London, Oct. 5 (Reuters): The first single released by the Beatles, the British pop group that was to take the world by storm, was issued exactly 40 years ago today.

Love Me Do, recorded in 18 takes in London’s Abbey Road Studios on September 11, 1962, was released just over three weeks later on October 5.

It peaked in the British charts at number 17 but briefly hit the number one spot in the United States when it was finally released there in April 1964 as the band's second US single.

The song featured on the Please Please Me album issued in 1963 — the first of 13 albums released by the band in just seven years. It was an auspicious debut for the Fab Four who went on to score a total of 27 number one singles on either side of the Atlantic.