Beatles' epic album to be recreated by stars 50 years on

The band were in the middle of a whistle-stop set of gigs in February 1963

The Liverpool band recorded almost all of the record in one day-long recording session on 11 February 1963.

BBC Radio 2 will broadcast live footage of the stars working on the 10 tracks at London's Abbey Road Studios.

Gabrielle Aplin and I Am Kloot will also be part of the sessions.

Lennon's sore throat

The Beatles played live renditions of their songs for the album, mainly numbers which had formed the core of their live shows. The tracks were recorded largely as they were performed, with few overdubs or layering of instruments - which became common features of their later work.

The final track to be committed to tape was Twist And Shout, which had been held back over fears that John Lennon's sore throat may not hold out if he performed it earlier in the day.

Lennon sang the huge hit topless but was unable to go for a second take, so the initial recording was used.

Ian MacDonald, the late chronicler of Beatles recordings, wrote: "Trying for a second take, Lennon found he had nothing left and the session stopped there and then - but the atmosphere was still crackling.

"Nothing of that intensity had ever been recorded in a British pop studio."

Initially, the band's producer George Martin had considered trying to capture the band's stage show by making a live album at the Cavern Club, but the plan was dropped.

Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr already had four tracks they could put on the album - the singles Love Me Do and Please Please Me, plus the B-sides.

They needed 10 more to complete the album and were booked at Abbey Road amidst a hectic live schedule.

They had 30 gigs to perform in February including a tour with Helen Shapiro, plus a radio and TV show.

Lennon had a cold and was drinking tea, milk and smoking while sucking lozenges for his throat.

They started recording at 10am and their first song was There's A Place, which they managed in 13 takes.

Next was I Saw Her Standing There and several other followed in quick succession. Hold Me Tight also took 13 takes but it was dumped from the album, only to revived for their second album With The Beatles.

Although just two three-hour periods were booked for the recording, the band added a third which ended at 10.45pm.

Mark Lewisohn, in his book The Complete Beatles Chronicle, wrote: "There can scarcely have been 585 more productive minutes in the history of recorded music."