By Order: The Beatles Albums Trivia Quiz

The Beatles were newcomers in 1963 with their song, 'Love Me Do', having been an unexpected top twenty hit. This put the pressure on to capitalise on the success by releasing an album. 'Please Please' Me' was recorded in only one day, overseen by record producer George Martin and released in the UK on 22 March 1963.

The songs on the album were taken from those regularly performed by the band, with cover versions and some original material. Songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney included 'I Saw Her Standing There', 'There's a Place' and the title song, which became their second UK single and their first in the USA.

The recording of this album was a comparatively leisurely affair, compared to the first, with several sessions over three months. It was released in the UK in November 1963 and the majority of the songs were written by members of the group, mainly Lennon and McCartney but with one, 'Don't Bother Me', written and sung by George Harrison.

Other songs on this album were 'All My Loving', 'It Won't be Long' and 'Hold Me Tight'. Ringo sang lead vocals on 'I Wanna be Your Man', a song which was given to the Rolling Stones to release as a single, also in November of 1963.

The band's third album was associated with the film of the same name and was the first on which all the songs were written by the band members. It was released in July 1964 in the UK; the American version was slightly earlier and had a different track listing.

Singles from this album are 'Can't Buy Me Love' and 'A Hard Day's Night', the latter being the one with the distinctive opening chord. Other songs include 'If I Fell' and 'I Should Have Known Better'. The album was a change of direction as The Beatles became more confident in their song writing skills.

'Beatles for Sale' was released in early December 1964, so probably made a good Christmas present for the band's fans. The songs on the album were a mix of those composed by the band mixed with covers of American hits such as Buddy Holly's 'Words of Love' and Chuck Berry's 'Rock and Roll Music'.

Original songs include 'I'll Follow the Sun', 'Eight Days a Week' and 'I'm a Loser'. The album lacked something of the original spark of the earlier recordings as The Beatles were in huge demand at the time with touring taking up much of their time. This also explains the relative lack of new songs, although the recording sessions did produce the single 'I Feel Fine', which was not on the album.

We're up to the fifth album, which was linked to the film of the same name. It was released in August 1965 with side one (we're still talking about vinyl records at this time) consisting of songs from the film with side two having a mix of other songs. Mostly composed by Lennon and McCartney, the songs did include two covers and two written by George Harrison.

Singles released from the album were the title track, written by John Lennon and reflecting his feelings at the time and 'Ticket to Ride'. The most memorable track to mention is Paul McCartney's masterpiece, 'Yesterday', with the use of a string quartet accompaniment a new addition for the band. The song has been covered by numerous singers.

This 1965 album was another to be released early in December, and the second to contain only original material. By this stage, The Beatles were well established and had more confidence in their song writing abilities. They had also picked up influences from the American artistes they had met during their tours, among them Bob Dylan and The Byrds.

George Harrison again contributed just two songs to the album, including 'If I Needed Someone'. Among the Lennon and McCartney songs are 'Norwegian Wood', 'Michelle' and 'In My Life'. George played sitar on the first of these songs and the album was, as usual, produced by George Martin.

This 1966 album is often rated as the best one recorded by The Beatles, by fans and critics alike, due to the maturity and range of the songs on the recording. The band had taken a break, so were fresh when they came into the studio and were still working well together - the fractious relationships were still on the horizon. They also had no intention of performing the songs live, so were able to use all the available recording techniques to produce the sounds they wanted.

George Harrison increased his contribution to three songs, including the bitter tirade of 'Taxman'. All of the other eleven tracks were credited to Lennon and McCartney, who were mainly writing independently by now. Among the tracks are 'Eleanor Rigby', 'For No One' and 'Here, There and Everywhere', created by Paul. John wrote 'I'm Only Sleeping' and 'Doctor Robert'.

Disillusioned with touring, since their performances were drowned out by screaming audiences, The Beatles had retired from live performances in August 1966 and given themselves a deserved break. In December they began work on 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', the album that is likely to be the first that anyone asked to name one of their albums will come up with. It gave a new direction to albums in general, and is considered one of the earliest concept albums.

Built around the fictitious band of the title, songs on the album include several of their best known songs such as 'When I'm Sixty-Four', 'A Day in the Life', 'With a Little Help From My Friends', 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' and 'She's Leaving Home'. It was released in the UK in May 1967 with a particularly memorable album cover.

The common name of the 'White Album' comes from the plain cover which has the band's name embossed on it - a complete contrast to the busy cover of 'Sgt. Pepper'. It was released in November 1968, the first of the band's albums on their own Apple label with George Martin still being the producer. The tension in the band had begun. Ringo left the band completely for two weeks and the constant presence of Yoko Ono during recording sessions caused more friction.

As a double album, the album had a total of thirty songs on it - they are described as being 'of variable quality' by some critics. McCartney's contributions include 'Back in the U.S.S.R.', 'Martha My Dear' and 'Helter Skelter'. John Lennon provided 'Glass Onion', with lyrics designed to defy analysis, 'Sexy Sadie' and 'Julia', dedicated to his mother. George Harrison proved his developing skills with 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' and 'Piggies'.

Possibly the least well received Beatles album, 'Yellow Submarine' was released in January 1969 featuring the soundtrack of the animated film of the same name. There are only six songs by The Beatles, all on side one, with the remainder being orchestral works, written by producer George Martin, which appeared on the film's soundtrack.

George Harrison wrote two of the six songs - 'Only a Northern Song' and 'It's All Too Much'. The stand out song is 'All You Need is Love', written by John Lennon but credited, as usual, to Lennon and McCartney.

The last album recorded by the band before their break-up, 'Abbey Road' became the eleventh to be released, arriving in the shops in September 1969. The cover shows the four members walking across a zebra crossing on the actual Abbey Road, the location of the recording studios.

The album features songs such as 'Come Together', 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer', 'Mean Mr Mustard' and 'Polythene Pam'. Ringo even provided one song - 'Octopus's Garden', but probably the best known song from the album is 'Something', George's masterpiece. He also contributed 'Here Comes the Sun'.

As some of you will know, much of this album was recorded prior to 'Abbey Road', but the release was delayed, making it the band's last studio album. The release date was May 1970, after the announcement that the band had split. All the members were at loggerheads, with Paul being seen as over controlling and George temporarily quitting the band. The final production was by Phil Spector with Paul hating some of the over elaborate arrangements Spector favoured.

Despite all the acrimony, the album contains some memorable songs such as the title track, 'The Long and Winding Road', 'Get Back', 'Across the Universe' and Harrison's 'For You Blue'. Some of the songs from this album formed part of the famous rooftop performance at Apple's offices, the last time The Beatles performed live together.