The Beatles

John Lennon - Vocals/Guitar                         Paul McCartney - Vocals/Bass                     George Harrison - Lead Guitar/Vocals          Ringo Starr - Drums

Where to start? It's very difficult to write about the four-Liverpudlian mop-tops without sounding contrived and stating the obvious. They were quite simply a phenomenon. Ground-breaking, highly influental, brilliant songsmiths, era defining, experimental, and still as relevant as ever today, there are not enough superlatives to describe how The Beatles single-handedly altered the facade of modern music. It can surely only be argued that Elvis Presley had a similar effect. They are the biggest band ever and are sure never to be repeated.

Incredibly they achieved all this over a short period of time from the early 1960's until their demise in 1970. Surely this global notoriety was not anticipated when the young John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met on the top of a bus on their way home in 1957. Originally called the Quarrymen, the group changed their name to the Beatles in 1960. Stuart Sutcliffe on bass and the drummer Pete Best were the groups latest additions in 1960. Together with George Harrison they left for Hamburg, Germany where they plied their trade for several months. Here, they played gruellingly long sessions and performed to unerringly hostile crowds. With this experience under their belt, The Beatles evolved into tight and accomplished musicians and were nearly ready for the world. Upon their return to their home city they were welcomed with open arms and they played the Merseyside Circuit to death, including numerous shows at the legendary Cavern. 

In 1961 Sutcliffe left the band to pursue a career in Art, but unfortunately a year later Sutcliffe died of a brain hemmorage. The band changed their roles slightly in 61, McCartney took over on bass, Harrison settled in as lead guitarist, and Lennon had rhythm guitar. Uniquely, all three of them sang.   

More to follow...