The Beatles and Decca Records

On January 1, 1962, The Beatles auditioned for Decca records in London. The Beatles performed 15 songs in under an hour. Decca told the group it will get back to them and let them know of their decision in a few weeks. Decca ended up rejecting the Beatles stating that “guitar groups are on the way out” and “the Beatles have no future in show business.” Decca instead chooses a group called Brian Poole and the Tremeloes (who?). One of the big reasons Decca choose Brian Poole and the Tremeloes was that the group was local and would require lower travel expenses.  The Tremeloes were also on the local radio already and had a substantial local following. The Beatles ended up signing with Parlophone records after George Martin heard their Decca records demo tape and wanted to meet the group. The Beatles went on to become the best selling band in history. They have sold over 800 million records worldwide. In the United States, they are the best selling music artist ever with 178 million records sold. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame in 1988. And the Tremeloes you might ask? Well they did have a few hits but nowhere near the success of the Beatles.

Mistakes Were Made:

This is one of the biggest blunders in the history of the music industry. It’s the musical equivalent to the Portland Trailblazers picking Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA draft. The Blazers already had a good shooting guard named Clyde Drexler and therefore did not “need” Michael Jordan (laughable in hindsight). The Blazers opted for the less talented but bigger need player in Bowie and well…you know how that turned out. There is a saying “not seeing the forest from the trees” and what it essentially means is not being able to see the bigger picture because you are focused on smaller closer things. Decca decision came down to the fact that the Tremeloes had a more prominent local following and was already on the radio in London. The Beatles probably weren’t at their peak yet but if Decca had only taken a step back and saw the Beatles possible international appeal and the genius in their work even if it was rough around the edges at the time…well I wouldn’t be writing this article. No one at the time could possibly have predicted the Beatles future success besides the Beatles. But if George Martin who heard the same demo tapes they recorded at Decca saw the potential, why couldn’t Decca see it?

Ironically Decca later got advice from one of the Beatles George Harrison, to take a look at the Rolling Stones. Decca did the smart thing this time and signed the Stones. It doesn’t make up for not signing the Beatles, but it shows Decca learned from their earlier mistake.

 

2 Replies to “The Beatles and Decca Records”

  1. Hello! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a wonderful job!

  2. Robert Spinello says: Reply

    Decca didn’t see it because they were blind. They wanted the local group instead, not the one from Liverpool.

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