The Beatles recording that ‘nearly killed’ John Lennon and how ‘hot milk and throat soothers’ got him through it

A song recording for The Beatles’ first album “nearly killed” John Lennon.

Fans of the band shared a legendary story of Lennon’s experience recording Please Please Me where the band had to nail one song “in a single take”. They had left recording Twist and Shout to the very end because there were fears Lennon, who was stuffed up with a cold, would not manage the high notes. But a single take was all he needed, and the Fab Four member behind songs like Come Together and Don’t Let Me Down, managed to get through the recording.

Lennon was reportedly stripped to the waist and filled with “hot milk and throat soothers” as he pushed himself to the point of exhaustion in nailing the Please Please Me closer. George Martin later confirmed the story, with the “larynx-tearer” discussed in an interview on the Anthology set. Lennon also says the song “nearly killed me”.

A Reddit user from The Beatles subreddit wrote: “John had a cold while they were recording Please Please Me and they left Twist and Shout to be the last song to record, fearing that John’s voice would get ruined. Then they had to nail it in a single take, because John wouldn’t be able to sing it again.”

Another user replied: “He tried a second take, but his voice was pretty much gone by then, so they had to use the first one.” Fans don’t seem to mind the vocal work laid down by Lennon on the Please Please Me closer, and say the “ragged edge” is exactly what the song was needing.

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One suggested: “That ragged edge is just what the song needed. John often seemed completely unaware of his own talent.”

Speaking of the recording on the Anthology album, Lennon said: “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. I was always bitterly ashamed of it because I could sing it better than that, but now it doesn’t bother me. You can hear that I’m just a frantic guy doing his best.”

The Beatles’ cover of the Phil Medley and Bert Russell classic has since become a staple of their discography, and it was, according to Martin, the “last thing we did” on the night of recording with an ill Lennon.

He recalled: “I said, ‘We’re not going to record that until the very end of the day, because if we record it early on, you’re not going to have any voice left.’ So that was the last thing we did that night.”