A Hard Day's Night

A Hard Day’s Night was a 1964 album by The Beatles, released on 10 July of that year. It was the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, starring the Beatles and directed by Richard Lester. It was their third album. It is said that the title was accidentally said by Ringo Starr during the filming of the movie.

The movie was made because United Artists, a movie company, wanted to sell a soundtrack album. Many movies that included rock and roll were not good movies. The Beatles did not want to star in a movie unless it was well made, with a good plot. United Artists agreed, and a playwright, Alun Owen, was hired.

Alun Owen travelled with the Beatles on a concert tour. He was to write a fictional story at first, based on how the band interacted with other people, but Owen decided the best story to tell was real, based on what he saw. The "grandfather" character (played by Wilfrid Brambell) was added to appeal to older viewers. Brambell was a popular television actor, who starred in Steptoe and Son (a forerunner of Sanford and Son) as a "dirty old" junk dealer.

Even with a script, the Beatles improvised (made up) some of their own dialogue in the movie. They also acted out ideas from the director, Richard Lester.