Penguin Readers Factsheets Level 3 – Pre-Intermediate TheLevel Beatles Teacher’s Notes The Beatles by Paul Shipton gone on to produce many entertainers, including comedians and Summary one of England’s best football teams. But for many people around the world, the city is still most famous as the home of the Beatles. There has never been another band like the Beatles! They arrived And Liverpool is very proud of the Fab Four as they came to be on the music scene just when the world was ready for something known. Liverpool airport has been re-named John Lennon Airport new. Teenagers wanted their own bands and their own music to be and a lifesize statue of him was unveiled in the city centre in 2002 played by people like them. They wanted to experience something by Yoko Ono. that was completely different from anything of their parents’ For western Europe the decade of the 1960s was known as the generation. In the 1960s Beatlemania swept first across Britain and ‘swinging’ decade. The world was waking up from the dark years then the world and in this book we set out with the band from their after the Second World War. The economy was starting to improve early days in Liverpool as they strive and then attain international and people had money to spend. In particular, teenagers were success. We can look at all the important moments in the Beatles’ beginning to experience a new identity. A huge gap opened up colourful life together. between this new generation and their parents. Teenagers wanted At the beginning of their careers, the Beatles learned to play live freedom. They wanted to find out about themselves. They wanted music in Hamburg and in Liverpool’s famous Cavern club. With to be individuals and, above all, they wanted their own culture. At hours of practice and a little help from manager Brian Epstein, they this time many young people believed that love and peace could developed their own style. change the world. Life became much less formal. It was also a time We travel with the Beatles to America, where they were the first when teenagers had money to spend on entertainment and British band to be truly successful. And in the UK even the British clothes. Their entertainment was pop music, so they could afford to government and the Queen wanted to be part of their story. Their buy the Beatles’ records that they wanted. The fashion industry was success continued as their music developed, becoming more quick to provide high fashion at cheap prices. Mary Quant brought sophisticated and original. They upset a lot of people along the way, the mini skirt to the high street. Higher education became available including governments and religious leaders, but they went on to more people and the world was suddenly full of students, making records and films. rejecting their parents way of living and inventing their own. With lyrics like ‘All you need is love’, the Beatles captured the spirit of the Things started to change after their manager died and John met young age and led the teenage revolution. Yoko Ono. George became interested in Eastern philosophy and Paul wanted to develop the business side of the band. John and The relationship between the Beatles, with their very different Paul both had strong characters and their own ideas – the book personalities, is an important theme in this story. Paul and John shows us how it became impossible for them to work together and wrote most of the band’s songs. They were both strong characters stay part of the same group. But while the band lasted, John and and their rich and creative partnership often became stormy as they Paul developed a unique song writing partnership that produced matured in different ways. Their different talents could both some of the world’s most famous songs. Most of their music is still complement and antagonise each other. They produced great popular today, forty years after four young men with short hair and works together when they got on well and great works apart when suits first played on stage at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. they were angry with each other. Many fans would say that the two never produced such good work apart as they did together, despite being together for less than a decade. John’s work was often rough and angry, while Paul’s was sweet and melodic. Under John’s Background and themes influence, Paul searched for lyrics that had more meaning. John was often ready to give up when something wasn’t working, but The Beatles came from Liverpool, a port on the North-West coast Paul would push him to carry on until it did work. Together they of England. This coast looks out to America and in the 1950s when created mainstream rock music. They took ordinary words and the Beatles were growing up, Liverpool was one of the first places ideas, and gave them mystery and magic. in Europe to hear the latest sounds of Buddy Holly and Elvis Touring quickly became increasingly difficult and soon Presley, which were brought in on records by ships from across the impossible for the Beatles. No one had done what they did before Atlantic. As teenagers the Beatles wore American style leather – playing with basic sound equipment in front of thousands of jackets and slicked back hair, like their heroes Marlon Brando and screaming fans. The Beatles loved their early concerts in Hamburg James Dean. when they could play together on stage for hours. They really Following the end of the Second World War there were many learned about music and performing, and got to know poor people in Liverpool as many of its traditional industries, such each other well too. Back in Liverpool they loved as cotton, had gradually gone into decline. However, throughout performing in the Cavern where they knew the the twentieth century things have improved for Liverpool and it has audience. They joked with their friends, © Pearson Education Limited 2002 Penguin Readers Factsheets Level 3 – Pre-Intermediate TheLevel Beatles Teacher’s Notes improvised and learned to play as they performed. Then the big Pages 12–25 tours started. They played a short set to a different audience every Students work in groups of five. Four are the Beatles. The fifth is night. The songs were always the same so they got bored. And they a television interviewer. It’s the end of 1966. The interviewer can couldn’t hear what they were playing because of the screaming. So use the information on pages 20 and 22 to ask the Beatles they played badly. ‘The noise of the people just drowned individual questions as well as questions about the group. Give everything,’ said Ringo. And they became prisoners wherever they groups time to prepare questions and answers and then act out went. Even the police who were protecting them wanted their their interviews for the rest of the class. autographs. After only 4 years on the road and at the height of their success, they stopped touring. They were the victims of their own Pages 26–41 success. Beatlemania made their lives impossible. Debate: We believe that pop music is bad for young people. Take The Beatles are still popular in the twenty-first century both with a class vote and record the result. Divide the class in two. One musicians and fans. You can hear their influence in the music of half argues for. The other half argues against. They can talk about each new generation of pop stars, today, for example, in the music pop music at the time of the Beatles’ success in the 1960s or pop of Robbie Williams and Oasis. And what about the fans? A survey music today. Give students time to prepare their arguments. After of the top 100 albums of all time by a British music magazine in the debate, take a second class vote. Has anyone changed their May 2000 had the Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver at number one, mind? and four other Beatles albums in the top twenty. When a compilation album of Beatles’ number one hit singles, called 1, was ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK released in 2001, it went to number one in the charts and earned Students work in pairs or small groups. They invent a band and millions of pounds. write biographical notes for it – name of band, names of band members, instruments, type of music, hits, stories about their behaviour on and off the stage. In turn, pairs/groups tell the class Communicative activities about their band. The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections of text as the exercises at the back of the reader, and supplement those Glossary exercises. For supplementary exercises, covering shorter sections of the book, see the photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of this Pages 1–11 mania (n) a very strong feeling of Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class readers but, with album (n) recordings of music interest, excitement and liking for the exception of discussion and pair/group work questions, can someone or something (usually shown also be used by students working alone in a self-access centre. audience (n) the people who watch by a lot of people at the same time) and listen to musicians (or actors) on stage rock and roll (n) a type of popular dance music that is loud and fast ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK band (n) a group of musicians who play together single (n) a musical record (with one What do your students know about the Beatles? Divide the class song on each side) in two.