Beatles FAQ

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...

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' was the result of his mother's brief 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...

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 started by playing coffee bars, church halls and small family homes. By the time of their second US tour no standard music venue was large enough to meet the demand for tickets. So promoters like the legendary Sid Bernstein hired sports stadia.

The first pressing of Abbey Road had something missing

The original pressing of Abbey Road  was a song short

John bore a striking resemblance to his father Alfred Lennon was unmistakably present in his son's physical appearance But he only had a walk-on - or rather walk-off - role in his upbringing.  John would later tell Beatles biographer Hunter Davies "It was like he was dead."

Ringo joined The Beatles in August 1962. From the start there was generally a 'Ringo song' on which he sang lead vocal on every EP and LP. 

Mimi never formally adopted her nephew. He came under her guardianship following a complex sequence of events. In 1940 Julia Lennon gave birth to John. At the time she was married to the biological father (Alf aka Freddie Lennon) they were effectively separated. In fact they had never had a joint home together. Julia initially brought up her son by alone, working in bars and cafes to support him. In 1945, she had a second child, Victoria. The father, a Welsh soldier, soon disappeared out of the picture. This time Julia put her daughter up for adoption. A suitable home? Towards the end of 1946, Julia further scandalised her family when she took up with John ‘Bobby’ Dykins, a wine steward at the Adelphi Hotel. The couple moved into a tiny flat in which there was literally one bed. Cohabitation outside marriage was still a major taboo but would not in itself have been of interest to the authorities. The couple sharing a bed with a child did raise concerns. Mimi reported these to the socia...

Ringo Starr has a baritone voice with a limited range but a distinctive tone. Though not usually identified as a vocalist, he has sung regularly throughout his professional career.

John Lennon  first discovered  The T ibetan Book of the Dead  in  the Indica Bookshop, hang out for London's grooviest tambourine shakers in the mid-60s.  John began to scan the shelves. His eyes soon alighted upon a copy of The Psychedelic Experience, Dr Timothy Leary's psychedelic version of the Tibetan Book of the Dead.  John was delighted and settled down on the settee with the book. Right away, on page 14 in Leary's introduction, he read, 'Whenever in doubt, turn off your mind, relax, float downstream.' He had found the first line of 'Tomorrow Never Knows' .   Many Years From Now  Barry Miles Did Lennon understand what he was singing? Though intellectually curious, Lennon always cheerfully conceded that his research tended to be haphazard.  In  Anthology , George Harrison dismisses Lennon's knowledge of Indian mysticism:  I am not too sure if John actually fully understood what he was saying. He knew he was onto something ...

In the film Help,  The Beatles live together in the ultimate bachelor pad. Four doors lead into a miraculous shared space, with all mod cons. No boring housework to worry about. 

I am like a chameleon, influenced by whatever is going on. If Elvis can do it, I can do it. If the Everly Brothers can do it, me and Paul can. Same with Dylan. John Lennon I could feel myself climbing a spiral walkway as I was talking to Dylan. I felt like I was figuring it all out, the meaning of life.”  Paul McCartney In their early lyrics, Lennon and McCartney broadly stuck to the Tin Pan Alley lyrical format: essentially I love you/please love me too .  This allowed for some quirky takes: Paul's When I'm Sixty Four, for example, took a very unusual perspective for a teenage songwriter. But at some level the words usually circled back to the trials and tribulations of romantic love: I Want to Hold Your Hand, From Me to You etc. Along Came Bob Two factors disrupted this approach. One was practical - there are only so many ways to say 'I love You' and The Beatles success demanded the rapid production of new material. The other was their desire to keep ahead of their...