On September 11, 1967, the Beatles undertook a fateful course—one that would humble them profoundly in the coming months: with the recent triumph of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the international simulcast performance of “All You Need Is Love” under their belts, they tried their hand, bizarre as it may seem in retrospect, […]
Music
50 Years of Beatles: Getting Better All the Time with Liverpool’s Fab Four Tourist Trade
As fans celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ groundbreaking Revolver album this weekend, Fab Four aficionados from across the world will make their way to Liverpool, the band’s storied hometown. In recent years, Beatles tourism has never been more successful among Liverpool’s “Cast Iron Shore” and its environs. Just last year, the legendary rock […]
50 Years Of Beatles: The Fab Four and the ‘Genius Cluster’
Musical talent wasn’t necessarily their greatest asset. On July 17, 1961, the Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best—played a lunchtime set at Liverpool’s Cavern Club before performing an evening gig at Litherland Town Hall. By this point in their story, any dreams of making it big had all but vanished. Lennon and […]
50 Years of Beatles: John, Paul, George, and the Late Great Scotty Moore
On the evening of July 2nd, 1963, the Beatles played one of their classic BBC radio sessions, recording a smooth, carefree cover version of Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right (Mama)” at London’s Maida Vale Studios. If the Fab Four seemed a might bit self-assured on the recording, they had well and truly earned it: only […]
50 Years of Beatles: Winning over the Nonbelievers
In the wake of the Beatles’ triumphant appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” on Feb. 9, 1964, the band spent the next several months consolidating their fame, breaking sales records and gearing up for their first world tour. One of the key elements in their coming global onslaught was the production of their first feature […]