16th November 1962:
11 takes recorded (The liner notes for the Summer Holiday Special
Edition claim 9 takes, but the Recording Sessions and Complete Chronicle
claim the released version is a splice of takes 10 and 11 - I am
presuming the latter is correct because the splice is audible just
before the last verse)

19th November 1962:
Take 11 mixed for mono and stereo.
Decision to replace from the last verse
The last half of take 10 mixed for mono and stereo.
Copies of the take 11 mixes made.
Masters for release created by splicing the Take 10 ends onto the take
11 copies
Take 11 masters stored.

7th December 1962:
Single using the mono take 11/10 splice is released. (UK version)

? January 1963: Mono and stereo take 11/10 splices released on mono and stereo versions of Summer Holiday LP. (UK versions)

25th March 1963: 4 track tape remixed for USA creating a new stereo master, presumably because the record company was unhappy with the early UK split stereo style stereo master of the take 11/10 splice that has been issued in the UK. However, after remixing from the 4 track tapes the edit that was applied at the 19/11/62 mixing session is not repeated. This version - a complete take 11 - is released on the stereo USA Summer Holiday soundtrack, and after being reduced to mono also appears on the mono USA Summer Holiday soundtrack.

? July 1965: The UK releases mono and stereo versions of 'More Hits By Cliff', including Bachelor Boy. However, almost certainly unintentionally, the USA mixes are somehow substituted for the ones that have hitherto appeared in the UK.

? 1994: Keith Bessey remasters tracks for 'The Hit List', Bachelor Boy amongst them. But of the three stereo versions stored away in the Abbey Road vaults (unreleased take 11 mix from 19/11/62, released take 11/10 splice from the same date, USA take 11 mix from 15/3/63), the version acquired was the take 11 split stereo which Keith and Peter Lewry hated, so Keith dubbed it to mono with a bit of EQ.

So now it looks like there are (at least) 5 different mixes stored away in the Abbey Road vaults: 1. The original take 11 stereo - unreleased 2. The original take 11 mono - unreleased 3. The original 11/10 stereo - released on the original stereo Summer Holiday LP, 40 Golden Greats and the Music For Pleasure Summer Holiday CD; currently available on the French Do You Wanna Dance CD 4. The original 11/10 mono - released on the single and the original mono Summer Holiday LP; not currently available? 5. The USA take 11 stereo - released on the stereo USA Summer Holiday soundtrack and the UK stereo 'More Hits By Cliff'; not currently available?

	Some of these have been further remastered: 1 reduced to mono by Keith Bessey, and now the most common mix/master having appeared on 'The Hit List', 'Summer Holiday Special Edition', 'The Whole Story', 'The Singles Collection' and 'The Platinum Collection'. Probably also 'At The Movies'.
	5 reduced to mono for the USA mono Summer Holiday soundtrack and mono 'More Hits By Cliff'. 5 remastered in stereo and known to be on the Australian LP '25 Years Of Gold'. The provenance of this remaster is unknown. One or two of these points involve a bit of guess work, but most of it has reasonably compelling evidence.

Simon Palmer - February 2006

Click for more information Robert Porter

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