Beatles FAQ

Before The Beatles broke up in 1970 ,  their singles  outsold their LPs . Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash This was the standard pattern of record sales at that time. LPs were considered a luxury item and priced beyond the reach of most teenagers.  The Beatles did have an unusual multi-generational appeal. And the kids who bought their singles would later come back to buy not just the studio albums but various compilations. From  Statista Studio Albums The Beatles officially released  13  studio  albums between 1962 and their breakup. Over time,  the biggest seller has been  Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band   ( 1967 ), with an estimated 32 million The first three Anthology albums have sold more than 13 million. Later acts, like Fleetwood Mac and Elton John , benefited from the increasing availability of affordable stereo systems . Older fans were now buying Beatles albums in large numbers, but these sales were dwarfed by those of...

  photo b y   Nick Fewings  on  Unsplash Worldwide sales of physical singles are difficult to estimate accurately, and the following are estimates based on available data.

Warning! Not exactly to scale This is a surprisingly controversial question. The Beatles fan club and other 'official' sources stated  that Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison as the same height: 5'11" (180cm), with Ringo Starr 5'8" (172cm) Early publicity photos emphasise a certain height uniformity. This harmonised with the identical suits and ‘Beatle’ hair styles. It was as if you could walk over their heads without breaking step. Late 60s photos tended to emphasise individual difference rather than collective branding. They revealed that Paul was/is fractionally taller than John, who in turn had the slightest of edges over George. Ringo was/is closer to  5'6"  (168cm) Great Hoax? A belief that the real (small) Paul was replaced by a taller 'fake Paul' or Faul is a key component of the (bonkers)  'Paul is Dead' conspiracy theory .   'Evidence' of an alleged height disparity  McCartney brazenly maintains that he is still ver...

The first British Beatles LP Please Please Me (1963) We didn’t sing our own songs in the early days — they weren’t good enough   John Lennon We started as a little covers band  Paul McCartney

On their first fan club Christmas Record (1963), The Beatles quote various secular Christmas songs: Rudolf, Jingle Bells, etc. But a single Czech Christmas carol forms the theme: 

Reluctant Santas: Beatles Christmas Show at the Cavern 1961 The gigging schedule for  December 1961 was the busiest yet. The Beatles had a single day off for turkey and flopping on the sofa in paper hats. The Beatles clock on On December 9th, The Beatles signed contracts appointing Brian Epstein as their new manager.  Weeks later, Epstein gave each of them a pointed Christmas gift — a travel alarm clock. Attached was a business card with the message: ‘My little bit to get you all on time.’ This alluded to their chaotic timekeeping — Paul McCartney almost missed one crucial meeting because he was having a bath.  But as Lewisohn points out, it also symbolized a change in their fortunes. From now on, they would be ‘going places’. Christmas 1961 — Beatles upstaged by BOXING NIGHT On December 27, the coldest night in a decade, The Cavern held a Beatles Christmas Party. It got off to a rocky start when Pete Best phoned in sick. Who could stand in on the stic...

"But that isn't my car!" Paul McCartney Lovely Rita meter maid Nothing can come between us There are two origin stories - three if you count a composite version.

John Lennon was brought up as an only child in practical terms, living with his Aunt Mimi and her husband, George Smith. He had regular contact with two (half) sisters - Julia and Jackie Dykins - named after their father, Bobby Dykin Two half-brothers on the paternal side were born much later: David Henry in 1969 and Robin in 1973 - see here .   Secret  John suspected that he had a 'missing sibling' from an early age. This hunch was perhaps based on overheard family conversations.  In 1964, the now world-famous Beatle, hired private investigators. They found no evidence to support his theory.  It was not until Ingrid (formerly Victoria) Pedersen revealed that she was Julia's third biological daughter. Ingrid's story John's 'secret sibling' came from his mother's short relationship with a Welsh soldier, 'Taffy' Williams, stationed in Liverpool in 1944. During this period, Julia Lennon was a single parent living in rented rooms with her infant...

John Lennon never lived with other children, but he had a total five half siblings. Two of these he never met while a third he only saw on one occasion.  

Beatles go 'capo-crazy' on Rubber Soul What does a capo do? A capo raises the pitch of stringed instruments including guitars and ukuleles. They are generally used to either make a chord progression easier to play or to match the vocal range of a singer.  Did The Beatles use capos effectively? For themselves, yes. But they were not experienced in accommodating the vocal ranges of guest singers. Famously, Cilla Black failed her first audition for Brian Epstein because the The Beatles backed her in a lower key than she could manage. Who showed them how to use them? Musically they learned through instinct and imitation rather than the application of theory. They would effectively reverse engineer songs and then experiment. Buddy Holly was an early model and he often played with one.  Lennon's capo use on 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away' on Beatles For Sale is an example of the influence of Bob Dylan. In an era without YouTube tutorials to encourage accurate copy...