Beatles

From Liverpool to Hamburg

The British musical quartet was formed by John Lennon (1940-1980) and Paul McCartney (b. 1942) in 1957. At the end of 1957 George Harrison (1943-2001) joined the Liverpool band as lead guitarist. The band used several names during its early years: Quarrymen and Silver Beetles. Finally the name was changed to "The Beatles". Pete Best was added as drummer, but was replaced by Ringo Starr (b. 1940) in 1962. During a brief period the promising painter Stuart Sutcliffe joined the band. Between 1960 and 1962 the Beatles had several engagements in Hamburg, Germany.
In 1961 the record store manager Brian Epstein saw the band and "fell in love". Convinced of their commercial potential he became their manager. Epstein began to bombard the British companies with letters and tape recordings. A contract with Parlophone was drawn up and George Martin became the Beatles' producer. At his suggestion Pete Best was replaced by a "more polished drummer". As a result Ringo Starr joined the band in 1962.

Beatlemania

"Please Please Me" was the first big hit in Great Britain and was followed by many more.
The Beatles made many television appearances and the Beatlemania broke out. Every newspaper took an interest in the band's history and latest developments.

Hits

In 1964 the Beatles had their first number one hit record in the United States. Many UK bands imitated their style and provoked a "British Invasion" all around the world. The group toured a lot and made films and records in between.
Their music progressed as the group began to experiment during recording sessions and became more subtle and varied.

Pioneers of popmusic

In 1966 the group decided to stop touring and to concentrate on their recordings. The band got involved with drugs like LSD and spiritual exercises. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band" (1967) was admired for its haunting harmony and lyrics. Brian Epstein took an overdose while the Beatles were visiting Maharishi Mamesh Yogi.
In 1968 they launched their own record label, Apple. This label was only successful with Beatles' records. "The Beatles" and "Abbey Road" (1969) enjoyed widespread popularity.

Solo

The Beatles were formally disbanded in 1970 and all four members went on to produce solo albums.
In 1995 and 1996 "The Beatles Anthology", a collection of six compact discs was released. The Beatles proved to be still very popular: "Anthology" became one of the fastest selling albums in the history of popular music.

Selected Discography

1962-1966 (Red Album)
1967-1970 (Blue Album)
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles (The White Album)
Abbey Road
Let It Be