10 Flat Out Beatles Bangers for a Wedding

I Saw Her Standing There

All it took was a 'One, two, three, FOOOUUUUURRRR!' and music was never the same again. Paul's memorable count-in is perhaps the most famous and iconic of them all, as it blasts off this highly infectious rhythm and blues peach. We weren't around then, but you can only imagine what it must have been like to hear this for the first time. That they were destined for unmatched greatness must surely have been entirely obvious.

All My Loving

One of the greatest two minute pop singles of all-time, and cramming a phenomenal amount of brilliance into that short time, All My Loving features most of the key early Beatles ingredients. Paul's vintage walking bass line, a glorious solo from Gorgeous George only one minute into the song, Ringo crashing away, and a fabulous harmony that comes in for the 2nd verse...but stealing the show is John's rhythm guitar triplets - blasting three notes for every beat. A last-minute addition to the song, it's much trickier to play than it sounds and only serves to add further momentum to a wonderful, head-shaking pop single.

Twist & Shout

One of the many debates among the still-lively Beatles community is who had the greatest rock howl, Paul or John? Both had countless moments of magic in that regard, and John's on Twist & Shout is right up there with the best. Such was the throat-shredding effect it had on John every time he sang it, they were forced to play it last at every show, with John's throat in absolute ruins come the end. It's the track's defining feature, one of the all-time great vocal performances.

Back in the USSR

A rollicking sub-three minute banger, it's hard to believe Back in the USSR wasn't a single. If any other band on earth had written this, you can guarantee it would be the lead single, but these legends simply left it as an album track, the White Album's opener no less. With more than a complimentary nod to the Beach Boys, it's otherwise not far off a McCartney solo track - with Paul playing bass, drums, piano, as well as taking the lead vocal after having written it. Oh, and he played the lead guitar in the final verse, too!

I Wanna Be Your Man

One afternoon in the early '60s, John and Paul were strolling down Charing Cross Road in London when two blokes shouted out of the window of a passing taxi. It was Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The cab pulled up and John and Paul jumped in. Mick & Keef were celebrating having just signed their first record deal with Decca, and Mick asked them if they had any songs they could borrow to release a single. Paul suggested I Wanna Be Your Man, a track they considered a bit throwaway, but for the Stones it became their 2nd single. Naturally, the Beatles' version is better (as much as we love the Stones too!) - Ringo doubling up with the lead vocal and some utterly sterling work bashing away at his hi-hat.

Tomorrow Never Knows

Taking a sharp musical detour here, in classic Beatles fashion. In 1966, Tomorrow Never Knows sounded revolutionary, and sounded like the future. It still sounds revolutionary, in all honesty, and it's almost unfathomable that it came out almost 60 years ago, just three years (!!!) after 'Love Me Do'. It's staggering stuff. The Chemical Brothers famously leaned heavily into this track, basically nicking it for not one but two singles in Setting Sun and Let Forever Be.

Got To Get You Into My Life

To the layman, this will sound like another of McCartney's euphoric love songs. Well, it is a love song, albeit an ode to his love of smoking weed. He does a typically masterful job of making the lyrics relate easily to a romantic relationship, leaving people to give it whatever meaning they like - one of the hallmarks of great art. Featuring an ecstatic horn section, it's arguably one of Macca's best vocals - a bell-like clarity in the verses giving way to something approaching the legendary McCartney howl.

Can't Buy Me Love

There will never again be anyone as effortlessly prolific at pumping out timeless melodies as Paul McCartney. 'Can't Buy Me Love' is one of a whole host of McCartney melodies that feel as though they've existed since the dawn of time, a melody that more or less every adult on earth could sing along with.

A Hard Days Night

A Hard Days Night opens with singularly the most famous chord in popular music history. That one chord alone is a work of genius in itself. It's also a great example of John and Paul's songwriting partnership - John wrote most of the song very quickly, with Paul contributing the song's middle-eight section ('When I'm home, everything seems to be right...'). Featuring another iconic George guitar solo, with Ringo pummeling away at his kit as usual, it is vintage stuff from start to finish.

Hey Jude

Okay, it's not really danceable, and okay, such is its ubiquity you probably think you never need to hear it ever again - but have you ever been on the dancefloor at the very end of a night when Hey Jude comes on? Hey Jude at the end of the night for a big drunken singalong is one of the most life-affirming things anyone can do, hugging anyone in your vicinity and probably shedding a few tears of joy. It doesn't get any better than that.