Beatles FAQ

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...

The Beatles learned some very basic, functional German while in Hamburg. They were resolutely English in their approach to pronunciation, intonation and attempting to mimic accent. 

Three female songwriters have co-credits on songs covered by The Beatles

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

Lennon and McCartney frequently named women in song titles - some real, some disguised, several invented. Lennon tried a generic shoutout with Girl, while the cautious George steered clear of naming and/or shaming/celebrating

On July 4th 1966 The Beatle played two concerts in the Philippines as part of what would be their final world tour. These took place over a single afternoon and evening  at the Rizal Stadium, Manila.