“Some Other Guy” is one of the most important Beatles covers on Live At The BBC. Originally released by Richie Barrett in 1962, it was absorbed so quickly into the Liverpool beat scene that it became almost a local anthem. The Beatles recorded it several times for BBC radio, but the version officially issued in 1994 comes from their June 1963 appearance on Easy Beat.
What makes the song especially valuable is that it sits at the centre of one of the most famous surviving documents in Beatles history: the grainy Cavern Club film from 22 August 1962. That clip, with the shouted “We want Pete!” at the end, has helped turn “Some Other Guy” into far more than just another early cover. It is one of the songs most closely tied to the moment when the Beatles were becoming the Beatles.
Key Facts
- First Official Release: 30 November 1994 on Live At The BBC
- Recorded: 19 June 1963
- Broadcast: 23 June 1963 on Easy Beat
- Earlier BBC Versions: 22 January 1963 for Saturday Club, plus a second BBC Paris Studio version recorded the same day
- Location: Playhouse Theatre, London
- Genre: Rhythm and blues, Merseybeat, rock and roll
- Track Duration: 2:01
- Label: Apple
- Songwriters: Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Richard Barrett
Performers And Instruments
- John Lennon: lead vocal, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney: bass guitar, backing vocal
- George Harrison: lead guitar, backing vocal
- Ringo Starr: drums
Where To Find “Some Other Guy”
- Live At The BBC
- Live At The BBC (2013 remaster)
- The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963 – official 2013 digital release, including the earlier Saturday Club BBC version
Why “Some Other Guy” Mattered To The Beatles
“Some Other Guy” was not just another American record the Beatles happened to like. It became one of the songs most closely associated with their transition from hard-working Liverpool club band to national phenomenon. By 1962 and 1963 it was already embedded in their live act, and they kept returning to it because it gave them exactly what they wanted: a tough, chant-like rhythm-and-blues number with room for Lennon and McCartney to lock together vocally.
That broader Liverpool context matters. The song was not a big British chart staple. It became a Merseybeat favourite because bands such as the Beatles found it through deeper record-shop digging rather than mainstream radio. George Harrison later explained that Brian Epstein‘s NEMS store often had imported or obscure records that local groups would never have found otherwise. “Some Other Guy” was one of those discoveries.
Richie Barrett’s Original Record
Richie Barrett released “Some Other Guy” in 1962, with an electric piano-driven backing that gave the record a distinctive pulse. That detail matters because it helped the song stand out from more standard early-1960s rhythm-and-blues singles. Even on first listen, it had the kind of riff and stop-start shape that invited live bands to grab hold of it.
The Beatles did not treat it as sacred text. Like many of their early covers, they reshaped it by ear. Their version tightened the attack, pushed the vocals harder, and probably helped spread a few altered lyric lines that later beat groups also picked up. In other words, the Beatles were not just covering “Some Other Guy”. They were helping to rewrite how it was heard in Britain.
The Cavern Club Footage
The song’s biggest claim to fame is the surviving Cavern Club film from 22 August 1962. Granada Television captured the Beatles performing “Some Other Guy” less than a week after Ringo Starr had replaced Pete Best. That is why the clip ends with the now-famous shout of “We want Pete!” from the audience.
The footage matters enormously because it is the only known surviving film with synchronised sound of the Beatles performing live at the Cavern. It was not broadcast immediately because Granada judged the picture quality too poor. Instead, it was shelved until 6 November 1963, by which time Beatlemania had made even rough footage historically valuable.
There is a second twist to that story. Because the original audio quality was poor, Granada’s sound engineer Gordon Butler returned to the Cavern on 5 September 1962 to make a better recording of the group. One tape from that later visit resurfaced publicly in 2015, adding another layer to the song’s Beatles history.
The BBC Versions
The Beatles recorded “Some Other Guy” three times for BBC radio. Two versions were taped on 22 January 1963, including one for Saturday Club. The third, and best-known, was recorded on 19 June 1963 for Easy Beat at the Playhouse Theatre in London, then broadcast on 23 June.
That last BBC take is the one released on Live At The BBC. It catches the Beatles at exactly the right moment: still rooted in their club repertoire, but already far sharper and more confident than the rough Cavern-era band of 1962. If the Cavern clip shows where the song came from, the BBC performance shows how quickly the group were improving.
Why Musicians Still Like It
Paul McCartney later described “Some Other Guy” as “a bit of a muso song”, which is revealing. It was not just popular because it sounded exciting. It also had a shape players liked: the stop-start intro, the strong riff, and the slightly unusual chord movement that made it stand apart from more basic beat-group material.
One reason Paul McCartney later called it “a bit of a muso song” may be the harmony. Writers on the Beatles’ early repertoire have pointed to the song’s unusual flat-VII-to-I movement in the intro and at the ends of sections, which gave it a slightly smarter shape than a standard beat-group rave-up.
That helps explain why so many Liverpool bands latched on to it. “Some Other Guy” was tough enough for a crowd, but interesting enough for musicians. The Beatles version balances both qualities, which is one reason the song has stayed so closely tied to their early identity.
Why “Some Other Guy” Still Matters
“Some Other Guy” still matters because it preserves several parts of the Beatles story at once. It is a BBC recording, a Cavern song, an early Ringo moment, and one of the clearest surviving examples of how the group transformed obscure American records into local beat-scene staples. Very few Beatles covers can claim all of that.
It also works perfectly well as music. The performance is short, sharp, and full of the kind of forward drive that made the Beatles such a force before they became studio innovators. For a song sometimes treated as a historical curiosity, it still sounds very alive.
Take A Listen
Give it a proper listen, then head over to the Beatles Fan Club Forum and say whether you think of “Some Other Guy” mainly as a Cavern document, a great BBC performance, or one of the key songs in the Beatles’ pre-fame live act.
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Sources And References
- The Beatles – Official “Some Other Guy” song page.
- The Beatles Store – Official Live At The BBC track listing.
- The Paul McCartney Project – BBC sessions and Cavern context.
- Cavern Club – September 1962 Cavern recording history.
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