In late October 1965, the Hollies were brought a demo of "If I Needed Someone" by their producer, Ron Richards, who had received the demo from George Martin. At this stage of their career, most of the Hollies' singles were written by outside writers, yet the band were divided about whether to record a Beatles song, given the traditional rivalry between the two groups' hometowns, Liverpool and Manchester. With Graham Nash and Allan Clarke keen to record the song, the Hollies accepted it as the follow-up to their recent hit "Look Through Any Window". The group recorded their version in three takes on 17 November 1965, in the same studio as the Beatles. Backed by the Clarke–Hicks–Nash composition "I've Got a Way of My Own", the single was released by Parlophone on 3 December, the same day as "Rubber Soul".