Do]]" in October, which surprised Martin by reaching number 17 on [[Record Retailer|what would become the official UK singles chart]]. Impressed, Martin suggested they record a [[live album]] and helped arrange their next single, "[[Please Please Me (song)|Please Please Me]]", which topped the ''[[NME]]'' singles chart. Finding the [[Cavern Club]], the band's venue in their native [[Liverpool]], unsuitable for recording, Martin switched to a simple studio album. The Beatles recorded ''Please Please Me'' in one day at [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI Studios]] on 11&nbsp;February 1963, with Martin adding [[Overdubbing|overdubs]] to "[[Misery (Beatles song)|Misery]]" and "[[Baby It's You]]" nine days later. The A-sides and B-sides of two previously released singles were added to the album.

The album was well-received in Britain, where it remained in the Top 10 for over a year, a record for a debut album that stood for half a century. The presence of several songs written by band members [[Lennon&ndash;McCartney]] (credited as "McCartney&ndash;Lennon" at the time) was unusual and marked the emergence of a "self-contained rock band". On the other hand, the album was not released in the US, where the band sold poorly for most of 1963; after the stateside emergence of [[Beatlemania]], [[Vee-Jay Records]] released a mild abridgment of the album as ''[[Introducing... The Beatles]]'' in early 1964, while EMI's American label [[Capitol Records]] divided the material from ''Please Please Me'' across multiple albums. Other countries also received different versions of the album, which continued until 1987, when the entirety of the Beatles catalogue was brought to CD and internationally standardised to the UK albums. ''Please Please Me'' remains critically acclaimed; it was voted 39th on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]" in 2012, and number 622 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' in 2000.

==Background==
[[The Beatles]] originated in the [[skiffle]] scene of [[Liverpool]] in the late 1950s, and by 1961 had solidified their lineup with  [[John Lennon]] on rhythm guitar, [[Paul McCartney]] on bass, [[George Harrison]] on lead guitar, and [[Pete Best]] on drums. The band mostly played [[cover song]]s, although Lennon and McCartney [[Lennon–McCartney|had a budding songwriting partnership]] that also contributed material. After a stint in [[Hamburg]] backing English singer [[Tony Sheridan]] and releasing a single with Sheridan, "[[My Bonnie (song)|My Bonnie]]", on which they were credited as "The Beat Brothers", they returned to [[Liverpool]] in late 1961. Shortly after their return they were approached by [[Brian Epstein]], a music store manager who recognized the group's local popularity and became the group's new manager. After a failed audition at [[Decca Records]] at the beginning of 1962, Epstein was eventually able to sign the group to [[EMI]] that May.

EMI offered the Beatles a recording contract on its [[Parlophone]] label run by [[George Martin]]. Though Martin was drawn to the Beatles' personalities and charisma, he was initially unconvinced that they could write hit songs.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=766}} Their first session, on 6 June, with Best on drums, resulted in no recordings suitable for release.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=643}} Martin reacted negatively to Best's presence and insisted on the use of a [[session musician|session drummer]] in his stead; although this was standard procedure at the time, the band took this as a cue to drop Best in favour of [[Rory Storm|Rory Storm and the Hurricanes]] drummer [[Ringo Starr]]. Their second session, on 4 September and now with Starr on drums, produced "[[Love Me Do]]", which became their first single several weeks later, and an early version of "[[Please Please Me (song)|Please Please Me]]".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=696}} On 11 September, the band re-recorded "Love Me Do" with session drummer [[Andy White (drummer)|Andy White]] and recorded "[[P.S. I Love You (Beatles song)|P.S. I Love You]]", which became the [[B-side]] to "Love Me Do".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=701}} They also recorded a sped-up version of "Please Please Me", which Martin believed had hit potential but required more work.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=696}}

Martin doubted the commercial appeal of "Love Me Do" and was surprised when it reached No. 17 on the British charts in November.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=749}} Now convinced that the Beatles could write hits, Martin met the Beatles on 16 November and made two suggestions for their upcoming work. First, he suggested that they re-record "Please Please Me" and issue it as the Beatles' second single. Next, he proposed that they record a full album—a recommendation Beatles historian [[Mark Lewisohn]] deemed "genuinely mind-boggling" because the Beatles were so new to the music scene and because the album market was dominated by adult buyers, not teenagers.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|pp=764–765}} On 26 November, the Beatles held another session for "Please Please Me" (to be backed with "[[Ask Me Why]]"), after which Martin predicted that they had just made their first number one record.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|pp=773}}

As the Beatles had extensive stage experience and a large following of local fans in Liverpool, Martin proposed the band could record a [[live album]], primarily of Lennon–McCartney songs at their resident venue, the [[Cavern Club]], in December.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=765–766}} Martin planned to attend the Beatles' 18 November Cavern concert to gauge its suitability for recording, though he postponed this visit until 12 December.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=766}} Upon his visit to the Cavern, Martin decided the acoustics would be unsuitable and decided to record a traditional studio album in February 1963; as the Beatles had already recorded four songs for release, they would record another ten to complete the album.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=787}} In the meantime, Martin also solicited the Beatles' input for album names; McCartney suggested ''Off the Beatle Track''.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2013|p=767}}

The single "Please Please Me" was released on 11 January 1963 and reached number one on the ''[[NME]]'', ''[[Melody Maker]]'', and ''[[Disc (magazine)|Disc]]'' charts.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=24}} In early February, the group undertook their [[The Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour|first national tour]], and they planned to record their album during a break in the tour on 11 February.

==Recording==
[[File:Abbeyroadtomswain.jpg|thumb|Studio 2 at EMI Studios, where the Beatles recorded the entirety of ''Please Please Me'']]
Martin asked the band if they had any songs that they could record quickly.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=24}} According to Martin, "It was a straightforward performance of their stage repertoire – a broadcast, more or less."{{sfn|Martin|Pearson|1994|p=77}} Initially, a morning and afternoon session only were booked; the evening session was added later.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|pp=24–26}} [[Mark Lewisohn]] later wrote: "There can scarcely have been 585 more productive minutes in the history of recorded music".{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=24}} Martin oversaw each session on the day, with [[Norman Smith (record producer)|Norman Smith]] as first engineer and Richard Langham as second engineer.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=24}}
{{Quote box
 |quote  = We didn't rehearse our first album. In my head, it was done "live". We did the songs through first, so they could get some sort of sound on each one; then we had to just run, run them down.
 |author = —Ringo Starr{{sfn|Beatles|2000|p=92}}
 |width  = 25%
}}

On 11{{nbsp}}February 1963,<ref name="RShourbyhour">{{cite magazine |last=Runtagh |first=Jordan |title=The Beatles' Marathon 'Please Please Me' Session, Hour by Hour |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-beatles-marathon-please-please-me-session-hour-by-hour-128271/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=10 April 2024 |date=22 March 2018}}</ref> the Beatles arrived with [[John Lennon]] suffering from a bad [[Common cold|cold]], which he attempted to treat with a steady supply of [[throat lozenge]]s.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=24}} They began their morning session at 10 am with "[[There's a Place]]" and "Seventeen" (the working title of what became "[[I Saw Her Standing There]]").{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=24}} The band rehearsed during their lunch break and then proceeded with their afternoon session.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=24}} In that session, [[Paul McCartney]] recorded a double-tracked vocal for "[[A Taste of Honey (song)|A Taste of Honey]]" (a standard later covered by renowned soul artists such as [[The Supremes]], [[Four Tops]], and [[Mel Carter]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ribowsky |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QF0sDRMggR4C&q=A+Taste+Of+Honey |title=The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal |date=2009 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81586-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=The Magnificent 7 - The Supremes, The Four Top... {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-magnificent-7-mw0000313051 |access-date=2024-07-03 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=A Taste of Honey - Mel Carter {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/a-taste-of-honey-mt0026678245 |access-date=2024-07-03 |language=en}}</ref>), [[George Harrison]] sang lead on "[[Do You Want to Know a Secret]]", and Lennon and McCartney sang co-lead on "[[Misery (Beatles song)|Misery]]".{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=24}} During the evening session, the band recorded covers of "[[Anna (Go to Him)]]", "[[Boys (The Shirelles song)|Boys]]" ([[Ringo Starr]]'s sole vocal), "[[Chains (Cookies song)|Chains]]" and "[[Baby It's You]]".{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=26}} The song "[[Hold Me Tight]]" was also recorded during the evening session, but proved "surplus to requirements" and was not included on the album.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|pp=24–26}}{{refn|group=nb|It was later re-recorded and released on ''[[With the Beatles]]''.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=36}}}}

At 10&nbsp;pm, with the studios set to close soon, the day ended with a cover of "[[Twist and Shout]]". The song was picked after a discussion in the studio canteen in which numerous songs were suggested before "Twist and Shout" was chosen. The performance, caught on the first take, prompted Martin to say: "I don't know how they do it. We've been recording all day but the longer we go on the better they get."{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|pp=24–26}} Lennon later remarked, "The last song nearly killed me. My voice wasn't the same for a long time after; every time I swallowed, it was like sandpaper."{{sfn|Beatles|2000|p=93}}

At the end of the evening session at 10:30 pm, the Beatles attended a full tape playback in the studio control room.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=26}} Lennon reflected, "Waiting to hear that LP played back was one of our most worrying experiences. ... As it happens, we were very happy with the result.{{sfn|Beatles|2000|p=93}} The Beatles were not present during an overdub session on 20 February, during which Martin overdubbed piano on "Misery" and [[celesta]] on "Baby It's You".{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=28}}

The day of recording cost approximately £400{{sfn|Harry|1992|p=528}} ({{Inflation|UK|400|1963|r=-2|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} Martin said: "There wasn't a lot of money at Parlophone. I was working to an annual budget of £55,000."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Beatles Collectors Limited Edition|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|first=Maddy|last=Ballantyne|location=London|pages=36–38}}</ref> This budget had to cover all of the artists on Martin's roster. Individually, under a contract with the [[Musicians' Union (UK)|Musicians' Union]], each Beatle collected a session fee of [[£sd|£7 10s]] ([[Pound sterling|£]]7.50; equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK|7.5|1963}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} for each three-hour session (10:00 am – 1:00 pm / 2:30 pm – 5:30 pm / 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm).{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=21}}

Before deciding on the title ''Please Please Me'', Martin considered calling the album ''Off the Beatle Track'', a title he would later use for his [[Off the Beatle Track|own orchestral album]] of Beatles songs.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=32}} The album was recorded on a two-track [[British Tape Recorder|BTR]] [[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|tape machine]] with most of the instruments on one track and the vocals on the other, allowing Martin to better balance the two in the final [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mono mix]].{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=28}} A stereo mix was also made with one track on the left channel and the other on the right, as well as an added layer of reverb to better blend the two tracks together. The two tracks generally divided the instrumental track from the vocals, with the exception of "Boys", in which the close proximity of Ringo's drums to his vocal microphone placed the drums (but not the other instruments) on the vocal channel.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Two tracks, "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You", were only mixed for mono for the single's release and no stereo versions were made, so, for the stereo version of the album, during the mixing sessions on 25 February 1963, Martin created "mock stereo" versions by emphasising low frequencies on one side and high frequencies on the other.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beatlesebooks.com/love-me-do|title="Love Me Do" by The Beatles. The in-depth story behind the songs of the Beatles. Recording History. Songwriting History. Song Structure and Style.|website=Beatlesebooks.com|access-date=2 January 2019|archive-date=7 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107065153/http://www.beatlesebooks.com/love-me-do|url-status=live}}</ref> These versions would continue to be made available via compilation albums (such as ''[[1962–1966]]''), and on [[Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs]]' half-speed mastered vinyl releases (catalogue number MFSL-1-101)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bsnpubs.com/la/mofi/mofi.html|title=Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Album Discography|website=Bsnpubs.com|access-date=2 January 2019|archive-date=31 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031093457/http://bsnpubs.com/la/mofi/mofi.html|url-status=live}}</ref> sourced from EMI's original stereo master tapes, until the Beatles' catalogue was standardised and issued on compact disc in 1987, starting with the first four UK albums being issued in their mono versions. However, when Capitol Records issued the second volume of American Beatles albums on compact disc (''[[The Capitol Albums, Volume 2]]'') in 2006, the same mock stereo versions that appeared on ''[[The Early Beatles]]'' were included.  When the entire catalogue was remastered for release in 2009, the mono mixes were chosen for inclusion on the stereo reissues, and appear on all releases since, including newer compilations and variations.

==Artwork and packaging==
George Martin was an [[honorary fellow]] of the [[Zoological Society of London]], which owns [[London Zoo]], and he thought that it might be good publicity for the zoo to have the Beatles pose outside the insect house for the cover photography of the album. However, the society turned down Martin's request, and instead, [[Angus McBean]] was asked to take the distinctive colour photograph of the group looking down over the stairwell inside EMI's London headquarters in [[Manchester Square]].{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=32}} Martin was to write later: "We rang up the legendary theatre photographer Angus McBean, and bingo, he came round and did it there and then. It was done in an almighty rush, like the music. Thereafter, though, the Beatles' own creativity came bursting to the fore."{{sfn|Martin|Pearson|1994|p=121}} In 1969, the Beatles asked McBean to recreate this shot. Although the 1969 photograph was originally intended for the then-planned ''Get Back'' album, it was not used when that project saw eventual release in 1970 as ''[[Let It Be (album)|Let It Be]]''. Instead, the 1969 photograph, along with an unused photograph from the 1963 photo shoot, was used in 1973 for the Beatles' retrospective albums ''[[1962–1966]]'' and ''[[1967–1970]]''. Another unused photograph from the 1963 photo shoot was used for ''[[The Beatles (No. 1)]]'' (EP released 1 November 1963).

The Beatles' press officer [[Tony Barrow]] wrote extensive [[sleeve notes]], which included a brief mention of their early 1960s rivals [[the Shadows]].{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

==Release==
{{quote box|quote=This album was one of the main ambitions in our lives. We felt that it would be a showcase for the group, and it was tremendously important for us that it sounded bang on the button. As it happened, we were pleased. If not, sore throats or not, we'd have done it all over again. That was the mood we were in. It was break or bust for us.{{sfn|Badman|2009|loc=chap. 4}}|source=—Paul McCartney|width=30%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
Parlophone released ''Please Please Me'' in the UK on 22 March 1963.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Womack|2009|p=287}} As was typical for the time,{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=89}} the LP was initially released in [[monaural|mono]], with a [[Stereophonic sound|stereo]] release following on 26 April.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=32}}{{refn|group=nb|Before 1968, stereo was a small proportion of the music market.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=89}} The album mixing process focused on the mono version, while the stereo version was comparatively rudimentary,{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=89}} displaying a major left-right separation between the rhythm and vocal tracks.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=28}}}} Singles remained the dominant format for pop music, made up mostly of teenage buyers, while more expensive LPs were typically reserved for genres like classical music and jazz, whose listeners could more easily afford the format.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=89}}{{sfn|Gould|2007|pp=146–147}} Author [[Barry Miles]] suggested the album's cover design, promising "Please Please Me", "Love Me Do" and "12 Other Songs", indicated EMI's desire to promote the album towards "die-hard supporters" excited by the two earlier singles.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=89}}

''Please Please Me'' hit the top of the UK album charts in May 1963 and remained there for 30 weeks before being replaced by ''[[With the Beatles]]''. This was an unprecedented achievement for a pop album.<ref name="Record Retailer Chart2">{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Jack |title=Albums with the most weeks at Number 1 |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/albums-with-the-most-weeks-at-number-1-on-the-official-albums-chart__23234/ |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210214430/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/albums-with-the-most-weeks-at-number-1-on-the-official-albums-chart__23234/ |archive-date=10 December 2021 |language=en |date=4 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, the UK album charts tended to be dominated by film soundtracks and easy listening vocalists.<ref>{{cite web|title=Please Please Me – The Beatles|publisher=[[Apple Corps]]|url=http://www.thebeatles.com/album/please-please-me|access-date=4 November 2016|ref={{SfnRef|Apple Corps|2016}}|archive-date=3 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103080748/http://www.thebeatles.com/album/please-please-me|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Please Please Me'' was the first non-soundtrack album to spend more than one year (62 weeks) consecutively inside the top ten of what became the Official UK Albums Chart.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/albums-that-have-spent-a-year-or-longer-consecutively-inside-the-official-albums-chart-top-10__29837/|title=Lewis Capaldi makes chart history: Albums with the most consecutive weeks in the Top 10|website=www.officialcharts.com|access-date=15 June 2020|archive-date=15 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615052708/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/albums-that-have-spent-a-year-or-longer-consecutively-inside-the-official-albums-chart-top-10__29837/|url-status=live}}</ref> This record run of consecutive weeks in the top ten for a debut album stood until April 2013, when [[Emeli Sandé]]'s ''[[Our Version of Events]]'' achieved a 63rd consecutive week.<ref>{{cite web|title=Week Ending April 28, 2013. Albums: Snoop Lamb Is More Like It |url=http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/week-ending-april-28-2013-albums-snoop-lamb-145455807.html|last=Grein|first=Paul|date=1 May 2013|publisher= music.yahoo.com|access-date=9 July 2013|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104215903/http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/week-ending-april-28-2013-albums-snoop-lamb-145455807.html |archive-date=4 November 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In the 30 March 1963 issue of ''[[Record Mirror]]'', Norman Jopling reviewed the album in depth, providing track-by-track reviews for the ten songs that had not been previously released. He concludes that, for a debut, the LP is "surprisingly good and up to standard", and contained many tracks that could have been released as singles, such as "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Misery". Jopling further highlighted the LP's packaging, writing that its cover image and [[liner notes|sleeve notes]] provided extra value.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Jopling|first=Norman|title=Guess What! The Beatles L.P. is called 'Please Please Me!' – Here's a review in depth{{nbsp}}...|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|date=30 March 1963|page=12|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/63/record-mirror-1963-03-30-s-ocr.pdf}}</ref> Author Jonathan Gould suggests in retrospect that the album's packaging majorly contributed to its success, promising fans "glossy cover art" and a greater companion to the music than the plain paper packaging then offered by singles.{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=147}}

===International and CD releases===
In addition to the UK, ''Please Please Me'' was released, un- or lightly-modified, in India, continental Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. In New Zealand, the album first appeared only in mono on the black Parlophone label. The following year (1964) EMI (NZ) changed from black to a blue Parlophone label and the album was again available only in mono. Due to constant demand, it was finally made available in stereo, first through the [[World Record Club]] on their ''Young World'' label in both mono and stereo,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.yokono.co.uk/collection/beatles/nz/lp/nz_lp_wrc.html|title=The Beatles N.Z. LP: Original Released|website=www.yokono.co.uk|access-date=5 March 2020|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227125933/http://www.yokono.co.uk/collection/beatles/nz/lp/nz_lp_wrc.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and finally on the blue Parlophone label. The album was released in Japan in 1969 with a different cover and a significantly shuffled tracklist.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

EMI's American subsidiary [[Capitol Records]] had been offered the opportunity to release Beatles material since the 1962 release of "Love Me Do", but turned it down.{{sfn|Wallgren|1982|p=16|ps=none}} [[Vee-Jay Records]], a smaller label unaffiliated with EMI, took the initiative of bringing the Beatles to the United States, releasing the "Please Please Me" single on 25 February 1963. Despite its success in Britain, "Please Please Me" failed to chart in the US, and the May release of "[[From Me to You]]" was similarly lacklustre, leading Vee-Jay to lose interest in the Beatles.{{sfn|Wallgren|1982|pp=16&ndash;18|ps=none}} Originally planning on releasing the ''Please Please Me'' album unaltered in July, it ended up trimming "Please Please Me" and "Ask Me Why" to fit the standard American album length and releasing it as ''[[Introducing... The Beatles]]'' in January 1964.<ref name="Introducing">{{cite web |last1=Ruhlmann |first1=William |title=Introducing...The Beatles |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/introducing-the-beatles-mw0000889073 |website=AllMusic.com |access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref> Capitol remained unimpressed with the group until the rapid success of "[[I Want to Hold Your Hand]]" in Christmas 1963. Buoyed by the resultant [[Beatlemania]] and aware of their previous rejection of the Beatles, Capitol released a modified version of the group's second album ''With the Beatles'', coming out with ''[[Meet the Beatles!]]'' shortly after Vee-Jay had released ''Introducing... The Beatles''. ''Meet the Beatles!'' contains "I Saw Her Standing There", which Capitol released as the American B-side of "I Want to Hold Your Hand".{{sfn|Russell|1982|p=163|ps=none}} Finally acquiring the rights to early Beatles recordings back from Vee-Jay in late 1964, Capitol released most of the other tracks from ''Please Please Me'' on ''[[The Early Beatles]]'' in March 1965, although "Misery" and "There's a Place" remained unreleased by Capitol until 1980's ''[[Rarities (Beatles compilations)#1980 US album|Rarities]]''.{{sfn|Russell|1982|pp=175 & 187|ps=none}}

In Canada, the majority of the album's songs were included upon the Canadian-exclusive release ''[[Twist and Shout (album)|Twist and Shout]]'', which featured "[[From Me to You]]" and "[[She Loves You]]" in place of "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Misery".{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The album was released on CD on 26 February 1987, in mono, as were their three subsequent albums, ''With the Beatles'', ''[[A Hard Day's Night (album)|A Hard Day's Night]]'' and ''[[Beatles for Sale]]''. It was not released on vinyl or tape in the US until five months later when it was issued for the first time in the US on LP and cassette on 21 July 1987.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebeatles.com/album/please-please-me|title=Please Please Me|website=The Beatles|language=en|access-date=5 March 2020|archive-date=21 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421091552/https://www.thebeatles.com/album/please-please-me|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="UCR" />

''Please Please Me'' was remastered and re-released on CD in stereo, along with all the other original UK studio albums, on 9 September 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE5363RN20090407|title=Original Beatles digitally remastered|work=Reuters|date=7 April 2009|access-date=14 September 2009|first=Mike|last=Collett-White|archive-date=30 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130032253/https://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE5363RN20090407|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2009 remasters replaced the 1987 remasters. A remastered mono CD was also available as part of ''[[The Beatles in Mono]]'' box set.<ref>{{cite news|last=Aughton|first=Simon|agency=Reuters|title=Remastered Beatles on iTunes in 2008|date=4 June 2007|url=http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/114590/remastered-beatles-on-itunes-in-2008.html|work=PC Pro|access-date=2 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108124352/http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/114590/remastered-beatles-on-itunes-in-2008.html|archive-date=8 November 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Retrospective assessment ==
{{Album ratings
| rev1       = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score  = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="AM">{{cite web |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=''Please Please Me'' – The Beatles|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/please-please-me-mw0000649873 |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=2 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429204447/https://www.allmusic.com/album/please-please-me-mw0000649873 |archive-date=29 April 2021}}</ref>
| rev2       = ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
| rev2Score  = A<ref name="Klosterman">{{cite news |last=Klosterman |first=Chuck |author-link=Chuck Klosterman |date=8 September 2009 |url=https://www.avclub.com/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles-1798217828 |title=Chuck Klosterman Repeats The Beatles |newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522154556/http://www.avclub.com/articles/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles%2C32560/ |archive-date=22 May 2013 |url-status=live  }}</ref>
| rev3       = ''[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence of Sound]]''
| rev3Score  = A−<ref name="COS">{{cite web |last=Young |first=Alex |url=https://consequence.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-please-please-me-remastered/ |title=Album Review: The Beatles – Please Please Me <nowiki>[Remastered]</nowiki> |website=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence of Sound]] |date=15 September 2009 |access-date=25 March 2015 |archive-date=7 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207130757/http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-please-please-me-remastered/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev4       = ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''
| rev4Score  = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="McCormick">{{cite web |last=McCormick |first=Neil |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6138590/The-Beatles-Please-Please-Me-review.html |title=The Beatles – ''Please Please Me'', review |date=4 September 2009 |access-date=21 November 2011 |archive-date=7 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407053208/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6138590/The-Beatles-Please-Please-Me-review.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev5       = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev5Score  = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2006|publisher=[[Muze]]|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|volume=1|pages=487–489|isbn=0-19-531373-9}}</ref>
| rev6       = [[MusicHound]]
| rev6Score  = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|edition=2nd|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/88 88]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/88}}</ref>
| rev7       = ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]''
| rev7Score  = 92/100<ref name="Paste">{{cite journal|last=Kemp|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Kemp|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/the-beatles/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire/|title=The Beatles: The Long and Winding Repertiore|journal=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=5 August 2009|access-date=24 April 2022}}</ref>
| rev8       = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev8Score  = 9.5/10<ref name="PM">{{cite web |first=Tom |last=Ewing |title=The Beatles: ''Please Please Me'' Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13419-please-please-me/ |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=24 April 2022}}</ref>
| rev9       = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev9Score  = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="RSAG">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-beatles/albumguide |title=The Beatles &#124; Album Guide |magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920032458/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-beatles/albumguide|archive-date=20 September 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=25 March 2015}}</ref>
| rev10      = ''[[Sputnikmusic]]''
| rev10Score = 4/5<ref name="sputnikmusic">{{cite web|author=Med57|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/1342/The-Beatles-Please-Please-Me/|title=The Beatles – Please Please Me (album review)|date=16 January 2005|website=Sputnikmusic|access-date=5 January 2013|archive-date=16 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216195207/http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/1342/The-Beatles-Please-Please-Me/|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

In a 1987 review coinciding with the album's CD reissue, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's Steve Pond recommended ''Please Please Me'' "for the Beatles' unfettered joy at making music".<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine |first=Steve |last=Pond |title=The Beatles: Please Please Me |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/please-please-me-19870716 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=16 July 1987 |access-date=8 September 2017 |archive-date=15 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915102157/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/please-please-me-19870716 |url-status=live }}</ref> Senior [[AllMusic]] editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] summarised, "Decades after its release, the album still sounds fresh", serving as an effective encapsulation of the band's early influences, further finding the covers "impressive" and the originals "astonishing".<ref name="AM" />

''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine cited Lennon&ndash;McCartney's original compositions as early evidence of the Beatles' "[invention of] the idea of the self-contained rock band, writing their own hits and playing their own instruments".<ref name="RSbio">{{cite magazine |title=The Beatles Biography |magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thebeatles/biography |access-date=24 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220235812/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thebeatles/biography |archive-date=20 February 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The album's 2009 remaster attracted a number of reviewers. ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'s}} Tom Ewing described the album as "a raw, high-energy run-through of their early live set" that acts as "the sound of rock'n'roll finding a suddenly large, new audience."<ref name="PM" /> He praised the album's cohesiveness, where the "evening with the band" mood sets it apart from the band's other cover-heavy works, creating a non-filler track experience with great covers and originals and, above all, great vocal performances.<ref name="PM" /> The same year, [[Mark Kemp]] was positive reviewing the band's entire remastered catalogue for ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'', commending the band for infusing African American musical styles with "chirpy harmonies" from girl groups like the Shirelles to create "a sound the pop world had never heard".<ref name="Paste" /> ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'' writer [[Neil McCormick]] praised the band's performances throughout the record, contending that "the sheer accomplishment of their tight, syncopated playing and perfect harmony singing is astonishing to behold."<ref name="McCormick" /> Alex Young described the album as a dance masterpiece in ''[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence of Sound]]'', finding the remaster an improvement over the original mix.<ref name="COS" />

Writing for [[BBC Music]] in 2010, Mike Diver contended that although not regarded as their most critically acclaimed release, ''Please Please Me'' stands as a "vital moment" in the band's history, as it "set in motion the wheels that would carry them to the very peak of public recognition, and subsequently into realms of sonic experimentation that would create a template for so much rock and pop music since."<ref name="BBC" /> Diver further argued that the album's long reign at the top of the UK charts provided a rebuttal to [[Decca Records]]' stance that guitar groups were "on the way out".<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |last=Diver |first=Mike |title=The Beatles ''Please Please Me'' Review |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/6jwx/ |website=BBC Music |access-date=24 April 2022 |date=2010}}</ref> The writers of ''Rolling Stone'' agreed in ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'', writing that ''Please Please Me'' acted as a blueprint for "everything the Beatles would ever do".<ref name="RSAG" />

In ''[[Ultimate Classic Rock]]'', Michael Gallucci praised ''Please Please Me'' as a cohesive debut album that established a rough blueprint in the Beatles' working methods over the next few years, despite finding some tracks did not work as well as others, concluding: "''Please Please Me'' proved that the music that everyone was ignoring was uniformly great."<ref name="UCR">{{cite web |last=Gallucci |first=Michael |title=How the Beatles Came Storming Out With 'Please Please Me' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-please-please-me/ |website=[[Ultimate Classic Rock]] |access-date=24 April 2022 |date=22 March 2016}}</ref> Gallucci had assessed one year earlier that the album was "the sound of rock 'n' roll at the crossroads." He explained: "On one hand, many of its songs are rooted in the '50s (and earlier) music the group revered. On the other hand, this is the '60s taking shape."<ref>{{Cite web |last=DeRiso |first=Michael GallucciMichael GallucciContributing Authors: Nick |date=2015-03-19 |title=Top 100 '60s Rock Albums |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/60s-rock-albums/ |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}}</ref>

Reflecting on the album in 2016, the ''[[NME]]''{{'s}} Hamish MacBain found it imperfect, but commended the ensemble for creating a record of excellent covers and originals that displayed "flashes of brilliance". MacBain acknowledged the band would make better records, but concluded that "the resulting, snapshot nature" of their debut outing "is exactly what makes it so great".<ref name="MacBain">{{cite web |last1=MacBain |first1=Hamish |title=How The Beatles' Debut 'Please Please Me' Would Change The Fab Four Forever |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-beatles-please-please-me-769691 |website=[[NME]] |access-date=24 April 2022 |date=22 March 2016}}</ref>

===Rankings===
''Please Please Me'' has made appearances on several best-of lists. In 2012, it was voted 39th on ''Rolling Stone''{{'s}} list of the [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]. It was ranked first among the Beatles' early albums, and sixth of all of the Beatles' albums, with ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'', ''[[Revolver (Beatles album)|Revolver]]'', ''[[Rubber Soul]]'', ''[[The Beatles (album)|The Beatles]]'' (also known as "The White Album") and ''[[Abbey Road]]'' ranked higher.<ref name="rollingstone1">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-beatles-please-please-me-20120524|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The Beatles, 'Please Please Me'|magazine=Rolling Stone|year=2012|access-date=15 February 2013|archive-date=22 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022191705/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-beatles-please-please-me-20120524|url-status=live}}</ref> English writer [[Colin Larkin]] listed ''Please Please Me'' at number 622 in the third edition of his book ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000).<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|first=Colin|last=Larkin|author-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|location=London|date=2006|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=206}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' also placed two songs from the album on its 2004 edition of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]": "[[I Saw Her Standing There]]" at number 140, and "Please Please Me" at number 186.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=11 December 2003 |title=500 Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-151127/elvis-presley-dont-be-cruel-55974/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622142703/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2 |archive-date=22 June 2008 |access-date=11 April 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

Several publications, including ''NME'',<ref>{{cite web |title=50 Greatest Debut Albums |url=http://www.nme.com/list/50-greatest-debut-albums/196597/page/1 |website=NME |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111093040/http://www.nme.com/list/50-greatest-debut-albums/196597/page/1 |archive-date=11 November 2010 |date=11 November 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> have named ''Please Please Me'' one of the best debut albums of all time, with ''Rolling Stone'' and ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' both ranking it number 17.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=100 Best Debut Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-143608/please-please-me-2-229322/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319193933/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-best-debut-albums-of-all-time-143608/please-please-me-2-229322/ |archive-date=19 March 2022 |date=13 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=The 100 Greatest Debut Albums |journal=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |date=August 2006 |issue=111}}</ref> In 2015, ''[[Ultimate Classic Rock]]'' ranked it the Beatles' eighth best album and included it in their list of the top 100 rock albums from the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gallucci |first1=Michael |title=Beatles Albums Ranked Worst to Best |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-albums-ranked/ |website=[[Ultimate Classic Rock]] |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027045523/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-albums-ranked/ |archive-date=27 October 2021 |date=10 June 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Top 100 '60s Rock Albums |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/60s-rock-albums/ |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306231627/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/60s-rock-albums/ |archive-date=6 March 2022 |date=19 March 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===50th anniversary===
In 2013, the album's 50th anniversary was celebrated by modern artists re-recording the album in just one day, as the Beatles recorded it 50 years earlier. [[Stereophonics]] recorded a cover of the album's opening track, "I Saw Her Standing There". This and the other recordings were broadcast on [[BBC Radio 2]], and a documentary about the re-recording of the Beatles' debut album was broadcast on BBC Television.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giles |first=Jeff |date=18 January 2013 |title=All-Star Re-Recording of the Beatles' 'Please Please Me' Planned |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/please-please-me-re-recording/ |access-date=10 April 2022 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 2 - 12 Hours to Please Me, Stereophonics - I Saw Her Standing There - Please Please Me session |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014yr62 |access-date=11 April 2022 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Four - The Beatles' Please Please Me: Remaking a Classic |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qnrb8 |access-date=11 April 2022 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Track listing==
All songs written by [[McCartney–Lennon]], except where noted. Track lengths per Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin and lead vocals per [[Ian MacDonald]].{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|pp=24–56}}{{sfn|MacDonald|2007|pp=55–77}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| extra_column = Lead vocals
| all_writing = 
| title1 = [[I Saw Her Standing There]]
| extra1 = McCartney
| length1 = 2:52
| title2 = [[Misery (Beatles song)|Misery]]
| extra2 = Lennon and McCartney
| length2 = 1:47
| title3 = [[Anna (Go to Him)#The Beatles' version|Anna (Go to Him)]]
| note3 = <small>[[Arthur Alexander]]</small>
| extra3 = Lennon
| length3 = 2:54
| title4 = [[Chains (Cookies song)#The Beatles' version|Chains]]
| note4 = <small>[[Gerry Goffin]], [[Carole King]]</small>
| extra4 = Harrison with Lennon and McCartney
| length4 = 2:23
| title5 = [[Boys (The Shirelles song)#The Beatles' version|Boys]]
| note5 = <small>[[Luther Dixon]], [[Wes Farrell]]</small>
| extra5 = Starr
| length5 = 2:24
| title6 = [[Ask Me Why]]
| extra6 = Lennon
| length6 = 2:24
| title7 = [[Please Please Me (song)|Please Please Me]]
| extra7 = Lennon and McCartney
| length7 = 2:00
| total_length = 16:44
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| extra_column = Lead vocals
| title1 = [[Love Me Do]]
| extra1 = McCartney and Lennon
| length1 = 2:19
| title2 = [[P.S. I Love You (Beatles song)|P.S. I Love You]]
| extra2 = McCartney
| length2 = 2:02
| title3 = [[Baby It's You#The Beatles' version|Baby It's You]]
| note3 = <small>[[Mack David]], [[Luther Dixon|Barney Williams]], [[Burt Bacharach]]</small>
| extra3 = Lennon
| length3 = 2:35
| title4 = [[Do You Want to Know a Secret]]
| extra4 = Harrison
| length4 = 1:56
| title5 = [[A Taste of Honey (song)#The Beatles|A Taste of Honey]]
| note5 = <small>[[Bobby Scott (musician)|Bobby Scott]], [[Ric Marlow]]</small>
| extra5 = McCartney
| length5 = 2:01
| title6 = [[There's a Place]]
| extra6 = Lennon and McCartney
| length6 = 1:49
| title7 = [[Twist and Shout#The Beatles version|Twist and Shout]]
| note7 = <small>[[Phil Medley]], [[Bert Berns|Bert Russell]]</small>
| extra7 = Lennon
| length7 = 2:33
| total_length = 15:15
}}

==Personnel==
According to [[Ian MacDonald]] and [[Mark Lewisohn]]:<ref>{{harvnb|MacDonald|2007|pp=58–77}}: the Beatles and musicians; {{harvnb|Lewisohn|1988|pp=18–28}}: production.</ref>

'''The Beatles'''
* [[John Lennon]]&nbsp;– lead, harmony and background vocals; acoustic and electric rhythm guitars; [[harmonica]] {{small|("Chains", "Please Please Me", "Love Me Do", "There's a Place")}}, handclaps {{small|("I Saw Her Standing There")}}
* [[Paul McCartney]]&nbsp;– lead, harmony and background vocals; bass guitar; handclaps {{small|("I Saw Her Standing There")}}
* [[George Harrison]]&nbsp;– harmony and background vocals; lead and acoustic guitars; lead vocals {{small|("Chains" and "Do You Want to Know a Secret")}}; handclaps {{small|("I Saw Her Standing There")}} 
* [[Ringo Starr]]&nbsp;– drums; tambourine {{small|("Love Me Do")}}; [[maraca]]s {{small|("P.S. I Love You")}}; brushes {{small|("A Taste of Honey")}}; handclaps {{small|("I Saw Her Standing There")}}; lead vocals {{small|("Boys")}}

'''Additional musicians and production'''
* Stuart Eltham&nbsp;– [[recording engineer|balance engineer]] {{small|(20 February 1963)}}
* [[George Martin]]&nbsp;– producer, [[audio mixing (recorded music)|mixer]]; piano {{small|("Misery")}}, [[celesta]] {{small|("Baby It's You")}}
* [[Norman Smith (record producer)|Norman Smith]]&nbsp;– balance engineer, mixer
* [[Andy White (drummer)|Andy White]]&nbsp;– drums {{small|("Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You")}}

== Charts ==
=== Weekly charts ===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
|+Original release
! scope="col" | Chart (1963–64)
! scope="col" | Peak<br />position
|-
|-
! scope="row" | UK (''[[Melody Maker]]'')<ref name="Melody Maker chart">{{cite magazine|title=Top Ten LPs|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|date=4 May 1963|page=1}}</ref>{{sfn|Lewisohn|2000|p=351}}
|align="center"|1
|-
! scope="row" | UK (''[[New Musical Express]]''){{sfn|Lewisohn|2000|p=351}}
|align="center"|1
|-
! scope="row" |UK (''[[Record Mirror]]'')<ref name="Record Mirror chart">{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/63/record-mirror-1963-05-11-s-ocr.pdf|title=Britain's Top LP's|magazine=[[Record Retailer]]|date=11 May 1963|page=11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408000553/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/63/record-mirror-1963-05-11-s-ocr.pdf|archive-date=8 April 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
! scope="row" |UK (''[[Record Retailer]]'')<ref name="Record Retailer Chart">{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/10363/beatles/|title=The Beatles – Full official Chart History|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=11 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512024604/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/10363/beatles/|archive-date=12 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
! scope="row" | West Germany (''[[Musikmarkt]]'')<ref name=Musikmarkt>{{cite web|title=Offiziellecharts.de – The Beatles – Please Please Me|language=de|publisher=[[GfK Entertainment Charts]]|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-6227|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref>
|align="center"|4
|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
|+1987 reissue
! scope="col" | Chart
! scope="col" | Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|24|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|32|artist=Beatles|date=19870307|rowheader=true|access-date=11 April 2022}}
|-
! scope="row" |US [[Billboard charts|''Billboard'' Top Compact Disks]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/80s/1987/Billboard-1987-03-21.pdf|title=Top Compact Disks (for week ending March 21, 1987)|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=21 March 1987|page=50}}</ref>
|align="center"|2
|}
{{col-2}}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
|+2009 reissue
! scope="col" | Chart
! scope="col" | Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Austria|75|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|Flanders|76|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|Wallonia|78|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|89|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|Finland|25|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|Italy|64|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|New Zealand|32|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|Portugal|29|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|Spain|53|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|27|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|-
{{album chart|Switzerland|74|artist=The Beatles|album=Please Please Me|rowheader=true|access-date=12 June 2016}}
|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
|+2010 iTunes release
! scope="col" | Chart
! scope="col" | Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|155|artist=The Beatles|rowheader=true|access-date=11 April 2022}}
|}
{{col-end}}

=== Year-end charts ===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+{{sronly|Year-end chart performance for ''Please Please Me''}}
! scope="col" | Chart (1963)
! scope="col" | Ranking
|-
!scope="row" |UK ''Record Retailer''<ref name="Mawer/1963">{{cite web|first=Sharon|last=Mawer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217020351/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1963.php|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1963.php |title=Album Chart History: 1963|publisher=[[Official Charts Company|The Official UK Charts Company]]|date=May 2007|archive-date=17 December 2007|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref>
|align="center"|2
|-
! scope="col" |Chart (1964)
! scope="col" |Ranking
|-
!scope="row" |UK ''Record Retailer''<ref name="Mawer/1964">{{cite web|first=Sharon|last=Mawer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217020355/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1964.php|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/album_chart_history_1964.php |title=Album Chart History: 1964|publisher=[[Official Charts Company|The Official UK Charts Company]]|date=May 2007|archive-date=17 December 2007|access-date=11 April 2022}}</ref>
|align="center"|6
|}

==Certifications and sales==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for ''Please Please Me''}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Argentina|type=album|award=Platinum|relyear=1963|certyear=2011|title=Please Please Me|artist=The Beatles|certref=<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=&album=&LanDesde_MM=1&LanDesde_AA=1980&LanHasta_MM=12&LanHasta_AA=2010&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110820130534/http://www.capif.org.ar/Default.asp?PerDesde_MM=0&PerDesde_AA=0&PerHasta_MM=0&PerHasta_AA=0&interprete=&album=&LanDesde_MM=1&LanDesde_AA=1980&LanHasta_MM=12&LanHasta_AA=2010&Galardon=O&Tipo=1&ACCION2=+Buscar+&ACCION=Buscar&CO=5&CODOP=ESOP| archive-date = 20 August 2011 | language = es | publisher = [[Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas]] | access-date = 10 January 2021 | title = Discos de Oro y Platino}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=album|title=Please Please Me|artist=The Beatles|award=Gold|certyear=2009|access-date=15 September 2013}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|title=Please Please Me|artist=The Beatles|award=Gold|relyear=1963|access-date=15 September 2013}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=album|artist=The Beatles|title=Please Please Me|award=Platinum|relyear=1963|certyear=2020|access-date=23 December 2020}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=album|title=Please Please Me|artist=The Beatles|award=Gold|relyear=1963|id=2009-09-11|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|note=Reissue}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Please, Please Me|artist=Beatles|type=album| nocert=true|relyear=1978|salesamount=500,000|note=Original release|salesref=<ref name="sales">{{cite book|title=Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL120558W/Million_selling_records_from_the_1900s_to_the_1980s|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1985 |publisher=Arco Pub.|quote=The 'Please Please Me' disc was issued in Britain in early 1963 and sold well over 500,000 ...|isbn=0668064595|page=173}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|title=Please Please Me|artist=The Beatles|award=Platinum|relyear=2009|certyear=2020|id=9385-1786-2|note=sales since 2009|access-date=13 September 2020}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|title=Please Please Me|artist=The Beatles|award=Platinum|access-date=15 September 2013}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes|streaming=true}}

{{small|{{sup|{{Dagger}}}} BPI certification awarded only for sales since 1994.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23927271|title=Beatles albums finally go platinum|work=[[British Phonographic Industry]]|publisher=[[BBC News Online|BBC News]]|date=2 September 2013|access-date=4 September 2013|archive-date=10 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410171041/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23927271|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

==See also==
* [[Outline of the Beatles]]
* [[The Beatles timeline]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Babiuk|first=Andy|year=2002|title=Beatles Gear|publisher=[[Backbeat Books]]|location=San Francisco|isbn=0-87930-731-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Badman|first=Keith|year=2009|title=The Beatles: Off the Record|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-85712-045-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Beatles |first1=The |title=The Beatles Anthology |date=September 2000 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-0-8118-2684-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HWuQu8EMDKcC |language=en}}
* {{cite web|title=Please Please Me|first=Graham|last=Calkin|url=http://www.jpgr.co.uk/pcs3042.html|access-date=31 October 2010|ref={{SfnRef|Calkin|2001}}|archive-date=14 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014055629/http://www.jpgr.co.uk/pcs3042.html|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Castleman |first1=Harry |last2=Podrazik |first2=Walter J. |title=All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography, 1961–1975 |date=1976 |publisher=[[Ballantine Books]] |location=New York |isbn=0-345-25680-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/alltogethernowfi0000cast |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gould |first1=Jonathan |title=Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America |date=2007 |publisher=[[Three Rivers Press]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-307-35338-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/cantbuymelovebea00goul |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Guesdon |first1=Jean-Michel |last2=Margotin |first2=Philippe |title=All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release |date=2013 |publisher=[[Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers]] |location=New York |isbn=978-1-57912-952-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXKnAgAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last=Harry|first=Bill|title=The Ultimate Beatles Encyclopedia|year=1992|publisher=Virgin Books|location=London|isbn=0-86369-681-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lewisohn |first1=Mark |author1-link=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions |date=1988 |publisher=[[Harmony Books]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-600-63561-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/the-beatles-recording-sessions}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lewisohn |first1=Mark |title=The Complete Beatles Chronicle: The Only Definitive Guide to the Beatles' Entire Career |date=2000 |orig-year=1992 |publisher=[[Hamlyn (publisher)|Hamlyn]] |location=London |isbn=0-600-60033-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/epdf.tips_the-complete-beatles-chronicle |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lewisohn |first1=Mark |url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesallthesey0000lewi |title=The Beatles: All These Years Volume 1: Tune In |date=2013 |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group|Crown Archetype]] |isbn=978-1-4000-8305-3 |location=New York}}
* {{cite book |last1=MacDonald |first1=Ian |author1-link=Ian MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties |date=2007 |publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]] |isbn=978-1-55652-733-3 |edition=Third |url=https://archive.org/details/revolutioninhead0003macd |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=George|year=1994|author-link=George Martin|last2=Pearson|first2=William|title=With a Little Help from My Friends: The Making of Sgt. Pepper|url=https://archive.org/details/withlittlehelpfr0000mart|url-access=registration|publisher=[[Little, Brown]]|location=Boston|isbn=0-316-54783-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Miles |first1=Barry |author1-link=Barry Miles |title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years |date=2001 |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-7119-8308-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trRB-lo4qR8C}}
* {{cite book|last=Norman|first=Philip|year=1993|title=Shout!|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|isbn=0-14-017410-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Penman|first=Ross|title=The Beatles in New Zealand&nbsp;... a discography|year=2009|isbn=978-0-473-15155-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Russell|first=Jeff P.|title=The Beatles Album File and Complete Discography|publisher=Blandford Press|location=Poole, Dorset|year=1982|isbn=0-7137-1277-5|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesalbumfile0000russ_e7i8/|url-access=limited|via=Internet Archive}}
* {{cite book|last=Salewicz|first=Chris|title=McCartney – The Biography|publisher=Queen Anne Press|year=1986|location=London|isbn=0-356-12454-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Wallgren|first=Mark|title=The Beatles on Record|publisher=Fireside|location=New York|year=1982|isbn=0-671-45682-2|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesonrecord0000wall/|url-access=limited|via=Internet Archive}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Womack |editor1-first=Kenneth |editor1-link=Kenneth Womack |title=The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles |date=2009 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-68976-2 |pages=286–293 |chapter=Beatles Discography, 1962–1970 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani0000unse_y4s8/page/286/ |chapter-url-access=registration}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Wikiquote-inline}}
* ''[https://www.thebeatles.com/please-please-me Please Please Me]'', at the Beatles official website
*{{Discogs master|type=album|45362|name=Please Please Me}}
* [http://www.beatlesinterviews.org/dba01please.html Beatles Interview Database]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012180713/http://norwegianwood.org/beatles/disko/uklp/please.htm Recording data and notes on mono/stereo mixes and remixes]

{{Please Please Me}}
{{The Beatles albums}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1963 debut albums]]
[[Category:Albums arranged by George Martin]]
[[Category:Albums produced by George Martin]]
[[Category:British rock-and-roll albums]]
[[Category:Parlophone albums]]
[[Category:The Beatles albums]]