The Beatles produced hundreds of songs during their fame-packed career, many of which made their way to live performances and ongoing setlists. Tracks like “Twist And Shout” and “A Hard Day’s Night” were just a few tracks that they played live on a regular basis. That being said, there were quite a few tracks that The Beatles never played live, including a few that they outright refused to perform. Let’s look at three examples!
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1. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”
This is one of the heaviest (pun not intended) songs on the 1969 album Abbey Road. It’s also one of the few songs the band never played live. There is no evidence of the song being performed live at any point during The Beatles’ career, and the only time it was ever performed period was when it was recorded in the studio.
It’s not abundantly clear why. Perhaps the song was too difficult to play live, or the fact that its subject matter was about Yoko Ono. Either way, it would have been incredible to hear in person.
2. “Every Little Thing”
“Every Little Thing” was a somewhat underrated track from the 1964 album Beatles For Sale. It’s a soft, melancholic love song that has a gentler energy than many of the songs on the album. So why was this Beatles song never played live?
To put it simply, no one would be able to hear it. During the early days of The Beatles’ career, they were the ultimate boy band. Their live concerts were packed to the brim with screaming, shrieking, crying, and passing-out fans. It was hard enough at the time to hear their louder high-energy songs over the cries of their fans, let alone a soft ballad like “Every Little Thing”. So, it definitely makes sense why the song never made it to their setlist.
3. “Honey Pie”
This song from the 1968 album The Beatles had a classic, old-fashioned vibe to it. And apparently, John Lennon hated that.
One of The Beatles’ engineers had said that Lennon hated old-timey songs and had described them as “granny-music sh*t”. Paul McCartney, on the other hand, enjoyed more classic-sounding music. The two famously butted heads and the song was never played live. It’s a shame, because it’s an underrated deep cut in The Beatles’ discography.
Photo by Michael Ochs
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Good heavens! Do you think that “I Want You” and “Honey Pie” were written and recorded after The Beatles stopped performing live might be a reason?