Beatles FAQ

Sunday, 15 October 2017

Which classical composers influenced The Beatles?

None of The Beatles had a background in classical music. Paul McCartney says that his (jazz musician) father would turn the radio off if a classical record came on.

Which Beatles song was directly influenced by Bach?

In their early years The Beatles were largely indifferent if not hostile to classical music.

The shortest Beatle' song?

The shortest Beatles song is only 23 seconds long and was unlisted on its original vinyl release.

When did The Beatles last play live?

The Beatles leave Candlestick Park

On August 29, 1966 The Beatles played their last (official) live concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

The Candlestick Park concert was on the surface the triumphant finale of another record-breaking tour. But as Paul McCartney has recently said, it also proved a crisis point:

By then we were totally fed up and then they put us in the back of a stainless steel box {the armoured car they used to leave the Candlestick Park gig}... Now this is like some weird sci-fi thing form 2001 or something. We’re suddenly sliding around in the back of the van...The guys, John [Lennon] and George [Harrison], had been a little {fed up} about touring and, finally, all of us, were like ‘Fuck this!’ So that was the moment.

There was no public announcement and no definitive decision to stop all live performance at some point. But The Beatles would never play a scheduled concert again.

Back to Abbey Road

Liberated from their grueling touring schedule, the band retreated to the recording studio to record material which was beyond what it was then possible to perform live. For 'She's Leaving Home' they would have needed an orchestra for 'Tomorrow Never Knows' tape machines and engineers to work them.

Why The Beatles stopped touring
The Beatles Teaching Pack (3.99)