They were all just normal lads who were brought up in the streets of Liverpool which gave teenagers hope that they could make it big like the Beatles. The Beatles inspired the ‘Mersey Sound’, ‘Freddie and the Dreamers’, ‘The Mersey Beats’ and; ‘Gerry and the Pacemakers’,’ Searchers’ and’ Animals’ and all had number one hits. For the first time ever, it was fashionable to have Liverpool, or Newcastle or Birmingham accents. Epstein successfully managed all of these bands. The influence of the Beatles went far beyond the music. Their clothes, hair, their accents, their offhand attitudes seemed to sum up the new age of the sixties. They seemed at first at least, just like the guy next door. For The impact of the Beatles on teenagers was unbelievable. They were not just musicians they were heroes. Soon the press followed the Beatles everywhere and made the phrase Beatlemania. The Beatles represented the victory of youth, they were the sixties. Teenagers were influenced by lyrics, which started to change their way of thinking. Every young person in the country wanted to be the Beatles, they were idolised were ever they went. Manufacturers soon realised the money they could make from the teenage market. The Beatles faces were put all over magazines and dolls.
The Beatles lyrics were very powerful. For example the song lyrics in the song ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ openly suggested the use of LSD and teens would follow them. The Beatles 60s became the drug using lads of 1965 and onwards. The Beatles themselves started to change a lot. The clean-cut, cheerful boys of 1963 (someone your mother would like you to marry) followed the weird and wonderful Maharishi, an Indian guru (someone your mother would not like you to marry). They began to dress in psychedelic clothing, take drugs and adopted a more outrageous pose. The Beatles changed from singing Innocent songs describing teenage love songs like ‘I want to hold your hand’ to peace anthems like ‘All I Need Is Love’ or drug influenced tracks like ‘strawberry fields’.
The Rolling Stones and The Who started out copying the Beatles, but soon developed a completely different style. Their lyrics were far more suggestive and the behaviour of the five grabbed a great deal of attention each band tried to be more outrageous than the other. Members of the rolling stones were arrested for the possession of drugs- a response from the establishment that led even the times to describe it as ‘a butterfly being crushed under a wheel’.
Big changes started to happen as a result of these bands, TV and Radio began broadcasting non-stop music these were the most popular channels with teenagers. Radio Caroline and Radio London had huge following. They set the scene for the radio stations that were to come. They were designed to appeal directly to young people. Television reacted more quickly to the changing styles of music. ITV began to broadcast ‘Ready Steady Go’ and the BBC started ‘Top Of The Pops’. Both were overnight success stories and these accounts finally showed popular music.
The impact of music in Britain changed the way we live today. The sixties took spending to a new level. Consumer goods became increasingly popular; this was mainly influenced by bands like the Beatles, who had their photos all over clothes to magazines. Lyrics had changed dramatically, and also the message had changed. Bands such as the Beatles promoted world peace. The Beatles helped boom Britain and this helped Britain to become a major force in pop music. The Beatles ended a new paragraph in British pop music.
