A Hard Day's Night (National Album Day 2024)

At a time when popstars either spoke BBC English or tried to emulate the American rockers they so idolised, there was no hiding where The Beatles - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison & Ringo Starr - came from: they sang, as they spoke, in a Liverpool accent. Although the demands of the music business meant they soon had to relocate to London, in many ways they never left their city - in song and in story, the group are inextricably, indelibly linked to Merseyside. Recorded between January and June 1964 and released that July, if ever there was a pointer to what an album could achieve, it's the 13 songs and 31 minutes of 'A Hard Day's Night', the third long-player by the Beatles. It is the sound of a group with the wind in its hair, the confidence that their hard work was paying off. The (partial) soundtrack to their first film, at a time when an LP was a collection of recent singles and cover versions, 'A Hard Day's Night' was penned solely by Lennon & McCartney. 'Can't Buy Me Love', the first track from the forthcoming album to be released, topped the US and UK charts in April 1964. In the 476 days since the release of their debut LP, 'Please Please Me' in March 1963, The Beatles had gone from local to national to international phenomenon. 'A Hard Day's Night', both the beloved 1964 film directed by Richard Lester and the album, captured that rocket in a bottle. With songs about working men going home to their loved ones (the title track, 'When I Get Home'); the exhilaration of early love ('I Should Have Known Better', 'If I Fell', 'And I Love Her', 'I'm Happy Just to Dance With You'); the ups and downs of relationships ('I'll Cry Instead', 'Tell Me Why', 'You Can't Do That') and, already, a strong sense of time ('Things We Said Today'), on 'A Hard Day's Night', Lennon & McCartney put words in the mouths of teenagers around the world.

1: A Hard Day's Night
2: I Should Have Known Better
3: If I Fell
4: I'm Happy Just to Dance With You
5: And I Love Her
6: Tell Me Why
7: Can't Buy Me Love
8: Any Time at All
9: I'll Cry Instead
10: Things We Said Today
11: When I Get Home
12: You Can't Do That
13: I'll Be Back

Colour Family: White

Number of Discs: 1

Producer: George Martin

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.