The Beatles group made a great contribution to the development of rock music and became a vivid phenomenon of world culture of the sixties of the twentieth century. In this article, we learn not only the history of the Beatles. The biography of each participant after the collapse of the legendary team will also be considered.
The Beginning (1956-1960)
When did the Beatles come about? The biography and work of the team has been interested in several generations of fans. The history of the group can begin with the formation of 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 the life of a young man upside down. Lennon played the banjo and harmonica, but new music made him take up the guitar.
The Beatles biography in Russian usually begins with the first group organized by Lennon. With school friends, he created the Quarrimen team, named after their school. Teenagers played skiffle, a kind of amateur British rock and roll.
At one of the band’s performances, Lennon met Paul McCartney, who surprised the guy with the knowledge of the chords of the latest songs and high musical development. And in the spring of 1958, George Harrison, a friend of Paul, joined them. The Trinity has become the backbone of the group. They were invited to play at parties and weddings, but it didn’t come to these concerts.
Inspired by rock and roll pioneers, Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly, Paul and John decided to write songs and play guitars themselves. They wrote texts together and gave them double authorship.
In 1959, a new member appeared in the group - Stuart Sutcliff, a friend of Lennon. The composition of the group was almost formed: Sutcliffe (bass guitar), Harrison (lead guitar), McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano), Lennon (vocals, rhythm guitar). All that was missing was a drummer.
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It’s difficult to tell about the Beatles group briefly, even the history of the emergence of such a simple and short group name captivates. When the team began to integrate into the concert life of their native city, they needed a new name, because they already had no relationship with the school. In addition, the group began performing at various talent contests.
For example, at a television competition in 1959, the team performed under the name Johnny and the Moondogs ("Johnny and Moon Dogs"). And the name The Beatles appeared a few months later, in early 1960. It is not known who exactly invented it, 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 you write, the root of beat is visible - like beat music, the 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 on the posters the guys were named 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 in their hometown. The biography of the Beatles group, the summary of which you began to read, continues with the collective moving to Hamburg.
The young musicians played into the hands of the fact that numerous Hamburg clubs needed English-speaking groups, and several teams from Liverpool performed well. In the summer of 1960, the Beatles were invited to come to Hamburg. This was already serious work, so the quartet had to urgently look for a drummer. So in the group appeared Pete Best.
The first concert took place the day after arrival. For several months, the musicians honed their skills in Hamburg clubs. They had to play long music of different styles and trends - rock and roll, blues, rhythm and blues, sing pop and folk songs. It can be said that it was largely thanks to the experience gained in Hamburg that 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 amateur to professional. The Beatles did not perform their own songs, concentrating on the compositions of famous artists.
In Hamburg, musicians met with students from a local art college. One of the students, Astrid Kircher, began dating Sutcliffe and actively participating in the life of the group. This girl offered the guys new hairstyles - combed hair on the forehead and ears, and later characteristic jackets without lapels and collars.
The Beatles who returned to Liverpool were no longer amateurs; they became on a par with the most popular groups. It was then that they met Ringo Starr, the drummer of a rival team.
After returning to Hamburg, the band's first professional recording took place. The musicians accompanied the rock and roll singer Tony Sheridan. The quartet recorded several of its own songs. This time their name was The Beat Brothers, not the Beatles.
A short biography of Sutcliffe continued with the exit from the team. At the end of the tour, he refused to return to Liverpool, deciding 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 performing in Liverpool clubs. On July 27, 1961, the first significant concert was held in the hall, which was a major success. In November, the group got a manager - Brian Epstein.
He met with George Martin, producer of a major label who showed interest in the group. He was not entirely satisfied with the demos, but young people charmed him live. The first contract was signed.
However, both the producer and the group manager were unhappy with Pete Best. They believed that he did not reach the general level, in addition, the musician refused to make a branded hairstyle, maintain the general style of the team and often clashed with other participants. Despite the fact that Best was popular among fans, it was decided to replace him. Ringo Starr took the place of the drummer.
Ironically, it was with this drummer that the group recorded an amateur record at their own expense in Hamburg. While walking around the city, the guys met Ringo (Pete Best was not with them) and went to one of the street studios to record a few songs just for fun.
In September 1962, the group 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 appearance took place - the broadcast of one of the concerts in Manchester. Soon, the second single Please Please was recorded, and in February 1963 in 13 hours the self-titled album was recorded, 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.
So began the period of frenzied popularity that the Beatles survived. The biography, a brief history of the beginning team, is over. The story 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 was held, which was broadcast throughout the country. But thousands of fans chose to gather around the concert hall in the hope of seeing musicians. The Beatles had to get to the car with the help of the police.
The height of the Beatlemania (1963-1964)
The quartet was wildly popular in Britain, but the band's singles weren’t released in America, as usually the English bands were not very successful. The manager managed to conclude a contract with a small company, but the records were not seen.
How did the Beatles get on the big American stage? The biography (short) of the band says that everything changed when the music critic of the famous newspaper listened to the single I Want To Hold Your Hand, already very popular in England, and called the musicians "the greatest composers after Beethoven." The following month, the group was on the top of the charts.
Beatlemania stepped across the ocean. The band’s first visit to America was met by several thousand fans at the airport. The Beatles gave 3 big concerts and performed on a television show. All America watched them.
In March 1964, the quartet began creating a new album, A Hard Day's Night, and the eponymous music film. 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 preliminary applications.
On August 19, 1964, a full-fledged tour of North America began. The group gave 31 concerts in 24 cities. It was originally planned to visit 23 cities, but the owner of a basketball club from Kazas City offered the musicians $ 150 thousand for a half-hour concert (usually the ensemble received 25-30 thousand).
The tour was hard for the musicians. They were as if in prison, completely isolated from the outside world. Crowds of fans besieged the places where the Beatles stopped hoping to see idols.
The concert venues were huge, equipment of poor quality. The musicians did not hear each other and even themselves, often went astray, but the audience did not hear this and practically did not see anything, since the stage was set very far for security purposes. I had to perform according to a clear program, there was no question of any improvisation and experiments on the stage.
Yesterday and the Lost Records (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 Help! Film was released, and in August, an album of the same name. It was this album that included the most famous song of the band Yesterday, which has become 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 music at the beginning of the year, words appeared later. He called the composition Scrambled Egg, because when he composed it he hummed Scrambled egg, how I love a scrambled egg ... ("Fried eggs, how I love fried eggs"). The song was recorded to the accompaniment of a string quartet, of the members of the group, only Paul participated.
In the second American tour, which started in August, an event occurred 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 played together several songs that were recorded on a tape recorder.
Records were never published, and music agents from around the world were unable to locate them. The cost of these records today cannot be estimated.
New directions (1965-1966)
In 1965, many bands took to the big stage, which made a worthy competition for the Beatles. The band set about creating the new Rubber Soul album. This disc 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, members of the group refused an official reception, which caused a conflict with the first lady. Outraged by this fact, the Filipinos nearly tore the musicians apart, they literally had to blow their feet. The tour administrator was severely beaten, the quartet was pushed and nearly shoved to the plane.
The second big scandal erupted when John Lennon in an interview said that Christianity was dying, and the Beatles are more popular today than Jesus. Protest rallies swept across the United States, and the band’s records were burned. The team leader, under pressure, apologized for his words.
Despite the troubles, in 1966 released the album Revolver, one of the group’s best albums. Its distinctive feature is that the musical compositions were complex and did not involve live performance. Now the Beatles have become a studio group. Exhausted by the tour, the musicians abandoned the concert activity. Last year, the last concerts took place. Music critics called the album ingenious and were confident that the quartet would no longer be able to create something as perfect.
However, at the beginning of 1967, the single Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane was recorded. Recording of this disc lasted 129 days (compare with the 13-hour recording of the first album), the studio worked literally around the clock. The single was extremely complex in terms of music and was a resounding success, at the top of the charts for 88 weeks.
White Album (1967-1968)
In 1967, the Beatles' performance was broadcast worldwide. 400 million people could see him. A television version of the song All You Need Is Love was recorded. After this triumph, the team went into decline. The role in this was played by the death of the “fifth Beatle,” group 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 reviews regarding the new Magical Mystery Tour movie. Many claims were caused by the fact that the tape was released only in color, while most people had only black and white televisions. The soundtrack is released as a mini album.
In 1968, Apple was responsible for the release of the albums, as the Beatles announced, with a continuing biography. In January 1969, the cartoon "Yellow Submarine" and the soundtrack for it were released. In August - the single Hey Jude, one of the best in the history of the group. And in 1968, the famous Beatles album, better known as the white album, was released. He got such a name, since his cover was snow-white, with a simple imprint of the name. Fans received him perfectly, but critics no longer shared the enthusiasm.
This plate marked the beginning of the breakup of the group. Ringo Starr left the band for a while, several songs were recorded without him. The drum part was performed by McCartney. Harrison was doing solo work. The situation was heating up because of John Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono, who was present in the studio constantly and orderly annoyed the members of the group.
Decay (1969-1970)
At the beginning of 1969, the musicians had many plans. They were about to release an album, a film about their studio work, and a book. Paul McCartney composed the song Get Back, which gave the name to the entire project. The Beatles group, whose biography began so effortlessly, was approaching disintegration.
The band members wanted to show the atmosphere of fun and ease that reigned at performances in Hamburg, but this did not work out. Many songs were recorded, but only five were selected, a lot of video material was shot. The last recording was to be a shooting of an impromptu concert on the roof of a recording studio. He was interrupted by police called by locals. This concert was the last performance of the group.
February 3, 1969 the team has a new manager, Allen Klein. McCartney was strongly opposed, because he believed that the best candidate for this role would be his future father-in-law, John Eastman. Paul began a lawsuit 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 album Abbey Road, which included the brilliant composition of George Harrison Something. The musician worked for a long time on it, wrote 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, reworked by the American producer Phil Spector, the material of the failed Get Back project. On May 20, a documentary film about the team was released, which had already broken up by the time of the premiere. So ended the Beatles biography. In Russian, the name of the film sounds like “So be it.”
After the collapse. John Lennon
The Beatles era is over. The biography of the participants continues with solo projects. At the time of the collapse of the group, all participants 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 nude. In 1969, two more records of the same plan and a concert recording followed. 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, which was well received by critics. A few weeks after the release of the album, December 8, 1980, John Lennon was killed by Mark David Chapman with several shots in the back. In 1984, the posthumous album of musician Milk and Honey was released.
After the collapse. Paul McCartney
After McCartney left the Beatles, the biography of the musician took a new turn. The break with the group was hard on McCartney. At first he retired to a remote farm, where he was experiencing depression, but in March 1970 he returned with material for a solo album McCartney, and soon released the second one - Ram.
However, without a 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 released 19 albums, the last of which was released in 2013.
After the collapse. George Harrison
Before the breakup of The Beatles, George Harrison 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 compositions written during the Beatle period and rejected by other members of the group. This is the musician’s most successful solo album.
Throughout his solo career, after Harrison left the Beatles, the biography of the musician was enriched by 12 albums and more than 20 singles. He actively participated in charity and made a significant contribution to the popularization of Indian music and he adopted Hinduism. Harrison died in 2001, November 29th.
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 considered a failure. However, later on he released more successful albums, largely thanks to his collaboration with George Harrison. In total, the musician released 18 studio albums, as well as several concert recordings and collections. The latest album was released in 2015.