The Beatles

( Snapshot Elementary, Longman )

Dates of birth: John Lennon: 08/10/40; Paul McCartney: 18/06/42; George Harrison: 25/02/43; Ringo Starr: 07/07/40

The four Beatles - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – were all born in Liverpool. John and Paul knew each other at a school concert, Paul introduced George to him and finally played together in a guitar based rock band called The Quarrymen in 1959. They were in their late teens. Ringo Starr didn´t join the group until 1962, after Stuart Sutcliffe, “the fifth Beatle”, died and the previous drummer, Pete Best, left. John, George and Paul played rhythm, lead and bass guitar. Ringo played the drums.

The Beatles started their career at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. They fort appeared there without Ringo on 21st February 1961. On 9th November Brian Epstein, a local record shop owner, saw The Beatles at a lunch time session. He met them and a moth later he became their manager. Brian Epstein gave The Beatles a new image – the famous Beatles suits and Beatles haircuts.

In 1963 the group had their first Number 1 in the UK charts with their single, “Please, Please Me”. They gave their 1st U.S. concert on 11th February 1964. By April 1964 The Beatles were top of the U.K. singles and album charts, and they held the top five places in the U.S. charts.

The next two years were the highest point of Beatlemania. Girls screamed and wept when they went to Beatles´ concerts. Everybody bought their records. By 1966 The Beatles had eight more Number 1 hit singles and five Number 1 albums.

In 1967 The Batles made their most creative album, “Sergeant Pepper´s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. In the same year they went to India and became followers of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. From then on, nothing was ever quite the same. Gradually, Beatlemania faded and in 1968 the four Beatles started to go their different ways. In 1971 they finally split up.

     But the music of The Beatles didn´t die. It had something special and their music is still very popular today.

Liverpool:

Liverpool is a large city situated in the northwest of England, on the River Mersey. It´s a lively industrial, cultural and commercial centre and it has a population of around 500.000 people. In the past Liverpool was a large port. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was famous for its trade with North America and Jamaica in sugar, cotton, tobacco and slaves. In the 19th century it was the mail port of millions of emigrants to the U.S.A. from Britain, Scandinavia and Germany.

Welcome to Liverpool:

Liverpool is an exciting place to visit with theatres, concert halls, cinemas, clubs, restaurants and many other attractions. If you´re interested in culture, the Albert Dock area contains a superb maritime museum, a first class art gallery and, of course, The Beatles Story, an exhibition which tells the story of Liverpool´s most famous pop group. You can also take a ferry from the Albert Dock across the River Mersey.