The Beatles

Legendary Liverpool band that caused worldwide Beatlemania and had a profound cultural impact far beyond the music industry and youth subculture.

Early Days

The Beatles were essentially conceived at approximately 4:32 P.M. on 6 July 1957 at the Woolton Village fête at St Peter's church in the Liverpool district of Woolton [source??], when John Lennon was first introduced to Paul McCartney by a mutual friend. Lennon, then 16 years old and the leader of a skiffle group called the Quarrymen, was impressed by 15-year-old McCartney's musical skills and repertoire of song lyrics. Lennon, shortly thereafter, asked McCartney to join the Quarrymen and their song-writing partnership commenced. Not much later, McCartney, in turn, brought his school friend and guitarist George Harrison into the band. With a stable core of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison the band evolved through a number of line-ups and names until they finally became the Beatles in 1960.

The same year, the group went on their first tour of Scotland organized by impresario Larry Parnes, accompanying his newest star Johnny Gentle. Gigs at several Liverpool clubs followed, among them the Cavern Club on Mathew Street, at this time still mainly a jazz club. In late 1960 the Beatles were offered an engagement in Hamburg by small-time Liverpool club owner Allan Williams who had business contacts with German club owner Bruno Koschmieder. Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison went to Hamburg accompanied by Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best, who had joined the group by virtue of owning a bass and drum set respectively. On the Reeperbahn, the Beatles played in Koschmieder's Indra club and Kaiserkeller, took to drugs for the first time, and made friends with young German artists.

Back from Hamburg as more experienced performers, the Beatles made an impression in Merseyside ballrooms, gathered a following and became the prime attraction at the Cavern. On return visits to Hamburg, playing at the Top Ten and Star Club, they recorded “My Bonnie” as a backing band for lead singer Tony Sheridan. This furthered their career significantly in so far as record store manager Brian Epstein was initially made aware of the Beatles by a young client's inquiry after said record at his Liverpool record store. Epstein took on the role of manager for the Beatles, without any experience but with much enthusiasm. As Sutcliffe had left the band to stay in Hamburg, the Beatles now consisted of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Pete Best.

Beatlemania

Eventually Epstein succeeded in getting a chance for the Beatles to audition for Parlophone, an EMI subsidiary. Under the authority of producer George Martin, the group passed their audition at Abbey Road studios in London, in January 1962. Parlophone signed the Beatles on the condition that they exchange their drummer, as Martin had not liked Best's performance. Following Best's dismissal, long-time Liverpool drummer Richard Starkey, better known as Ringo Starr, joined the Beatles and completed the quartet that would soon become iconic. Later in the year, the band recorded their first single, “Love Me Do,” which peaked at number 17 in the UK charts. At the beginning of 1963, they released their first UK number one record, “Please, Please Me,” which was, like its predecessor, a Lennon-McCartney composition. Early 1963 also saw the beginning of Beatlemania in Britain as the Beatles continued recording and touring the UK, Ireland and a number of other European countries. Wherever the Beatles went, teenagers “became emotionally, mentally, or sexually excited. They foamed at the mouth, burst into tears, hurled themselves like lemmings in the direction of the Beatles, or simply fainted” (Davies, 225).

In early 1964, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” became the Beatles' first number one hit in in the USA. Shortly afterward, the Beatles arrived in New York for their first American tour. They arrived to find that Beatlemania had preceded them. Their performance on the Ed Sullivan Show became a historic moment in American cultural memory as millions of Americans followed it on TV. Beatles jackets, boots, wigs, and much more were produced en masse while Beatlemania reached a new dimension.

The Beatles continued touring and playing to huge crowds all over the world. When not touring, they made records which would inevitably top the charts. In 1964, the band also filmed A Hard Day's Night, a mockumentary on themselves and the phenomenon of Beatlemania. The movie was followed, in 1965, by the more bizarre Help. The same year saw the band innovating recording techniques in the studio while working on their album Rubber Soul. This exploration of possibilities continued in 1966 with the recording of Revolver. As their interest in recording grew, their compositions became more sophisticated, and the pressures of Beatlemania increasingly unbearable, the Beatles decided to stop touring. Their last concert took place in 1966 in San Francisco's Candlestick Park.

Psychedelia

After the end of touring the Beatles had time on their hands to work on studio albums. In 1967 they released “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,” possibly the most famous album of popular music ever released. The concept album, based on the idea of Sgt. Pepper's fictitious band, united groundbreaking recording techniques and highly imaginative content. The iconic album cover showed the Beatles in psychedelic costumes, sideburned and moustachioed, along with a collage of faces chosen by the band for various reasons.

The group also initiated a new trend by filming surreal and artistic video clips to promote some of their compositions in a way that did not involve touring. Particularly noteworthy are the videos showcasing “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane.” In the summer of 1967 the Beatles also performed their newest composition, “All You Need Is Love,” live on BBC television as part of a worldwide live TV event. The same year the death of Brian Epstein of an accidental drug overdose left the band directionless and unsure of their professional future. Their first project they embarked on without Epstein's involvement, the bizarre musical film “Magical Mystery Tour,” was not received well.

In 1968 the Beatles pursued their interest in Indian mysticism which Harrison had initiated. In the northern Indian town of Rishikesh they spent time learning transcendental meditation from the then popular guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. After their return to England, they recorded the “White Album,” officially simply called “The Beatles.” The album was the first to be released on the Beatles' own record label “Apple,” which they had founded in January 1968.

Sources

Charles, Paul. The Beatles. Harpenden, Herts: Pocket Essentials, 2003.

Davies, Hunter. The Beatles. First publ. 1968, William Heinemann Ltd. London: Cassell Illustrated, 2002.

O'Donnell, Jim. The Day John Met Paul. An Hour by Hour Account of How the Beatles Began. New Ed. London: Routledge, 2006.