Timbo's Liverpool - The Beatles

Without doubt the most influential rock group of all time. With an unrivalled popularity and enduring influence, the Beatles re-shaped music and set the trends that other acts followed whether they realised it or not. Their countless hit records are timeless and have sold more copies than any other band in history.

Born in Liverpool in the late 1950's, the Beatles were inspired by the British skiffle craze. John Lennon formed the Quarrymen in 1957 having acquired his first guitar. The line-up, originally consisting of Lennon's school friends, changed beyond recognition within two years and by the end of 1959 only Ringo Starr was missing from the most famous line-up in the world.

In 1960 Lennon's talented art school classmate Stuart Sutcliffe joined the band and he suggested a change in band name to the Beetles which later became the Silver Beetles. The influence of Buddy Holly's Crickets is said to be the inspiration behind the name change. Another subtle change followed several months later when the band became known as The Beatles, with 'Beat' emphasising their style of music.

By this time drummer Pete Best had joined the band and they departed for Hamburg, West Germany where they became popular in the local clubs. Having been deported due to George being underage, the band returned to Germany in 1961, supporting Tony Sheridan. By this time, Stuart Sutcliffe had left the band to be replaced on bass guitar by McCartney. Tragically, Sutcliffe died of a brain haemorrhage in 1962.

Back in Britain the Beatles were attracting a huge following in the local underground clubs of Liverpool, in particular the Cavern Club in Mathew Street. By this time, Lennon and McCartney were beginning to show their song writing talents having performed mostly cover versions in Germany. There are contrasting views on how Brian Epstein discovered The Beatles, however, it is known that he first saw them during a lunchtime performance at the Cavern. His first impression was enough for him to offer his services as their manager and he tirelessly worked to find a recording contract. Their first auditions on New Years Day 1962 with Decca Records proved fruitless, according to the studios, 'guitar groups are on the way out'. Epstein continued to search and five months later the band was signed up by EMI's George Martin in London. Martin's first suggestion that Pete Best should be replaced resulted in Ringo Starr being introduced to the band. Best was adored by the Beatle's female following and back in Liverpool the decision to oust him was not received well. In one particular incident, George Harrison inadvertently received a black eye during a scuffle outside the Cavern.
Whether Brian Epstein did buy 10,000 copies of the band's debut single remains a mystery today. With or without his assistance, the single 'Love Me Do' charted at number 20 in October 1962. In February 1963 the Beatles recorded their debut album 'Please Please Me' with all ten tracks completed in just one day. The album remained at number one for 30 weeks and the title track of the album provided the band with their first number 1 single.

The success of their recordings together with live performances at the BBC studios was the very beginning of 'Beatlemania'. The royal family were to experience the phenomena at first hand during the Royal Command performance. John Lennon made his famous request when he introduced Twist and Shout, "For our last number I'd like to ask your help. Would the people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you just rattle your jewellery."
The second album 'With The Beatles' followed shortly after and by the end of the year 2.5 million copies of the albums and subsequent singles had been sold. Perhaps inevitably the word 'Beatlemania' reached America and success caught on following a performance in February 1964 on the Ed Sullivan show which was viewed by over 73 million people. Such was the interest in the televised performance, American police authorities reported the lowest crime rates in modern times during the show.

The popularity of the four was capitalised on with the release of the film 'A Hard Days Night' in 1964. Surprisingly the film received decent reviews and the soundtrack album followed in the footsteps of earlier success. The band were now touring America and by the end of 1964 their third album 'Beatles For Sale' was adding to the domination of the British and American charts. Their second film in 1965 was a spoof of the James Bond film. 'Help' also spawned a soundtrack album and another massive American tour followed. The album also gave the world the world one of the finest ballads ever written. 'Yesterday' has been recorded by over 1000 different artists since it was penned by McCartney.

In 1965 the band began to concentrate on their musical development, perhaps tiresome of not being able to hear themselves perform on tour. In December the musical development was evident in the release of 'Rubber Soul'. New instruments and recording methods were being introduced, 'Norwegian Wood' is probably the finest example of such musical development.

By 1966 the touring had taken it's toll and Lennon's 'more popular than Jesus' quote sparked controversy that effectively signalled the end of the Beatles as a touring band. They recorded 'Revolver' in August 1966 and their performance at Candlestick Park, San Francisco a month later was their last live concert performance. The 'Revolver' album clearly demonstrated the group's maturity as musicians and also showed their influence of psychedelic drug experimentation. McCartney followed up the melodic 'Yesterday' with 'For No-one' and the haunting 'Eleanor Rigby'.

Having stopped touring, rumours that the band were close to splitting up were quashed with the release of the 'Sgt Pepper' album. The band were increasingly under the influence of the Indian guru, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Indian sitar music was heavily evident in the early 1967 recordings of the album. The groundbreaking 'Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' was released later that year and the numerous studio effects completely changed the way albums were created.

The Beatles were struck by tragedy on 27 August 1967 when manager Brian Epstein died of a drug overdose. The band decided not to replace him with a new manager and instead embarked on a new project alone. The BBC TV film 'Magical Mystery Tour' was heavily slated by critics and in some eyes sparked the end for the Beatles. The soundtrack album contained the boyhood Liverpool influences of Lennon and McCartney in the double a-side release of 'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever'. The single reached number 2 in the British charts and was the only Beatles release since 'Love Me Do' which failed to reach number one.

In 1968 the Beatles formed their own record label, Apple and began recording a new double album, still under the production of George Martin. Rifts between the four were evident in the recording of 'The White Album' with tracks recorded independently following arguments between the band. The 'Beatles'- the official title of the White Album was released in November 1968 and featured Eric Clapton on guitar for the George Harrison composition, 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'.

By 1969 the band were becoming weary and personal disputes were resulting in arguments over creative issues. 'Get Back' performed live on top of the Apple Studios was their last public performance and was supposed to be part of a live album which was later scrapped as a result of the ill feeling within the band. In May 1969 Allen Klein was appointed as business manager despite objections from McCartney. Despite the growing disputes the band returned to the studio for the last time and the rock opera, 'Abbey Road' was recorded.

By 1970 despite public denials of a split, the Beatles were effectively working apart with Lennon and McCartney pursuing solo careers. On New Years Ever, with the Apple Corporation in a mess, McCartney filed a lawsuit against Allen Klein forcing him to break up the Beatles.

Following the split the solo careers of McCartney flourished throughout the 70's with his new band, Wings. Lennon recorded intermittently with Yoko Ono and devoted much of the remainder of his life to his son, Sean, born in 1975. Rumours of a reunion were dealt a tragic blow on 8 December 1980 when John Lennon was killed outside his New York apartment.

The continued popularity of the Beatles flourished through the 1980's as it had done in the previous decade, with numerous compilation albums of back catalogues released. The rights to the Lennon-McCartney compositions were controversially sold during the 1980's. As a result, unreleased material remained unavailable until the early 90's when Yoko Ono and the remaining ex-Beatles settled their differences. 'Live At The BBC' was subsequently released with a phenomenal success and in 1995 Paul, George and Ringo re-united for a special 'Anthology' documentary and album out-take releases. Yoko agreed to release material of Lennon's 'Free As A Bird' and 'Real Love' which were re-mastered and recorded with the other Beatles providing the backing.

"Consider the Beatles' history. In 1955, John and Paul were playing something approximating rock and roll before they had even heard of Elvis Presley. They seem to have written their first hit before they heard "That'll Be The Day". In other words, when the Beatles signed with EMI they were not merely in touch with their roots; in a significant and probably unique sense, they were their roots. They were not only a product of pre-Beatles era of rock, they were a version of it.” - Greil Marcus