Liverpool and the Beatles

 

On Wednesday 24th October 1962, Love Me Do, entered the British Top Thirty. It was the first single by an unknown group from Liverpool called the Beatles. It was the first of a number of big hits that would make John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr the most successful pop group the world has ever known.

 

The early years

 

However, the road to success was not always easy. John and Paul had spent many afternoons listening to American stars like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley before they were able to write the famous Lennon and McCartney songs.

 

Although the long evenings spent playing in hot nightclubs in Liverpool and Hamburg in Germany had not earned them much money, they found the experience very useful when playing to huge audiences later on.

 

Not only was their style of singing new and exciting but their unusual haircuts - Beatle 'mops'! - and crazy sense of humour immediately became the latest fashion.

 

Influences

 

One of the most important people at the start of their careers was Brian Epstein, a Liverpudlian record-dealer. He managed to change four ordinary working-class lads into international superstars. George Martin, their record producer, encouraged them to introduce all kinds of unusual instruments on their records and combined popular and classical styles in a new and original way.

 

The 1960s

 

During the 1960s the Beatles were always in the news headlines; films, world tours and sometimes scandal. John once suggested that the Beatles were better known than Jesus Christ. This caused hundreds of young Americans to burn their Beatle records. In addition some people thought there were hidden messages about drugs in some of the songs.

 

Break-up

 

After a decade of successful music and films, the Beatles finally decided to break up in the early seventies, after public disagreements about money and personalities.

 

Although many fans hoped there would be a reunion throughout the 1970s, this became impossible with the tragic murder of John Lennon in New York in 1980.

 

The surviving Beatles are still deeply involved in musical and film projects, but many fans still long for the music of the 60s.

 

Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White: Spotlight on Britain; Oxford University Press, 1985, page 59 f.