The Beatles are the best-known and most-loved band in modern musical history. This chronological companion to their career and back-catalogue is packed with beautiful images of the band, snippets of memorabilia, and quotes from the mouths of the Fab Four themselves. Their music is timeless, their imagery iconic and their story compelling – and all three combine here to make this the essential Beatles book. Featuring: The History - Find out how the Beatles took the world by storm with album after album, and discover the turbulent relationships behind the scenes. The Songs & Albums - Track-by-track analysis of each of their albums, plus a discography, chronology and images of their studio notes. The Artwork - The iconic imagery of the band and the era, from mop-top hair and matching suits to Abbey Road studios and their cover art. The Fab Four - Spotlight on each of the members, with a history of their early lives and family.
THE STORY OF THE BEATLES
INTRODUCTION • Saturday, July 6, 1957 is not a date that would evoke strong memories for many people. In Liverpool it was probably much the same as any other midsummer day. The school term was broken up until the end of August, so the city and suburbs would have been littered with bored teenagers looking for adventure or mischief. They might have been hanging about in coffee bars feeding the jukebox. They certainly wouldn’t have been listening to the radio, as all they would have heard was the dull drone of light orchestral music and middle-aged crooners. It would have been just like any other day.
1957–1960 ENTER THE BEATLES • Faced with another dull city summer, a young Liverpool lad named John Lennon had found a way around the boredom. His skiffle group, The Quarrymen, were named after the school he loathed. They would play wherever they could find an audience, although they were rarely received with enthusiasm.
1961 ENTER BRIAN, STAGE LEFT • Unceremoniously ejected from Hamburg, the Beatles were surprised to find a burgeoning beat scene awaiting them back home. Furthermore, their reputation had spread back to Liverpool via the other Mersey bands who had done similar stints in Hamburg. The Beatles had left Liverpool as a bunch of enthusiastic also-rans, but returned as one of the city’s hottest acts.
1962 UPS AND DOWNS • The first label Epstein tried was Decca – one of the most powerful of Britain’s record companies. The audition took place at 165 Broadhurst Gardens, in West Hampstead, London on January 1, 1962. Recording processes at the time were crude by today’s standards. The Beatles simply plugged in their instruments and Decca’s A&R (“artist and repertoire”) man Mike Smith asked them to play. In the space of a few hours, the Beatles had laid down 15 tracks. Listening to them today, the band’s humour and versatility still manages to shine through.
JOHN LENNON The Early Years • The city of Liverpool was the principal port in the north-west of England, and one of Europe’s traditional seafaring gateways to America. That meant it wasn’t the safest place to be living in the early days of the Second World War. October 9, 1940 saw a particularly fierce spate of night raids, but this was the last thing on the mind of the young Julia Lennon as she lay in Liverpool’s Oxford Street Maternity Home. With bombs falling around the hospital, Julia gave birth to a boy. She decided to name him John. His second name, in honour of Britain’s wartime prime minister, was Winston.
1963 THE YEAR WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED • The Beatles flew back into Britain at the start of 1963. January 11 was the big day – ‘Please Please Me’ was to hit the UK’s record shops. Brian Epstein and Northern Songs publisher Dick James put a combined effort into publicising the new release. James was able to get the Beatles a slot on a popular Saturday night music show, Thank Your Lucky Stars....
