Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A request from my American friend, Ken Shuttlesworth, "A World Without Love" written by Paul McCartney was sung by the duo, "Peter & Gordon".
Although they sang it in the key of E, I found it suited my voice better in D. As I am not able to play the instrumental break on guitar, I have chosen to try it on the harmonica.
The following comes from Wikipedia:
"A World Without Love" is a song recorded by the British duo Peter and Gordon and released as their first single in February 1964. It was included on the duo's debut album in the UK, and in the US on an album of the same name. The song was written by Paul McCartney and attributed to Lennon–McCartney. The B-side was "If I Were You", written by Peter and Gordon.
In the United Kingdom, the song reached No. 1 on both the Record Retailer chart and the New Musical Express chart. In the United States, "A World Without Love" topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100. The song also reached No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart,[ No. 1 on New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade", No. 2 in Australia, and No. 8 on Norway's VG-lista.
Background
McCartney wrote the song when he was 16. When he moved into the London home of his then-girlfriend Jane Asher in 1963, sharing a room with her brother Peter Asher, who asked McCartney if he could use the song after he and Gordon Waller had signed a recording contract as Peter and Gordon. McCartney described John Lennon's reaction to the song: "The funny first line always used to please John. 'Please lock me away –' 'Yes, okay.' End of song." Lennon said of the song that "I think that was resurrected from the past. ... I think he had that whole song before the Beatles. ... That has the line 'Please lock me away' that we always used to crack up at."[
McCartney did not think the song was good enough for The Beatles. As such, the song was never released by the Beatles, and the only known recording of the song by any member of the Beatles is the original demo of the song performed by McCartney, which is now in the possession of Peter Asher.
A request from my American friend, Ken Shuttlesworth, "A World Without Love" written by Paul McCartney was sung by the duo, "Peter & Gordon".
Although they sang it in the key of E, I found it suited my voice better in D. As I am not able to play the instrumental break on guitar, I have chosen to try it on the harmonica.
The following comes from Wikipedia:
"A World Without Love" is a song recorded by the British duo Peter and Gordon and released as their first single in February 1964. It was included on the duo's debut album in the UK, and in the US on an album of the same name. The song was written by Paul McCartney and attributed to Lennon–McCartney. The B-side was "If I Were You", written by Peter and Gordon.
In the United Kingdom, the song reached No. 1 on both the Record Retailer chart and the New Musical Express chart. In the United States, "A World Without Love" topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100. The song also reached No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart,[ No. 1 on New Zealand's "Lever Hit Parade", No. 2 in Australia, and No. 8 on Norway's VG-lista.
Background
McCartney wrote the song when he was 16. When he moved into the London home of his then-girlfriend Jane Asher in 1963, sharing a room with her brother Peter Asher, who asked McCartney if he could use the song after he and Gordon Waller had signed a recording contract as Peter and Gordon. McCartney described John Lennon's reaction to the song: "The funny first line always used to please John. 'Please lock me away –' 'Yes, okay.' End of song." Lennon said of the song that "I think that was resurrected from the past. ... I think he had that whole song before the Beatles. ... That has the line 'Please lock me away' that we always used to crack up at."[
McCartney did not think the song was good enough for The Beatles. As such, the song was never released by the Beatles, and the only known recording of the song by any member of the Beatles is the original demo of the song performed by McCartney, which is now in the possession of Peter Asher.
