The Beatles’ Wives and Girlfriends

All four of the Beatles had many lovers. Some stayed and the others didn’t. George Harrison met Pattie Boyd when filming ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. They started dating and eventually got married and stayed married for 8 years but then got divorced when Pattie left George for a fellow musician, Eric Clapton. George met Olivia Arias in 1974 and married her in 1978. They have a son named ‘Dhani Harrison’ together.

In 1963, Paul met Jane Asher and started dating her. They dated for 5 years. They split up because Jane had caught Paul cheating on her on several occasions. Linda Eastman, a rock band photographer met Paul at a concert in 1967 and they got married in 1969. They had four children including one from Linda’s previous marriage. Paul and Linda stayed together until Linda’s death in 1998 from breast cancer.

Lennon met Cynthia Powell in 1957 and asked her out but she denied as she was engaged. They eventually went out and got married in 1962 and had ‘Julian Lennon’ together. While married to Cynthia, John started seeing Japanese artist and peace activist Yoko Ono. Cynthia caught them and left John. John got married to Yoko in 1969 and had a son, ‘Sean Lennon’ together.

Ringo Starr met Maureen Cox when she was just a trainee hairdresser. Ringo got married to her when he found out that she was pregnant. Ringo was 18 at the time. They ended up having 3 children together. They got divorced in 1975. Ringo got married to Barbara Bach in 1981 and they are happily together still.  

 

 

 

The Murder of John Lenon

 

The Murder of John Lennon

 

After the band separated officially in April,1970, John Lennon continued to make his career as a solo artist and was doing very well for himself. He also established himself as a political activist and pacifist.  
One can conclude, he was living a happy life and had a well settled family with a wife and kid.

Nobody could imagine or predict the tragedy that struck him.

 

The day of his death was just like any other day in the life of John Lennon- Photoshoots, Interviews, Sound Recordings… nobody could have thought that their day would end with the news of John Lennon’s assassination.

On the evening of Monday, 8 December 1980, Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman in the archway of his residence in New York.
Chapman shot Lennon 5 times on his back before the singer finally fell down and lost consciousness. On his arrival at the hospital at Roosevelt Hospital, he was pronounced dead and the entire nation went into mourning.
The hospital mourned his death by playing a very famous Beatles song “All My Love”.

All the other band members were shook, and after a decade came back together to collaborate and complete the pending work of John Lennon.

John’s wife, Yoko Ono, did not host a funeral for John Lennon as she was still astounded by the shock and was not able to recover.

 

Thousands of fans were visiting Lennon’s residence every day to express their grief and remorse. A few also committed suicide which led to Ono to come out in public and request the fans to cherish the lives they had and not submit to a sad emotion.

 

But the real question remains, why did Chapman assassinate Lennon?

Chapman killed John Lennon right in front of his residence and made no attempts to run away or protect himself. He surrendered himself to the police and even after multiple lawyers tried to protect him, he pleaded guilty in front of the jury.

 

According to the statement given by Chapman, he came to Lennon’s apartment once in October as well with an intention of killing him but changed his mind the last minute and went away.

 

Chapman committed a second-degree murder and as no pretentious reason was found for this, the jury suggested a mental health imbalance and ordered 20 years in prison followed by a psychiatric treatment for Chapman.

Currently, Chapman is currently serving his jail time and has been denied parole at all occasions.

 

John Lennon’s death is one of the most dramatic deaths in the music industry and has always been and will always be painful.

 

May his soul rest in peace. 

Fashion Trends started by the Beatles

The Fashion trends “The Beatles” started over the years

 

1. The mop-top

 

Getting its name due to the resemblance with a wet mop, the hair cut is often referred to as ‘the Beatles’ cut. In 1964 this haircut gained extreme popularity. This was around the time when The Beatles firm came to the USA. It wasn’t long before the hair cut became so popular that it started out as a new business for barbers and was also sold as wigs. It created a new wave of trend at that time. But, it was deemed illegal in communist Brezhnev Russia for its statement of dishevelled rebelliousness.

 

2. The collarless suit

 

Again, just like with their music, the Beatles have never failed to impress their audiences with their fashion statement. From hair styles to attires, nothing ever failed to become a trend. One such trend brought in by the band was the trend of collarless suits. Back in the ‘60s when The Beatles wore the same collarless suits to multiple concert, it did not fail to catch the attention of people. The trend crippled down to teens in absolutely no time. It became synonymous with the youth fashion trend for quite a while.  

 

3. Beatle boots

 

Brian Epstein, the band’s brand manager is the one who gave birth to the very famous Beatle boots. Yes, the Beatle boots: tight fitting, ankle length, Cuban-heeled boots, sound familiar?

This by far has to be the most random way that something became fashionable. Brian Epstein these boots while browsing randomly through stores and happened to like them immediately. And that is how we know The Beatle boots today.

 

4. Peacock style

 

As vague as it may sound, this period is often referred to as the psychedelic movement of that time. In 1967, with the release of their best-selling album- Sgt. Pepper, this trend came into existence. Men had started dressing in flair dresses and the gender boundaries had started disappearing. The Beatles headed this style revolution with flamboyance — floral shirts, paisley scarves, velvet jackets and acid colours.

 

5. John Lennon glasses

 

John Lennon had “teashade glasses” made up for his near sightedness and we still can’t get over the trend. Big brands and International labels still popularize these glasses. John Lennon carried the look around for quite a while and even today, those glasses are recognized by his name.

The Cultural Impact of Beatles

The Beatle’s continued commercial and critical success has helped many cultural movements— including a shift from the global dominance of rock and roll by American artists to British acts (British Invasion), the proliferation of young musicians who formed new bands in the 1960s, the album as the dominant form of record consumption over singles, the term ” Beatlesque ” used to describe artists with similar sounds, and several trends in fashion.

Questioning America’s youth’s taste is a pointless effort (it’s a matter of record that in the 1950s Pat Boone rivaled and occasionally surpassed Elvis Presley in teen popularity polls), but certainly the Beatles were a blow of cool air into a rather arid teen idol landscape.They were not only fascinatingly exotic with their Liverpudlian accents and unusual looks, but also like four teenage idols wrapped in one glittering package. There was Paul, the sweet and lovely man; John, the clever and slightly dangerous man; George, the quiet and timid man; and Ringo, the fun and goofy one. It’s fun and goofy. There was something for all teenagers, which was made all the more attractive by the uniformity of their presentation ” all – for-one, one – for-all, lads “: matching motorcycles, collarless button – down suits and cuban-heeled ankle boots.

While in American culture there is a long tradition of irreverent, anti-authoritative behavior, the Beatles appeared at a time when this type of attitude was still largely subcultural.The Beatles were more aware about themselves than the aspirants of their previous pop sweepstakes. They recognized some absurdity in the game of pop and seemed determined to follow their own path. This attitude was always apparent to the media and how they dealt with the press.

 

It seems ridiculous now, but before the Beatles arrived in America, the term ” longhair ” was used for a very small group of people, mostly artists. ” Longhairs ” was a negative way of referring, for example, to certain classical musicians, beatniks and other bohemians. Then the Beatles showed up with their “moptops.”

 

Less remembered than some of their other audiovisual features, the Beatles cartoon show went on ABC – TV for three seasons in the mid – to – late 1960s and exposed Beatle fans ‘ younger brothers and sisters to Beatle music.

 

During the period between 1962 and 1970, the Beatles transcended popular music and left a lasting legacy in the world that continues to break its boundaries almost 50 years after its breakup.

HOW WERE THE BEATLES CALLED BEATLES…

In 1960, reputedly, John and his best friend at art college, Stu Sutcliffe, came up with the name “The Beatles.” The story goes that the band loved Buddy Holly and his group “the Crickets.” So the two went through several insect names and finally arrived on “Beetles”

The Beatles is a dumb pun. That’s all. They took the idea of naming themselves after an insect like the Crickets, but changed the spelling for a pun on musical beats. It’s a simple as that.

When John wrote a 1961 comical article for a local paper about how he came up with the name “Beatles,” he jokingly said, “It came in a vision- a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them ‘from this day on you are Beatles with an a’.”

The first precursor to the Beatles was a skiffle band formed by John Lennon called the Black Jacks. The Black Jacks later evolved into the Quarry Men, which recorded an acetate that is the first known recording of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, or George Harrison.

The final name “The Beatles” was the sixth and final name that the band used. Sixteen year old John Lennon formed a band in 1957 with some school friends and called it The Blackjacks. The band changed its name to the Quarrymen after theirschool – Quarry Bank school.

It was during this late 1950’s period that name changes became frequent. Once, all the members of the group showed up in different colored shirts, so they called themselves “The Rainbows.” At a talent show the boys entered in 1959, they dubbed themselves “Johnny and the Moondogs.” In May of 1960, John and Paul did two small shows by themselves and dubbed themselves “The Nerk Twins.”

What’s in a name? The music spoke for itself, but it’s funny to think of “Penny Lane” or “Nowhere Man” or “Yellow Submarine” by Johnny and the Moondogs

Cynthia Lennon, John’s first wife, mentions in her biographical book:

“To fit with their changing image the boys decided it was time for a new name. We had a hilarious brainstorming session over a beer-soaked table in the Renshaw Hall bar, where we often drank. John loved ‘Buddy Holly and the Crickets’, so they toyed with insect names. It was John who came up with ‘Beetles’. He changed it to ‘Beatles’ because he said if you turned it round it was ‘les beat’, which sounded French and cool. They settled on the ‘Silver Beatles’.”

 

Conflicts within the Band

Like most bands, The Beatles had their fair shares of internal ego and interest clashes before they broke up. It can be pretty hard to believe given their initial years as a team that couldn’t be asunder, but a split was inevitable given the accumulating tensions and friction in the band. John, Paul, George and Ringo had grown together as people and musicians and churned out some of the most memorable tunes that are cherished and loved to this day but the time had come for them to part their ways and go in their own separate directions.

In 1966, The Beatles decided to become a studio band as most of their shows towards the end of their touring era turned up to be not so significant in terms of audience. John’s ‘bigger than Jesus’ remark was majorly responsible for this.

For the major part, Lennon-McCartney partnership used to prevail, but, all this time, George was improving his songwriting skills and some of his songs did quite well here and there until he wrote the songs ‘Something’ and ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. George grew ever so confident of his songwriting skills and wanted his own share of music on the albums which strained the routine Lennon-McCartney numbers on the Albums. A three way distribution seemed difficult.

The entry of Yoko Ono in the scene further induced friction in The Beatles. Lennon thought of Yoko as an artistic and creative individual and wanted her to partake in the band’s music making activities which didn’t go well with the rest of the members. She would make invalid suggestions, sit on their equipment and make the recording process unbearable.

While the Let it be sessions were going on, George Harrison abruptly left due to Paul taking charge of the recordings and being dominant in his approach. Paul and George were having problems. All the tension got to Ringo when he felt isolated and thought he wasn’t playing too well. He temporarily quit the band and vacationed with his family for several weeks.

The conflicts within the band were ever-growing and they could only end with the band calling it a day. They all had successful solo careers but never as successful as The Beatles.   

The Beatles and Drugs

The Beatles’ use of drugs started early in their careers when they were introduced to Benzedrine, a stimulant by the poet ‘Royston Ellis’ which they took from the inside of a Vicks inhaler. The Beatles took Preludin while in Hamburg to sustain themselves through long hours of night-time shows. They continued their abuse of Preludin even post-Hamburg.

There have been countless references to illegal substances in The Beatles’ catalogue. Most of these are based on their actual experiences with these substances. Paul McCartney wrote “Got to get you into my life” about his fondness for marijuana. John Lennon allegedly wrote “Lucy in the sky with diamonds” about LSD. The song “Magical mystery tour” has numerous drug references. Their “Happiness is a warm gun” has direct references to John Lennon’s use of heroin.

The Beatles had had a few encounters with marijuana, but, it was not until they were introduced to Bob Dylan through a common friend Al Aronowitz in 1964, that they really indulged in it. The Beatles’ use of marijuana reached its peak in1965 when they were filming “Help!” They could barely get through the recording sessions with the substance playing its part.

It is a well-known fact that a lot of The Beatles’ music was inspired by LSD. Back in the day, when LSD was legal, Cosmetic Dentist ‘John Riley’ was having John Lennon, George Harrison and their wives as guests for a dinner party. Post dinner, He laced their coffees with LSD and obviously, a night of hilarity, mystique, vagueness and abstractness followed. A red light in the lift seemed like fire, ten miles an hour in George’s wife’s Mini Cooper seemed like a thousand and the night seemed to go on forever.

When opportunity presented itself, Ringo Starr took LSD. Paul McCartney was initially reluctant to take the drug owing to its overwhelming effects but, soon gave in to the peer pressure and used the drug. The use of LSD by all four undoubtedly united and connected them on a whole another level. The influence of the substance can be seen on “Revolver” and “Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

Paul McCartney tried heroin once, but, it was little in quantity and hence, had little effect on him. He did indulge in cocaine consumption for a whole year, though. John Lennon became addicted to Heroin in 1968 and stayed addicted to it on and off for a long time.

All four members had been incarcerated for possession at one time or another. 

Beatles’ Magic Mystery Tour

Magial Mystery Tour” is a song by the Beatles, the opening track and theme song for the album, double EP and TV film of the same name. There are also other interpretations of the song as an explicit reference to drugs, since the Beatles were experimenting with acid in those years.

Blue Jay Way- The website ‘Consequence of Sound’ describes “Blue Jay Way” as “a haunted house of a hit, adding an ethereal, creepy mythos to the City of Angels”.  The song was named after a street in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles where Harrison stayed in August 1967.  The cover art portrays the band in costumes, as seen in “I am the Walrus” musical segment of the film. John is the walrus, Ringo is a chicken, Paul is a hippo and George is a bunny. The project of Magical Mystery Tour and the album are considered to be the Beatles’ only failure.

Fool on the hill- Composed and sung by Paul McCartney  and recorded in 1967. McCartney said the song relates to someone like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as the song talks about an outcaste from the society who lives on the hill and is taken to be a fool by others but is actually the wisest of them all. Many other comparisons have been drawn as to who is actually the “fool on the hill”.

Flying- the song is composed in a fashion slightly ahead of it’s time, having a very psychedelic but at the same time soothing feel to it the song has almost negligible lyrics, it is just a series of percussions and symphony of instruments which make it perfect for “flying”.

Your mother should know- It was written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney) based on a line from the screenplay for A Taste of Honey (a famous British soap Opera at the time). Supporting an old-fashioned dance segment that starts with the Beatles coming down a grand staircase in white tuxedoes. After they descend, Boy Scouts, RAF cadets, and other groups march through. John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr are wearing red carnations, while McCartney’s is black. The carnation difference contributed to the “Paul is dead” urban legend.

I am the Walrus- ”Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog’s eye” such were the unusual lyrics of the song. The lyrics came from three song ideas that Lennon had been working on, the first of which was inspired by hearing a police siren at his home and the later were written by him under the influence of LSD which Lennon told a reporter back then. I Am The Walrus was one of the highlights of the Magical Mystery Tour film. For the performance, filmed in West Malling in Kent, Lennon tellingly wore an 18th century madman’s cap.

Hello Goodbye- the song was born when McCartney sat down at a harmonium and asked Taylor to say the opposite of whatever he said. The completed song includes a musical coda, which was improvised by the Beatles when they were recording the track in October 1967. It could be said that the Beatles typically embraced randomness and simplicity as part of the creative process.

Strawberry Fields Forever-  Lennon wrote the song in Almería, Spain, where he was filming a role in the anti-war comedy How I Won the War. He drew inspiration from his childhood memories of playing in the garden of Strawberry Field. Lennon identified “Strawberry Fields Forever” as his highest achievement as a member of the Beatles. “Strawberry Fields Forever” represented a departure from the Beatles’ previous singles and a novel listening experience for the contemporary pop audience.

Penny Lane-  In the lyrics McCartney refers to Penny Lane, a street in Liverpool, and makes mention of the sights and characters that McCartney recalled from his upbringing in the city. Beatles biographer Ian MacDonald suggested an LSD influence in the song writing of Penny Lane, and that the lyrical imagery points to McCartney first taking LSD in late 1966. MacDonald concluded that the lyric “she feels as if she’s in a play / she is anyway” was one of the more “LSD-redolent phrases” in the Beatles’ catalogue.

Baby Your’e a Rich Man- The track features a monophonic keyboard instrument known as a clavioline, which Lennon played on its oboe setting, creating a sound that suggests an Indian shehnai. The lyrics address the “beautiful people” of the 1960s hippie movement. The song has also invited interpretation as a message to the Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, and alternatively as a comment on fame. “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” was the result of combining two unfinished songs written by Lennon and McCartney  “One of the Beautiful People”,[8] to which McCartney added the “Baby, you’re a rich man” chorus. During the 1960s, “beautiful people” was the term adopted by Californian hippies to refer to themselves.

All You Need is Love- All You Need Is Love was written by John Lennon especially for Our World, the world’s first televised satellite link-up between 25 countries worldwide. Its message perfectly encapsulated the optimistic mood of the Summer of Love, with a simplicity perfectly judged for their global audience. The song was written with the primary intention of ending wars, the concept of putting flowers in guns was revolutionary for the Beatles themselves.

 

 

Famous quotes by the Beatles

The Beatles have etched their name in the hall of fame for their music but that is not all that they will be remembered for. The Beatles were a perfect blend of wit and humor and we see the proof of it by some of their famous quotes through time.

JOHN LENNON

Lennon was popular for being upbeat and witty with everyone he interacted. Documented in their movie “A hard day’s night” after the Beatles came back from their American tour during an interview a journalist asked him how did he find America to which he gave an iconic response:

“Turn left at Greenland”

 

“A dream you dream alone is a dream. A dream you dream together is a reality”

Beatles and revolution went hand in hand. During the 60’s they had been promoting and supporting the “flower Power movement” as well. They were all about changing the world for the better and making it a happier place.

 

“The time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.”

The gang was famous for their notorious nature and how they would love spending their time doing silly stunts, but the thing is for them, those silly stunts were like a bonding exercise. They truly understood they actual value of ‘quality time’ and the perception or interpretation of spending it is subjective.

GEORGE HARRISON

“All the world is a birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much”

The whole wide world is waiting for you. You ought to go out and explore what the world has to offer you and taste the life. But while one may indulge with the world it is important to not forget that too much of good stuff is bad stuff. Try the taste to expand your senses but not to exploit them.

“Gossip is devil’s radio”

The icon here clearly means that gossiping or talking about someone behind their backs is the worst thing to do and one should never indulge in such behavior as it only makes them one amongst the devil.

“As long as you hate, there will be people to hate”

The Beatles were the promoters of all things good, love and happiness. This could be clearly seen in their songs as well. Their core belief was that the whole world is nothing but a large family and there is need for all of to get along to progress.

PAUL MACCARTNEY

“You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals”

Even though the Beatles were a very popular band throughout the world they were still humans at the end of the day, they were humans who respected life, life in any form.

 

“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make”

The world is a self-sustaining equilibrium of love. The amount of love will never lessen from the world because there are many who believe and understand the power of it. Love is like a commodity and the influx remains propotional.

“Think Globally, act Locally”

The goals that an individual would and should set ought to be in accordance with the entire world and while he acts upon those goals he should start locally, because building a community is a way of creating a ripple and then a wave.

RINGO STARR

The notorious nature of the drummer can clearly be seen when during an interview a journalist asked him what “does he do” and he replied by saying:

“I am a mocker”

 

Once again during an interview with a lot of media people, one of the journalists accused the Beatles boy’s of mimicking the style of the music icon ‘Elvis Prestley’ to which Ringo promptly replied doing a little Elvis dance move:

“No that’s not true”

 

“America: it’s like Britain only with buttons”

Once again here we see that the drummer of the greatest band in history was a little underrated, maybe not for his talent in music but for his humor. Ringo made this statement to a journalist after coming back from the American tour. 

The Beatles

 

“Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

…”

 

Did you just sing those lines along?

Good, because now you know what we are here for

THE BEATLES!

 

The legendary music group that is going to bless our playlist forever.
Rising up to fame in 1960 with the Liverpool concert, The Beatles has given us some songs that we will never forget.
For almost 10 years after the Liverpool Concert, The Beatles were topping charts with their music everywhere. Nobody who had heard their songs could not help but fall in love with them. Almost after five decades, the obsession for the band is still palpable, isn’t it?

 

With great band members; George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ring Starr, The Beatles created magic.

But do you know that The Beatles weren’t always The Beatles?
Before settling for the name, The Beatles, they were often called “The Quarrymen” or “The Silver Beatles”.

 

The Beatles, in their era, influenced the entire music industry and they still continue to do so. The love for the band was so extravagant that in the 10 years of their career, they acted in many feature films. Their films were very famous for their background scores, obviously!