26 November 1962
E.M.I. Studios
Abbey Road
London
The Beatles' fourth E.M.I. session which would produce their first #1 hit.
The mono mixes are readily available on the CD release of the
"Please Please Me" album and will not be featured here.
The stereo mixes however, are not commonly available.
The stereo mix of "Ask Me Why" is nothing more than a left/right
seperation of the instruments and vocals. "Please Please Me" is another story.
Having, apparently destroyed or damaged the original master tape, George Martin had to use part of an alternate, inferior take of the song to produce the stereo mix. The details of this are clearly described in John Winn's book, Way Beyond Compare.
Listen to the stereo mixes
Please Please Me
Ask Me Why
An acetate possibly produced at this session can be seen - here