Beatles title translation. Beatles meaning in English

The Beatles made a great contribution to the development of rock music and became a striking phenomenon of world culture in the sixties of the twentieth century. In this article we will learn not only the history of the emergence of the Beatles. The biography of each participant after the collapse of the legendary team will also be considered.

Beginning (1956-1960)

When did the Beatles originate? The biography has been of interest to several generations of fans. The history of the group can begin with the formation of the musical tastes of the participants.

In the spring of 1956, the leader of the future star team, John Lennon, heard one of Elvis Presley's songs for the first time. And this song, Heartbreak Hotel, turned the young man’s whole life upside down. Lennon played banjo and harmonica, but new music forced him to take up the guitar.

Biography of the Beatles in Russian usually begins with the first group organized by Lennon. Co school friends he created the group "Quarrimen", named after them educational institution. The teenagers played skiffle, a form of amateur British rock and roll.

At one of the band's performances, Lennon met Paul McCartney, who surprised the guy with his knowledge of the chords of the latest songs and high musical development. And in the spring of 1958, George Harrison, Paul's friend, joined them. The trio became the backbone of the group. They were invited to play at parties and weddings, but it never came to real concerts.

Inspired by the example of rock and roll pioneers, Eddie Cochran and Paul and John decided to write their own songs and play guitars. They wrote the texts together and gave them dual authorship.

In 1959, a new member appeared in the group - Stuart Sutcliffe, Lennon's friend. was almost formed: Sutcliffe (bass guitar), Harrison (lead guitar), McCartney (vocals, guitar, piano), Lennon (vocals, rhythm guitar). The only thing missing was a drummer.

Name

It is difficult to tell briefly about the Beatles; even the history of the origin of such a simple and short name of the group is fascinating. When the team began to integrate into concert life hometown, they needed a new name, because they no longer had anything to do with the school. In addition, the group began performing at various talent competitions.

For example, in a 1959 television competition, the team performed under the name Johnny and the Moondogs. And the name The Beatles appeared a few months later, at the beginning of 1960. Who exactly invented it is unknown, most likely Sutcliffe and Lennon, who wanted to take a word that had several meanings.

When pronounced, the name sounds like beetles, that is, beetles. And when writing, the root of beat is visible - like beat music, a fashionable direction of rock and roll that arose in the 1960s. However, the promoters believed that this name was not catchy and too short, so on the posters the guys were called Long John and the Silver Beetles (“Long John and the Silver Beetles”).

Hamburg (1960-1962)

The skill of the musicians grew, but they remained just one of many musical groups hometown. Biography of the Beatles, summary which you started reading continues with the team moving to Hamburg.

The young musicians benefited from the fact that numerous Hamburg clubs needed English-language bands, and several teams from Liverpool had proven themselves well. In the summer of 1960, the Beatles received an invitation to come to Hamburg. This was already serious work, so the quartet had to urgently look for a drummer. This is how Pete Best appeared in the group.

The first concert took place the next day after arrival. For several months the musicians honed their skills in Hamburg clubs. They had to play music of different styles and directions for a long time - rock and roll, blues, rhythm and blues, sing pop and folk songs. We can say that it was largely thanks to the experience gained in Hamburg that the Beatles came into being. The biography of the team was experiencing its dawn.

In just two years, the Beatles gave about 800 concerts in Hamburg and raised their skills from amateur to professional. The Beatles did not perform their own songs, concentrating on compositions by famous artists.

In Hamburg, the musicians met students from a local art college. One of the students, Astrid Kircher, began dating Sutcliffe and actively participating in the life of the group. This girl offered the guys new hairstyles - hair combed over the forehead and ears, and later characteristic jackets without lapels and collars.

The Beatles, who returned to Liverpool, were no longer amateurs, they became on par with the most popular groups. It was then that they met Ringo Starr, the drummer of a rival band.

After returning to Hamburg, the group's first professional recording took place. The musicians accompanied rock and roll singer Tony Sheridan. The quartet also recorded several own songs. This time their name was The Beat Brothers, not The Beatles.

Sutcliffe’s brief biography continued with his exit from the team. At the end of the tour, he refused to return to Liverpool, choosing to stay with his girlfriend in Hamburg. A year later, Sutcliffe died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

First success (1962-1963)

The group returned to England and began performing in Liverpool clubs. On July 27, 1961, the first significant concert took place in the hall, which became a major success. In November, the group got a manager - Brian Epstein.

He met with a major label producer who expressed interest in the group. He was not entirely satisfied with the demo recordings, but the young people charmed him live. The first contract was signed.

However, both the producer and the band's manager were unhappy with Pete Best. They believed that he did not live up to the general level, in addition, the musician refused to do a signature hairstyle, to support general style team and often conflicted with other participants. Despite the fact that Best was popular with fans, it was decided to replace him. Ringo Starr took over as drummer.

Ironically, it was with this drummer that the group recorded an amateur record at their own expense in Hamburg. While walking around the city, the guys met Ringo (Pete Best was not with them) and went into one of the street studios to record a few songs just for fun.

In September 1962, the group recorded their first single, Love Me Do, which became very popular. Big role The manager’s cunning also played a role here - Epstein bought ten thousand records with his own money, which increased sales and aroused interest.

In October, the first television performance took place - a broadcast of one of the concerts in Manchester. Soon the second single Please Please Me was recorded, and in February 1963, an album of the same name was recorded in 13 hours, which included cover versions of popular songs and their own compositions. In November of the same year, sales of the second album With The Beatles began.

Thus began the period of wild popularity that the Beatles experienced. The biography, a brief history of the beginning team, is over. The story of the legendary group begins.

The birthday of the term “Beatlemania” is considered to be October 13, 1963. In London, at the Palladium, a concert of the group took place, which was broadcast throughout the country. But thousands of fans chose to gather around the concert hall in the hope of seeing the musicians. The Beatles had to make their way to the car with the help of the police.

The height of Beatlemania (1963-1964)

In Britain, the quartet was wildly popular, but the group’s singles were not released in America, as they usually English groups were not particularly successful. The manager managed to sign a contract with a small company, but the records were not noticed.

How did the Beatles get onto the big American stage? A (short) biography of the band says that everything changed when a music critic from a famous newspaper listened to the single “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” already very popular in England, and called the musicians “the greatest composers since Beethoven.” The following month the group reached the top of the charts.

Beatlemania has crossed the ocean. On the band's first visit to America, the musicians were greeted at the airport by several thousand fans. The Beatles gave 3 big concert and appeared on a TV show. All of America was watching them.

In March 1964, the quartet began creating a new album, A Hard Day's Night, and a musical film of the same name. And the single Can't Buy Me Love/You Can't Do That, which appeared that month, set a world record for the number of advance requests.

On August 19, 1964, a full-fledged tour of North America. The group gave 31 concerts in 24 cities. Initially, it was planned to visit 23 cities, but the owner of a basketball club from Kazakhstan City offered the musicians 150 thousand dollars for a half-hour concert (usually the ensemble received 25-30 thousand).

Touring was difficult for the musicians. It was as if they were in a prison, completely isolated from outside world. The places where the Beatles stayed were besieged by crowds of fans around the clock in the hope of seeing their idols.

The concert venues were huge and the equipment was of poor quality. The musicians did not hear each other or even themselves, they often got confused, but the audience did not hear this and saw practically nothing, since the stage was installed very far away for safety reasons. They had to perform according to a clear program; there was no question of any improvisation or experimentation on stage.

Yesterday and the Lost Records (1964-1965)

After returning to London, work began on the album Beatles For Sale, which included borrowed and own songs. A week after its release, it rocketed to the top of the charts.

In July 1965, the second film Help! was released, and in August an album with the same name was released. It was this album that included the most famous song by Yesterday, which has become a classic of popular music. Today, more than two thousand interpretations of this composition are known.

The author of the famous melody was Paul McCartney. He composed the music at the beginning of the year, the words appeared later. He called the composition Scrambled Egg, because when composing it, he sang Scrambled egg, how I love a scrambled egg... (“Scrambled eggs, how I love scrambled eggs”). The song was recorded to the accompaniment of a string quartet, with only Paul participating from the group members.

During the second American tour, which started in August, an event occurred that still haunts music lovers around the world. What did the Beatles do? The biography briefly describes that the musicians visited Elvis Presley himself. The stars not only talked, but also played several songs together, which were recorded on a tape recorder.

The recordings were never released and music agents around the world have been unable to locate them. The value of these recordings is impossible to estimate today.

New Directions (1965-1966)

In 1965 at big stage Many groups came out that competed with the Beatles. The band began creating a new album, Rubber Soul. This record marked a new era in rock music. Elements of surrealism and mysticism for which the Beatles are known began to appear in the songs.

The biography (short) tells that at the same time scandals began to arise around the musicians. In July 1966, the group members refused an official reception, which caused a conflict with the First Lady. The Filipinos, outraged by this fact, almost tore the musicians apart; they had to literally run away. The tour manager was severely beaten, the quartet was pushed and almost pushed towards the plane.

The second big scandal erupted when John Lennon said in an interview that Christianity is dying, and the Beatles are more popular today than Jesus. Protests swept across the United States, and the band's records were burned. The team leader, under pressure, apologized for his words.

Despite the troubles, Revolver was released in 1966, one of the band's best albums. Its distinctive feature is that musical compositions were complex and did not involve performing live. The Beatles were now a studio band. Exhausted from touring, the musicians abandoned concert activities. The last concerts took place this year. Music critics they called the album brilliant and were sure that the quartet would never be able to create anything as perfect.

However, in early 1967 the single Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane was recorded. The recording of this record lasted 129 days (compare with the 13-hour recording of the first album), the studio worked literally around the clock. The single was extremely complex musically and had a simple resounding success, was at the top of the charts for 88 weeks.

White Album (1967-1968)

The Beatles' performance was broadcast throughout the world. It could be seen by 400 million people. A TV version of the song All You Need Is Love was recorded. After this triumph, the team's affairs began to decline. The death of the “fifth Beatle,” the band’s manager Brian Epstein, as a result of an overdose of sleeping pills, played a role in this. He was only 32. Epstein was an important member of the Beatles. The biography of the group after his death underwent serious changes.

For the first time the group received first negative reviews regarding the new film Magical Mystery Tour. Many complaints were caused by the fact that the tape was released only in color, while most people only had black and white TVs. The soundtrack was released as a mini-album.

In 1968, Apple was responsible for the release of albums, as announced by the Beatles, whose biography continued. In January 1969, the cartoon "Yellow Submarine" and its soundtrack were released. In August - the single Hey Jude, one of the best in the history of the group. And in 1968 the famous album The The Beatles, better known as the white album. It received this name because its cover was snow-white, with a simple imprint of the title. The fans received it well, but the critics no longer shared the enthusiasm.

This record marked the beginning of the group's breakup. Ringo Starr left the band for some time, several songs were recorded without him. McCartney performed the drums. Harrison has been busy with solo work. The situation became tense because of Yoko Ono, who was constantly present in the studio and rather irritated the band members.

Breakup (1969-1970)

At the beginning of 1969, the musicians had many plans. They were going to release an album, a film about their studio work, and a book. Paul McCartney composed the song “Get Back,” which gave the name to the entire project. The Beatles, whose biography began so casually, was approaching collapse.

The band members wanted to show the atmosphere of fun and ease that reigned at the performances in Hamburg, but this did not work. Many songs were recorded, but only five were selected, and a lot of video material was filmed. The last recording was supposed to be filming an impromptu concert on the roof of a recording studio. He was interrupted by the police, who were called by local residents. This concert was the last performance of the group.

On February 3, 1969, the team got a new manager, Allen Klein. McCartney was strongly opposed, as he believed that the best candidate for the role would be his future father-in-law, John Eastman. Paul began legal proceedings against the remaining members of the group. Thus, the Beatles, whose biography is described in this article, began to experience a serious conflict.

Work on the ambitious project was abandoned, but the group nevertheless released the album Abbey Road, which included George Harrison's brilliant composition Something. The musician worked on it for a long time, recording about 40 ready-made options. The song is put on a par with Yesterday.

On January 8, 1970, the last album, Let It Be, was released, American producer Phil Spector reworking material from the failed Get Back project. On May 20, a documentary was released about the group, which by the time of the premiere had already broken up. This is how the biography of the Beatles ended. In Russian, the title of the film sounds like “Let it be so.”

After the breakup. John Lennon

The era of the Beatles is over. The biography of the participants continues with solo projects. At the time of the group's breakup, all members were already engaged independent work. In 1968, two years before the breakup, John Lennon released a joint album with his wife Yoko Ono. It was recorded in one night and did not contain music, but a set of various sounds, noises, and screams. On the cover the couple appeared naked. In 1969, two more records of the same plan and a concert recording followed. From 70 to 75, 4 were released music album. After this, the musician stopped appearing in public, devoting himself to raising his son.

Lennon's last album, Double Fantasy, was released in 1980 and was well received by critics. A few weeks after the album's release, on December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot several times in the back. In 1984, the musician's posthumous album Milk and Honey was released.

After the breakup. Paul McCartney

After McCartney left the Beatles, the musician's biography took on a new twist. The break with the group was hard on McCartney. At first he retired to a remote farm, where he suffered from depression, but in March 1970 he returned with material for McCartney's solo album, and soon released a second, Ram.

However, without the group, Paul felt insecure. He organized the Wings team, which included his wife Linda. The group existed until 1980 and released 7 albums. As part of his solo career, the musician released 19 albums, the last of which was released in 2013.

After the breakup. George Harrison

George Harrison, even before the breakup of the Beatles, released 2 solo albums - Wonderwall Music in 1968 and Electronic Sound in 1969. These records were experimental and did not have much success. The third album, All Things Must Pass, included compositions written during the Beatles period and rejected by other band members. This is the musician's most successful solo album.

For the whole solo career, after Harrison left the Beatles, the musician’s biography was enriched with 12 albums and more than 20 singles. He was actively involved in charity work and made significant contributions to the popularization of Indian music and converted to Hinduism himself. Harrison died in 2001, on November 29.

After the breakup. Ringo Star

Ringo's solo album, which he began working on while still a member of the Beatles, was released in 1970, but was considered a failure. However, he subsequently released more successful albums, largely thanks to his collaboration with George Harrison. In total, the musician has released 18 studio albums, as well as several concert recordings and collections. The last album was released in 2015.

Bruno Ceriotti (historian): “On this day, Rory Storm And The Hurricanes perform at Cambridge Hall, Southport. Band members: Al Caldwell (aka Rory Storm), Johnny Byrne (aka Johnny "Guitar"), Ty Brian, Walter "Wally" Aymond (aka Lou Walters), Richard Starkey (aka Ringo Starr)."

From Johnny’s diary “Guitars” (Rory Storm and the Hurricanes): “Southport. They played lousy."

(conditional date)

Peter Frame: "When Stu Sutcliffe joined the band in January 1960, the first thing he did was suggest changing the name to The Beatals, which would soon be changed slightly (in April).

approx. – It is believed that the name of the group “Beatles” appeared in April 1960. Most likely, from the words of Paul McCartney (Paul: “One evening in April 1960...”). According to thebeatleschronology.com, the name "The Beatals" was suggested by Stu Sutcliffe in January 1960 and was the band's original name. He is mentioned by Paul McCartney in his letter to summer camp Butlins. It is possible that when they performed at the art college on Fridays in the first months of 1960, they did not have any official name at all.

From Paul McCartney's interview for Flaming Pie:

Floor: Long years There was confusion about who came up with the name “The Beatles”. George and I clearly remember that it happened like this. John and some friends from art school were renting an apartment. We all huddled there on old mattresses - it was so cool. We listened to Johnny Barnett records and raged until the morning, as teenagers do. And then one day John, Stu, George and I were walking down the street, suddenly John and Stu said: “Hey, we have an idea for the name of the group - “The Beatles”, with the letter “a” (if you follow the rules of grammar, it was supposed to be written “The Beetles” - “beetles.”) George and I were surprised, and John said: “Well, yes, Stu and I thought of that.”

This is how this story comes to mind for me and George. But over the years, some have begun to think that John came up with the idea for the band's name himself, and as evidence point to the article "A Brief Digression on the Questionable Origins of the Beatles", which John wrote in the early 60s for the Merseybeat newspaper. . There were these lines: “Once upon a time there were three little boys, their names were John, George and Paul... Many people ask: what are the Beatles, why the Beatles, how did this name come about? It came from a vision. A man appeared on a flaming pie and told them: “From now on, you are the Beatles with an “a.” Of course there was no vision. John joked, in the goofy manner typical of the time. But some people didn't understand the humor. Although, it seems, everything is so obvious.

George: “Where the name came from is debatable. John claims he made it up, but I remember him talking to Stuart the night before. The Crickets, who backed Buddy Holly, had a similar name, but in fact Stewart adored Marlon Brando, and in the film The Wild One there is a scene in which Lee Marvin says: “Johnny, we've been looking for you, the Bugs are bored.” “For you, all the bugs miss you.” Perhaps both John and Stu remembered it at the same time, and we left this name. We attribute it equally to Sutcliffe and Lennon."

Bill Harry: “I was an eyewitness to how John and Stuart [Sutcliffe] came up with the name “The Beatles.” I called them the college band because they weren't using the name "Quarriman" anymore and couldn't come up with a new one. They sat in the house where Lennon and Sutcliffe rented an apartment and tried to come up with a name, they came up with stupid names like “Moon Dogs”. Stewart said, "We do a lot of Buddy Holly songs, why don't we name our band after Buddy Holly's band The Crickets." John replied: “Yes, let's remember the names of insects.” Then the name “Beetles” appeared. And the name became permanent in August 1960.”

Paul: John and Stuart came up with the name. They were at art school, and while George and I were still being pushed to bed by our parents, Stuart and John could do what we only dreamed of—stay up all night. Then they came up with this name.

One evening in April 1960, while walking along Gambier Terrace near Liverpool Cathedral, John and Stewart announced: “We want to call the group The Beatles.” We thought, “Hmm, that sounds creepy, right? Something nasty and creeping, right?” And then they explained that in this case the word has a double meaning, and that was great... - “It’s okay, this word has two meanings.” The name of one of our favorite bands, The Crickets, also has two meanings: the game of cricket and the name of the little grasshoppers. This is great, we thought, this is a truly literary name. (We later talked to the Crickets and found out that they were not aware of the double meaning of their name at all).”

Pauline Sutcliffe: “Stuart didn’t like the band name Johnny and the Moondogs, which he thought was unoriginal. It seemed to him like an echo of such famous groups as Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Johnny and the Pirates.

Bill Harry: "Stewart came up with the name Beetles because it was an insect and he wanted to associate it with Buddy Holly's band the Crickets, since the band was the Quarrymen." approx. – or “Johnny and the Moondogs,” or both?) used many of Holly’s numbers in her repertoire. That's what they told me at the time."

Paul: “I think Buddy Holly was my first idol. It's not that we just loved him. He was loved by many. Buddy was a huge influence on us because of his chords. Because when we were learning to play guitar, a lot of his stuff was based on three chords, and those were the chords we had learned by then. It's a big deal to hear a record and realize, “Eh, I can play that!” It was so inspiring. In addition, on the announced tour of Britain, Gene Vincent was supposed to perform with The Beat Boys. How about "The Beetles"?

Pauline Sutcliffe: “Stuart suggested a new name for the group. Buddy Holly had a band called the Crickets, and Gene Vincent and the Beat Boys were due to tour the UK in the coming months. Why don't they become Beetles? One of the biker gangs in [the film] The Wild One was also called that. Stu was a big fan of Marlon Brando, a popular film actor at the time. He watched films with his participation several times, but one film especially stuck in his soul - “Wild”. The film, shown in Britain, was a resounding success; many wanted to be like Brando’s hero, dressed in the leather of a motorcycle biker leader. They rode their motorcycles with a group of "chicks" and were known as "The Beetles."

Paul: “In the movie Savage, when the hero says, “Even the Bugs miss you!” - He points to the girls on motorcycles. A friend once looked into the American slang dictionary and found out that “bugs” are the girlfriends of motorcyclists. Now think for yourself!”

Albert Goldman: " New member group Stu Sutcliffe suggested the group a new name “Beetles” (Beetles) - this was the name of Marlon Brando's rivals in the romantic motorcycle film "The Wild One".

Dave Persails: In the second edition of The Beatles' autobiography, Hunter Davis reported that Derek Taylor told him that the name was inspired by the movie Wild. The gang of motorcyclists in black leather was called the Beetles. As Davis writes: “Stu Sutcliffe watched the film, heard this remark, and when he returned home suggested it to John as a new name for their band. John agreed, but said that the name would be spelled “Beatles” to emphasize that they were a beat group.” Taylor repeated this story in his book.”

Derek Taylor: “Stu Sutcliffe watched the then famous film “Wild” ( approx. – The film premiered on December 30, 1953) and suggested the title immediately after the film. The plot of the film involves a motorized gang of teenagers, the Beetles. At the time, Stewart was emulating Marlon Brando. There has always been a lot of discussion about who came up with the name "The Beatles". John claimed that he came up with it. But if you watch the movie Wild, you'll see the motorcycle gang scene where Johnny's gang (played by Brando) is in a coffee bar, and another gang led by Chino (Lee Marvin) rides into town, looking for a fight."

Dave Persails: “Indeed, in the film, Chino’s character calls his gang “The Bugs.” In a 1975 radio interview, George Harrison agreed with this version of the name's origin, and it is more than likely that he was the source of this version for Derek Taylor, who simply paraphrased it."

George: “John said, imitating an American accent: “Where are we going, boys?”, and we answered: “To the very top, Johnny!” We said it for fun, but it was actually Johnny, I believe, from "The Wild One." Because when Lee Marvin rolls up with his biker gang, if I heard correctly, I could swear that when Marlon Brando turns to Lee Marvin, Lee Marvin says to him, “Listen, Johnny, I think so and so, “Bugs.” "they think you're this and that..." as if his biker gang were called the Bugs.

Dave Persails: Bill Harry denies the 'Wild' version because he claims the film was banned in England until the late 1960s and none of the Beatles were likely to have seen it at the time the name was coined."

Bill Harry: “The story of the movie “Wild” is not credible. It was banned until the late 1960s and they couldn't see it. Their comments were made after the fact."

Dave Persails: "If that's the case, then the Beatles must have at least heard of the film (it was banned, after all) and may have known the plot line of the film , including the name of a biker gang. This possibility, in addition to what George said, makes it plausible."

Bill Harry: “Also, they were not familiar with the plot of the film, down to such details as small dialogues or a vague title. Otherwise I would have heard about it during my many conversations with them.”

Dusty Springfield: John, a question that you have most likely been asked a thousand times, but which you always... you all give different versions, answer differently, so you will answer it for me now. How did the name "The Beatles" come about?

John: I just made it up.

Dusty Springfield: Did you just make him up? Another brilliant Beatle!

John: No, no, actually.

Dusty Springfield: Before this, were you called by something else?

John: Called, uh, "Quarriman" ( approx. – John says the title is "Stonemasons", but not "Johnny and the Moondogs". Again, to the fact that both names were used at that time?).

Dusty Springfield: Ooo. You have a stern character.

From an interview with the Beatles:

John: When I was twelve years old, I had a vision. I saw a man on a flaming pie and he said, “You are the Beatles with an ‘a,’” and so it was.

From a 1964 interview:

George: John came up with the name “Beatles”...

John: In a vision when I was...

George: A long time ago, you see, when we were looking, when we needed a name, and everyone was coming up with a name, and he came up with “The Beatles.”

From an interview with Bob Costas in November 1991:

Floor: We were asked, uh, someone asked, “How did the band come about?” And instead of answering, “The band started when these guys got together in Woolton Town Hall at 19...”, John muttered something like, “We had a vision. One man appeared before us on a bun and we had a vision.

From an interview with Peter McCabe in August 1971:

John: I used to write so-called “Beatcomber” notes. I used to admire Beachcomber ( approx. — Beachcomber - beach bum, sea wave) in the [Daily] Express, and so every week I wrote a column called "Bitcomber". And when I was asked to write a story about the Beatles, it was while I was at Alan Williams' club, the Jacaranda. I wrote with George “the man who appeared on the flaming cake...” because even then people were asking: “Where did the name “The Beatles” come from?” Bill Harry said, "Look, they ask you about it all the time, so why don't you tell them how the name came about?" So, I wrote: “There was one man, and he appeared...”. I did something like this back in school, all this imitation of the Bible: “And he appeared and said: “You are the Beatles with an [letter] “a” ... and a man appeared from the sky on a flaming pie and said, you are the Beatles.” with an "a".

Bill Harry: "I asked John to write a story about the Beatles for Mercy Beat, and I published it in early 1961, and that's where the 'flaming pie' story came from." John had nothing to do with the title of the column. I liked "Beachcomber" in the Daily Express and gave that title "Bitcomber" to his column. I also came up with the title “The Questionable Origins of the Beatles as Recounted by John Lennon” for this article in the first issue.”

From an interview in The New York Times, May 1997, regarding the title of the album's title track, "Burning Pie":

Floor: Anyone who hears the words "flaming pie" or "unto me" knows it's a joke. There is still a lot that remains fiction because of the compromise. If not everyone agrees with the story, someone has to give in. Yoko kind of insists that John every right to this name. She believes that he had some kind of vision. And it still leaves a bad taste in our mouths. So when I was looking for a rhyme for the words “cry” and “sky,” “pie” came to mind. "Burning Pie" Wow!

Pauline Sutcliffe: “Stu's offer was accepted by John, but since he was the founder and leader of the group, he had to contribute to this matter. And although John loved and respected Stu, it was important to him that he had the final say. John suggested replacing one of the letters. Ultimately, brainstorming with John led to the modified Beatles, you know, as in beat music."

Cynthia: “To keep up with their changing stage persona, they decided to change the band's name as well. We had a heated brainstorming session around a beer-soaked table in the Renshaw Hall bar, where we often went for a drink.”

Paul: “When John was thinking about the name Crickets, he wondered if there were other insects to take advantage of and play off of their name. Stu suggested first “The Beetles” (“Beetles”), and then “Beatals” (from the word “beat” - rhythm, beat). At the time, the term "beat" did not just mean rhythm, but a certain trend in the late fifties, a musical style based on rhythmic, hard-hitting rock and roll. The term was also a reminiscence of the “beatnik” movement that was booming at that time, which ultimately led to the emergence of such terms as “big beat” and “Mercy beat”. Lennon, who was always not averse to puns, turned it into "Beatles" (a combination of these words) "just as a joke, so that the word would have something to do with beat music."

Floor: John came up with it [the name] mainly as a name, just for the band, you know. We just didn't have any name. Uh, well, yeah, we had a name, but we had about a dozen of them a week, you see, and we didn't like it, so we had to settle on one specific name. And one evening John came over with the Beatles and gave some kind of explanation that it should be spelled with an “e-a”, and we said: “Oh, yes, that’s banter!”

From a 1964 interview:

Interviewer: Why “Bi” (B-e-a), instead of “Biya” (B-e-e)?

George: Well, of course, you see...

John: Well, you know, if you leave it with a "B", a double "ee"... It was quite difficult to get people to understand why it was a "B", never mind, you know.

Ringo: John came up with the name "The Beatles", and he will tell you about it now.

John: It just means Beatles, doesn't it? Do you understand? It's just a name, like "shoe."

Floor: "Shoe." You see, we couldn’t call ourselves “Bashmak”.

From telephone interview in February 1964:

George: We had been thinking about a name for a long time, and we were just blowing our minds with different names, and then John came along with this name "Beatles", and it was great, because in a way it was about an insect, and also a pun, you know. , "b-i-t" to "bit". We just liked the name and accepted it.

John: Well, I remember the other day someone at a press conference mentioned [the group] “Crickets”. It slipped from my mind. I was looking for a name similar to "Crickets", which has two meanings ( approx. – the word "crickets" has two meanings, "crickets" and the game "Croquet"), and from "crickets" I came to "beaters" (Beatles). I changed it to "B-e-a" because it didn't have a double meaning - "beetles" - " B-double i-t-l-z" has no double meaning. So I changed it to "a", added "e" to "a", and then it began to have a double meaning.

Jim Stack: What are the two meanings, to be more specific.

John: I mean it doesn't mean two things, but it does mean... It's "beat" and "Beetles" and when you say it, people think of something creepy, and when you read it, it's beat music.

From an interview with Red Beard, KTXQ Radio, Dallas, April 1990:

Floor: When we first heard [the band] The Crickets... Going back to England, there's a game of cricket, and we knew about the cheerful, returning cricket Hoppity ( approx. – cartoon 1941). So we thought it would be brilliant, a really amazing title with a double meaning, like the game style and the bug. We thought it would be brilliant, we decided, well, we'll take it. So John and Stewart came up with this name that the rest of us hated, the Beatles, which is spelled with an "a." We asked: “Why?” They said, “Well, you see, it's bugs, and it's a double entendre, like Crickets.” We were influenced by many things, from different spheres.

Cynthia: “John loved Buddy Holly and the Crickets, so he suggested we play with insect names. It was John who came up with the idea of ​​Beetles. He made them into “Beatles”, noting that if you reverse the syllables, you get “les beat”, and this sounds in the French manner - elegant and witty. In the end they settled on the name "Silver Beatles."

John: “And so I came up with: beetles (beetles), only we will write it differently: “beatles” (Beatles is a “hybrid” of two words: beetle- beetle and to beat- hit) to hint at a connection with beat music - such a playful play on words."

Pauline Sutcliffe: “And after a brainstorming session with John, The Beatles were born - you know, as in beat music?”

Hunter Davis: "So, although John came up with the final name, it was Stu who created the sound combination of the band's name that became the basis of the band's name."

Pauline Sutcliffe: “Without a doubt, if Stu and John had not met one day, the group would not have the name “The Beatles.”

Royston Ellis (British poet and novelist): “When I suggested to John in July that they come to London, I asked what the name of their group was. When he said it, I asked him to write the title. He explained that they got the idea from the name of the car “Volkswagen” (beetle). I said that they had a “Beat” lifestyle, “beat” music, that they supported me as a beat poet, and I asked why they didn’t spell their name with an “A”? I don't know why John is thought to have adopted this spelling, but I inspired him to go with it. His oft-quoted history of the title refers to "the man on the flaming cake." This is a humorous reference to the night I made a frozen chicken and mushroom pie for dinner for the guys (and girls) in that apartment. And I managed to burn it.”

Pete Shotton: “Having completed my training, I was eventually persuaded to join the police as a plausible alternative. To my horror, I was immediately sent on patrol (where would you think?!) to Garston, the site of the Blood Baths! Not only that, I was also assigned to the night shift, and my weapons were a traditional whistle and a flashlight - and with this I had to protect myself from the wild animals of those notorious vile streets! I was not even twenty then and, walking around my police station, I experienced incredible fear, so it is not surprising that after a year and a half I resigned from the police.

During this period I had relatively little contact with John, who in turn was absorbed in his new life with Stuart and Cynthia. Our meetings became more frequent after I became a partner with the owner of the Old Dutch Cafe, a more or less decent hangout near Penny Lane. The Old Woman was one of the few places in Liverpool that stayed open until late at night, and for a long time served as a convenient meeting place for John, Paul and all our old friends.

John and Paul would often hang out there at night after the band's gigs and then catch their buses at the Penny Lane terminus. By the time I started working the night shift at the Old Woman, they had already adopted black leather jackets and pants as their uniform (? approx. — most likely, Pete eventually forgot that “skin” appeared after Hamburg) and baptized himself into the Beatles.

When I inquired about the origins of this strange title, John said that he and Stuart were looking for something zoological, like Phil Spector's "The Little Bears" and Buddy Holly's "The Crickets." Having tried and discarded options like “Lions”, “Tigers”, etc. they chose Beetles. The idea of ​​calling his group such a low life form appealed to John's twisted sense of humor.

But, despite the new name and clothes, the prospects of the Beatles, and John in particular, looked, to put it mildly, discouraging. By 1960, Merseyside was teeming with hundreds of rock 'n' roll bands, and some of them, such as Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and Jerry and the Pacemakers, had far larger followings than the Beatles, who had not yet permanent drummer. Moreover, in Liverpool, which occupied a rather modest place among other cities, even Rory and Jerry did not have the desire to achieve primacy in rock and roll as an end in itself. However, John already convinced himself that sooner or later the whole country, if not the whole world, would learn to pronounce the word “beetles” with the letter “a”.

Len Harry: “One day they were talking about how they were going to change the name of the group to The Beatles, and I thought what a strange name. You immediately remember some crawling creatures. For me it had nothing to do with music.”

Peter Frame: “Since January the group has been performing under the name “Beatals” (Beatals). From May to June under the name “Silver Beetles”, from June to July under the name “Silver Beatles”. Since August, the group has been called simply “The Beatles.”

Fact No. 5037

In 1966, in Texas, religious groups staged a public burning of Beatles records in response to a phrase that John Lennon said in an interview: Lennon said that “Christianity is in decline, and the Beatles have become more popular than Jesus Christ.”

On Saturday, August 13, 1966, one of the first record bonfires was held in Longview, Texas, hosted by local radio station KLUE.

The next day, August 14, the tower of this radio station was struck by lightning. The lightning strike damaged much of the equipment and sent the news director to the hospital.

Fact No. 5096

In 2009, a specialization called "The Beatles, Popular Music and Society" was opened at Liverpool's Hope University. The curriculum states the history of the group in the context of world history. The training consists of four 12-week semesters, and at the end of it the student defends thesis and receives a master's degree. "Thousands of books have been written about The Beatles, but there is not a single serious scientific study among them. Now that forty years have passed since the breakup of the group and passions about this have subsided, it’s time to start studying The Beatles. Liverpool is the most appropriate place for this, as all the musicians were born and raised here,” comments Michael Broken, senior lecturer in the Popular Music course at Hope.

Source: article by Pavel Filippov, Rolling Stone magazine, April 2009

Fact No. 5514

British scientists have proven: the British loved the Beatles because they sang about... the weather. This is what The Telegraph claims, citing the findings of experts from Oxford and Southampton universities. Scientists examined 308 Beatles compositions and found that weather was mentioned in 48 works; Thus, the share of songs about weather in their work was 16%.

People in the UK love to talk about the weather, and the Beatles were no exception: they wrote the most songs on the topic among more than 900 authors and performers whose work was studied in this scientific work.

The study was published by Weather magazine. Experts analyzed the texts music genres, tonality and connection with certain weather phenomena. It turned out that out of 500 greatest songs of all time (according to Rolling Stone magazine) 7% of compositions are about the weather. Of the 190 songs, 86 are sung about the sun, in 74 cases about rain. The Beatles' “Here Comes The Sun” is also mentioned there: the authors were inspired by the first sunny spring day after a long, cold winter.

THE BEATLES

(eng. The Beatles) - English vocal and instrumental quartet, undoubtedly the most popular musical ensemble 1960s. Ensemble members - John Lennon (October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980), Paul McCartney (b. June 18, 1942), George Harrison (b. February 25, 1943) and Ringo Starr (real name Richard Starkey, b. July 7, 1940) - natives of Liverpool and people from a proletarian environment. The Beatles (Lennon, McCartney and Harrison on guitars and vocals, Starr on drums) created a style characterized by loud sound (achieved by using electrically amplified instruments) and a pronounced beat (rhythmic pulsation).

The ensemble was founded in 1956 joint performances Lennon and McCartney, who were soon joined by Harrison. Drummer Peter Best played with them for two years, but Starr replaced him in 1962. The name "Beatles" became the name of the group, displacing other names: "Quarriman", "Moon Dogs", "Moonshiners" and "Silver Beatles". The punning name of the quartet, which evokes associations with the name of an insect (beetle - “beetle”) and the designation of rhythmic pulsation (beat), owes its birth to both Lennon’s witty invention and Buddy Holly’s group “Crickets”.

At first, the Beatles, like other Liverpool groups, performed in small clubs. Their music was not original: a traditional mixture of British and American rhythms - rock and roll, skiffle (improvisational music performed by English amateur artists on unusual instruments: washboard, children's pipe, square guitar, etc.) and a simple variety of jazz 1920-1930s, which was the basis of rock and roll and skiffle. But the main attention of the public was attracted by the young performers themselves. The teenagers really liked the mischievous wits of Lennon and McCartney, the authors of most of the ensemble’s songs, the sad clown Starr, who loved rings and therefore chose the pseudonym “Ringo,” and the quiet, poker-faced Harrison, the lead guitarist who composed several Beatles hits.

In 1961, Brian Epstein, a young record dealer, became their manager. He began by changing their image (in particular, expensive formal suits appeared instead of leather jackets). After the Beatles performed at the London Palladium in 1963, they became famous throughout the country, and a sensational success on American television a year later brought them international fame.

In the films A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), the cinematic fantasies of American director Richard Lester, combined with the Beatles' inherent desire for irony and farce, created an atmosphere close to the comedies of the Marx Brothers In these far from sentimental films, there was also room for a skillfully made sentimental hit (for example, the song I want to hold your hand) - here Lennon and McCartney were simply virtuosos.

The album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, released in 1967, showed that the Beatles had entered a time of musical maturity. Apparently, this was the first rock album based on a certain a cross-cutting theme; it commented with gentle irony on life in a modern industrial society - the conflict between fathers and children, the influence of drugs, the culture of the middle class. Melodic songs are marked by a clear rhythmic pattern and innovative richness of the arrangement. Original electronic noises were used. The sitar, an Indian string instrument, was used. Harrison took sitar lessons from the famous Ravi Shankar). The imagination of the arranger and conductor George Martin emerged, and the guidance of manager B. Epstein, who from 1963 until his death in 1967 was a co-author of their success, was discerned.

The album Sergeant Pepper proved that the Beatles were a phenomenal phenomenon, and not a one-day sensation that arose on the crest of Beatlemania. Experimenting with classical, eastern, and electronic music, the Beatles brought a vibrant, questing spirit to popular music while expanding their fan base to include young intellectuals and businessmen. The list of Beatles hits is quite extensive: Michelle, Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby, Help! (Help!), Nowhere Man, A Day in the Life, Norwegian Furniture, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Yellow Submarine ), Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, The Fool on the Hill, Hey Jude! (Hey Jude).

In addition to joint participation in recordings, concert performances, and films, two members of the ensemble, Lennon and McCartney, were engaged in individual creativity. Lennon wrote the books In His Own Write (1964) and A Spaniard In the Works (1965) - collections of prose and poetry with intricate puns. McCartney, remaining in line with purely musical creativity, wrote the music for the film The Family Way (1967). The Beatles' last album, Let It Be, was released in 1970. That same year, the group broke up, and each of the ensemble members went their own way. Lennon released several albums in collaboration with his wife, artist Yoko Ono. In 1980, he was shot and killed by one of his fans in New York.

The three remaining Beatles reunited in 1995 to record The Beatles Anthology, a two-CD album featuring previously unreleased studio recordings and live performances. Of particular interest in this edition was the “new” Beatles song “Free as a Bird,” where McCartney, Harrison and Starr superimposed their voices and instrumental accompaniment on a working recording made by Lennon shortly before his death. After this edition, two more anthologies were published (both in 1996), and the second also included another “new” song, Real Love, in which the three Beatles narrated Lennon’s archival recording.

Russian Dictionary Colier. Russian dictionary Colier. 2012