The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960. Its members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential act of the rock era. The Beatles later experimented with several musical styles, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity emerged as "Beatlemania". The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide. They were nicknamed: “The fabulous four”. Penny Lane The song refers to a real street in Liverpool, England. It was released in February 1967 as a single, along with "Strawberry Fields Forever". The song's title is derived from the name of a street near Lennon's childhood home for his first five years (9 Newcastle Road, just off Church Road), in the band's hometown, Liverpool, England. McCartney and Lennon would meet at Penny Lane junction to catch a bus into the centre of the city. Today the street is an important landmark, sought out by many Beatles fans touring Liverpool. Glossary widely regarded= ampiamente considerati the foremost = i primi act = rappresentanti ranging from = che vanno da unconventional recording techniques = tecniche di registrazione non convenzionali the best-selling = che ha venduto più dischi childhood = infanzia junction = incrocio, stazione di scambio landmark = punto di riferimento sought out by = cercato da.