Colouring The Past
On this date in 1963, The Beatles released their debut studio album, "Please Please Me" (March 22nd, 1963), marking the beginning of an unparalleled musical phenomenon that would forever change the course of popular music.
After signing with EMI's Parlophone label under the guidance of producer George Martin, the band began recording "Please Please Me" in an astonishingly brief period, completing the entire album in just under 13 hours on February 11, 1963. "Please Please Me" showcased the band's raw talent, tight harmonies, and undeniable chemistry, as well as their unique blend of rock and roll, pop, and skiffle influences. The album featured 14 tracks, including original compositions like "I Saw Her Standing There," and "Love Me Do," as well as a selection of cover songs such as "Twist and Shout," "Anna (Go to Him)" and "Chains."
Upon its release, "Please Please Me" quickly climbed the UK charts, reaching the #1 spot and remaining there for an incredible 30 weeks. The album's success marked the beginning of what would come to be known as "Beatlemania," a cultural frenzy that swept across the UK and eventually the entire world.
THE BEATLES
One of history’s greatest music groups, the Beatles, took the world by storm in the 1960s. The Liverpool band’s domination began when a surprise hit captured ears and hearts.
A fresh-faced John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr released their debut single, “Love Me Do,” in 1962. It performed shockingly well. Then came “Please Please Me.” The single topped the U.K. charts, and Beatlemania spread across England. From there, the Fab Four launched the British Invasion, taking over American pop charts in 1964 with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
The ensuing years saw hit after hit, including “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help,” “Yesterday,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Hey Jude,” “Let It Be,” and “Come Together,” the last off arguably the Beatles’ best album, Abbey Road. But more than 10 years and 21 studio albums after Lennon formed the band, it dissolved. When all was said and done, the Beatles boasted 34 Top 10 hits and 20 number-one singles on the Billboard charts, a record that still stands.
Fun Facts About the Fab Four
As the most famous people in the world, you can bet there were plenty of ways to support The Beatles that weren’t their albums. There were shirts, wigs, hats, branded instruments, board games, ice cream bars, wallpaper, bed sheets, and pillowcases. Nowadays you can find pretty much anything you want with The Beatles’ name on it.
Kaboodle Kits (kind of like a lunchbox), Paul and Linda McCartney Animatronic Caricature Heads, costumes, rings, party cake decorations, nylon stockings, hairspray, ice cube trays, salt and pepper shakers, CD players, wooden nesting dolls, and far, far more have graced store shelves and fan collections. As the most famous people in the world, you can bet there were plenty of ways to support The Beatles that weren't their albums. There were shirts, wigs, hats, branded instruments, board games, ice cream bars, wallpaper, bed sheets, and pillowcases. Nowadays you can find pretty much anything you want with The Beatles' name on it.
With a total of a hundred and thirty-two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, The Beatles are in a league of their own. It's by far the most of any artist, and we guess we shouldn't be surprised. Who could possibly defeat them? Michael Jackson? Whitney Houston? It turns out the second most is Garth Brooks, with a mere fifty-two weeks. Hey, that's still a whole year. They've also had a total of twenty-one number one hits on the Billboard 100 in the United States, also the most of any artist. They also had seventeen number one hits in the United Kingdom.
Beatlemania
Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By October, the press adopted the term "Beatlemania" to describe the scenes of adulation that attended the band's concert performances. From the start of 1964, their world tours were characterised by the same levels of hysteria and high-pitched screaming by female fans, both at concerts and during the group's travels. Commentators likened the intensity of this adulation to a religious fervour and to a female masturbation fantasy. Among the displays of deity-like worship, fans would approach the band in the belief that they possessed supernatural healing powers.
In February 1964, the Beatles arrived in the United States and their televised performances on The Ed Sullivan Show were viewed by approximately 73 million people. There, the band's instant popularity established their international stature, and their unprecedented domination of the national sales charts was mirrored in numerous other countries. Their August 1965 concert at New York's Shea Stadium marked the first time that a large outdoor stadium was used for such a purpose, and with an audience of 55,000, set records for attendance and revenue generation. To protect them from their fans, the Beatles typically travelled to these concerts by armoured car. From the end of that year, the band embraced promo clips for their singles to avoid the difficulties of making personal appearances on television programmes. Their December 1965 album Rubber Soul marked a profound change in the dynamic between fans and artists, as many Beatles fans sought to appreciate the progressive quality in the band's look, lyrics and sound. In 1966, John Lennon controversially remarked that the group had become "more popular than Jesus". Soon afterwards, when the Beatles toured Japan, the Philippines and the US, they were entangled in mob revolt, violence, political backlash and threats of assassination. Frustrated by the restrictions of Beatlemania and unable to hear themselves play above their fans' screams, the group stopped touring and became a studio-only band. Their popularity and influence expanded in various social and political arenas, while Beatlemania continued on a reduced scale from then and into the members' solo careers.
Beatlemania surpassed any previous examples of fan worship in its intensity and scope. Initially, the fans were predominantly young adolescent females, sometimes called "teenyboppers", and their behaviour was scorned by many commentators. By 1965, their fanbase included listeners who traditionally shunned youth-driven pop culture, which helped bridge divisions between folk and rock enthusiasts. During the 1960s, Beatlemania was the subject of analysis by psychologists and sociologists; a 1997 study recognised the phenomenon as an early demonstration of proto-feminist girl power. The receptions of subsequent pop acts – particularly boy bands and Taylor Swift – have drawn comparisons to Beatlemania, although none have replicated the breadth and depth of the Beatles' fandom nor its cultural impact.
