The Beatles   Original Line-up: John Lennon - / Paul McCartney / George Harrison / Stuart Sutcliffe / Pete Best (later replaced by Ringo Starr - real name: Richard Starkey) |
+++ John Lennon formed The Quarrymen, first as a skiffle group, in 1955 +++ In 1958 Paul & George joined the group, then already converted into a Rock'n'Roll outfit +++ Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best joined in 1959 and the group name was changed to The Silver Beatles +++ The Band performed in Liverpool clubs, such as the Cavern Club, and frequently also in Hamburg, Germany +++ Their first engagement in Hamburg was at the club Kaiserkeller in the red-light district Reeperbahn +++ First recordings, backing another British Rock'n'Roller, Tony Sheridan, as The Beat Brothers, and then also as The Silver Beatles in 1961, among others "My Bonnie" and "Ain't she sweet", at Polydor studios in Hamburg (producer: Bert Kaempfert of "Strangers in the night" fame) +++ Stuart Sutcliffe left the Band shortly afterwards +++ Back in the UK, Brian Epstein became their new manager +++ First recordings at EMI (producer: George Martin), now with Ringo Starr, having replaced Pete Best as drummer, produced the first hit, "Love me do" in 12/1962 +++ "Please, please me", "From me to you", "She loves you" and countless other hits took over the hitparades in Britain and Europe +++ Chart success in the US followed as of 2/1964, boosted by a first US tour and appearances on the "Ed Sullivan Tour" +++ Successful albums, such as "Revolver", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The Beatles (The white Album) and dozens of no. 1 hits followed, among others, such classics as "Yesterday", "Eleanor Rigby", "While my guitar gently weeps" and countless others +++ The group finally split up at the end of the 70's but still has to be regarded as the most important group in rock history to date +++ All members pursued solo careers with changing success +++ John Lennon was murdered on December 8, 1980 in front of his New York appartment building +++ Paul McCartney's successful solo career, together with his wife, Linda, resulted in his being awarded Knighthood in 1996 +++ George Harrison and Ringo Starr only had a moderate success on their own +++ The remaining 3 Beatles joined again, however, in 1995, to record unreleased John Lennon songs ("Free as a bird") and to release compilations of their studio work during the 60's as "Anthologies 1, 2 and 3", huge sales successes, 25 years after their last original album release, "Let it be" (in fact, The Beatles made more money in 1995-96 than in their career years between 1962 and 1969) +++ If you ask me, they deserve it +++ |
