The Beatles

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Active:
April 1960 - April 10, 1970, for 10 years.
Names:
Alternative names: The Fab Four & The Quarrymen.
Snapshot:
A group with 270 releases, and credited 3 times on others' music. 6 members.

Biography

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The Beatles were the biggest musical phenomenon of the 20th century, being largely responsible for inventing pop music as we know it. No other musical act has been as critically praised or as commercially successful, and only Elvis Presley's emergence in the mid-50s can compete with the Beatles' in terms of width or depth of cultural influence. Comprising song-writing team John Lennon and Paul McCartney (also vocals and rhythm/bass guitar), George Harrison (lead guitar) and Ringo Starr (drums), the Beatles emerged from Liverpool in England in the early 60s. Soon they were international pop superstars, prompting screams from hysterical teenagers wherever they went across the world (this reaction was dubbed 'Beatlemania'). As well as becoming international pop celebrities, the Beatles did more than anyone else to push the boundaries of pop music, both in terms of recording techniques, and compositional aspects such as structure and melody. In these early days of pop music, the Beatles showed it could be an art form of no less essential worth than jazz or classical music.

The Beatles are widely believed to have sold more records than any other musician or musical group in history. In 1985, before their albums were re-issued on CD, their record label EMI announced that they had sold over one billion (1,000,000,000) units of Beatles music. The Beatles recorded dozens of internationally famous songs - among 17 singles that topped the UK Charts are classics like: "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Ticket to Ride", "Paperback Writer", "All You Need is Love", "Hey Jude" and "Get Back". In the US they achieved 20 No.1 singles. Other well-known songs include: "Eleanor Rigby", "Tomorrow Never Knows", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "A Day in the Life", "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "I am the Walrus". "Yesterday", which reached No.1 in the USA, is possibly the most covered song of all time (with over 3000 recorded cover versions), and was the most performed song of the century (it was estimated to have been performed over seven million times).

The Beatles were also one of the first bands to take albums seriously (as opposed to just singles). They released 12 proper albums in their 10 year career, almost all of which are hugely critically acclaimed. Generally, five of their later albums are considered their best, with most fans able to choose a favourite from: Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (aka The White Album) (1968) or Abbey Road (1969). Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's often top 'best of all-time' lists, while the other three are regularly placed in the Top 50 of similar surveys. Other notable albums include: their debut, Please Please Me (1963); With The Beatles (1963); A Hard Day's Night (1964); and Magical Mystery Tour (1967).

As well as their influence on music, the Beatles have also had a massive influence on fashion and culture. The 60s saw a world of increasing independence and hedonism, and a burgeoning western economy boosting the spending power of the young. The Beatles provided an aspirational focus for the rise of the 'independent teenager', their every clothing choice or verbal statement directly influencing the views and attitudes of fans. Their mop-top haircuts were widely copied at the height of their popularity, and whatever they wore suddenly became a popular look worldwide.

But perhaps the Beatles' biggest contribution to western culture was that, in appealing so very much to so many people, they boosted the popularity of 'pop' music to the extent that it became the pre-eminent art form to the vast majority of ordinary people (as it still is today). Recorded music was becoming a source of enjoyment and a unifying force for millions anyway, but the music of the Beatles unified hundreds of millions of people unlike anything else in history.

Pictures

Music

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Genres

Pop, Rock and Roll, Britpop, Rock, Teen Pop, Psychedelic, Folk, Progressive Rock, Rockabilly. Vote on Genres

Discography

(273 releases – 270 under their own name and 3 credits on others' music) Edit

Members

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1338 CONTRIBUTOR George Harrison

George Harrison

founder member
  • vocals, guitar, sitar:
    • 1960-1970
374 CONTRIBUTOR John Lennon

John Lennon

founder member
  • vocals, guitar:
    • 1960-1970
1032 CONTRIBUTOR Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

founder member
  • vocals, bass guitar:
    • 1960-1970
18486 CONTRIBUTOR Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr

  • drums:
    • 1962-1970
199255 CONTRIBUTOR Pete Best

Pete Best

founder member
  • drums:
    • 1960-1962
199256 CONTRIBUTOR Stuart Sutcliffe

Stuart Sutcliffe

founder member
  • bass guitar:
    • 1960-1961

In the News

(6 stories between 31st October 2008 and 16th September 2009)

16th September 2009

by Ed @ SoundUnwound
16 September 2009

Last week was supposed to be Beatles Week, with a much-hyped new video game and an entire back catalog of remastered albums fresh in the shops; but the expected landslide didn’t quite happen. In the video game stakes, the Fab Four were pipped at the post as The Beatles: Rock Band was beaten in sales terms by the fifth in the series of arch rival Guitar Hero. A similar fate befell them in the British music charts, where each album may have been expected to land in the Top 20, but only four did: the Beatles remasters occupied 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 21st, 24th, 29th, 31st, 33rd, 37th and 38th spots. Any suggestions that the public appetite might prefer more modern flavors were unfounded, because the No.1 spot was taken by Dame Vera Lynn’s compilation We’ll Meet Again. Dame Vera, aged 92, was dubbed the British “forces’ sweetheart” during World War II. Her most recent success makes her the oldest living artist ever to top the UK charts. The nearest the Beatles came to the top spot was with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which just edged in to the Top 5. The impressively expensive Beatles box sets made it to No.24 (the stereo edition) and No.57 (the mono edition). The Beatles’ chart positions are likely to improve next week, as the current placings were based on a 3-day sales week.

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5th September 2009

by Ed @ SoundUnwound
5 September 2009

The wait is almost over: the long-awaited digital remasters of the entire Beatles catalog, and the awesome-looking The Beatles: Rock Band game, are set to be released on Wednesday, 09/09/09. The original Beatles CDs have often been criticized for their sound quality, but early reviews of the reissues have given breathless praise to the renewed fidelity and warmth. There's also been much debate about the two box-sets on offer: a thirteen disc mono box-set which is more faithful to the original recordings but misses three albums completely; and a seventeen disc stereo box-set which is more comprehensive but also involves brand new stereo mixes of the first four albums, which were never originally released in stereo. Some Beatles fans have said they're planning to buy both sets, and pre-orders have already exceeded all expectations; initial plans for the mono set to be limited to 10,000 for the US market have been shelved. Meanwhile, trailers promoting the Rock Band game have been circulating for weeks, meaning Wednesday is set to be a busy day for video game retailers too. Whatever the platform, Wednesday can't come fast enough for millions of Fab Four fans.

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8th April 2009

by Ed @ SoundUnwound
8 April 2009

If you've ever been puzzled by the sound quality of Beatles CDs compared to CDs of other bands from the 60s, it's probably because The Beatles have never allowed their music to be digitally remastered -- until now. All 12 studio albums, plus the Past Masters Vol 1 and 2 compilations (on one disc) and the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack, have been painstakingly remastered over a four year period by engineers at Abbey Road Studios in London. They'll all be released in their new, enhanced form on September 9, the same day The Beatles' Rock Band game will be released. Each CD wil come with expanded booklets with original and new liner notes, and rare photos. All fourteen discs will also be available as a complete box-set with DVD documentaries, so you've got five months to save for that. Those hoping for news on a possible Fab Four appearance on digital retail sites will have to wait a little longer: EMI and Apple say on the matter "Discussions... will continue."

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13th March 2009

by Ed @ SoundUnwound
13 March 2009

The impact of video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band on modern music consumption has been the subject of much worthy head scratching, but there certainly seems to be a healthy symbiosis between the two. Now it seems that millions of young fans, whose first exposure to the great tunes of their forefathers was via a plastic guitar, will finally get the chance to experience The Beatles via a modern medium. Harmonix has been working with both surviving Beatles and Apple Corps – who have retained a steely grip on the rights to the Beatles catalog throughout the years -- to create Rock Band: The Beatles. As Harmonix said "We, of course, are colossal fans of the Beatles so there's not too much to think about why it's a great deal… this is the happiest day of our lives,” which is a sentiment many will be able to agree with when the game is finally released in September.

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28th February 2009

by Ed @ SoundUnwound
28 February 2009

As the most listened to, loved and talked about musical act in history, you might think there was little left to listen to, love or talk about when it comes to The Beatles. Despite splitting nearly 30 years ago, a previously unheard Beatles recording has made its way mysteriously onto the internet, in the form of "Revolution 1 (Take 20)." Described as the missing link between The White Album's classic woozy singalong "Revolution 1" and the highly experimental "Revolution 9," the 11 minute studio off-cut is said to demonstrate how the first, more conventional song evolved into the latter abstract sound collage. The Beatles aren't the only long-expired musical act to be inadvertently debuting new material this week: a 12 minute piece arranged by Beethoven over 200 years ago is set to be performed for the first time ever in Chicago on Sunday.

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31st October 2008

by Ed @ SoundUnwound
31 October 2008

The makers of the video game Rock Band have announced their intention to produce a similar game based on the music of The Beatles. Although it won't be called Rock Band and few other details have been given so far, Harmonix did say that it would be "an unprecedented, experiential progression through and celebration of the music and artistry of The Beatles". The project has the blessing of surviving Beatles Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, and George Harrison's widow Olivia. As The Beatles' music has yet to be made available on any legal download site, and has never been remastered for reissued CD release, some fans are predicting that the process of digitizing the music for release in video game form might also precede other digitizing. Until we find out, all we can do is guess which Beatles songs might make the game playlist: we're looking forward to thrashing away at "A Hard Day's Night," but "Revolution 9" could be quite a challenge.

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YouTube videos

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Trivia

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  • The Beatles are the top-selling musical group of all time.
  • The Beatles have more multiplatinum and diamond albums than any other group.
  • The Beatles have the most number one albums of any musical group, as well as the most number one singles.
  • The Beatles' "1" was the fastest-selling CD of all time, notching 13 million copies in its first four weeks of release.
  • During the week of April 4, 1964, the Beatles held positions 1-5 on the Billboard singles chart: "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me".
  • "Yesterday" is the most-covered song ever, with over 3,000 versions coming after the 1965 original.
  • "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was the fastest-selling single of all time, selling 250,000 copies in three days and 1 million in the first two weeks.
  • The Beatles' performance at Shea Stadium in 1965 was the first time a rock group had played a sports stadium instead of a theater or concert hall.
  • The Beatles were the first musical group to play the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, on June 30, 1966.
  • "Norwegian Wood" was the first rock song to feature a sitar.
  • Before settling on the Beatles, went through a number of names: Johnny and the Moondogs, Long John and the Beatles, Long John and the Silver Beetles, the Beat Brothers, the Nurk Twins, the Quarrymen and the Silver Beetles.
  • "Helter Skelter" is considered as the first hard rock song.

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