The Beatles

“The Beatles” were a British music group, which existed in the nineteen-sixties. The band is probably one of the most successful musicians in our music history and has shaped the music and its significance up to the present day.
Now we are going to tell you about every member of the band.

The Beatles, as they became known, consisted of four members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Each member is briefly described below.

1. John Lennon:

John Winston Lennon (born in the year 1940 in Liverpool, Great Britain) was the founder of the band. He played a very important role in the “Beatles”. He didn’t only play guitar and harmonica in some songs, but also served as lead singer for most of the songs. He wrote these himself, either alone or together with his band colleague and really good friend Paul McCartney.

Youth: John was known at a young age for his rebellious, impertinent manner and action. As a student, he often had problems, for example due to bad grades or inappropriate behaviour. Probably all this was a consequence of his difficult and sometimes really sad childhood: His father had left the family early and, after a family dispute, he had no contact with his mother Julia. So John, four years old at that time, was accommodated with his aunt Mimi. At the age of seventeen, he began to make contact with his mother again. She aroused in John a passion for music (at first especially for Elvis Presley and Rock’n’Roll). A short time later, John’s mother Julia died and her death was difficult for him to cope with.

After the Beatles: Lennon developed in the following years from a young, wild rebel into a completely different direction. Lennon’s typical picture with long hair and beard as well as his characteristic round glasses only came true after the Beatles. Together with his wife, the today well-known artist Yoko Ono, he was committed to peace. This strong attitude to end war and live peacefully shaped Lennon’s life and his songs. A good example of this is the song “Give Peace A Chance”, in which John and Yoko call for “giving peace a chance”.
John continued to succeed even after the successful Beatles era. Songs like “Imagine” or “Happy X-Mas - War is over” are still successful and very well-known today.

Not to be denied is the fact that John Lennon was in any case a sensational and sometimes provocative personality. With quotations like “We (Beatles) are bigger than Jesus” he attracted negative attention.
Lennon was murdered in New York City on December 8, in the year 1980, at the age of fourty. The murderer, Mark David Chapman (reportedly a “mentally disturbed” man) shot Lennon several times and then John died in hospital.
John Lennon left two children from two different marriages (Julian Lennon and Sean Ono Lennon). Despite his death, he continues to influence and inspire numerous musicians and artists.

2. Paul McCartney:

Paul McCartney (born in the year 1942 in Liverpool, UK) was the band’s singer and bassist. He also mastered numerous other musical instruments, such as guitar, piano and organ.
McCartney lost his mother Mary to cancer at a very young age. The sad commonality of not having a mother led Lennon and McCartney to a deep bond, among other things.
Paul was known as the cute, curious, well-behaved and polite Beatle. He was also a very important part of the group. So we also owe him numerous songs that are still successful today.
Paul met his future wife, Linda Eastman, in the mid-sixties.

After the Beatles
Together they formed a very successful band after the Beatles, called “Paul McCartney and Wings”. Paul had three children with Linda and the family lived together on a farm in Scotland. However, Linda also died of breast cancer in the 1990s.
McCartney is still deeply rooted in the music business. His old age doesn’t keep him from going on tour and giving concerts.
In 2013 he released his latest album, “NEW”.

3. George Harrison:

George (born in the year 1943 in Liverpool) was the “quiet Beatle”. He was the youngest member of the four and was a schoolmate of Paul, which is why he was finally accepted into the band. George came from poor backgrounds, which was not unusual for this time and this place.

Harrison played guitar (and in some later songs sitar) and sang mostly in the background. Harrison also sang some well-known songs on his own. We also owe the timeless masterpiece “Here Comes the Sun” to him. He has also written the famous love song “Something”.

George developed a strong passion for Indian culture and religion over time, which is why he also advocated the presence of the sitar in some songs. Making the sitar appear in pop and rock songs became a small trend, and was adopted by the Rolling Stones in the song “Paint it black”, for example.
Harrison met his future girlfriend Pattie Boyd during the shooting of “A hard day’s night”, who later left him for his good friend Eric Clapton.
After the Beatles
George Harrison then married Olivia Newton, with whom he had a son, Dhani Harrison.

George Harrison died in the year 2001 due to illness. He left the world numerous songs and albums that are still very popular today.

4. Ringo Starr:

Ringo Starr, actually “Richard Starkey” (born in the year 1940 in Liverpool), was the drummer of the Beatles. He was accepted into the band after they had previously kicked another drummer, Pete Best, out of the band because he was said to “not fit the Beatles”.
Ringo, like all the other Beatles, came from the British city of Liverpool, but he only got to know the others in the group when they were in Hamburg, Germany and tried to start a career there.
Ringo, unlike the other members, was not active in songwriting. However, he sang a few songs, for example the famous “Yellow Submarine”.

After the Beatles
Ringo is still active in the music industry. He regularly gives concerts with his music group “Ringo and his All star band”.