How did John Lennon meet Paul McCartney?

On Saturday the 6th July, 1957 St Peter's Church held it a annual summer fete in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton.

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Why did The Beatles turn down David Bowie?

David Bowie was heavily influenced by The Beatles 

In 1968 David Bowie left Decca Records where his recording career had got off to an undistinguished start. He was keen to sign with Apple, a new record label set up by The Beatles to encourage new talent.

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Did Bowie cover any Beatles songs?

In 1974 David Bowie went to New York to was record his 'white soul' album Young Americans. He met Lennon at a party where the two men got on well - witnesses have reported that they drew caricatures of each other and drank cognac (hopefully in that order).

Encouraged by this meeting, and keen to get a Beatle on his new album - Bowie phoned Lennon to tell him that he was recording a version of Across the Universe. Lennon agreed to come to the studio play acoustic guitar. The session was a success and Lennon later said he liked Bowie's  version better than his original recording with The Beatles on Let It Be.  

Fame

The two Englishmen returned to the studio for a jamming session. As they improvised, guitarist Carlos Alomar played a riff he had intended for Bowie cover of the R & B song Footstompin. Impressed, Bowie and Lennon then developed this into a new song in which Lennon sang 'aim' over the Alomar guitar. 

Bowie then rewrote the lyric, changing 'aim' to 'fame'. The resulting single was Bowie's most successful in the US, reaching the Top Ten for the first time.  

Influence of Beatles on Bowie

Pete Doggett has unearthed some interesting connections. 

I was struck ... by the influence the Beatles had on Bowie's work in the 70s. Some of that influence is obvious - the McCartney-inspired piano styling of 'Oh! You Pretty Things', for example. As early as 1965, in an obscure song entitled 'That's Where My Heart Is', Bowie sounded as if he was learning how to write songs by listening to With The Beatles. 

Other musical links between Bowie and the Beatles were more surprising {like the} influence on 'Blackout' from the 'Heroes' LP. In more recent times Bowie  covered George Harrison's 'Try Some, Buy Some', claiming that he hadn't realised that George had written the song.
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Taken from The Beatles Teaching Pack (£3.99) 

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Five Fun Facts about The Beatles?

• Which song did The Beatles sing on the first worldwide satellite broadcast?
• How many records have the Beatles sold? 
  

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How did The Beatles get their name?

Dusty Springfield: John, this is a question which you've probably been asked a thousand times before, but you always..., all of you give different versions, different answers, so you are going to tell me now. How did the Beatles get their name?

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Who was the tallest Beatle?

'Evidence' of an alleged height disparity 

The official record has Lennon, McCartney and Harrison as the same height: 5'11" with Ringo Starr 5'8". Some have speculated that these figures are a little generous:

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Which was the first song written for Sergeant Pepper?

In August 1963 The Beatles returned to the Cavern to play what proved to be their last gig there. It proved a chaotic event with frequent power-cuts causing frequent interruptions. During one of the forced intervals, Paul McCartney calmed the crowd by playing impromptu acoustic version of an old favourite.

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Who was rejected for the Sergeant Pepper album cover?

There are 87 people and props on the cover of Sergeant Pepper

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When did The Beatles last play at the Cavern?

The last time The Beatles played the Cavern Club in Liverpool was on Saturday, August 3rd, 1963. 

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Who was 'lovely Rita, Meter Maid'?

Lovely Rita meter maid

Nothing can come between us

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