Fans of the Beatles are set for an early Christmas present - the group's earliest recordings with singer Tony Sheridan have been collected for a new double album package to mark the Fab Four's 50th anniversary.

"The Beatles With Tony Sheridan: First Recordings" features tracks the band performed with Sheridan as Polydor artists after bandleader and music executive Bert Kaempfert discovered them performing in a German nightclub in 1961.

The CD will be accompanied by a booklet full of rarely seen photographs, taken by one-time Beatles guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe's fiancee Astrid Kirchherr, band contracts, poster art for early shows and handwritten biographies by each member of the group.

The package will be released on November 8.