History of the British rock band The Beatles. The history of the Beatles The breakup of the Beatles briefly
- the greatest band of the century, the legendary Liverpool Four. Four young men from Liverpool conquered the world in the early sixties. John, Paul, George, Ringo - names that have become iconic for a huge number of people. The history of this group will be discussed in this article.
…is there anybody going to listen to my story
All about the girl who came to stay?
She's the kind of girl
you want so much it make you sorry
Still you don't regret a single day…
The group consisted of: John Lennon (rhythm guitar, piano, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, piano, vocals), Ringo Starr(drums, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals). IN different time Pete Best (drums, vocals) and Stuart Sutcliffe (bass guitar, vocals), Jimmy Nichol (drums) participated in the work of the Beatles. Let's talk in more detail about the history of the Beatles and each of the musicians individually:
John Lennon
John Lennon was born to the sound of exploding bombs and the roar of planes bombing Liverpool. Some time after the birth of the boy, his father, who served on a merchant ship, disappeared during one of the voyages. The mother was sorely lacking money, so she had to remarry. After that, John was in the care of his aunt, Mimi Stanley, who lived in a nearby area.
James Paul McCartney was born on April 18, 1942 in one of the districts of Liverpool - Anfield. His parents moved around a lot, and eventually settled in the Speck area, not far from the house where Lennon lived. Paul's father changed many professions, but he could not succeed anywhere. In the 30s, he devoted almost all his free time to music, performing on dance floors and in bars with his ensemble. All care for the family had to be taken by his wife Mary. She worked as a nurse at a local hospital, earning money for the whole family. By nature, Paul was the exact opposite of John. He was just as independent, but he got what he wanted with calmer methods.
George Harrison
George Harrison was born in Liverpool on February 25, 1943. George's father, Harold, was a sailor, but in order to be closer to the family, he decided to change his profession and retrained as a bus driver. Mother was a shop assistant. From the birth of George until 1950, the Harrison family lived in the Wavertree area of Liverpool in a small house with a toilet in the yard. In 1950, due to high rents, the family moved to another area of the city, Speck, where Lennon and McCartney were already living. Thus began the birth of the great Beatles. John Lennon once heard Elvis' song "All Shook Up", it turned all his ideas about music, and since then the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating his own group has not left him. And the guys decided to start their own group, for starters, just for fun
Ringo Starr
As a child, Ringo was very sickly, he did not even manage to finish school. At the age of 15, he got a job as a steward on a ferry that ran between Liverpool and Wales. Like many of his peers, he was fond of new American music, but did not even dream of a career as a musician. The guys met Ringo much later, when they had already gained some fame.
From a simple entertainment, the music turned into something more serious, the group conquered the local pubs and clubs, it was necessary to move on. This path was thorny and difficult, but thanks to their perseverance, the guys made their way to the top of fame. Let's talk about the formation of the Beatles in more detail. For a long time no one took their music seriously. When most of the European record companies rejected the music of The Beatles, they still managed to secure a contract with Parlophone. In June 1962, producer George Martin listened to the group and signed a one-month contract with The Beatles. On September 11, 1962, the Beatles recorded their first "forty-five", which included "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You", in October of the same conquered the national Top 20 hit parade. In early 1963, the song "Please Please Me" took 2nd place in the UK hit parade, and on February 11, 1963, The Beatles' debut album was recorded in just 13 hours. When the band's third single "From Me To You" hit number one on the charts, music industry Great Britain has replenished with a new term: Marsibit, that is, "rhythms from the banks of the Mersey River." Because most of the bands then working in a style similar to The Beatles - Gerry And The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer And The Dakotas and The Searchers - came from Liverpool - a city located on the Mersey River. Summer 1963 years The Beatles were supposed to open the British concerts of Roy Orbison, but were rated much higher than the American - during that period the phenomenon called "Beatlemania" was born. At the end of the first European tour in October 1963, the Beatles and their manager Epstein moved to London. Pursued by crowds of fans, The Beatles go out into the public only accompanied by security guards. At the end of October of the same year, the single "She Loves You" becomes the most replicated record in the history of the UK gramophone industry, and in November 1963 The Beatles perform before the Queen. This is how the era of the Beatles began.
The premiere of the first film with the participation of The Beatles ("Hard Day" s Night, directed by Richard Lester) took place in the USA in August 1964 - the first week of the show exceeded all expectations, bringing in $ 1.3 million. Beatles-style wigs, Beatles-style clothes were sewn, Beatles dolls were produced - in general, everything that could be fastened to Magic word The Beatles became a cornucopia. But due to Epstein's financial inexperience, the musicians got practically nothing from the total exploitation of their image.
By 1965, Lennon and McCartney no longer wrote songs together, although under the terms of the contract, the song of either of them was considered a common work. In 1965, The Beatles toured Europe, North America, Australia and the Middle East with concerts. At the end of 1967, the single "Hello Goodbye" took first place in the UK and US charts - at the same time, the first Apple Records boutique was opened in London, selling The Beatles merchandise. Paul McCartney planned to call the network of such stores "a model of Eurocommunism", but the business quickly fell apart and in July 1968 the store had to be closed.
July 1968, most likely, should be considered the sunset of "Beatlemania", when the band's fans staged mass processions for the last time. This happened after the premiere of the cartoon "Yellow Submarine", German artist Heinz Edelmann, where four new Beatles compositions were presented. In August 1968, the single "Hey Jude" (written by Paul McCartney) was released. By the end of 1968, the single had sold over six million copies and is still considered one of the most commercial records in the world. In July-August 1969, the Beatles recorded the album "Abbey Road", which included one of the most replicated songs of our time, "Something" (by George Harrison). Abbey Road was The Beatles' most successful album.
By that time, the contradictions in the group were already irreversible, and in September 1969, John Lennon said: "I'm leaving the group, I've had enough. Give me a divorce," but he was persuaded not to leave publicly until all common contentious issues. Already on April 17, 1970, Paul McCartney's first solo album was released and on the same day the musicians officially announced the breakup of The Beatles.
Death of John Lennon
Particular attention should be paid to the death of John Lennon. On December 8, around 11 pm, Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono were returning home from the recording studio. At the very entrance unknown man called out famous singer. As soon as John turned, a shot rang out, followed by a second, third, fourth ... Frightened Yoko screamed piercingly, and her husband, bleeding, miraculously managed to get to the entrance
John Lennon with wife Yoko Ono
"I was shot at," John said, choking on blood. The guard immediately called the police, who arrived in less than two minutes. The policeman placed the wounded man in the back seat of the car and top speed rushed to the nearest hospital. The road took only a few minutes, but John could not be saved ... A twenty-five-year-old killer named Mark Chapman did not even hide from the crime scene. While waiting for the police to arrive, he calmly read his favorite book, The Catcher in the Rye. Lennon's murder shocked the whole world. The next day, radio stations constantly played songs performed by him. More than a quarter of a million condolences were sent to the address where the famous musician lived. Within two months, two million Beatles records were sold in England alone. The people were indignant, comparing this murder with the death of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 - again in America, the killer managed to freely shoot a world-famous person. Lennon was not just a talented and famous musician. He, like John F. Kennedy, became a kind of icon for his contemporaries, and fate dealt with him just as cruelly ...
Interesting facts from the history of the Beatles:
- The Beatles first met Queen Elizabeth II during their performance at the Royal Variety Show in 1963. This concert was televised, with an audience of 40% of the TV viewers.
- Two years later, the musicians received the Order of the British Empire from the hands of the Queen, which caused a huge scandal: many holders of the Order, who were awarded for great services to the country, considered themselves insulted and began to return their awards.
- This prestigious award later provoked another resonant scandal: shortly before the collapse of the Liverpool Four, Lennon made his most controversial trick - he returned the order to the queen. In an accompanying note, he wrote: "I return your order in protest against the war in Vietnam and Biafra, and also in honor of the fact that my song "Breaking" failed in the charts." This was regarded as an insult to Her Majesty.
The Beatles made a great contribution to the development of rock music and became a striking phenomenon in the world culture of the sixties of the twentieth century. In this article, we will learn not only the history of the emergence of the Beatles. The biography of each participant after the collapse of the legendary team will also be considered.
Beginning (1956-1960)
When did the Beatles form? Biography and interest for several generations of fans. The history of the emergence of the group can begin with the formation of the musical tastes of the participants.
In the spring of 1956, the leader of the future star team, John Lennon, first heard one of Elvis Presley's songs. And this song, Heartbreak Hotel, turned my whole life upside down young man. Lennon played the banjo and harmonica, but new music made him take up the guitar.
The biography of the Beatles in Russian usually begins with the first group organized by Lennon. With school friends, he created the Quarryman team, named after their educational institution. The teenagers played skiffle, a form of amateur British rock and roll.
At one of the group's performances, Lennon met Paul McCartney, who surprised the guy with his knowledge of the chords of the latest songs and high musical development. And in the spring of 1958, George Harrison, Paul's friend, joined them. The Trinity became the backbone of the group. They were invited to play at parties and weddings, but it never came to real concerts.
Inspired by the example of rock and roll pioneers, Eddie Cochran and Paul and John decided to write songs and play guitars themselves. They wrote the texts together and gave them double authorship.
In 1959, the group appeared new member- Stuart Sutcliffe, Lennon's friend. was almost formed: Sutcliffe (bass guitar), Harrison (lead guitar), McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano), Lennon (vocals, rhythm guitar). The only thing missing was a drummer.
Name
It is difficult to talk briefly about the Beatles group, even the history of the emergence of such a simple and short name of the group is captivating. When the group began to integrate into the concert life of their native city, they needed a new name, because they no longer had any relation to the school. In addition, the group began to perform at various talent competitions.
For example, at the 1959 television competition, the team performed under the name Johnny and the Moondogs (“Johnny and the Moon Dogs”). And the name The Beatles appeared a few months later, in early 1960. Who exactly came up with it is unknown, most likely Sutcliffe and Lennon, who wanted to take a word that has several meanings.
When pronounced, the name sounds like beetles, that is, beetles. And when writing, the root of beat is visible - as beat music, a fashionable direction of rock and roll that arose in the 1960s. However, the promoters believed that this name was not catchy and too short, so the guys were called on the posters as Long John and The Silver Beetles ("Long John and the Silver Beetles").
Hamburg (1960-1962)
The skill of the musicians grew, but they remained just one of the many musical groups of their hometown. The biography of the Beatles, a summary of which you began to read, continues with the move of the team to Hamburg.
The fact that numerous Hamburg clubs needed English-speaking bands played into the hands of young musicians, and several teams from Liverpool proved themselves well. In the summer of 1960, the Beatles received an invitation to come to Hamburg. It was already serious work, so the quartet had to urgently look for a drummer. So Pete Best appeared in the group.
The first concert took place the next day after arrival. For several months, the musicians honed their skills in Hamburg clubs. They had to play music of different styles and trends for a long time - rock and roll, blues, rhythm and blues, sing pop and folk songs. It can be said that largely thanks to the experience gained in Hamburg, the Beatles group took place. The biography of the team was experiencing its dawn.
In just two years, the Beatles gave about 800 concerts in Hamburg and raised their skills from amateurs to professionals. The Beatles did not perform their own songs, concentrating on the compositions of famous artists.
In Hamburg, the musicians met with students of the local art college. One of the students, Astrid Kircher, began dating Sutcliffe and became actively involved in the band's life. This girl offered the guys new hairstyles - hair combed over the forehead and ears, and later characteristic jackets without lapels and collars.
Returning to Liverpool, the Beatles were no longer amateurs, they became on a par with the most popular groups. It was then that they met Ringo Starr, the drummer for a rival band.
After returning to Hamburg, the first professional recording of the band took place. The musicians accompanied rock and roll singer Tony Sheridan. The quartet also recorded several of their own songs. This time their name was The Beat Brothers, not The Beatles.
The short biography of Sutcliffe continued with the exit from the team. At the end of the tour, he refused to return to Liverpool, choosing to stay with his girlfriend in Hamburg. A year later, Sutcliffe died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
First success (1962-1963)
The group returned to England and began to play in Liverpool clubs. On July 27, 1961, the first significant concert in the hall took place, which became a major success. In November, the group got a manager - Brian Epstein.
He met with a major label producer who showed interest in the band. He was not entirely satisfied with the demos, but young people fascinated him live. The first contract was signed.
However, both the producer and the band's manager were unhappy with Pete Best. They believed that he did not reach the general level, in addition, the musician refused to do his signature hairstyle, maintain the general style of the band, and often clashed with other members. Despite the fact that Best was popular with fans, it was decided to replace him. The drummer was replaced by Ringo Starr.
Ironically, it was with this drummer that the band recorded an amateur record at their own expense in Hamburg. Walking around the city, the guys met Ringo (Pete Best was not with them) and went to one of the street studios to record some songs just for fun.
In September 1962 the band recorded their first single, Love Me Do, which became very popular. The manager's cunning also played a big role here - Epstein bought ten thousand records at his own expense, which increased sales and aroused interest.
In October, the first television performance took place - the broadcast of one of the concerts in Manchester. Soon the second single Please Please Me was recorded, and in February 1963 the self-titled album was recorded in 13 hours, which included cover versions of popular songs and own compositions. In November of the same year, sales of the second album With The Beatles started.
Thus began the period of frenzied popularity that the Beatles experienced. Biography, Short story novice team, ended. The history of the legendary band begins.
The birthday of the term "Beatlemania" is considered to be October 13, 1963. In London, in the Palladium Hall, a concert of the group took place, which was broadcast throughout the country. But thousands of fans chose to gather around the concert hall hoping to see the musicians. The Beatles had to make their way to the car with the help of the police.
The height of "Beatlemania" (1963-1964)
In Britain, the quartet was wildly popular, but in America the group's singles were not published, since usually English groups did not have special success. The manager managed to sign a contract with a small firm, but the records were not noticed.
How did the Beatles get on the big American stage? The band's (short) biography tells that everything changed when a music critic of a well-known newspaper listened to the single I Want To Hold Your Hand, already very popular in England, and called the musicians "the greatest composers since Beethoven". The following month, the group was at the top of the charts.
"Beatlemania" stepped over the ocean. On the band's first visit to America, the musicians were greeted at the airport by several thousand fans. The Beatles gave 3 big concerts and performed on a TV show. All of America was watching them.
In March 1964, the quartet began creating a new album, A Hard Day "s Night, and a musical film of the same name. And the single Can't Buy Me Love / You Can't Do That, which appeared this month, set a world record for the number of pre-orders.
On August 19, 1964, a full-fledged tour of North America. The group gave 31 concerts in 24 cities. It was originally planned to visit 23 cities, but the owner of the basketball club from Casas City offered the musicians $150,000 for a half-hour concert (usually the ensemble received $25,000-30,000).
The tour was hard for the musicians. They were like in a prison, completely isolated from the outside world. The places where the Beatles stayed were besieged around the clock by crowds of fans in the hope of seeing their idols.
The concert venues were huge, the equipment was of poor quality. The musicians did not hear each other and even themselves, they often got lost, but the audience did not hear this and practically did not see anything, since the stage was set very far for safety reasons. I had to perform according to a clear program, there was no question of any improvisation and experiments on stage.
Yesterday and Lost Recordings (1964-1965)
After returning to London, work began on the Beatles For Sale album, which included borrowed and own songs. A week after the publication, he soared to the top of the charts.
In July 1965, the second film, Help!, was released, followed by an album of the same name in August. It was this album that included the most famous song of the collective Yesterday, which became a classic of popular music. Today, more than two thousand interpretations of this composition are known.
The author of the famous melody was Paul McCartney. He composed the music at the beginning of the year, the words appeared later. He called the composition Scrambled Egg, because, composing it, he sang Scrambled egg, how I love a scrambled egg ... ("Scrambled eggs, how I love scrambled eggs"). The song was recorded to the accompaniment of a string quartet, with only Paul participating from the group members.
On the second American tour, which started in August, an event took place that still haunts music lovers around the world. What did the Beatles do? The biography briefly describes that the musicians visited Elvis Presley himself. The stars not only talked, but also played several songs together, which were recorded on a tape recorder.
The recordings were never released, and music agents from all over the world failed to locate them. The value of these recordings cannot be estimated today.
New Directions (1965-1966)
In 1965, many groups entered the big stage, which made a worthy competition to the Beatles. The band started to create a new album Rubber Soul. This record marked a new era in rock music. Elements of surrealism and mysticism, which the Beatles are known for, began to appear in the songs.
The biography (short) tells that at the same time scandals began to arise around the musicians. In July 1966, the band members refused an official reception, which caused a conflict with the first lady. Outraged by this fact, the Filipinos almost tore the musicians apart, they had to literally run away. The tour administrator was badly beaten, the quartet was pushed and almost pushed to the plane.
The second big scandal erupted when John Lennon said in one of his interviews that Christianity was dying and that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus today. Protests swept across the United States, the group's records were burned. The leader of the team, under pressure, apologized for his words.
Despite the troubles, 1966 saw the release of Revolver, one of the band's best albums. His distinguishing feature in that the musical compositions were complex and did not involve live performance. The Beatles are now a studio band. Exhausted by the tour, the musicians gave up concert activities. In the same year, the last concerts were held. Music critics called the album brilliant and were sure that the quartet would no longer be able to create something as perfect.
However, in early 1967, the single Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane was recorded. The recording of this record lasted 129 days (compared with the 13-hour recording of the first album), the studio worked literally around the clock. The single was extremely complex musically and was a resounding success, being at the top of the charts for 88 weeks.
White Album (1967-1968)
The performance of the Beatles was broadcast to the whole world. 400 million people could see it. A television version of the song All You Need Is Love was recorded. After this triumph, the team's affairs began to decline. The role in this was played by the death of the "fifth Beatle", the band's manager Brian Epstein, as a result of an overdose of sleeping pills. He was only 32. Epstein was an important member of the Beatles. The biography of the group after his death has undergone major changes.
For the first time the group received the first negative feedback regarding the new movie Magical Mystery Tour. A lot of complaints were caused by the fact that the tape was released only in color, while most people had only black and white TVs. The soundtrack was released as an EP.
In 1968, Apple was responsible for releasing albums, as the Beatles announced, whose biography continued. In January 1969, the Yellow Submarine cartoon and its soundtrack were released. In August - single Hey Jude, one of the best in the history of the group. And in 1968 the famous album The Beatles, better known as the white album, was released. It got its name because its cover was snow-white, with a simple imprint of the title. The fans received it well, but the critics no longer shared the enthusiasm.
This record marked the beginning of the group's breakup. Ringo Starr left the band for a while, several songs were recorded without him. The drums were played by McCartney. Harrison has been busy with solo work. The situation was also tense because of Yoko Ono, who was present in the studio constantly and annoyed the band members in order.
Breakup (1969-1970)
At the beginning of 1969, the musicians had many plans. They were going to release an album, a film about their studio work, and a book. Paul McCartney wrote the song Get Back ("Come back"), which gave the name to the whole project. The Beatles, whose biography began so naturally, was approaching disintegration.
The band members wanted to show the atmosphere of fun and ease that reigned at the performances in Hamburg, but this did not work out. Many songs were recorded, but only five were selected, a lot of video material was filmed. The last recording was to be filming an impromptu concert on the rooftop of the recording studio. It was interrupted by the police, who were called by the locals. This concert was the last performance of the group.
On February 3, 1969, the team got a new manager, Allen Klein. McCartney was strongly opposed, as he believed that his future father-in-law, John Eastman, would be the best candidate for the role. Paul began legal proceedings against the rest of the group. Thus, the Beatles group, whose biography is described in this article, began to experience a serious conflict.
Work on an ambitious project was abandoned, but the group still released the Abbey Road album, which included George Harrison's brilliant composition Something. The musician worked on it for a long time, recorded about 40 ready-made options. The song is put on a par with Yesterday.
On January 8, 1970, the last album, Let It Be, was released, a reworking of material from the failed Get Back project by American producer Phil Spector. On May 20, a documentary about the band was released, which had already broken up by the time of the premiere. Thus ended the biography of the Beatles. In Russian, the title of the film sounds like "Let it be so."
After the collapse. John Lennon
The era of the Beatles is over. The biography of the participants continues with solo projects. At the time of the breakup of the group, all members were already engaged in independent work. In 1968, two years before the breakup, John Lennon released a joint album with his wife Yoko Ono. It was recorded in one night and at the same time contained not music, but a set of various sounds, noises, screams. On the cover, the couple appeared in the nude. Two more records of the same plan and a live recording followed in 1969. From the 70th to the 75th year, 4 music albums were released. After that, the musician stopped appearing in public, devoting himself to raising his son.
In 1980, Lennon's last album, Double Fantasy, was released and was well received by critics. A few weeks after the album's release, on December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot several times in the back. In 1984, the musician's posthumous album Milk and Honey was released.
After the collapse. Paul McCartney
After McCartney left the Beatles, the musician's biography took on a new twist. The break with the group took a heavy toll on McCartney. At first he retired to a remote farm, where he experienced depression, but in March 1970 he returned with material for a solo album by McCartney, and soon released a second - Ram.
However, without the group, Paul felt insecure. He organized the Wings team, which included his wife Linda. The group lasted until 1980 and released 7 albums. As part of his solo career, the musician has released 19 albums, the last of which was released in 2013.
After the collapse. George Harrison
George Harrison even before the breakup of the Beatles released 2 solo albums - Wonderwall Music in 1968 and Electronic Sound in 1969. These records were experimental and did not have much success. The third album, All Things Must Pass, included songs written during the Beatles period and rejected by other band members. This is the musician's most successful solo album.
Throughout his solo career, after Harrison left the Beatles, the musician's biography was enriched by 12 albums and more than 20 singles. He was actively involved in philanthropy and made a significant contribution to the popularization of Indian music and converted to Hinduism himself. Harrison died on November 29, 2001.
After the collapse. Ringo Star
Ringo's solo album, which he began working on as part of the Beatles, was released in 1970, but was declared a failure. However, in the future, he released more successful albums, largely due to his collaboration with George Harrison. In total, the musician has released 18 studio albums, as well as several live recordings and collections. The last album was released in 2015.
Why is everything for some and nothing for others? This question has been troubling people for thousands of years. Some become rich, famous and happy, while others will not have such a generous life of success. What is the secret - in talent, origin, perseverance or Fortune's banal smile? Gladwell Malcolm, author of Geniuses and Outsiders, analyzed the path of the Beatles and came to some interesting conclusions.
10,000 hour rule
Scientists have come to the conclusion that it takes 10,000 practice to become an expert in any field. The only problem is that it must be a "clean" watch. It turns out that you need to spend more than one decade of your life, polishing your skills in any one area. Does this rule always apply or are there exceptions? And if you take apart the story of every successful person or group of people, piece by piece, is it always possible to find an element of chance or “you can’t easily pull a fish out of a pond”? Let's test this idea with the example of the Beatles, one of the famous rock bands of all times.
One of the most famous photographs in the world
The Beatles - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Star - arrived in the United States in February 1964, initiating the so-called "British Invasion" of the American music scene and producing a whole batch of hits that changed the sound of popular music. First, let's note one interesting detail: how long did the band members play before they got to the United States? Lennon and McCartney started playing in 1957, seven years before they arrived in America. (By the way, ten years have passed from the day the band was founded to the recording of such illustrious albums as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album.) painfully familiar features.
In 1960, when they were still an unknown school rock band, they were invited to Germany, to Hamburg.
fateful invitation
“In those days there were no rock and roll music clubs in Hamburg,” he wrote in his book Scream! (Shout!) band biographer Philip Norman. - There was one club owner named Bruno, who had the idea to invite various rock bands. The scheme was the same for everyone. Long speeches without pauses. Crowds of people wander to and fro. And the musicians must play continuously to attract the attention of the milling audience.”
“There were a lot of bands from Liverpool playing in Hamburg,” Norman continues. - And that's why. Bruno went in search of groups in London. But in Soho he met an entrepreneur from Liverpool, who ended up in London by pure chance. And he promised to organize the arrival of several teams. That's how contact was made." And it was .
So what was so special about Hamburg? They didn't pay very well. The acoustics are far from fantastic. And the audience is by no means the most demanding and grateful. It's all about the amount of time the band was forced to play - 8 hours a day.
How the Beatles were tempered
Between 1960 and the end of 1962, the Beatles visited Hamburg five times. On their first visit, they worked 106 evenings of five or more hours per evening. In the second visit, they played 92 times. The third - 48 times, having spent a total of 172 hours on stage. On their last two visits, in November and December 1962, they performed for another 90 hours. Thus, in just a year and a half they played 270 evenings.
By the time the first big success awaited them, they had already given about 1200 live concerts. Do you have any idea how incredible this number is? Most of today's bands do not give so many concerts during their entire existence.
“They left with nothing to show for themselves, but came back in great shape,” writes Norman. - They learned not only endurance. They had to learn a huge number of songs - cover versions of all the works that exist, rock and roll and even jazz. Before Hamburg, they did not know what discipline was on stage. But when they returned, they played in a style unlike any other. It was their own find."
Concert at Shea Stadium in front of 55,000 spectators, 1965 An unprecedented event for that time -
If you analyze the success story of the Beatles (the same trick is done with Bill Gates and Bill Joy), you can say that they are all very talented. Lennon and McCartney had a rare . However, a significant component of their talent, in addition to natural abilities for music, was also desire. The Beatles were ready to play eight hours a day, seven days a week. But an equally important factor is favorable opportunities. And this element of the equation is underestimated by us. The Beatles received an invitation to Hamburg by pure chance. Without this invitation, they might well have chosen a different path. P.S.Liked? Under subscribe to our useful newsletter. We send selections every two weeks. ku best articles from the blog. According to the book
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Exactly 44 years ago, The Beatles took their famous Abbey Road album cover photo.
For almost half a century, the legendary "Liverpool Four" has been the most popular and respected group. The musicians, who worked together for only 8 years, managed to record 13 full-fledged albums, and had a huge impact on the development of music.
Abbey Road is considered one of the most significant albums. It was she who became the last joint project of all four members of the ensemble, containing all the best that they managed to create during The Beatles. The cover, in which the Beatles are photographed crossing Abbey Road, was widely known. Photographer Ian McMillan had ten minutes to take a picture: this section of the street was specially blocked by the police, since already at that time Abbey Road was one of the busiest in London. McMillan filmed the group from the stairs and took six shots, one of which made it onto the cover. Subsequently, she was recognized as one of the most recognizable covers in the world.
On this day website collected for you the most Interesting Facts about The Beatles and offers photos of the band that changed the world.
Abbey Road cover
[McCartney death theory]
● The cover provided a lot of food for those who developed the "Paul McCartney is dead" theory. According to her, Paul died in 1966, and was replaced by a double. At the same time, the other three members of the group inserted hints of "truth" into the lyrics and covers. So it is here: for some reason, Paul McCartney is barefoot (in some cultures it is customary to bury barefoot), he holds a cigarette in his right hand, and not his left, although he is left-handed. Also, it is in the direction of Paul that a car is driving, which can be seen in the distance. According to the theory, he died in a car accident.
Musicians in 1957
John Lennon is 16, George Harrison and Paul McCartney are 15
[Childhood]
● I must say that the musicians' relatives were skeptical about their work at first. For example, John's aunt, Mimi, always repeated the phrase: “The guitar is a good instrument. However, it is unsuitable for making money.” After becoming rich, John bought his aunt a villa that had a marble wall with the above quote.
● None of the band members ever learned the basics of musical notation.
Photo shoot with champagne, 1965
[The appearance of The Beatles and the first contract]
● At the beginning of its existence, the musicians changed the name of the group more than once: Beatals, Silver Beats, Silver Beetles, Silver Beatles and, finally, The Beatles appeared in April 1960. According to the memoirs of the group members, Sutcliffe and Lennon are considered to be the authors of the neologism, who were fascinated by the idea of coming up with a name that had different meanings at the same time.
● The start of a serious career for The Beatles is usually associated with the name of the band's manager, Brian Epstein. It was he who saw the potential in the group and gave them all possible auditions on record labels. Using his connections in the show business world, Epstein secured an audition with Decca Records, which was scheduled for January 1, 1962. On the morning of the first day of the new year, the foursome and Epstein arrived in London for recording and listening. The result had to wait more than a month and it turned out to be negative. The company's management showed no interest in the material. Epstein was rejected with the wording: "Guitar bands are going out of style." A year later, having signed on another label, the group will lead the national hit parade.
Paul McCartney signs an autograph for a happy fan
[Global Success]
● In October 1962, the group's first single (“Love Me Do”) was released, and in March 1963, their debut album (“Please Please Me”), which led the national hit parade for six months and marked the beginning of the insane popularity of the musicians. While touring in America, The Beatles performed twice on The Ed Sullivan Show, bringing together a record number of viewers in the history of television - 73 million (40% of the US population at that time). This record has not yet been broken by anyone.
● The autograph of the famous "Beatle" Paul McCartney compared to 1997 "has risen in price" nine times and is estimated at $2370.
The Beatles during the filming of Help! in the Bahamas, 1965
[Divine Providence]
● John Lennon once said at the height of his fame that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ. Outraged by this statement, radio station KLUE from a small Texas town held a public burning of records and other symbols of The Beatles, in which many of its listeners took part. The next day, the building of the radio station was struck by lightning, after which the equipment was disabled, and the announcer fainted.
The Beatles rehearsing while relaxing in Miami Beach, 1964
[The truth about the song Yesterday]
● When Paul McCartney was recording the song Yesterday, the professional musicians from the string quartet accompanying him called the composition "a seven-bar non-square construction" and said that music was not written that way. After the recording, the other members of the band questioned whether it should even be included on the album and insisted that the song not be released separately. As a result, she entered the British hit parade performed by singer Matt Monroe, who released his own version of the hit. In other countries, the song was released as a single and soared to the top of the charts almost everywhere.
Ringo Star in concert, 1964
[Ringo Star]
● The school desk where Ringo Starr once studied is today one of the objects of pilgrimage. You can even sit behind it for a while: however, fork out for five pounds. But once on the abilities of a sickly boy who studied at school for only two years, everyone put an end to it.
Paul McCartney talking to his future wife Linda Eastman, 1967
[Women]
● Women played a special role in the life of the band members. At one time, all four, being British, married American women. The appearance of Yoko Ono at the band's rehearsals caused protests from the rest of the Beatles. Because of this, the musicians felt uncomfortable, and the tension within the group increased. At the same time, John and Yoko were engaged in joint creativity. Yoko took part in the recording of some songs by The Beatles.
Photo from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967
[Drug influence]
● When The Beatles recorded the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, John Lennon attributed the origin of the song's title to his son Julian's christening of his drawing. However, many saw in this name a hint of the drug LSD, because it was such an abbreviation that was formed from its first letters, and the BBC completely banned the song from rotation. Paul McCartney later revealed that the influence of LSD on the song is pretty obvious.
The Beatles in London, 1968
[Royal Reception]
● During the performance of the Beatles in the royal variety show, the royal family joined their listeners. The audience, feeling the "highest" presence, behaved rather stiffly and even applauded with an eye on the royal box. Noticing this, John said after performing one of the songs: “People in the cheap seats, don't be shy, clap! And the rest of you, too, join in - shake your jewelry! The queen was not at all offended by the joker (here it is, a good sense of English humor!) And even gave Lennon an expensive ring.
John Lennon on the set of The Magical Mystery Journey
[Experimenting with creativity]
● During the recording of one of The Beatles' albums, Lennon sang part of the song Yellow Submarine into a microphone while wearing a condom. At first, John wanted to record underwater to create a presence in the submarine. But since that was impossible, he took a bottle of water and stuffed the microphone into it. And to protect the microphone from shorting, he took a condom and put it on the microphone. Otherwise, John might just explode because there are 240 volts going through the microphone. This was part of the lead vocal, but it was never used.
● It is believed that the Beatles were the first to use a peculiar sound effect called signal winding or feedback. The characteristic sound of this effect can be heard at the beginning of a song called I Feel Fine, recorded in 1964.
Police struggle to contain crowd of fans at Buckingham Palace
Beatles fans in New York
[ Beatlemania]
● Many of the Beatles' jokes were taken seriously by their fans. One day, Paul told reporters that he loves chocolates very much, but he rarely eats them - George will confiscate everything sweet from him. After that, Beatlemania turned into chocolate mania: the Apple studio was filled with piles of chocolate, and many parcels came with a note: “This is not for George, but for Paul!”. Fans showered the musicians with sweets and "live" - during performances.
● Fans of the legendary four wanted to keep at least some “artifact” about them as a keepsake. This particularly amused McCartney, who liked to lean out of the hotel window and throw a half-smoked cigarette on the ground. Dozens of girls fought for the right to own a cigarette butt.
The last joint picture of The Beatles, 1969
[Group Breakup]
“We dreamed of changing something in this world ... but everything remained the same. They still sell guns to South Africa and blacks get killed in the street. People still live in poverty, and rats run over them. Only crowds of wealthy loafers walk around London in fashionable rags. I no longer believe in the Beatles myth. John Lennon
● Relations within The Beatles finally deteriorated in 1968. Lennon and Paul McCartney have accumulated a lot of claims to each other. Lennon, for example, did not like the fact that McCartney pulled the blanket over himself, and he was dissatisfied with Lennon's apathy and constant stay in the studio during Yoko Ono's recordings. In addition, their creative collaboration practically ceased, Lennon was increasingly inclined towards psychedelic (“Strawberry Fields Forever”), acid rock (“I am the Walrus”) and avant-garde (“Revolution 9”).
John Lennon autographing his killer Mark David Chapman, 1980
[Assassination of John Lennon]
● On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was assassinated by US citizen Mark David Chapman. At 22:50, when Lennon and Yoko Ono were returning from the studio, Chapman, seeing Lennon, shouted after him “Hey, Mr. Lennon!”, After which he shot him five times (Lennon was hit by four bullets). Then Chapman sat down on the pavement under the lamp and began to read a book. American writer D. D. Salinger "The Catcher in the Rye". Lennon was taken to the hospital, where he died from severe blood loss. Death was pronounced at 23:15. Chapman did not attempt to flee the scene of the crime and did not resist arrest. He applied for parole 7 times (most recently in August 2012), but they were all rejected.
The Beatles
● The Beatles had a significant impact on rock music and are recognized by experts as one of the most successful bands of the 20th century, both in a creative and commercial sense. Many famous rock musicians admit that they became such under the influence of the songs of this group. Despite the fact that the former glory of the musicians is long gone, fan concerts are regularly held all over the world.
● The Beatles have sold more than one billion records and more albums sold in the US than any other artist.
Today, the Beatles are known to contemporaries as the author of popular retro songs such as Yesterday, Let It Be, Help, Yellow Submarine and others. However, few people know that this group had the loudest success in the history of show business, which has never been repeated. What was this success and what are its reasons I will try to state in this article.
Describing the success of the Beatles
The Beatles (The Beatles) in the final composition was formed in 1962 and existed for 7 years - until 1970. During this short time, by the standards of show business, the group released 13 albums, shot 4 feature films and achieved success that no other group could achieve before or after this group.
The idea for the band's name came to John Lennon in a dream, and is a play on the words "beetle" (beetle) and "beat" (beat, beat, rhythm). At first the group was called "Long John And The Silver Beatles", then the name was decided to be shortened to "The Beatles".
It is immediately worth noting the fact that this group has a large number of generally accepted terms related to it. Among them are the "Famous Four" ("The fab four"), "Liverpool Four". The term "Beatlemania" is also used to describe the band's unique success. This term is unique in its kind and is not found in other groups. In addition, there is the concept of "The Beatles movie" (The Beatles movie), used to analyze the contribution of the group in the field of cinema.
The speed with which fame and success came to the group is also interesting. Until 1960, the group was known only in Liverpool, and played basically the same as everyone else - arrangements of popular American songs. Even during their first tour of Scotland as an accompanying band in April 1960, they continued to be one of Liverpool's many obscure rock and roll bands.
Then in August 1960 the band made a 5 month trip to Hamburg (where they played in the clubs "Indra" and then "Kaiserkeller") after which the band became one of the most successful and ambitious Liverpool bands. By the beginning of 1961, the Beatles were at the top of the list of the top 350 beat bands in Liverpool. The quartet performs almost daily, gathering a large number of listeners.
4 months later, in April 1961, during the second tour in Hamburg, the Beatles recorded their first single together with Tony Sheridan "My Bonnie / The Saints". While in the studio, Lennon recorded one of his first songs, "Ain't She Sweet".
The first major musical success came to the Beatles after a tour to Hamburg, namely on July 27, 1961, when, after a concert in Liverpool's Litherland Town Hall, the local press called The Beatles the best Liverpool Rock 'n' Roll Ensemble.
Then, starting in August 1961, the Beatles began to perform regularly at the Liverpool Cavern club, where after 262 concerts (until August 1962) the group became the best in the city and it already had real fans.
Then, shortly after the release of their debut album in February 1963, the group's success quickly escalated into national hysteria. The beginning of such a craze, which received the term “Beatlomania” (“Beatlomania”), is considered to be the summer of 1963, when the Beatles were supposed to open the British concerts of Roy Orbison, but turned out to be an order of magnitude more popular than the American.
In October, the Beatles begin to set records for popularity in the ratings and charts, when the single "She Loves You" becomes the most replicated record in the history of the UK gramophone industry. And a month later, in November 1963, The Beatles perform at the Royal Variety Show at the Prince of Wales Theater in front of the Queen and the English aristocracy. Thus, 2 years after the first musical success, the group becomes recognized throughout the country. Further, their success grew like a snowball, and her fame breaks out of the country.
The Beatles are listened to not only by the English-speaking audience, but also by the whole of Europe, Japan and even Asia (for example, the Philippines). The United States was conquered in early 1964, a year after the release of the first album in their homeland, whereas before the Beatles, English artists were not very popular in America. After the Beatles, a wave of "English invaders" emerged in the USA, that is, the Beatles paved the way for successful tours of such English groups as The Rolling Stones, The Kniks, The Hermits and The Searchers.
The band during the Beatlemania period becomes more than a musical group, it becomes an idol, a style model, a trendsetter, a source of answers to all questions, hopes are pinned on them, etc. Their whole concept and "philosophy" begin to feel cramped within the musical framework and enter neighboring areas of art, such as cinema, and later - socio-political movements. In the genre of cinematography, the group made their debut by filming the film "A Hard Day's Night" in the spring and summer of 1964. The plot of the film is based on the events of one day of the band's life, and the Beatles' third album of the same name became the musical accompaniment to it.
By their example, the group demonstrated that a successful musical concept successfully exists not only in standard form, but can be successfully projected onto adjacent areas, such as cinema.
The purpose of the Beatles
By the phenomenon of the Beatles group, we mean the kind of success of a musical group that has grown into a real national mania. So, what is the reason that four people have had such phenomenal success when no one else had such success before them? Maybe in luck, maybe in genius, maybe in a combination of circumstances or something else?
In order to understand the nature of the band's success, you first need to understand what the Beatles wanted, what they aspired to. In such a case, we can view their success as a consequence of achieving their goal.
The goal of the Beatles from the very beginning of their existence was very simple - to become the best group all times and peoples. John Lennon said after the breakup of the band that it was the belief that the Beatles were the best band in the world that made them who they were, be it the best rock and roll band, pop band or whatever.
I believe this goal came about when Lennon and McCartney started writing together. They felt and saw that they could create something in the future that no one had been able to do before. They intuitively understood that at that time it was impossible to create such “magic”, great things in any other way. A great desire to bring to life the musical ideas of the Lennon-McCartney duet formed a clear need for the creation of such a group. It was their author's duet that became the starting point in the creation of the Beatles.
Analysis of the initial conditions for the birth of a group
To achieve any goal, certain conditions and opportunities are required, so let's consider what conditions and opportunities for the Beatles to gain success existed in the late 50s. These possibilities can be divided into two groups. The first of them is external or exogenous, that is, not dependent on the members of the group, and the second is internal, endogenous, that is, which they can influence on their own. Consider first all the necessary external conditions at the end of the 50s in England, which contributed to the birth of the group.
Time and society
Inexperienced listener of the 60s
Events unfold in the 60s of the 20th century. In the English-speaking environment, mass music is only developing, the genre of love lyrics is far from being saturated with masterful, skillfully performed compositions. Until the 60s, there was no technically perfect and professional musical offer of a mass nature for listeners. John Robertson notes that before the Beatles, music was in a state of lethargic sleep, and only after them did it become not only a multi-million dollar business, but also an art.
At the time of the birth of the group, there was no musical proposal striving for an ideal, to which the listener would have "nothing to answer and object to" and could only succumb to the moods that such music carries. The emotional messages that existed at that time were more calm and balanced. They were such that the author himself believed that they should be listened to calmly and not lose one’s head from them, because causing delight and euphoria, there is a so-called responsibility of the author to himself - why convey such strong feelings to the world that cause fanaticism and, possibly, breaking the fate of others.
Thus, until the 60s, there was no significant test for the "virgin" hearing of the English-speaking listener. The first significant attempts to step over this line were on the other side of the ocean with Elvis Presley and Little Richard. The Beatles were the first to shamelessly cross this line and the first to have the opportunity to professionally express these feelings in an optimal musical format.
Unsaturated information environment
The 60s didn't have the huge amount of infotainment distractions that came in the early 21st century. There was no colossal entertainment industry, ranging from computer games to social networks. The more infotainment resources there are, the more time they require from a person to use them. IN currently already, if you use the most popular services and services, then there will be no time left for some serious creativity. Consequently, the unsaturated information environment of society in the 60s disposed young people to creative pursuits in music, cinema, painting, etc.
A minimum of alternatives for a quick "conquest of the world"
A young man in those days had not a difficult choice in order to succeed in life: work, study or art. Music was the most common among young people. And if a young man was full of energy and desire to realize himself, then more often he chose music to achieve his goal. Undoubtedly, such people were John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who, as you know, chose music. In favor of the prevalence of music in the UK in the early 60s, John began his musical career at an early age in the church choir and then played the banjo, and Paul McCartney was introduced to music when his parents gave him a trumpet.
Scene
The process of the birth of the group, and then its success, takes place in the English city of Liverpool. In the capitalist England of the 60s, there were no ideological barriers and strict moral censorship, which also contributed to the study of music. However, the disadvantage was capitalism with its requirement to spend all working time on earning money to maintain one's lifestyle. For Paul McCartney, this was reflected in the fact that before the final decision to start playing in the group, he got a job as a janitor at the factory on the instructions of his father.
The need to spend most of the time making money was not so acute in the countries of the communist bloc. However, there was no way to achieve great success in music in principle, due to understandable ideological restrictions.
Also in Liverpool, teenage musical activity was widely developed, which was expressed in a large number of youth groups playing in the style of rock and roll and skiffle (350 beat groups in 1961). The most common instruments were banjo, electric and semi-acoustic guitar, bass guitar, simple drums with a barrel, harmonica. All these instruments were later used by the Beatles. The relatively high standard of living in the UK made it easy to acquire these essential musical instruments.
Summarizing the analysis of the above conditions, we get that in the English-speaking world of the early 60s there was an inexperienced listener and a favorable environment for the debut of a masterly skillful team. Moreover, if this group conveyed a strong emotional charge through its music, then the listener, not knowing how to react to it, could respond with a real explosion, mania, fanaticism, thereby causing a public outcry. The more skillfully the band can convey its musical message to the listener, the stronger the amplitude of this resonance will be. It is also determined by the uniqueness of the emotional message, which is difficult to express in precise terms.
Members of the Beatles
Before analyzing the reasons for the success of the Beatles, consider the composition of the members of this group. The sound of a musical group is determined by the set of instruments that its members use, for example, piano, guitar, harmonica, singing voice.
For the early Beatles, the specialization on instruments looked like this: McCartney and Lennon were responsible for vocals, Harrison for guitar, McCartney again for bass, Ringo Starr for drums and partly McCartney (for example, in the song "A Day In The Life"). Lennon played rhythm guitar, but it was not his main instrument (the voice was the main one), since in most of the band's songs the guitar accompaniment is determined precisely by Harrison's guitar. In addition, Lennon almost never performed solo during the entire time he played in the group (especially on stage). However, as an exception, one can cite his solo performance with the song “Baby It's you.” In addition to vocals and guitar, John Lennon mastered another accompanying instrument quite well - harmonica(in "Love Me Do" he plays the chromatic harmonica of the Marine Band), which also suggests that the guitar was not his specialty. John himself later admitted that he plays the guitar "medium". All this confirms his specialization in songwriting and vocal performance.
Some instruments for the musician are the main ones, that is, which he skillfully owns, and is responsible for the use of this instrument in the team. For example, George Harrison focused on the guitar while moving away from other things such as songwriting and honing his vocal skills. Of course, Lennon and McCartney initially took him as a guitarist, since they themselves were completely absorbed in writing songs. As a result, Harrison was responsible for the professional, fast-paced and improvising guitar in the band. Therefore, in the formative period, the representative song of the group, in addition to the rhythm section, consists of the vocals of John and Paul and the guitar of George. Developing guitar technique, Harrison had much less creative time, and given that his writing talent was not as bright as that of the Lennon-McCartney duo, explains his later emergence in the group as a songwriter (from the second album "With The Beatles").
The Beatles - full cycle musical group
There are three main types of musical groups: those specializing in writing material, performing it, or creating and performing their own material at the same time. Of course, the probability of the formation of the latter is much less, since it requires the ability to do two fundamental things well.
In practice, usually a band is good at one thing, so it's more common for a band to either be good at composing music or perform well.
The Beatles wrote and performed themselves, which at one time was a precedent, since there was a practice when the music was composed by outside composers for performing groups. That is, in the early 60s, the separation of the author's and performing functions dominated, which, of course, complicated the process of the creative cycle - from composing a song, writing music, to recording in a studio and performing on stage. This occurred as a result of the emergence of transaction costs in the transfer of musical material between the composer and the performer. For example, the author has to spend time to convey to the performer the emotional nuances of his song, which is completely impossible to convey in the form of lyrics and scores. In addition, in the course of such a “transfer”, part of the author's intention due to the difficulty of conveying such subjective information.
In the case of combining these two qualities in one person / team, this problem removed. By the time the first album was recorded, the Beatles had become full-cycle musicians - that is, they closed the entire process of creating songs on themselves, which gave them the opportunity to quickly and losslessly create their songs from idea to recording.
Necessary internal conditions for success
Let us now consider the possibilities and conditions necessary to achieve the goal, which could depend on the future members of the group. In order to become the best band in the world, oddly enough, this band must first be created, then get the opportunity to professionally perform ready-made material, and then professionally write your own.
The need for a group
The need for a musical group arose from John Lennon's desire to have the best rock and roll band in the world. This group was needed to fully express the thoughts of the author musical language. To do this, the author needs an ensemble of musicians who own a set of instruments necessary for the full expression of the author's thoughts.
John Lennon formed his first group, The Quaryymen, in the spring of 1956. However, until meeting Paul McCartney in the summer of 1957, it was a purely amateur game. When Lennon and McCartney met, then that powerful author's duet began to form, the musical ideas of which, no doubt, demanded worthy expression. Lennon-McCartney co-authorship developed gradually in practice - by the end of 1958, 4 years before the release of the first album, they already had about 50 songs in their assets. Thus, the Lennon-McCartney duo had an objective need to create a group.
In addition, the young Beatles already had an idea of how large-scale success in the musical field can be, using the example of the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley. Elvis was the inspiration for Lennon-McCartney at the very beginning of their work, as the musicians themselves admitted that if there was no Elvis, then there would be no Beatles.
Creation of the Beatles
To create a viable group, the creator needs to find a sufficient number of like-minded musicians. The creative duo of John and Paul needed their own musical accompaniment as they both focused on songwriting and vocals.
The most common instrument at that time, as in other things, and in ours, was the guitar, and therefore it is not surprising that the duet's musical accompaniment was the guitar of George Harrison, whom Paul brought into the group in 1958. George's interests completely coincided with the interests of the duet: George wanted to play the guitar and had already played in The Rebels, and the place of the game was determined by the presence of George's friend Paul McCartney in it.
This trio formed the backbone of the band, while the members on the other instruments changed constantly until the group found its final line-up in August 1962, when the band changed drummers from Pete Best to Richard Starkey.
The short duration of the existence of a musical group
Musical creativity is always a collaborative process. One person can be orders of magnitude less than in the company of a person, even with less talent.
Joint creativity is possible with a fundamental coincidence of desires, goals, worldview of co-authors, and this intersection exists relatively a short time. And during this period, masterpieces of art are created. However, when co-creating, you have to compromise, taking into account the interests of the co-author, and there is always a temptation to separate and write your own things, having complete freedom of action. That is, in a team you always have to give up own opinion in favor of the common cause. Therefore, only those collectives continue to exist in which each participant can do orders of magnitude more than on their own.
The group consists of instruments playing together, the musician plays the instrument, the musician is a person. At each of the listed stages, a failure is possible and then the entire musical group cannot function fully. For example, a member of the group has a high-quality instrument, has an excellent command of it, but at the moment he does not want to play in this group / this song / this instrument and the whole team instantly falls into a non-working state. Here the human factor is manifested and the group is already under the threat of disintegration, although there are no objective reasons.
In the later Beatles, this manifests itself in the fact that, after writing the Beatles For Sale album in 1964, the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo stopped writing songs together. The last song together was "Baby's In Black", and starting with the album "Magical Mystery Tour", each of the quartet begins to use the others only as accompanying musicians to record their own songs.
The requirement that the interests of all participants coincide is clearly seen in the example of early bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. This is a clear example of a person who chose the wrong area of activity for self-realization, because even before joining the group he wanted to become an artist. Sutcliffe agreed to be the bassist, most likely because his friend John asked for it. Another reason was the popularity of music among young people, which gave a chance to quickly become famous.
As a result, Stewart did not pay much attention to the skill of playing the bass, while continuing to paint at the same time, which caused discontent among the rest of the band. Being a musician was not his vocation, this is evidenced by the fact that after leaving the group he stayed in Hamburg and radically changed the type of activity, becoming an artist.
A similar situation was with the second drummer Pete Best. His interests differed from other members of the group, in particular, he did not fit with the rest physically, was taller and "more beautiful" than the rest. As the Beatles later said, almost all the girls preferred him, which also did not add stability to his position in the group.
Also, Best "wasn't actually a full member of the group because of his relationships with the other members." George Harrison later explains it this way: “There was one thing: Pete rarely spent time with us. When the show was over, Pete would leave, and we all stayed together, and then, when Ringo got close to us, it seemed to us that now there were as many of us as it should be, both on stage and off stage. When Ringo joined the four of us, everything fell into place.
In addition, Best did not recognize the general style of the group - he did not agree to do the same hairstyle as the other Beatles, did not wear the same clothes, which caused the real anger of the band's manager Brian Epstein. Pete did not get along with the other members of the group by nature, and therefore his departure was only a matter of time. As a consequence, he naturally and without scandal left the group in August 1962.
Until the final line-up, the group was formed gradually. For 6 years after the creation of the group in 1956, the Lennon-McCartney-Harrison trio continued to play together in in full force, while the rest of the musicians changed each other constantly. And since they could not achieve a significant return on the game during this period, this is a confirmation of their great desire to play together, faith in themselves and the complete coincidence of their interests.
And finally, after the group found a decent drummer in 1962 (Starr played in the second most popular Liverpool band, Rory Storme And The Hurricanes), the band found a steady state. Now each instrument had a separate musician for whom it was the main one, and could exist for a sufficient amount of time to realize its potential.
The requirement for professional performance of the material
The transition to the level of professional performance of the material transfers the team from amateur to mature. This usually happens while receiving practical experience performances, and the Beatles were no exception. They made 2 trips to Hamburg - in the fall of 1960 and in the spring of 1961, where they forged their mastery of performance in a foreign land, working for pennies 8 hours a day, performing in the Hamburg clubs Indra, Kaiserkeller, Top Ten. Of course, the second trip to Hamburg was already on better terms for the group - after the first days of their stay, the aspiring Beatles were recognized as the best touring band in the city. Also, away from home, the guys had a special motivation for the development of performance techniques - the effect of a stranger - when a person in a new place feels like a stranger, so to speak, on "enemy land", and therefore wants to succeed, gain a foothold, prove his success more strongly. After trips to Hamburg, the Beatles finally moved into the category of professional beat groups after holding more than 260 concerts in the Liverpool Cavern club in 1961 - 1962.
The technical prowess made the band ready for the studio as it made it possible to record songs quickly as the minimum number of errors reduced the number of recording takes. In addition, there was the possibility of easy improvisation, which allowed the Beatles to quickly develop a musical theme to a finished composition. The excellent teamwork of the Lennon-McCartney-Harrisson trio helped to quickly achieve mastery of performance, which, after 5 years of acquaintance, understood each other in a musical sense from a half-word.
Requirement to develop writing skills
Band members acting as songwriters must develop and practice their creative writing function. That is, they must be able to quickly and accurately express their thoughts in a musical language, namely: to compose lyrics and come up with a main motive.
The main songwriters of the Beatles - John Lennon and Paul McCartney - began to practice composing at the age of 16. After they met and Paul entered the Lennon group, the future duo began to spend time together, making music. Usually, visiting one of them, they cooked scrambled eggs and composed simple songs. It was also during this time that Paul showed Lennon the basic chords on the guitar, which helped the latter transition from banjo to guitar. A year and a half after John and Paul met, they already had about fifty songs in their assets, on which they trained to compose, not only on their own, but also together. At this time, the poetic skills of the future authors of the Beatles were formed.
It is also interesting that a year before they met in 1956, John Lennon in his group "The Quarrymen" did not even try to write his own songs. His amateur band only performed songs in the style of skiffle, country and western and rock and roll. In my opinion, the need for my own songs arose after meeting McCartney. Then both talented authors had a desire to outdo the other, or at least look no worse, which stimulated them to constantly hone their skills.
As a result, Lennon's talent for writing hit songs developed through long and painstaking practice, while McCartney had a natural talent for writing beautiful melodies.
By 1963, the Beatles were able to skillfully perform other people's material and honed their writing skills, and were also ready to start realizing their huge accumulated creative potential in the studio. It is noteworthy that the Beatles were ready to work in the studio a year before their first recordings. However, it was precisely the fact that they were admitted to the studio later that provided a reserve of creative and technical potential, which made it possible, firstly, to release fundamental hit albums two per year, and, secondly, to create albums "playfully" easily. In other words, by the beginning of the recording of the first album, the musicians were already in a state of “permanent musical readiness”.
Permanent musical readiness
Each musician, if he is not engaged in music on an ongoing basis, needs time to tune in to the game, refresh the primary control of the instrument in his memory. For example, a guitarist needs to repeat basic playing techniques, move his fingers on special exercises, play scales, and so on.
The need to play each time before the game, significantly reduces the time useful work, which reduces the number of games played. In addition, if the group is inexperienced, then all the fresh forces of the musicians, which could be spent on creative search, can go to the warm-up.
This problem is also relevant for experienced musicians. Even if the musician has a significant break between the game, the musician again “gets upset”, that is, he loses RAM and the feeling of controlling the instrument and will no longer be able to play the instrument “freely” right away.
Is there a solution to this problem that will save time and effort spent on such a "setup"? There is such a solution and it consists in not leaving the state of constant “tuning” and contact with a musical instrument.
This is possible if you make music the main activity, as well as through constant playing without significant interruptions, as well as using the tool to solve related problems (working with a vocal part, inventing melodies on the go). In this case, each time you can "not forget" all the subtleties and sensations of the game and be in a state of constant (permanent) musical readiness.
Having honed their performing and authoring skills by the time the debut album was recorded, the Beatles not only played together, but also entered the state described above. The Beatles' first such sensations were to come during their tour to Hamburg, where they were required to work on stage every day for 8 hours a day. Then, after holding over 260 concerts at the Cavern Club, the Beatles finally entered a state of permanent readiness by August 1962 and did not leave it until the breakup in 1970.
As a result, the constant "combat readiness" made it possible to fully realize the full potential of the joint Lennon-McCartney in a relatively short time: from 1963 to 1969. In addition, this gave an amazing speed with which the group's albums were released. The Beatles released an average of two albums a year, which in principle was not unusual for those times. For example, Elvis Presley recorded an average of 3 albums in the 60s, and The Rolling Stones released 4 albums in the first 2 years of work.
However, the speed with which the band's new albums are released is astonishing due not only to their complexity and level of elaboration, but also to the unsurpassed number of hits in each album. This speed with which so many hits came out also brought a sense of "impossibility", "wonder" to the Beatles' music. And the unprecedented level of recording and mixing in the best English studio Abbey Road also gave the sound a "superhuman" origin.
Such intensity of music lessons required a significant limitation of the personal life of musicians due to the lack of free time and energy. Members of the Beatles from 1963 to 1965 approached his extreme state - a complete renunciation of personal life. For example, in the midst of Beatlemania, the band members spent about 3 years without significant breaks on tour or working in the studio, living in hotels and not being at home for several months. It is also interesting that the rhythm of the Beatles' life during these years was so intense and tough that modern pop stars could not even dream of.
Musical success as society's response to the band's message
The last necessary condition for success is that the band's musical message is accepted by society. This process is largely subjective and largely determined by the nature of the group's message. However, indirectly it depends on such parameters as the novelty of the message, its relevance to society, depth, style and a kind of philosophy that it carries.
The Beatles' goal of becoming the best rock 'n' roll band of all time shaped the band's core idea of "give what you want". Music messages, like other details of their activities, were only an expression of this idea. The uniqueness of the message was achieved by the fact that the idea was expressed in the language of a specific creative duet Lennon-McCartney.
Of course, the Beatles met all the formal criteria for success. In particular, novelty was ensured, on the one hand, by a breakthrough in the genre of love lyrics, and on the other hand, by the original style of the game, which synthesized such styles as rock and roll, country, etc. The Beatles were also innovators in musical performance. For example, they had their own style - beat music - where the drum rhythm is transmitted by a fast constant beat, most often eighth notes, which gave the music significant expressiveness and emotional tension when changing the accents of the game.
As a result, as practice showed, their message was quickly accepted by the English, and then the American society of the 60s.
The Beatles Phenomenon
So, the Beatles had every opportunity to be successful. But why did her success turn into real national hysteria?
First, we note that the success of a creative team is a process of public reaction in time and space to information and emotional messages created by creative team. If accepted, the nature of success is determined by the specifics of the message. If the message is calm, then the reaction in case of success will be calm, adequate, sustained. If the message conveys a cry, enthusiasm or a call to action, then the response, if successful, will be appropriate.
The desire to be the best made the Beatles' musical message to the outside world, the purpose of which was to make a splash.
Popularization of the Beatles
However, no matter how successful, explosive the musical message is, the depth and scale of success is largely determined by the efficiency and speed with which it is "presented" to the listener. Such a necessary component of success as “popularization” or advertising of the group is responsible for this.
The messages of the musical group are transmitted in the form of musical compositions, through sales of sound media (vinyl records), broadcasts on radio and television, as well as live performances of the group. In addition to primary musical recordings, the dialogue between the group and society takes place through all kinds of publications and mentions in the media.
A distinctive feature of the Beatles group was that for the first time mass popularization technologies were tried on it, when all of the above means of contact with the audience were used to the maximum.
It was first handled by Brian Epstein, who considered success in the four. When the group gained momentum, absolutely all the media took over the baton of advertising due to the specifics of their work (to keep the reader informed of what he is interested in). Then, given that the image of the Beatles was exploited by everyone who could, for commercial purposes, businessmen of all stripes were connected to advertising.
The start of Beatlemania in England is noteworthy. There is an opinion that the success of the Beatles was purely promotional. However, in reality, first the group gained fame, and then it spread through the media.
Indeed, until October 1963, the Beatles' fame was limited to Liverpool and Hamburg. However, in these cities, the group already had crowds of fans who made a stampede and did not allow the passage. However, not a single word was written about this phenomenon in any English newspaper. The media did not acknowledge this phenomenon until October 13, 1963. Although until that time all the signs of Beatlemania were already on the face - during 1963 the Beatles toured intensively, gradually becoming leaders of the programs, leaving behind their colleagues Helen Shapiro, Danny Williams and Kenny Lynch.
In November-December, the Beatles were the sole leaders of the concert programs, eclipsing the American star Roy Orbinson. Already at the time when the Beatles ran onto the stage, they were met by a deafening roar of the crowd, young fans rushed forward, creating a stampede, the girls threw themselves under the car, which was swiftly taking the Beatles away from the rampaging fans. And all this was without any media support, all the popularity was won only thanks to word of mouth, live performances and 2 albums (the second was released just on November 22, 1963). For the same reason, their fame was limited to a greater extent by Liverpool and England.
Then, for unknown reasons, the go-ahead to popularize the Beatles comes from the very top of conservative England. First, on October 13, the Beatles performed at the London Palladium Sunday Afternoon concert, which brought the group a colossal success, marking the full involvement of the national print media in popularizing the group. The elite then make a sign to everyone by giving them the opportunity to perform at the Royal Variety Show in front of the elite of English society, including Queen Elizabeth II. Here comes a turning point in the effectiveness of the foursome's spin - the Beatles are shown for the first time to an audience of 26 million, as a result of which the heart of the nation was won, and success completely spread throughout the country.
The Beatles vs USA
Having won unconditional fame in their homeland, the Beatles set their sights on the last English-speaking outpost - the United States of America. Conquering America was especially flattering for the Beatles, given that they began by imitating its music, and their early inspiration was the king of American rock and roll, Elvis Presley.
In the US, the Beatles had to overcome the negative attitude of the American listener, and especially American producers, towards English pop music. This attitude has developed due to the fact that not a single English group in America has had lasting success.
Despite the rise of the Beatles in England, Capitol Records, the American division of EMI, did not agree to release records until January 1964. Epstein's first attempt to negotiate a U.S. release of the "Please Please Me" single ended in failure: "We don't think the Beatles can do anything in the U.S. market."
Not giving up, Brian Epstein signed a contract with other record companies: "Vee-Jay" from (Chicago) and "Swan Records" (Philadelphia). The former released limited edition singles "Please Please Me"/"Ask Me Why" on February 25 and "From Me To You"/"Thank You Girl" on May 27, 1963, while the latter released the single "She Loves You"/"I 'll Get You" September 16th. However, all three times the compositions did not rise in the main rating list of the USA - the weekly Billboard.
In America, the single "Love Me Do" was released in May 1964 (just at the height of Beatlemania in Britain) and stayed at the top of the charts for 18 months. A well-known role here was played by the commercial cunning of Brian Epstein, who, at his own peril and risk, bought 10 thousand copies of the record, which significantly increased its buyout index and attracted new buyers.
Another strategic move for Brian was to travel to New York and meet November 11-12 with the host popular show in America - Ed Sullivan. At this meeting, he talked Sullivan into 3(!) consecutive performances of the Beatles at his show on February 9th, 16th and 23rd. Of course, Sullivan's decision was swayed by direct evidence of the extent of Beatlemania when his flight to London on October 31st was delayed by a crowd of screaming teenagers welcoming the Beatles from a tour of Sweden.
The US promotion situation changes towards the end of November 1963, when Epstein presses Capitol Records President Alan Livingston over the phone to listen to the band's English single "I Want To Hold Your Hand", and reminds them that the Beatles will be performing on The Ed Sullivan Show, which may be a great opportunity for Capitol Records. Livingston later agrees to spend $40,000 promoting the Beatles, the equivalent of $250,000 today.
After deciding to launch the Beatles campaign, Capitol Records released the single "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in late 1963, which went to number one on the Cash Box chart on January 18, 1964 and number three on the Billboard weekly chart. On January 20, Capitol released the album "Meet the Beatles!", partly similar in content to the English "With The Beatles". Both the single and the album went gold on February 3 in the US. By the beginning of April, only The Beatles songs appeared in the top five songs of the US national hit parade, and in general there were 14 of them in the hit parade.
The fact that the United States was conquered by the group became obvious on February 7, 1964, when the musicians landed at New York's Kennedy Airport - more than four thousand fans came to meet them.
As a result, it took Beatlemania about a year after it began in the UK to make it across the ocean. The main reasons for the Beatles' success were their explosive message and phenomenal success in their home country. It was these factors that made it possible to break through the wall of distrust towards English music among representatives of the American show business. The first mentions of the group were in newspaper and television stories, just dedicated to the "squealing" England with might and main. The feature films "A Hard Day's Night" and "Help" also played a role, which also contributed to the growth of the group's popularity in the United States. The beginning of a humble advertising company Capitol Records (modest, because for each show during the group's second visit to the US they received 20 - 30 thousand dollars) was only a necessary technical step, which until the beginning of 1964 was an almost artificial barrier to the realization of the band's amazing potential in America.
Analysis of the possibility of repetition
Why didn’t it work for those who came before them
Analyzing the success of the four, one may wonder why such success did not exist before the Beatles. The main reason, in my opinion, is just the lack of an artfully conveyed explosive message. That is, no one before the Beatles so fanatically sought to convey such strong emotions to the world. The only exception was the lone talent Elvis Presley, who worked on the other side of the ocean. Elvis's music was the first to show strong emotions, conducive to a vivid display of emotions, and therefore it is not surprising that he was an idol for the early Beatles.
As a second reason, it can be noted that before the Beatles, no one at the collective level tried so purposefully to convey such "uncompromising" emotions to the world. Before them, there was no ensemble in which almost all participants were equally involved, who strived for perfection in appearance, performance, recording quality, interviews, mixing songs, that is, integrity in music and life. In those days, the musician, when he put the instrument into the case, became an “ordinary” person, while the Beatles remained one with the music always.
They made a choice in favor of the full realization of their creative potential to the detriment of, for example, their personal lives. Oddly enough, they succeeded quite well for 10 years and did not cause a particular crisis, which, for example, Elvis Presley experienced. George Harrison explained this by saying that Elvis was alone, while the Beatles were always together and could share their experiences with each other.
Why didn’t it work for those who came after them
I believe that a song can be "eternal" only in minor variations of the performance of the same theme. This is explained by the fact that all authors have the same basic, "immortal" themes. Therefore, after one author BEFORE another has said his word, the rest will have to talk about it in a different way, so as not to “repeat” and not become a plagiarist. And if this first author also said his word masterfully, then the next ones will have to try hard to look no worse.
The Beatles were the first to professionally reveal such topics as love, loneliness, romance, the philosophy of human life. This gave them the opportunity to act as freely as possible, and allowed them to remove the “cream of the genre”. After the Beatles idealized, simply and skillfully traversed the entire genre of love lyrics, other performers are faced with the so-called "follower complex" effect. A song that is destined to become a classic should have simplicity, a strict classical structure, be performed on basic instruments, and be distinguished by the skill of recording.
Post-Beatles performers essentially have the same themes for songs, but they no longer "can" express their feelings "straight and simple" (instrumental moves, arrangements, etc.). This restriction is imposed regardless of whether they have come to this on their own, not knowing about the pioneers, or not.
Therefore, subsequent authors have to deviate from the ideal, simple course and go sideways in order to remain at least "innovators." However, the further away from the topic and the simplicity of its presentation, the less universality of the work and, as a result, the potential for its success. Therefore, after the Beatles, a return to a simple expression of delight in musical language was difficult in terms of creating repetition / plagiarism. A typical example of such a follower group was the Rolling Stones. In particular, they started with the Beatles song "I Wanna Be Your Man", and then continued to compose in a similar style, but that had not yet been revealed by their predecessors. In favor of the version that the classical themes were already sufficiently developed is the fact that in 1964 a whole “bouquet” of groups arose that predetermined the emergence of a large variety of new trends in English rock music. Among them, first of all, we should mention "The Knicks", "Small Fanzie" and "The Who".
Thus, we can conclude that the Beatles occupied the best part of the love lyrics genre, and given that it makes sense not to sing about everything, then the subsequent authors had to either invent a new one, change the old one, or invent a Time Machine.
Generalization
So, let's sum up the reasons for the rise of the Beatles. External conditions and factors played an important role in the formation of this phenomenon. In a favorable environment, all the conditions arose for the formation of a skillful temptation for world hearing. That is, the genre niche was completely free, professionalism in which could lead to a social explosion, resonance.
The first to take this place was a talented and uncompromising duet of young co-authors, which caused an unprecedented enthusiasm of the public, which grew into a real mania.
Of course, before the Beatles there was already a similar success, but Elvis Presley in the USA had a slightly different character. However, Elvis was a solitary talent, and the Beatles became the first group of like-minded people in England who concentrated entirely on conveying the strongest emotions and emotional attraction to the world.
The Beatles phenomenon was defined by the unique intersection of a large number of rare events. To begin with, it is worth noting that in addition to talent, Lennon and McCartney were originally smart people. Music, as a way to quickly conquer the world, was determined for them by itself, firstly, due to the lack of alternatives, and secondly, the Beatles already had a common role model - the American pioneer of mass hysteria Elvis Presley.
Further, the likelihood of the formation of the Beatles is significantly reduced by the fact that two complementary young people, with the same interests and a thirst for universal love, met and became friends at such an early age (John was 16 and Paul 15). This helped them together to go through the path of becoming in the musical mainstream, as it gave the duo, and then the rest of the group, a strong motivation for development.
As a result, a collective author appeared with many times greater creative potential, compared to each of them individually. That is, the effect of multiplying the creative function from the union of two talented authors from an early age was observed. Also, this association gave both a strong motivation to develop in the mainstream of writing music due to rivalry, as well as the need to improve the technique in order to be able to perform composed songs.
Further, the two authors needed minimal musical accompaniment to perform their songs. Moreover, it was required not only good technique, but a full-fledged accompaniment of the musical idea of a duet with an instrumental part (rapid improvisation, creation of riffs, solo). Of course, this refers to guitarist George Harrison, who met all these requirements. Indeed, firstly, he focused on the guitar, leaving songwriting behind the duet, and secondly, he was a friend of McCartney, which allowed him to quickly fit into the band.
The acquisition of Harrison added to the birth of the Beatles even more exclusivity and meant the formation of the core of the group.
Of course, the guitarist was not immediately found, which adds a little bit of realism to the story of the Beatles. But the trio could already calmly not only sing invented songs, but also listen to them with the main accompanying instrument, that is, vocals plus an independent guitar. Thus, the core of the Beatles was formed, which made it possible, from 1958, to gradually realize the existing potential of Lennon-McCartney.
This is followed by a less significant event - the acquisition of the rest, more technical, musical accompaniment. Until August 1962, the rhythm section was McCartney's bass and Pete Best's drums. However, Pete Best was the last one on the team who was out of place. As a result, when Brian Epstein announced his departure, the Beatles acquired the last musician to form a worthy rhythm section - drummer Ringo Starr. The latter came to the Beatles from the second most popular Liverpool band, Rory Storme And The Hurricanes.
The rhythm section did not require special creative talents, needed a sufficient level of play at that time. Therefore, an important condition was the compatibility of the new member with the main team. And this also showed the exclusivity of the birth of the Beatles - Ringo fit into the group like a glove.
With the addition of a drummer, the Beatles were unstoppable. The only question was the speed and scale of their success. The attraction to the essence of the Brian Epstein band certainly hastened and increased the band's success, providing a financial and promotional function. Also, their manager added the “fifth Beatle” to the group in the form of permanent sound engineer George Martin.
Martin provided amazing for those times recording and mixing of the band's compositions in the studio (especially noticeable from the second album). At that time, the infrastructure for the distribution of musical material was already relatively developed, which in the case of the Beatles ensured the mass character and speed of distribution of new signals to listeners in the form of released records, radio and television broadcasts, as well as promotional events. Of course, live performances were an integral part of the Beatles' activities, where the delight of the listeners was actually manifested directly.
Further, when a well-trained group had a way to transmit their works to the whole society as a whole, all obstacles to the realization of the original talent of the duet disappeared, and the matter took a technical, inertial course of development.
John Lennon said after the breakup of the group that it was the belief that the Beatles were the best group in the world that made them who they were, whether it was the best rock and roll group, pop group or whatever. The realization of his unprecedentedness came to him when he began to compose with Paul McCartney. Thus, the Beatles phenomenon is the success that naturally came to a group that had sufficient creative potential, and which went through all the necessary stages to achieve its goal of becoming the best band in the world. The nature of this success was determined by the group's message to the public, as well as by the receptivity of the public itself, which was extremely unsophisticated.
Conclusion
So, the Beatles phenomenon was the success of the musical group, which grew into a real sensation and went far beyond just popular music. The success of the group knew no bounds and was noted at various levels: from the orders of the Queen to a huge number of music awards and prizes.
If we consider the starting point of the development of the Beatles, which ensured the future explosion, then it was the beginning joint creativity Lennon and McCartney in 1957. Together they realized that they could do great things together through music. As a result, they created a creative idea, the essence of which, as a result, was attracted first by a capable guitarist, and then by a drummer of a decent level.
After the group is noticed by their future manager, the group has financial opportunities to start and develop. Finally, the last necessary like-minded person joins the group - sound director George Martin, who provided the recording process in the studio. He became the last link in the chain of transmission of the musical messages of the Beatles to the listener, and thus all the possibilities for achieving the goal were at the disposal of the group, and the Beatles successfully used them.
The Beatles' goal was to become the best musicians of all time. This desire to convey to the world their strong emotions through music formed the need to create a musical group of a decent level. In order to adequately convey their unique potential, an appropriate level of its demonstration was required, that is, the maximum possible, the best form of its presentation.
In accordance with the purpose of creating the group, the requirements that were imposed on all aspects of the group's activities become clear: from texts and repertoire to dress code and style of conversation. The group was required not only to be able to perform works, but to do it to the limit of the possible. Similar requirements were for the sound quality of the songs, and their emotional content.
The band's musical message was shaped by the personalities of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting duo, while the form of that message was a direct result of the desire to be the best. In particular, this means that tomorrow and 50 years from now, you need to remain the best. For the appearance, this means being above the current fashion, that is, more universal than the current phase of its development. Therefore, if you look at this group today, in general, they do not belong to any pronounced era, and their appearance is quite universal. In terms of music, the Beatles chose themes that are classic and still resonate to this day.
The Beatles are a phenomenon that turned out to be able to go beyond the musical framework into neighboring areas of art, such as cinema, social movements, the creation of an entire subculture. After the Beatles, the English-speaking world, in particular the cultural and entertainment areas, have irreversibly changed, having received a strong, all-overcoming impetus for development. The Beatles left behind a legacy that continues to give positive emotions to the listeners, as well as inspire entire generations to creative achievements. The work of the Beatles does not lose its relevance to this day in the face of constantly emerging new fans who discover this group.
