THE BEATLES CONQUERED THE WORLD
Over the last 40 years rock and pop music have been very popular in Britain and have become an important part of Britain’s pop culture. In the 60s and 70s several groups achieved their success. Their music became the common language of the generation.
But the influence of the Beatles was especially strong. Nothing expressed the youthful “pop” culture of the 60s better than the Beatles, whose music quickly became internationally known.
The Beatles were 4 ordinary Liverpool lads with a gift for music. They brought a new sound to Britain. At first the group performed music that was influenced by American rock’n’roll. But later its lyrics and memorable melodies contributed new trends in music. And these 4 boys: John Lenon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr could escape from their daily lives and opened a new era in music.
The Beatles were and remain one of the most commercially successful group in the history of popular music.
The group’s influence extended into social and cultural revolution of the 60s. The Beatles are the best-selling band in the history of popular music. The Beatles were initially a talented band, playing a British variation of American folk music. The mix of the four personalities has won the audience around the world. The Beatles have produced what critics consider the finest material, widely regarded as a real masterpiece! The list of awards and nominations received by the Beatles is great.
4 lads with a gift for music
- John Lenon
Was born in 1940. John’s mother loved music and she taught her son well. He was influenced by Elvis Presley. His distinctive feature was round glasses. He started a band, the Quarry Men.
- Paul McCartney
Was born in 1942, the son of a nurse and a cotton salesman. The family loved music. In 1997 at Buckingham palace he became Sir Paul McCartney. Paul often talked about music with a younger boy at his school - George Harrison.
- George Harrison
The youngest Beatle, was born in 1943. His father worked on ships and always brought records from the US. George loved music and practised the guitar all the time.
- Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr)
Was born in 1940. He was often ill and he first played drums in hospital. He bought his own first drum around 1956 and played with a few local bands. Soon he took a new name “Ringo”-because of all the rings on his hands.
Beatlemania
- One day in July 1957 a friend took Paul to see the Quarry Men at a garden party. That was how Paul saw John Lenon for the first time. After the concert Paul played a song on his guitar for John. Soon Paul joined the band and two young men were writing song after song. Sometimes they worked together, sometimes alone. Each of them pushed himself because of the other one. This was true during all the Beatles years.
- Not long after Paul joined, he told John about his friend George Harrison. He was only 15 but he joined after John had heard him play. Soon John, Paul and George were playing concerts in Liverpool, but there was a problem. They didn’t have a drummer.
The first Beatles main concert which changed their life and made them popular was in Humburg in 1960. The Rory Storms and Hurricanes bands’ drummer Ringo Starr loved to come and watch the Beatles. Sometimes he even played with the band. Afterwards he became the forth legend of a group.
- The Beatles worked hard. Suddenly, everybody loved the Beatles.It was like rush, it was Beatlemania. When the band played in concerts or at a Liverpool’s club called “The Cavern”, the police had to hold back big crowds of screaming fans – mainly girls.
The songs and achievements
- The Beatles ruled the music world in the 60s. They had 21 singles and 18 reached number one. In one list of the best albums, the top five were all by Beatles.
The band recorded their first single “Love me do” at Abbey Road in September 1962. Fans wrote to radio stations, asking them to play the record. After this song every Beatles singles reached number one until 1967. The band also recorded their first album “Please Please Me” in 1963. They recorded their second album later in the same year.
At the beginning of 1964 the Beatles were the most popular band in Britain. They were famous in Europe, but they were still a little nervous about the USA. Their trip to America in 1964 was a great success. They made several tours to America. During one of the tours the Beatles met one of their favourite singers-Elvis Presley. Paul said: “It was one of the great meetings of my life”. The boys and the King had a good time. But years later the band discovered that Elvis was worried about the Beatles success in his country. He even asked the American government to send them home!
After the first American tour the Beatles turned to another world - films. They made “A Hard Day’s Night” in 1964. The black and white film was first shown in London and Liverpool. It was a big success. Many people liked Ringo’s acting in the film.
- In 1968 there was another Beatles film. The band recorded a few songs for Yellow Submarine. Paul decided to give Ringo a title song of the film that wasn’t very serious. He thought of “Yellow Submarine” one night in bed.
- In 1965 Paul wrote one of the most popular songs of all time. “Yesterday” was a beautiful, sad song about lost love. The music for “Yesterday” came to Paul in a dream. He “just woke up one morning” with the song in his head!
- The “Strawberry Fields Forever” was another big step into new musical areas. When John was a child, he lived near children’s home called “Strawberry Field”. The song wasn’t really about that place, it just took the name.
- In 1967, when in the opinion of some newspapers the Beatles didn’t have any more ideas, came Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The title song was Paul’s. He had an idea after a trip to the US. Bands with very long names were becoming popular there. Paul wanted the Beatles to be a different band for the album. The album was a big step in the band’s music. Everything about the album was special even the cover. It showed the band with the crowd of famous people-writes, actors, singers. Most of the fans believe that Sergeant Pepper was the best and the most important Beatles work.
- Everything changed in the band, when John met Yoko Ono and fell in love with her. They drifted from the group when they explored new ideas. Soon differences between Beatles members’ opinions became a problem. John began speaking about the start of the band’s “slow death”. But soon the double album appeared which mixed many different kinds of music. “OB-LA-DI OB-LA-DA” was one of best pop songs in that album. It shows a new side of the Beatles.
Conclusion
In fact Paul ended the band in 1970. Paul McCartney once said: “The Beatles were always a great little band-nothing more, nothing less. Millions of fans around the world disagree with this. To them the Beatles were a great little band who changed modern music forever”.
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