Group "The Beatles": biography and creativity (photo). History of The Beatles

The Beatles group made a great contribution to the development of rock music and became a bright phenomenon of world culture in the sixties of the twentieth century. In this article, we learn not only the history of the Beatles group. The biography of each participant after the dissolution of the legendary collective will also be considered.

Beginning (1956-1960)

When did the Beatles group come into being? Biography and creativity of the team are interested in several generations of fans. The history of the group can begin with the formation of musical tastes of participants.

In the spring of 1956, the leader of the future star team, John Lennon, first heard one of Elvis Presley's songs. And this song, Heartbreak Hotel, turned the whole life of a young man. Lennon played the banjo and the harmonica, but the new music made him take up the guitar.

Biography of the Beatles in Russian usually begins with the first group, organized by Lennon. With school friends, he created the team "Kuorrimen", named after their school. Teenagers played skiffle, a kind of amateur British rock'n'roll.

At one of the group's performances, Lennon also met Paul McCartney, who surprised the guy with the knowledge of the chords of the latest songs and high musical development. And in the spring of 1958 George Harrison, Paul's friend, joined them. The trinity became the backbone of the group. They were invited to play at parties and weddings, but it did not get to the real concerts.

Inspired by the example of the pioneers of rock and roll, Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly, Paul and John decided to write songs and play the guitars. They wrote the texts together and gave them double authorship.

In 1959, the band had a new member - Stuart Sutcliffe, a friend of Lennon. The band was almost formed: Sutcliffe (bass guitar), Harrison (lead guitar), McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano), Lennon (vocals, rhythm guitar). Only the drummer was missing.

Name

Briefly about the Beatles group is difficult to tell, even the history of the emergence of such a simple and short name of the group. When the band began to integrate into the concert life of their native city, they needed a new name, because they had no relation to the school. In addition, the band began to perform at various talent contests.

For example, at a television competition in 1959, the team acted under the name Johnny and the Moondogs ("Johnny and the Moon Dogs"). And the name The Beatles appeared a few months later, in the early 1960s. Who exactly created it, is not known, most likely, Sutcliffe and Lennon, who wanted to take a word that has several meanings.

When pronounced, the name sounds like beetles, that is beetles. And when you write, you see the root beat - like beat music, the trendy direction of rock and roll that originated in the 1960s. However, the promoters believed that this title is not catchy and too short, therefore on the posters the guys were named as Long John and The Silver Beetles ("Lanky John and the Silver Beetles").

Hamburg (1960-1962)

The skill of the musicians grew, but they remained just one of many musical groups of their native city. Biography of the group "The Beatles", the brief content of which you began to read, continues with the move of the collective to Hamburg.

Young musicians were amazed by the fact that numerous Hamburg clubs needed English-language bands, and several teams from Liverpool had a good reputation. In the summer of 1960, the Beatles were invited to come to Hamburg. This was already a serious work, so the quartet had to urgently look for a drummer. So Pete Best appeared in the group.

The first concert took place the day after arrival. For several months, the musicians honed their skills in the Hamburg clubs. They had to play music of different styles and directions for a long time - rock'n'roll, blues, rhythm and blues, singing variety and folk songs. It can be said that, in many respects, thanks to the experience gained in Hamburg, the Beatles group also took place. The collective's biography was going through its dawn.

In just two years the Beatles gave about 800 concerts in Hamburg and raised their skills from the level of amateurs to professionals. The Beatles did not sing their own songs, concentrating on the compositions of famous performers.

In Hamburg, musicians met with students of the local art college. One of the students, Astrid Kircher, began to meet with Sutcliffe and actively participate in the life of the group. This girl invited the guys new hair - combed on the forehead and ears hair, and later and the characteristic jackets without lapels and collars.

Returning to Liverpool Beatles were no longer amateurs, they became one of the most popular bands. It was then that they met Ringo Starr, the drummer of a rival team.

After returning to Hamburg, the band's first professional recording took place. The musicians accompanied the rock-and-roll singer Tony Sheridan. The quartet recorded several of their own songs. This time their name was The Beat Brothers ("Beat Brothers"), not the Beatles.

The biography of Sutcliffe continued with the release from the collective. After the end of the tour, he refused to return to Liverpool, deciding to stay with his girlfriend in Hamburg. A year later, Sutcliffe died of a brain hemorrhage.

The first success (1962-1963)

The group returned to England and began performing in Liverpool clubs. July 27, 1961 was the first significant concert in the hall, which became a major success. In November, the group had a manager - Brian Epstein.

He met with George Martin, the producer of a major label, who showed interest in the band. He was not completely satisfied with demos, but young people were fascinated by him live. The first contract was signed.

However, both the producer and the manager of the band were unhappy with Pete Best. They believed that he was not up to the general level, in addition, the musician refused to make a corporate hairstyle, maintain the general style of the team and often clashed with other participants. Despite the fact that Best was popular with fans, it was decided to replace him. The place of the drummer was taken by Ringo Starr.

Ironically, it was with this drummer that the band recorded an amateur record in Hamburg for their own money. Walking around the city, the guys met Ringo (Pete Best was not with them) and went to one of the street studios to record a few songs just for fun.

In September 1962 the group recorded the first single - Love Me Do, which became very popular. A great role here was played by the cunning of the manager - Epstein purchased ten thousand records for his own money, than increased sales and caused interest.

In October the first television performance took place - the broadcast of one of the concerts in Manchester. Soon the second single Please Please Me was recorded, and in February 1963 for 13 hours the self-titled album was recorded, which included cover versions of popular songs and own compositions. In November of the same year, sales of the second album With The Beatles started.

Thus began the period of frenzied popularity that the Beatles group experienced. Biography, a brief history of the beginning team, is over. The history of the legendary group begins.

The birthday of the term "Beatlemania" is usually considered October 13, 1963. In London, in the hall of Palladium, a concert of the group was held, which was broadcasted throughout the country. But thousands of fans chose to gather around the concert hall in the hope of seeing musicians. The Beatles had to make their way to the car with the help of the police.

The height of Beatlemania (1963-1964)

In Britain, the quartet was frenzied, but in America the band's singles were not released, as English bands usually did not have much success. The manager managed to sign a contract with a small firm, but the records were not noticed.

How did the Beatles band get on the big American stage? The short story tells that everything changed when a music critic of a well-known newspaper listened to the single I Want To Hold Your Hand, already very popular in England, and called the musicians "the greatest composers after Beethoven." The following month the band was at the top of the charts.

"Beatlemania" stepped across the ocean. A few thousand fans greeted the musicians at the airport on their first visit to America. The Beatles gave 3 big concerts and performed at the TV show. The whole of America was watching them.

In March 1964, the quartet began to create a new album A Hard Day's Night and the eponymous musical film. And the single "Can not Buy Me Love / You Can not Do That" this month set a world record in the number of preliminary applications.

August 19, 1964 started a full-fledged tour of North America. The group gave 31 concerts in 24 cities. Originally planned to visit 23 cities, but the owner of the basketball club from Casas-City offered musicians 150 thousand dollars for a half-hour concert (usually the ensemble received 25-30 thousand).

The tour was difficult for musicians. They were as if in prison, completely isolated from the outside world. Places where the Beatles stopped, around the clock besieged crowds of fans in the hope of seeing the idols.

The concert grounds were huge, the equipment was of poor quality. The musicians did not hear each other or even themselves, they often lost their way, but the audience did not hear it and almost did not see anything, because the scene for security purposes was set very far. Performed had a clear program, no about any improvisation and experiments on the stage could not be and speeches.

Yesterday and lost records (1964-1965)

After returning to London, work began on the album Beatles For Sale, which included borrowed and own songs. A week after the publication, he flew to the top of the charts.

In July 1965 the second film Help! Came out, and in August an album with the same name. It was in this album that the most famous song of the Yesterday collective entered, which became a classic of popular music. Today, more than two thousand interpretations of this composition are known.

The author of the famous melody was Paul McCartney. He composed music as early as the beginning of the year, the words appeared later. He called the composition Scrambled Egg, as he composed Screambled Egg, how I love a scrambled egg ... ("Scrambled eggs, how I love eggs"). The song was recorded with the accompaniment of a string quartet, only Paul participated in the band.

In the second American tour, which started in August, there was an event that still haunts music lovers around the world. What did the Beatles band do? The biography briefly describes that the musicians visited Elvis Presley himself. The stars not only talked, but also played several songs that were recorded on a tape recorder.

Records have never been published, and it was not possible to locate their location by music agents from around the world. The cost of these records can not be estimated today.

New directions (1965-1966)

In 1965 a lot of bands appeared on the big stage, which formed a worthy competition for The Beatles. The group started to create a new album Rubber Soul. This record marked a new era in rock music. In the songs began to appear elements of surrealism and mysticism, which the group "The Beatles" is known for.

Biography (brief) tells that at the same time, scandals began to arise around the musicians. In July 1966 the members of the group refused an official reception, which caused a conflict with the first lady. Outraged by this fact the Filipinos almost broke the musicians, they had to literally take their feet. The tour operator was heavily beaten, the quartet was pushed and almost pushed to the plane.

The second big scandal erupted when John Lennon in one of the interviews said that Christianity is dying, and the Beatles are more popular today than Jesus. Protests rallied across the USA, the records of the band were burned. The leader of the collective under pressure has apologized for his words.

Despite the troubles, in 1966 the album Revolver, one of the band's best albums, was released. Its distinctive feature is that the musical compositions were complex and did not involve performing live. Now the Beatles became a studio band. Exhausted by the tour, the musicians refused concert activity. In the same year, the last concerts were held. Musical critics called the album a genius and were sure that the quartet would not be able to create anything as perfect as that.

However in the beginning of 1967 the single Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane was recorded. Recording of this record lasted 129 days (compare with the 13-hour recording of the first album), the studio worked literally around the clock. The single was extremely musically complex and was simply a resounding success, was on top of the 88-week chart.

The White Album (1967-1968)

In 1967, the Beatles' performance was broadcast all over the world. It could have been seen by 400 million people. A TV version of All You Need Is Love was recorded. After this triumph, the work of the collective went into decline. The role in this and played the death of the "fifth Beatle", the manager of the group Brian Epstein, as a result of an overdose of sleeping pills. He was only 32. Epstein was an important member of the Beatles. Biography of the group after his death has undergone serious changes.

For the first time the group received the first negative reviews regarding the new film Magical Mystery Tour. Many claims were caused by the fact that the tape was released only in color, while most people had only black and white TVs. The soundtrack is released as a mini-album.

In 1968, Apple was responsible for releasing albums, the Beatles group announced, the biography of which continued. In January 1969, the animated "Yellow Submarine" and the soundtrack were released. In August - single Hey Jude, one of the best in the history of the band. And in 1968 came the famous album The Beatles, better known as the white album. He received this name, since his cover was snow-white, with a simple imprint of the title. Fans accepted it perfectly, but critics did not share the enthusiasm.

This record marked the beginning of the disintegration of the group. Ringo Starr left the band for a while, several songs were recorded without him. The drums were played by McCartney. Harrison was busy with solo work. The situation was heated and because of the wife of John Lennon, Yoko Ono, who was present in the studio constantly and annoying the members of the group.

Disintegration (1969-1970)

In early 1969, the musicians had many plans. They were going to release an album, a movie about their studio work, and a book. Paul McCartney composed the song Get Back ("Come Back"), which gave the name to the whole project. The Beatles group, whose biography began so naturally, was approaching disintegration.

The band wanted to show the atmosphere of fun and ease that prevailed in the performances in Hamburg, but it was not possible. A lot of songs were recorded, but only five were selected, and a lot of footage was shot. The last recording was to shoot an improvised concert on the roof of a recording studio. He was interrupted by the police, which was caused by local residents. This concert was the last performance of the band.

February 3, 1969 the team has a new manager, Allen Klein. McCartney was strongly against, because he believed that the best candidate for this role would be his future father-in-law, John Eastman. Paul started the trial against the rest of the group. Thus, the Beatles group, whose biography is described in this article, began to experience a serious conflict.

Work on an ambitious project was abandoned, but the band still released the album Abbey Road, which included a brilliant composition of George Harrison Something. The musician long worked on it, wrote about 40 ready-made variants. The song is put on a par with Yesterday.

January 8, 1970 released the last album Let It Be, reworked by American producer Phil Spector material of the failed project Get Back. On May 20, a documentary about the collective was released, which by the time of the premiere had already disintegrated. Thus ended the biography of the Beatles. In Russian, the title of the film sounds like "Let it be so."

After disintegration. John Lennon

Ended the era of the Beatles. Biography of participants continues solo projects. At the time of the collapse of the group, all participants were already engaged in independent work. In 1968, two years before the collapse, John Lennon released a joint album with his wife Yoko Ono. It was recorded overnight and did not contain music, but a set of different sounds, noises, screams. On the cover of the couple appeared in the nude. In 1969 two more plates of the same plan followed and a live recording. From the 70th to the 75th year, four music albums were released. After this, the musician stopped appearing in public, devoting himself to raising his son.

In 1980, Lennon's latest album Double Fantasy was released, which was well received by critics. A few weeks after the release of the album, on December 8, 1980, John Lennon was killed by Mark David Chapman with a few shots in the back. In 1984 saw the light posthumous album of musician Milk and Honey.

After disintegration. Paul McCartney

After McCartney left the Beatles, the biography of the musician acquired a new twist. The gap with the group was hard for McCartney. At first he retired to a remote farm where he was depressed, but in March 1970 he returned with material for the solo album McCartney, and soon released the second - Ram.

However, without the group, Paul felt insecure. He organized the collective Wings, which included his wife, Linda. The band existed until 1980 and released 7 albums. In the solo career, the musician released 19 albums, the last of which was released in 2013.

After disintegration. George Harrison

George Harrison before the collapse of the Beatles released two solo albums - Wonderwall Music in 1968 and Electronic Sound in 1969. These records were experimental and did not have much success. The third album, All Things Must Pass, included songs written during the "Beatles" period and rejected by other band members. This is the most successful solo album of the musician.

During the whole solo career, after Harrison left the Beatles, the biography of the musician was enriched by 12 albums and more than 20 singles. He actively participated in charity and made a significant contribution to the popularization of Indian music and he himself adopted Hinduism. Harrison died in 2001, on November 29th.

After disintegration. Ringo Star

Rings' solo album, which he started as a part of the Beatles, was released in 1970, but was recognized as a failure. However, in the future he released more successful albums, in large part due to cooperation with George Harrison. In total, the musician has released 18 studio albums, as well as several live recordings and collections. The last album was released in 2015.