The Beatles History

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The Beatles were a British rock band, one of the most notorious in history. Its members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Their music style started off with 1950s rock and roll rhythms but later included a variety of music genres, such as hard rock, psychedelia, pop ballads and even, Indian music.
________________________________________________________1. The Beatles were first created in Liverpool in 1960.
2. Their first name was “The Silver Beatles”, under which they did a seven-date tour of Scotland, backing singer Johnny Gentle.
3. The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960, with Stuart Sutcliffe initially serving as bass player.
4. Their first hit song was “Love Me Do” in late 1962.
5. The band’s sudden “over the top” popularity was named “Beetlemania”.

6. They still rank best-selling music artists in the United States, with 178 million certified units. They have had more number-one albums on the British charts and sold more singles in the UK than any other act.

7. As their music became more sophisticated, thanks to the primary songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney, they grew to become symbols of counterculture in the 1960s.
8. Lennon and McCartney had established a songwriting partnership, and as the band’s success grew, their dominant collaboration limited Harrison’s opportunities as a lead vocalist.

9. Lennon and McCartney met on 6 July, 1957 at a Saturday evening fete in St Peter’s Church, Woolton, Liverpool, where 16-year-old Lennon¹s group, The Quarrymen, were playing.
10. For the week ending April 4th 1964, The Beatles held the top 5 slots of the Billboard Hot 100. They also had another seven positions lower down the chart. One week later they still had three discs in the top five and a further 11 slots within the Hot 100.
11. The Beatles produced incredibly innovative recordings, including the widely influential albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (commonly known as the White Album, 1968) and Abbey Road (1969).
11. The Beatles have been named, collectively, as among the 20th Century’s most influential people.
12. Countries in which the Beatles have had the most No.1s include Australia, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Canada and Norway.
13. By 1963, they had agreed that all four band members would contribute vocals to their albums – including Starr, despite his restricted vocal range, to validate his standing in the group.
14. The Beatles started taking drugs in their Hamburg days ­ – back then their drug of choice was speed pills, which they took to give them energy to play several shows a day.
15. In early 1965, while they were his guests for dinner, Lennon and Harrison’s dentist secretly added LSD to their coffee. Lennon described the experience: “It was just terrifying, but it was fantastic. I was pretty stunned for a month or two.”

16. The Beatles received fifteen Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
17. The Beatles first album, Please, Please Me album topped the UK charts for thirty weeks before being replaced by With The Beatles, which stayed there for 21 weeks.
18. Lennon and Harrison subsequently became regular users of the drug, joined by Starr on at least one occasion. McCartney was initially reluctant to try it, but eventually did so in late 1966.
19. The Beatles have appeared in five movies: A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour, Yellow Submarine and Let it Be.
20. After their US tour, the Beatles faced a fierce backlash from US religious and social conservatives (as well as the Ku Klux Klan) over a comment Lennon had made in a March interview with British reporter Maureen Cleave. Lennon had stated that “Christianity will go.It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was alright but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.”
21. Starr, Harrisson and Lennon left school with no qualifications (although John wangled his way into art school), while a relatively swotty Paul scooped five O levels and one A level.
22. All The Beatles were scared of flying, especially George Harrison.
23. John Lennon loved cats. He had 10 while living in Weybridge with first wife Cynthia. His mum once had a cat called Elvis, because she was a big Presley fan.
24. The group broke up in 1970. Each of the members enjoyed a successful musical career at various lengths.
25. John Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman in December 1980 while returning to his New York home with his wife, Yoko Ono.
26. Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001.
27. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the surviving members, remain musically active.
28. The last song of their last concert on 29 August 1966 at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park was ‘Long Tall Sally’.
29. The last time that all four Beatles recorded together was 20th of August 1969 where they finished ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy’).
30. Τhe Beatles have been and still remain…THE BEST!