Short Biographical Notes History of the Band

Oral presentation by Dimitrios Groumpos and Paraskevi Tsiataki

! Short biographical notes

John Lennon- born in October 1940. Founder of the band. Murdered in December 1980.

Sir Paul McCartney- born in June 1942. The most successful musician and composer in popular music history. Knighted by the Queen in 1997.

George Harrison- born in February 1943. Lead guitarist and the youngest member of the band. Died of cancer in 2001.

Ringo Starr (real name Richard Starkey)- born in July 1940. Drummer and the least visible member of the band.

! History of the band

• 1957 Lennon forms “The Quarrymen” • same year McCartney and Harrison join in • several name changes (Johnny and The Moondogs, Long John and The Beatles, The Silver Beetles) • 1960 the band decides to change their name to “The Beatles” • 1961 Brian Epstein becomes the band’s manager • 1962 first record contract, Ringo Starr joins the band • 1964 first commercial breakthrough in the US. The “Beatlemania” begins • 1965 The Beatles gain the title of “Member of the British Empire” 2

• 1967 they become the first band globally transmitted on television, Epstein dies at the age of 32 • The Beatles found “Apple Corps” • 1969 recording of “Abbey Road”, their last album, end of the same year they give their last performance on stage on top of Apple building • 1970 breakup of the band, each Beatle starts solo career • 1980 John Lennon murdered by David Chapman

! The Beatles and their musical influence

• Their music was an inspiration for many artists of their generation and for generations that followed • Experimented with various recording techniques • Introduced Eastern music to the Western audience

! The Beatles and fashion

• Started off dressed as classic rockers • Introduced mop-top haircut and collarless suits • Their look was adopted by numerous bands in the 60’s

! The Beatles and religion

• Expressed their views on religion through their lyrics • Lennon’s famous “we’re more popular than Jesus” quote and the reactions that followed • The Beatles and Eastern religions

! The Beatles on film

• A Hard Day’s Night (1964) • Help! (1965) • Magical Mystery Tour (1967) • Yellow Submarine (1968) • Let It Be (1970)

! Meaning of some of the Beatles’ lyrics

• “Girl”, the Beatles talk about Christianity • “Nowhere Man”, criticism of society • “Taxman”, criticism on the British tax system • John Lennon’s “Imagine”, an ideal society

! Influence on individuals

• Charles Manson • Mark David Chapman (John Lennon’s murderer)

Online Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles http://beatles.nondot.org/ http://www.fashionfollower.com/beatles.asp http://www.beatlesagain.com/bapology.html http://www.unt.edu/honors/eaglefeather/2006_Issue/murphy2.shtml http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/manson/mansonbeatles.html http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/beatles/bio.jhtml http://www.beatles.gr/ http://www.newsoftheodd.com/article1012.html