1962 Live Recordings

Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 is a double album featuring live performances by the English rock group The Beatles, recorded in late December 1962 at the Star-Club during their final Hamburg residency. The album was released in 1977 in two different versions, comprising a total of 30 songs by The Beatles. The performances were recorded on a home tape machine using a single microphone, resulting in a low fidelity recording. Ted "Kingsize" Taylor began to investigate possible marketing of the tapes in 1973. The tapes were eventually bought by Paul Murphy and subjected to extensive audio processing to improve the sound, leading to the 1977 album. Although the poor sound quality limits its commercial appeal, the album provides historic insight into the group's club act in the period after Ringo Starr joined but before the emergence of Beatlemania. The Beatles were unsuccessful in legally blocking the initial release of the album; the recordings were reissued in many forms until 1998, when The Beatles were awarded full rights to the performances.