The Beatles

The Beatles in 1975; from left to right: George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Denny Laine and Linda Eastman.

## Background information

### Genres

Rock · pop · folk · beat · psychedelia · hard rock · progressive rock · new wave

### Years active

1960 - 1981 · 1985 - 1987 · 1997 - 2003 · 2012

### Past members

John Lennon
Paul McCartney
George Harrison
Ringo Starr
Linda Eastman
Denny Laine
(see Personnel sections for others)

### Website

thebeatles.com

**The Beatles** were an English-American rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and later Linda McCartney and Denny Laine. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s and 1970s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band also explored music styles ranging from pop, folk and Indian music to psychedelia, hard rock and prog-rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.

Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass (until his disappearance in 1962). The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after signing to EMI Records and achieving their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "The Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin or another member of the band's entourage sometimes informally referred to as a "seventh Beatle".

By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market, and soon made their film debut with *A Hard Day's Night* (1964). A growing desire to refine their studio efforts, coupled with the untenable nature of their concert tours, led to the band's retirement from live performances in 1966. At this time, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums *Rubber Soul* (1965), *Revolver* (1966) and *A Day In The Life* (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with *A Doll's House* (1968), *The Beatles* (also known as "the White Album", 1968), *Get Back* (1969) and *Abbey Road* (1970). After a car accident in 1969, Lennon left the band leaving McCartney, Harrison and Starr without a leader.

The remaining Beatles went on to produce two albums without Lennon, including the albums *Junk In The Yard* (1971), and *Raymond* (1972), hiring two new members, Denny Laine and Linda Eastman. Lennon rejoined The Beatles in 1974 during his 'lost weekend" creating a new, six-man, jam-rock oriented Beatles, which kickstarted a renaissance of albums and a new age of Beatlemania with albums such as *Everybody Out* (1974), *Symphony No. 16* (1975), *Earth & Mars* (1975), and *The Speed Of Sight* (1976) as the Beatles started touring again for the first time in almost a decade. This renaissance was stopped to a screeching halt after Lennon was subjected to a drug bust at his house in New York, in which police allegedly found marijuana (later revealed to have been planted by authorities) and sentenced to 3 years on house arrest. With Lennon unable to participate, the band went on hiatus until 1978, where Lennon was released early after a private investigation found the authorities guilty of planting the marijuana. The Beatles then reformed to create the progressive rock album duology, *High Instinct (Part One)* (1978) and *High Instinct (Part Two)* (1978)*,* with Laine departing after infighting with the rest of the band. The Beatles had further success with the albums *Here We Go (1979)* and *London Town* (1980), where Eastman then departed as well. The band, now back to the original lineup of the four, released their final studio album in Lennon's lifetime, *Flying Hour* (1981), and later the group would take an indefinite break in 1981. Four years later, the Beatles reunited at *Live Aid* in 1985, planning to release a comeback album with Linda and Denny returning shortly thereafter. However, Lennon would pass away days after sessions began, leaving the remaining five members to finish the album *"Worlds Apart"* (1987). Paul, George, and Ringo, during the *Anthology* project finished multiple Lennon tracks along with original compositions, and released "*Flaming Pie"* (1997)*.* Linda McCartney would be diagnosed with breast cancer in early 1998 and would pass away the following year. The band remained separated until their final studio album *"The Beatles II"* (2003).

The success of these records heralded the album era, as albums became the dominant form of record consumption over singles; they also increased public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After and before the group's break-up in 1981, all former members enjoyed success as solo artists. Lennon died in 1985 of a Brain Hemorrhage, Eastman died of breast cancer in 1998, and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2004, Laine died in 2023. McCartney, Starr and remain musically active.

The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 960 million units worldwide. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the US *Billboard* Hot 100 chart (33), and most singles sold in the UK (49.2 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1975 film *Raymond*) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped *Rolling Stone*'s lists of the greatest artists in history. *Time* magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people.

## Personnel

**Principle Members**

* John Lennon – vocals, guitars, keyboards, harmonica, bass (1960–1969, 1974-1985; died 1985)
* Paul McCartney – vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums (1960–2003)
* George Harrison – guitars, vocals, sitar, keyboards, bass (1960–2003; died 2003)
* Ringo Starr – drums, percussion, vocals (1962–2003)
* Linda McCartney - keyboards, guitars, vocals (1972–1980, 1985-1998; died 1998)
* Denny Laine - guitar, bass, piano, vocals (1972–1978, 1985-1987, 2003; died 2023)

**Early members**

* Stuart Sutcliffe – bass, vocals (1960–1961; 2)
* Norman Chapman – drums (1960; died 1995)
* Tommy Moore – drums (1960; died 1981)
* Pete Best – drums, vocals (1960–1962)
* Chas Newby – bass (1960–1961; died 2023)

**Touring/live members**

* Jimmie Nicol – drums (1964)
* Klaus Voorman - additional bass (1975-1976)
* Howie Casey - brass (1975-1976)
* Robbo - electronics (1980-1981. 1985)

**Line-ups**

## Discography

> Main article: *The Beatles discography*
>
>

The Beatles have a core catalogue of 27 studio albums, three live albums and one compilation.

* *Please Please Me* (1963)
* *With The Beatles* (1963)
* *A Hard Day's Night* (1964)
* *Eight Days A Week* (1964)
* *Help!* (1965)
* *Rubber Soul* (1965)
* *Revolver* (1966)
* *A Day in The Life* (1967)
* *The Magical Mystery Tour* (1967)
* *A Doll's House* (1968)
* *The Beatles* (1968) ("The White Album")
* *Get Back* (1969)
* *Abbey Road* (1970)
* *Junk In The Yard* (1971)
* *Raymond* (1972)
* *The Concert For Bangladesh* (1973)
* *Everybody Out* (1974)
* *Symphony No. 16* (1975)
* *Earth & Mars* (1975)
* *The Speed Of Sight* (1976)
* *Live At Edinburgh* (1977)
* *High Instinct (Part One)* (1978)
* *High Instinct (Part Two)* (1978)
* *Here We Go* (1979)
* *London Town* (1980)
* *Flying Hour* (1981)
* *The Beatles At Live Aid* (1985)
* *Worlds Apart* (1987)
* *Past Masters* (1989, compilation)
* *Flaming Pie* (1997)
* *The Beatles II* (2003) ("The Black Album")

### **Fictionalised**

* *A Hard Day's Night* (1964)
* *Help!* (1965)
* The Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
* *Yellow Submarine* (1968) (brief cameo)
* *Raymond* (1975)

### **Documentaries and filmed performances**

* *The Beatles at Shea Stadium* (1966)
* *The Beatles: Get To Work* (1970)
* *The Concert For Bangladesh* (1974)
* *Rockshow* (1980)
* *The Compleat Beatles* (1982)
* *It Was Twenty Years Ago Today* (1987)
* *The Beatles Anthology* (1995-1997)
* *The Concert For Linda* (1999)
* *The Concert For George* (2004)
* *The Beatles: 1+* (2015) (collection of digitally restored music videos)
* *The Beatles: Eight Days a Week* (2016) (about Beatlemania and touring years)
* *The Beatles: Get Back* (2019)
* *The Beatles and India* (2021)

## Concert tours and Live Performances

Main article: List of the Beatles' live performances

* 1963 UK tours (winter–autumn)
* Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour
* Spring 1963 Buddy Holly UK tour
* Roy Orbison/The Beatles Tour
* Autumn 1963 Sweden tour
* Winter 1964 North American tour
* Spring 1964 UK tour
* 1964 World Tour Supported by Pepsi
* 1964 North American tour
* 1965 European tour
* 1965 US tour
* 1965 UK tour
* 1966 tour of Germany, Japan and the Philippines
* 1966 US tour
* The Beatles' rooftop concert
* Raymond Tour
* The Concert For Bangladesh
* Beatles On The Run Tour
* The Scandal tour
* Beatles Over the World 1975-1976
* 1980-1981 UK tour
* Live Aid
* Concert For Linda
* Concert For George
* 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony