MacFormat 1996 July/macformat-039.iso/DATABASE/SHARED.DIR/01503_11.cap.txt

Text File | 1996-03-14 | 5.0 KB | 294 lines

@
Within ten years
of being formed
in Liverpool in
1959, the Beatles
had become the
most successful
pop group of all
time. Their
popularity rests
primarily on the
songwriting
talents of John
Lennon and Paul
McCartney who
had begun
penning tunes
together as
teenagers
#
The Beatles'
sudden
popularity made
even serious
music critics sit
up and take
notice. As 1963
progressed their
records began to
dominate the
charts. Two
number one
albums and a
string of hit
singles
established them
as an altogether
new phenomenon
in pop music
#
The Beatles' rise coincided with a rejection of post-war austerity,
and their songs declared that the young were no longer content to be
mere clones of their parents - they had a culture of their own, and
they wanted to enjoy it
#
By 1964 Britain
and Europe had
succumbed to
Beatlemania.
After an
impressive run of
hits in the US
charts, the
Beatles found
themselves
catapulted to
stardom in
America too
#
The Beatles returned from their American adventure as conquering
heroes. They had not just put British music on the map; they had
moved the focus of pop culture from the States to England. And as
their following grew, so did their fortune
#
In 1964 Can't Buy
Me Love became
the first single
ever to top the US
and British charts
simultaneously.
Their first film A
Hard Day's Night
released in July
consolidated their
US success, taking
$1.3m in the first
week of release
#
In the mid-Sixties
Lennon-McCartney
hit their stride
as song-writers.
McCartney once
said that he was
good at the
middle bits, while
Lennon was
better at
beginnings and
endings. But the
partnership was
more subtle than
that: it was the
interplay of
McCartney's ear
for melody and
Lennon's edgy
musical wit that
made the songs
so good
@
The Beatles grew up fast. By 1965 they had exhausted the repertoire
of songs written in their Liverpool days. The new songs (such as
Norwegian Wood, the story of a desultory love affair in three verses)
were the work of mature artists
#
John Lennon
provoked outrage
in America with a
mildly
blasphemous
remark about the
extent of the
group's fame.
Christians made
bonfires of
Beatles records,
and Lennon made
a half-hearted
apology, clearly
perplexed at the
strength of the
reaction to one
unguarded
comment
#
Produced by 'the
fifth Beatle'
George Martin ,
Sergeant Pepper
featured an
eclectic mix of
sitars and
orchestral
arrangements, as
well as the usual
rock instruments.
It was a fine
piece of work by
any artistic
standards, and it
has sold over 20
million copies
#
The death in 1967 of manager Brian Epstein was a heavy blow. The
group set up Apple, their own record label, to fill the gap, but could
not replace Epstein's steadying presence. Spiritual solace was
offered by the Indian mystic Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
#
By the time the
Abbey Road
album was
released the band
was near a state
of disintegration.
Their genius was
not in doubt - the
release of the
White Album in
1968 had
confirmed that -
but morale in the
group was sliding
amid business
disagreements
and character
clashes
#
"I'd like to say
thank you very
much on behalf of
the group and
myself," said
Lennon on Let It
Be. "And I hope
we passed the
audition." It was
a telling joke, and
for once the
rumour-mongers
were right: Let It
Be was the last
Beatles album
@
The Beatles' split
was blamed by
many on Yoko
Ono. John doted
on her, and Paul
was deeply
distrustful of her.
But the two
songwriters'
paths had already
diverged, and the
worst that can be
said of Yoko is
that she hastened
the group's
demise
#
After the break-up
the once happy
and fruitful
partnership slid
into personal
sniping and legal
bickering. At the
height of the
acrimony Lennon
released a very
poor song, How
Do You Sleep,
which was a
bitter and vicious
attack on Paul
#
After the Beatles
fell apart the
members moved
on to other
projects. Lennon
moved to New
York, Ringo Starr
got interested in
film, Harrison
made some
respectable
albums in Britain,
and McCartney,
after a period of
peace and quiet,
re-emerged with
what he called a
working skiffle
band - Wings
#
John Lennon was
killed outside his
home in New
York. He had
done little in the
previous five
years, but had
just re-emerged
with a new
album. His death
put paid to the
perennial
rumours that the
Beatles were
about to get back
together
#
If prophetic
photographs are
anything to go by,
it seems Lennon
knew he would
be the first Beatle
to die. Sales in
Beatles records
naturally
rocketed after his
death, and with
his corpus of
work now
complete, the
appraisal of his
legacy, with the
Beatles and
without them,
could begin
#
Paul McCartney's
solo output has
remained
impressive, but
as with Lennon,
the quality
varied. Though
both men strived
to create a
separate musical
identity for
themselves after
the Beatles,
neither could
quite ever escape
the shadow of
their youthful
moptopped selves