5 Interesting Facts About The Beatles

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr formed a musical quartet that took the music industry by a storm in the 1960s and went on to achieve monumental global success.

The four-piece, known worldwide as The Beatles, recorded 12 studio albums, had 17 number one hits, and to this day have sold over 2 billion singles worldwide.

The term 'Beatlemania' was coined by the media to describe the fanbase's adulation and hysteria for the band in the 1960s.

So, in honour of the 'fab four' as they were so lovingly known, here are five interesting facts about The Beatles…

1. It’s All in the Name

In 1956 when John Lennon was just a schoolboy, he and a few of his friends from Quarry Bank High School formed a band and they called themselves 'The Quarrymen'.

A year later they recruited Paul McCartney and then George Harrison in 1957.

By 1960, all the original band members apart from Lenon left the band, so they decided they needed a new moniker seeing as the group wasn't made up of mainly Quarry Bank High students anymore.

The boys took inspiration from Buddy Holly and The Crickets and using a similar insect theme they brainstormed and finally came up with 'The Beatles'.

2. They Do Say You Should Never Meet Your Idols

As a teenager, Lennon was a huge fan of Elvis Presley – he was a huge inspiration to him. The 'King of Rock' n' Roll' was a big reason why Lennon pursued his dream of becoming a famous musician.

As he once said: "Nothing affected me until I heard Elvis. Without Elvis, there would be no Beatles", so we have a lot to be thankful for The King!

A few years into The Beatles' rise to fame, they got the opportunity to meet Presley while they were on tour in LA, and it wasn't exactly what Lennon had hoped would be.

They had a brief jamming session, but afterwards, John said the encounter was disappointing, he felt Elvis was lukewarm and not particularly interested in getting to know them.

3. If at First You Don't Succeed...

Despite the perpetual success of The Beatles that we see now, they did have trouble finding their feet in the music industry when the band was starting out.

In a bid to secure a record deal, the band's manager, Brian Epstein, organised an audition for the boys at Decca Records in north London in 1962.

After performing 15 songs for the executives at the studio, Decca rejected the band, telling Epstein guitar groups weren't as popular as they once were and they didn't think The Beatles had any prospect of a future within the music industry.

Less than six months later, EMI took the boys on as an artist, and they went on to achieve colossal global success over the next eight years.

Luckily for Decca, they didn't make the same mistake again, because they signed the Rolling Stones the following year.

4. Ringo Starr or Richard Starkey?

The Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr's real name is Richard Starkey.

The first part of his stage name came from his love of jewellery, namely the multiple rings worn on each finger.

The second half of his name was a simple abbreviation of Starkey, it just so happened it sounded very 'showbiz', and he was more than happy to use it as a stage name that would go on to be recognised by people all over the world.

5. Lucy's Controversy

The 1967 hit 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' is one of The Beatles' most recognisable songs of all time.

There was, however, a great deal of controversy with the song at the time. There was a lot of speculation that the lyrics were a thinly-veiled reference to LSD - even the initials from the title suggest this.

The BBC banned the song from being aired on television with the fear the lyrics would cause offence.

Lennon profusely denied the allegations and insisted 'Lucy' was the name of a girl from his son's school who suffered from lupus.

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We hope you found this article both entertaining and informative.

In the mood for even more of The Beatles? Go ahead and check out our list of The Beatles gifts to surprise a fan of the iconic group with...or yourself!

Thanks,

- Taz & Jay