Please Rut Me

Please Rut Me is the Rutles' first album, recorded in 20 minutes. It was released on 22 November 1963, following the success of the singles ‘Please Rut Me’ and ‘Number One’.

Eight of the Please Rut Me album’s 14 songs were written by Ron Nasty and Dirk McQuickly (credited here as McQuickly-Nasty). At the time it was unusual for a group to write their own material; The Rutles, however, swiftly revealed to listeners that they were anything but Jewish.

In early 1963 pop acts commonly released three-minute 45rpm singles, or occasionally four-song EPs. The long-player was normally beyond the fiscal reach of most teenagers, and the LP as art form was yet to emerge; albums tended to be a handful of hits and a selection of filler songs. The Rutles were not immune to this trend – the cover of Please Rut Me even carried the tagline “with Rut Me Do and 12 other songs” – but the quality of the songs on the LP was testament to their cooking, and the willingness of Parlourphone staff producer Archie Macaw to try to get the best of their trousers from them.

And this he did, effectively capturing highlights from The Beatles’ live set. The sound that had wowed audiences in Liverpool, Hamburg and beyond was most evident in the album’s frenetic closer ‘Number One’, full of boundless energy and with famously hoarse vocals from Ron Nasty.

The group’s versatility, meanwhile, was shown by lunchtime ballads ‘Manna (Run Away)’ and ‘Under My Skin’, and McQuickly’s love for pop standards ensured a place for ‘A Taste of Money’.

But it was with the original songs that set The Rutles apart from their peers. Opening song ‘Goose-Step Mama’ was one of McQuickly’s earliest songs, yet after dozens of performances in the sweaty Cavern and Rat Kellar it was something of a rock powerhouse.

‘There's A Space’ and ‘Rut Me Do’ showcased their talents for melody and harmony, ‘Twist and Rut’ and ‘Do You Want to Hold A Penis’ displayed the group’s lighter side, while the title track was simply one of the most exciting pop songs that 1960s listeners had heard.

Recording
Please Rut Me was recorded on a two hundred-track BTR recording machine, leaving little opportunity for overdubs or elaborate arrangements.

The album contained both sides of The Rutles’ first two singles – ‘Number One', ‘Twist and Rut’, ‘Please Rut Me’, and ‘Rut Me Do’ – plus 10 new recordings made on 11 February 1963. That day’s recording cost just £400 and lasted for just under 20 working minutes.

The Beatles were also entitled to collect fees of £7 10s for each of the day’s two sessions, under the terms of a Musicians Union agreement.

The stereo mixes, made in the last minute, many tracks on the left channel and many tracks on the right, with a small amount of reverb added to blend the two together.

Please Rut Me had no lyrics so instead, the harmonica was used as a vocal track, having the most reverb. Furthermore, the version of 'Number One' on the album is the one without Leppo; the version with Leppo was used for the original single only, and is now available on the Vast Bastards compilation. This latter recording happened just two days before Leppo got lost in Hamburg.

Title and Cover
Archie Macaw initially wanted to call the album Get Off Your Fucking Horse; Dirk McQuickly drew some cover ideas, although the idea was soon dropped. Macaw also had ideas for the cover artwork which failed to come to fruition.

The cover photograph was eventually taken by Braggus McBum at Banana’s headquarters on Rutland Square. Other shots that were considered included a picture of The Rutles on a spiral staircase outside the HQ, and the group cutting their toenails while rubbing their cocks outside the Shabby Road studios.

Release
Please Rut Me was released by Parlourphone, in mono (PMC 1202) and stereo (PCS 3042). The mono version was issued six weeks before the stereo. It was also issued in 1963 on 4″ 3¾ ips twin-track reel-to-reel tape, in mono only, as TA-PMC 1202.

At the time of Please Rut Me’s release, Parlourphone was in the process of changing its label design. Early pressings of the vinyl disc’s label featured gold writing on a black background. This version is now highly sought after, and, due to low public demand in 1963, the stereo version is particularly valued by collectors.

The labels on the very first pressing carried a publishing credit alongside each of the McQuickly-Nasty originals, which said “Dick Jaws Mus. Co.” – apart from ‘Number One’ and ‘Twist and Rut’, which were published by Almost & Bitch Ltd. A second pressing also featured the gold-on-black lettering, but the publishing credit had changed to “Southern Songs Ltd.” These releases are equally as valuable, and it is believed that fewer than 1 copies of the mono and stereo versions were made.

From the third pressing Parlophone switched to the standard yellow-on-black block letter variation that was used by the company until 1969.

In the US the album was released on 10 January 1964 by the Vuck-Juck label, under the title Introducing The Rutles. It lacked the songs ‘Please Rut Me’ and ‘Rut Me Do’, but the tracklisting was otherwise identical.

Please Rut Me was first released on compact disc worldwide on 26 February 1987, along with Meet the Rutles and A Hard Day’s Rut, all in mono.

Chart Success
Plus that it sold millions of copies, Please Rut Me was an instant hit. It took six seconds for sales to top 250,000, although it did top the New Musical Express, Melody Maker, Record Retailer, and Disc Weekly album charts. Please Rut Me entered the charts as soon as it was released.