The Beatles.....
how they changed the music world!
Next to records by The Beatles, Beatles posters were a collectors item in. This is one handed out by the Mobil petrol Company.How The Beatles Stopped the City
Beatles records had become must possessions by the time The Beatles hit Adelaide , South Australia, and stopped the city .
Anyone who was supposedly into music HAD to have at least three Beatles albums, if not all of them. People lined the streets from the airport to the Adelaide Town Hall, when the band arrived in Adelaide just to get a glimpse of the Fab Four. I heard the yells of the crowd from inside the building where I worked as they drove past.
At lunch time, down I rushed to the town hall,( with a couple of thousand others) just in time to see them on the balcony there. I fought through the crowd, all waving Beatles pictures, Beatles records and other paraphernalia. I also worked at a petrol station at weekends, and we handed out the above picture to everyone who bought petrol that week,
Yes, in Adelaide South Australia, the Beatles made it to the petrol dealers.
Beatle records ...now a must have item!
That was when I realized how lucky we were to be living in such exciting times. There was a real feeling that things were changing, musically and socially. What a time! Everyone from Adelaide to Arkansas were yelling "Yeah Yeah Yeah!" and music was uniting the kids.
A music of our own!
The Beatles records were a hot item, I collected ever one of them, as soon as they came out .It was through a Scottish friend of my mothers that I first heard of the Beatles. I had not heard their music, just heard this friend telling my mother they were the in thing in the U.K.
The main discussion at school was based on how many Beatles records one had, and which was your favorite.
My Beatles Prediction
I thought, "Beatles"? What kind of name is that? A band needs a swinging name like "Shadows", or "Tornadoes". Cant make it with a name like that! But then I heard "Twist And Shout" and that was it! Needless to say, (along with my prediction about the Bee Gees) I was a little out with my guess.
A few months later, their I was, in a street here in Adelaide, at 5.30 in the morning lining up with a squillion others, waiting to buy my Beatle tickets. It took a few hours to get to the ticket seller, there was a limit of 6 per person. I bought 6, and went home, 11.30ish, clutching my cherished tickets.
Then to school, with a note in my school diary explaining I was absent "for an important meeting". My teacher looked at the diary, looked at me, and asked "...to get tickets?" What could I say? "Yes Sir" i said expecting to be kept in after school. He smiled, and just handed the diary back.
"Enjoy!" he said.
And I did!
Beatles Australian Tour Programme.The Adelaide Beatles Concert.
It was worth the effort. It really changed my outlook on music, and just could not get over how good they were. Just as I had seen countless of times on TV, the shaking of the heads, three around the mike, at the guitar solo’s, John and Paul backing back from the mikes with George strolling to the front, then John and Paul getting back to the mikes right on cue.
Amazing! I had of course been out and purchased the first couple of Beatle records, so knew there songs. And there were plenty of Beatle record covers being waved around during the show,
How The Beatles Got To Be So Good!
The Hamburg experience. Beatles Paul on piano, drummer Pete Best, Stu on Bass, George and John.Although The Beatles were a Liverpool band through and through, their music was steeped in the Southern states of America, and honed to perfection on the stages of Hamburg
John formed "The Black Jacks" in 1957, later changing the name to "The Quarrymen" after the school they all attended. Paul joined that July, and George in January 1960, auditioning for John and Paul on the local bus on the way home. Stu Sutcliffe won some money in an art competition, and John persuaded him to buy a bass guitar and join the band, despite him not being able to play a note.
Pete Best joined on drums, as his mother owned the Casbah Club, where thy began to play. The name changed between the Beetles, Silver Beetles, and finally The Beatles.
Hamburg was where The Beatles, and many other bands, including The Searchers, Rory Storm and The Hurricanes (where The Beatles met Ringo) and The Big Three really got going. They played The Indra from 17 August to the 30 October, then the Kaiserkellar till the 30 November 1960. Here the Beatles developed their tight stage presentation. And here, the first of the many Beatles records was put down, "My Bonnie", featuring Tony Sheridan on vocals.
On returning to the U.K. and playing their first show at the Litherland ballroom on 27th December, the crowd did not know what hit them. It's also where Paul bought his famous Hofner violin bass, choosing it because he could not afford a Fender precision bass.
An innovative Astrid Kirchherr photo from the early Hamburg days, a then unknown band. L to R Pete Best, George, John, Paul, (on rhythm guitar) ant Sutcliffe on bass.The Beatles first single, produced by George Martin, who took a chance and signed them, went strait to the top of the Liverpool charts, and sold enough to get into the National charts.
Not long after New Musical Express Voted the boys to a surprisingly high place in the 1963/1963 popularity poll.
And introducing the band on the EMI Friday Spectacular, where the audience did not know who was going to appear Muriel Young began introducing the boys using Christian names. She got as far as John.....Paul.....and the rest of the introduction was drowned a mighty barrage of genuine applause. Probably only one other band at that time, (maybe The Shadows) that would have been that well know.
After the Beatles split Paul McCrtney went on the form Wings, then pursued a solo career.
John, George and Ringo all released successful solo albums.
Beatles records on vinyl
In Australia, we got Beatles records pretty much as they were released in the U.K. But, as was often the case with other bands vinyl records, we had a different cover. We frequently missed out on the fold out cover, as with"Sgt Peppers", and "Beatles for Sale" Balbums.
Luckily, there are still Beatles records on vinyl available!
Check these Beatle record classics!
 The first album, with the hit "Please Please Me", the great "Twist and Shout", and of course "Love me Do", (with Ringo on drums!) And the ballad, "A Taste of Honey" showing Paul's ability to sing rock and classics. Released in the U.K. on 22 March 1963, it hit the top of the U.K charts in May. It stayed there for 30 weeks, finally being replaced by "With The Beatles" The famous cover, of course, featured the band at the E.M. I. building in London, where they later returned for an updated, long haired version of the photo for the Red and Blue "Best Of" sets |
 The classic album, that helped break the band worldwide. Recorded in July to October 1961. The LP had advance orders of a half million and sold another half million by September 1965, making it the second album to sell a million copies in the United Kingdom, after the soundtrack South Pacific. "With The Beatles" remained at the top of the charts for 21 weeks, displacing “Please, Please Me” so that the Beatles occupied the top spot for 51 consecutive weeks. Beatle-Mania was on! |
 Ah the Abby Road Beatle record. OK, they were splitting up, fighting etc. but it is still a great album. Not least because of the magic "The End" track with Ringo's only drum solo. And great guitar solo's by McCartney , (first solo) Harrison, (second) and Lennon, (third, and boy can you pick it is Lennon!) It also featured George Harrison's "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" Recorded February-August 1969 (That long ago?!) it was released in September that year. It received a mixed reception, but immediately went to No1 around the world. The street crossing, out the front of Abbey Road studios (the cover photo) has become a major tourist attraction. Even I have walked across it! It is the eleventh album by the Beatles, and second last. The final one to be released being of course "Let It be"  RevolverRegarded as one of the most innovative albums of all time "Revolver" came out on Augustb5th, 1966. The 7th album by the band it was ta progression from "Rubber Sole" using studio technology to the fullest. Listen to "Tomorrow never Knows" as an example. Other tracks include Harrisson's "Taxman", " Eleanor Rigby", "Good Day Sunshine" and "She Said She Said" |
 This was the album I thought was the ultimate in Beatles records, I could not find a track on this I did not like. It was released in December 1965, and only took from October to November to record. Highlights (for me anyway) are "Drive My Car", "Norwegian Wood", and "Girl". This album was considered their most adventurous, and a turning point in music. The use by George of the Indian Sitar, on "Norwegian Wood" lead to many guitarists to follow suit, including Brian Jones on "Paint It Black" The album influenced many musicians including Brian Wilson, Pete Townshend, Ray Davies and others. It ranked 5th on Rolling Stones 500 albums of all time. It was recorded at EMI, Olympic, and Trident Studios.  Beatles For Sale The Fourth by the four. One of the bands best, probably the one I play most. Coming out on 4th December 1964 in the UK the band just started experimenting with studio effects, like fade in ("Eight Days a Week") and feedback, ("I Feel Fine" a single recorded at the same time, not on the album.) Also has "No Reply", "Kansas City" and "Baby's in Black". |
The Revolver Special Edition
The remixed and expanded edition of Revolver was released on 28 October 2022. The editions include a four-LP/one 7-inch-EP super deluxe set, containing the half-speed remastered original album in both stereo and mono, demos and sessions, the EP, and a 100-page book; a deluxe edition, featuring an abridged 40-page book, the new stereo mix, session highlights, and stereo mixes of the singles; and standard digital, CD, and vinyl releases.
Along with the restoration of the original album artwork by Voormann, the record sleeve that holds the session outtakes features Robert Freeman's proposed cover design, featuring the heads of the Beatles in a psychedelic circle.
The Beatles Solo Careers
Each Beatle forged a career after the Fab Four breakup.
Paul McCartney went on to form Wings, then a successful solo career. George Harrison, actually released an album before the bands breakup,(Wonderwall Music in November 1968) and continued to release albums, the last coming out after his death in November 2001.
What Were You Listening to Back in The 60's?
What music were you into way back then? Did you see any great bands?
Share you're memories here!
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Ringo On The Road Again!
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band - Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Gregg Bissonette, Hamish Stuart and Edgar Winter – announce additional shows for 2022.
This is the second leg of tour dates initially planned for 2020. As previously announced Starr will commence the first leg of shows this Spring on May 27 in Canada at Casino Rama concluding on June 26 in Clearwater Florida. The tour will resume in the Fall on September 23 in Bridgeport, Connecticut and end on October 20 in Mexico City.
Ringo affirmed “It is so great to finally announce all these shows we had planned for 2020, and I am really looking forward to playing them!” He continued, “How great to start at Casino Rama, where we’ve begun 5 All Starr tours, and then to go back to the Beacon, and to the Greek, which was the last show we played in 2019 on our 30th Anniversary tour. I can’t wait to see all our fans and until then I’m sending everyone peace and love and see you soon!”
While the Spring tour has the All Starrs primarily on the Eastern seaboard, the Fall will see them head West including shows in British Columbia, Seattle, Portland, San Jose, Paso Robles and Los Angeles.
The Birth of Please Please Me......
The Beatles were in Abbey Road studios to record a follow up to “Love Me Do”, which had reached No. 17 on the U.K. chart.
George Martin offered the Band “How Do You Do What You Do to Me’ as a follow up. Although the Beatles recorded the song, they were not keen on using it as their next single, preferring to use one of their own songs. George Martin said, “OK, if you can bring me a song as good as that, you can record it. John had written “Please Please Me” as a Roy Orbison, or Frank Ifield style song, (as in Franks “I Remember You”). John quickly re-arranged the song and took it to George Martin the next day. After the band had recorded the song in its new format, George Martin said “Congratulation’s boys, you have just recorded your first Number One hit song!” He was right, it went to Number 1 in January1963
The Beatles "Rain"
A classic Beatles song, released as the "B" side to "Paperback Writer". Brilliant bass from Paul, John singing his usual classic style, great drumming from Ringo, and George....well he's George! What more could you ask for? And a good discussion on how the song came about.
"We Can Work It Out"
Did Paul write this about Jane Asher when things were going a bit rough? Another "B" side, this time "Day Tripper" was on the "A" side. The record went No. 1 in the U.K. where it remained for several weeks. Check out John on the keyboard!Footage of The Beatles down here in Australia
Beatles Reading
In Can't Buy Me Love, Jonathan Gould explains why, placing the Fab Four in the broad and tumultuous panorama of their time and place, rooting their story in the social context that girded both their rise and their demise. Nearly twenty years in the making, Can't Buy Me Love is a masterful work of group biography, cultural history, and musical criticism.
Beginning with their adolescence in Liverpool, Gould describes the seminal influences--from Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry to The Goon Show and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland--that shaped the Beatles both as individuals and as a group. In addition to chronicling their growth as singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists, he highlights the advances in recording technology that made their sound both possible and unique, as well as the developments in television and radio that lent an explosive force to their popular success. With a musician's ear, Gould sensitively evokes the timeless appeal of the Lennon-McCartney collaboration and their emergence as one of the most creative and significant songwriting teams in history.
