“One, two, three, four”: Why was the count-in kept on 1963’s ‘I Saw Her Standing There’?

The Beatles’ count-in at the start of ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ was deliberately kept to preserve the excitement and immediacy of the band’s live performances. Producer George Martin had seen them play at Liverpool’s Cavern Club and wanted the recording to capture that energy.

The song began as ‘Seventeen’ and was developed by Paul McCartney with help from John Lennon. Recorded at EMI Studios on 11 February 1963, it drew on rock and roll influences including Chuck Berry. Martin spliced McCartney’s count from take nine onto take one; while some releases kept it, Vee-Jay’s US version began on the word “four”.