I was ten years old when The Beatles began to filter into Britain's consciousness - before they took America by storm. Though very young, I was already very much into popular music. Under the bed covers, I would listen to Radio Luxembourg on my transistor radio. The very first single that my brothers and I bought was "Return to Sender" by Elvis Presley. That came out in October 1962 and soon went to top spot in the charts. Another record that came out that month was "Love Me Do" by The Fab Four.
And that was when I started recording the British hit parade in a red exercise book. Every week I would write down the details of the top number and so I noted The Beatles' meteoric rise. "Please Please Me" hit number one in March 1963 and then they were off like a rocket ship.
Nothing before could compare with The Beatles. They had found their own provincial style, honed in Hamburg, Germany and they emerged into the light writing their own songs, making up their own musical rules as they went along. And of course at the heart of it all were two young men - John and Paul. They were both very aware of popular music trends in America.
Both of them had lost their mothers when they were far too young and John hardly knew his wayward father. They had grown up in post-war Britain, a country finding itself again. Old habits and certainties were being replaced and it was as if our nation's youth were ready to find their own music, their own heroes, leaving the past behind. You could rightfully claim that the circumstances were right for The Beatles and maybe The Rolling Stones too - along with several other lesser recording artists. Together they were breaking the mould.
This afternoon, I read the chapter titled "In My Life". Driven mostly by John, Paul helped to process it and give it its wings. However, at its core, you can still hear John, plaintively reaching out in his search for love and belonging. "In My Life" was recorded and first released in the last three months of 1965...
Sounds like an interesting book, full of background and behind-the-scenes type of info about their songs and songwriting process. Let us know what you think of it once you;re done!
ReplyDeleteWill do. I am only a third of the way through the book right now.
DeleteOh dear. That is the song I chose for my dad's funeral. Now I feel quite melancholic.
ReplyDelete.
It was a good choice. Maybe my memory is faulty but I seem to recollect you mentioning your father's links with Liverpool.
DeleteNot Liverpool. He was born in Barnsley.
DeleteSome of the film is filmed in wales
ReplyDelete"John and Paul" has not been turned into a film. I think you must be thinking of a different one.
DeleteAnd since the Beatles broke up they have kept on contributing to the music world.
ReplyDeleteA pretty song. The book sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the few songs I never knew about, I don't recall ever hearing it until now. I was a bit young to be one of the many screaming fans, but my sister was a big fan of Paul McCartney
ReplyDeleteSteve would have loved this book! He called the Beatles "my boys" and, when he was a child, would urge his Mum to cut his hair in their style, even though by then it wasn't at all fashionable anymore. He and his cousin Rob won a talent contest performing "Yesterday", with Rob on the lead guitar and Steve on the drums. They were about 13 then and Rob's Dad took them to pubs all over South Yorkshire where they played on weekend nights for a bit of money, mostly covering Beatles songs.
ReplyDeleteI " saw" the Beatles in about 1964 at The De Montfort Hall in Leicester. I say " saw" because all the idiotic young women in the audience...apart from me.....were screaming their heads off the whole time! To add.....my boyfriend of the time had queued for a long time to get the tickets.....got chatting to a girl, and dumped me not long after! No great loss as it turned out!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds a very interesting book. The Beatles were always my favourite group growing up. I still have most of their LPs.
ReplyDeleteI loved the beatles athough I was ten when they broke up. I rediscovered them in my forties. My favourite is Across the Universe. My daughter, Jessica had this as their first dance at their wedding.
ReplyDeleteIn the autumn of 1965 I was 10 years old and had only just started learning English in school. It would be a few years yet before I was able to start appreciating the lyrics of English/American song writers...
ReplyDeleteSomeplace I have a CD of Beatles music, played in a Baroque style. I should hunt that down.
ReplyDeleteI like their music but they were never really a huge interest to me. I don't know why.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that "In My Life" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. We would live in a different world had the Beatles not come along. As Yoko sang to John once, "With your mind you changed the world."
ReplyDeleteIt makes me so happy to see Paul still playing, still seemingly loving life so fully.
I loved the Beatles and would go to their movies and scream "George" as he was my favorite!! The first songs I remember hearing by them were "She Loves You" and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"! But I loved all of their songs.
ReplyDeleteThe Beatles split the year before I was born but my dad regularly played their music on a Sunday afternoon when I was a kid.
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