THE MERSEY SOUND
Polydor LPHM 100
Released February 1964
Original recommended retail price: 52/6
Rush-released by Polydor in February 1964 at the height of Australian Beatlemania, The Mersey Sound mixed four of The Beatles’ Hamburg recordings with tracks by other artists and has since become one of the rarest Australian LPs associated with the group.
Labels & Related Material
AULP100PA
February 1964
Tracks

Side 1

Side 2

1. My Bonnie

1. Cry For A Shadow

2. The Saints

2. Why

3. Twist and Shout

3. Hippy, Hippy, Shake

4. Whole Lot of Lovin'

4. Money

5. Get A Load of This

5. Ruby Baby

6. Ruby Ann

6. What'd I Say
Pressing & Mastering

First Issued

Side 1

Side 2

Parts

Feb-64

✎MX143821 . LPHM 100-1 . 100A

✎MX143822 . LPHM 100-2 . 100B

AU
Sleeve Information

Code

Circulated

Comments

AU1

Feb-64

First and only sleeve variation. Rear has a 'thumb groove' cut into the open edge
Overview
As Beatlemania gathered momentum in Australia, Polydor had a small but valuable connection to The Beatles: the Hamburg recordings made with Tony Sheridan in June 1961. Most featured the early group as Sheridan’s backing musicians, although a couple gave them performances of their own. Originally billed as the Beat Brothers, their contribution became a modest goldmine for Polydor once The Beatles achieved worldwide fame.

The Mersey Sound was rushed into the Australian market to capitalise on what contemporary publicity called “a Beatles-mania”. The immediate catalyst was ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’/‘This Boy’, the group’s fourth local Parlophone single, released in December 1963 and reaching No. 1 across Australia the following week.

Four recordings featuring The Beatles appeared on the LP and were issued almost simultaneously across two Polydor singles: ‘My Bonnie’/‘The Saints’ and ‘Cry for a Shadow’/‘Why’. Just under four months later, Polydor followed with ‘Ain’t She Sweet’/‘If You Love Me Baby’ and The Beatles with Tony Sheridan EP. The EP remained in the catalogue into the 1970s, while the album appears to have received only one pressing: no variations have yet been identified.

The Hamburg recordings would subsequently return under numerous titles, but The Mersey Sound remains arguably one of their rarest album appearances.

Its cover photograph was not unique. Polydor used the same image that month for the German dance compilation Let’s Do the Twist, Hully Gully, Slop, Surf, Locomotion, Monkey, catalogue number 237 622. Both albums contained recordings involving The Beatles and Tony Sheridan, suggesting that they were prepared around the same time and that Polydor Germany supplied Australia with the shared photograph.