The Beatles (formed 1960 - disbanded 1970) were an English rock band founded by bassist Paul McCartney (born: June 18, 1942 )[1], drummer Ringo Starr (real name Richard Starkey; born: July 7, 1940[2], guitarist George Harrison † (February 25, 1943 - November 29, 2001 [aged 58])[3] and lead guitarist John Lennon † (October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980 [aged 40]).[4] They became widely regarded as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, and one of the best-selling acts of all time.
History[]
Formation[]
In late 1956, John Lennon formed a band while at Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool, England. The band was known as The Quarrymen. Several months into the formation, a southpaw musician named Paul McCartney met Lennon, and the two jammed together. In 1958, George Harrison, who was a friend of McCartney's, also joined the band. Harrison played as a lead guitarist, despite being younger than Lennon and McCartney, especially on a double-decker bus.
In 1959, Lennon began to study at the Liverpool College of Art, while the trio switched their band name to Johnny and the Moondogs. They met Stuart Sutcliffe, who befriended Lennon at the Liverpool College of Art. Sutcliffe purchased a bass after selling one of his artwork pictures and joined the band.
In 1960, the band changed its name to The Beatals. The name took effect until May until the band changed its name to The Silver Beetles. They went on a brief tour, especially in Scotland, where they met pop singer Johnny Gentle. By July, the band rebranded as The Silver Beatles before finally settling in on The Beatles in August.
Allan Williams, the band's manager, made arrangements for the band to live in Hamburg, Germany. The Beatles met drummer Pete Best and hired him on the spot just four days before taking up a residency in Hamburg. Bruno Koschmider arranged the Beatles to perform at a few strip clubs, but one of them had to close due to noise violations. Worse case scenario, the Beatles performed at one club, which breached their contract, and Harrison was seemingly underage with a petition by German authorities to have him deported back to his native country, England. The entire band was deported after McCartney and Best were arrested for arson after they set fire to a condom in a concrete corridor.
For the next two years, the Beatles resided in Hamburg and regularly used Preludin to maintain their energy for daily performances. Subsequently, Sutcliffe resigned to maintain his art studies, and McCartney took over playing the bass. Their first legit gig took place at The Cavern, a club in Liverpool. Following the gig, they encountered Brian Epstein, a local record-store owner and music columnist. Epstein eventually became the band's manager in January 1962.
Feeling that Best's drumming skills were not at its best, the Beatles released Best from the band and settled in on Ringo Starr, thus completing the band's initial lineup.
Career[]
The Beatles's main songwriters were John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who share songwriting credits as part of their partnership. In 1962, they released their debut single "Love Me Do", which immediately became a hit. As the Beatles' intense fan base grew, a phenomenon known as "Beatlemania", the band was nicknamed "the Fab Four". By 1964, the Beatles were world-famous icons, and had achieved unprecedented levels of commercial success. They became the leading force in the resurgence of British culture, ushering the "British Invasion" into the US pop market. They soon made their film debut in a Hard Day's Night.
A growing effort to experiment with new styles of music, combined with the stress caused by the nature of their concerts, forced the band to retire from touring in 1966. During this time, they would produce albums with further sophistication, including their self-titled "White Album". The success of these albums eventually resulted a new era of music, as albums became the dominant form over singles. These albums also led to public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern-inspired music.
Break-up and aftermath[]
The Beatles broke up in 1970 due to internal tensions between the four members. The specific factors that led to the break-up included exhaustion from the Beatlemania phenomenon, the 1967 death of their manager Brian Epstein, Paul McCartney's domineering behavior which allegedly caused disenchantment, John Lennon's heroin use and relationship with Yoko Ono, George Harrison's increasingly prolific songwriting, the floundering of their record label Apple Corps, the Get Back project (which would later become their final album Let It Be), and managerial disputes.
After the break-up, all four ex-Beatles would go on to enjoy successful solo careers. Other bands featuring ex-Beatles include Paul McCartney and the Wings, the Plastic Ono Band (which featured John Lennon in the lineup), and the Traveling Wilburys (which featured George Harrison in the lineup). The ex-Beatles also occasionally collaborated with each other.
John Lennon was murdered on December 8, 1980 by Mark David Chapman, a crazed Beatles fan who was envious of Lennon's lifestyle and disgruntled with his comment that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus". George Harrison, who survived a home invasion and attack in 1999, died from lung cancer on November 29, 2001. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are still alive and musically active.
YouTube[]
The Beatles' YouTube channel was created on November 23, 2005[5] and first uploaded on November 24, 2005. The channel serves as a purpose for uploading and archiving The Beatles' music and music videos on YouTube.
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- Please Please Me (1963)[6]
- With the Beatles (1963)[7]
- A Hard Day's Night (1964)[8]
- Beatles for Sale (1964)[9]
- Help! (1965)[10]
- Rubber Soul (1965)[11]
- Revolver (1966)[12]
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)[13]
- The Beatles[note 1] (1968)[14]
- Yellow Submarine (1969)[15]
- Abbey Road (1969)[16]
- Let It Be (1970)[17]
Filmography[]
Fictionalised[]
- A Hard Day's Night (1964)
- Help! (1965)
- Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
- Yellow Submarine (1968) (brief cameo)
Documentaries and filmed performances[]
- The Beatles at Shea Stadium (1966)
- Let It Be (1970)
- The Compleat Beatles (1982)
- It Was Twenty Years Ago Today (1987) (about Sgt. Pepper)
- The Beatles Anthology (1995)
- The Beatles: 1+ (2015) (collection of digitally restored music videos)
- The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016) (about Beatlemania and touring years)
- The Beatles: Get Back (2021)
Concert tours[]
Headlining[]
- 1963 UK tours (winter–autumn)
- Autumn 1963 Sweden tour
- Winter 1964 North American tour
- Spring 1964 UK tour
- 1964 world tour
- 1964 North American tour
- 1965 European tour
- 1965 US tour
- 1965 UK tour
- 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines
- 1966 US tour
Co-headlining[]
- Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour
- Spring 1963 Tommy Roe/Chris Montez UK tour
- Roy Orbison/The Beatles Tour
Past members[]
Subscriber milestones[]
Note: The following dates are according to Social Blade. Dates may vary by one or two days due to differences in time zones.
- 1 million subscribers: April 30, 2018
- 2 million subscribers: July 16, 2018
- 3 million subscribers: June 28, 2019
- 4 million subscribers: March 16, 2020
Notes[]
- ↑ Also referred to as "The White Album".
References[]
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005200/
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0823592/
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0365600/
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006168/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/@TheBeatles/about
- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/please-please-me-mw0000649873
- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/with-the-beatles-mw0000192941
- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-hard-days-night-mw0001948685
- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/beatles-for-sale-mw0000189172
- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/help%21-mw0000189173
- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/rubber-soul-mw0000192940
- ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/revolver-mw0000189174
- ↑ https://www.beatlesstory.com/blog/2017/05/31/sgt-pepper-i-dont-want-to-spoil-the-party/
- ↑ https://www.thebeatles.com/beatles-0
- ↑ https://www.thebeatles.com/yellow-submarine
- ↑ https://www.thisdayinmusic.com/classic-albums/the-beatles-abbey-road/
- ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/05/08/let-be-50th-anniversary-looking-back-beatles-final-album/5174735002/