If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles (Aaron Copland) How accurate is this statement in relation to the development of popular music in Britain?

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‘If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles’ (Aaron Copland)

How accurate is this statement in relation to the development of popular music in Britain?

The Beatles were a phenomenal success throughout the 1960s as they began a new era of music that changed the state of play in the music industry. Their simple chord structures, epitomised on ‘Love Me Do’, and intricate vocal harmonies led them to being a huge success in Britain, as well as the rest of the world. There was a “charge emitted by their music” (p1, MacDonald, 1998) and the new genre of music undeniably inspired other bands to write and perform in a similar style. However not all credit can be given to The Beatles for the development of popular music in Britain. Popular music from America was the initial influence as it “found its way into the UK via the ports” (BBC – h2g2) and as Liverpool was the main port into the UK from America, inevitably the music initially had an effect on musicians in the Merseyside area. This particularly had an effect on a four-piece skiffle group formed in 1956 by John Lennon, The Quarry Men, who over time developed and formed The Beatles in 1960 (MacDonald, 2002).

They were young and brought a new image that was idolised by teenagers. The “four young men behind the music” amazed people and their image resonated “with a youthful and halcyon ideal of those times” (p17, Frontani, 2007). They were later described as “the four most famous and musical men on earth, the best dressed and on a good day the most captivating people anyone can remember” (Taylor, n.d.) and “witty, irreverent, young and lovable moptops” (p86, Frontani, 2007). This look attracted thousands of young men and women, many of whom would copy them in an attempt to idolise this new band. It is therefore possible that the visual change in the sixties was indeed down to The Beatles and they were “a catalyst for much of the change that occurred during the 1960s” (p231, Frontani, 2007).

The Beatles began performing in Germany at The Indra Club, Hamburg, on 17th August 1960 (Cross, 2005). It was described as “the worst of Koschmeider’s clubs, surrounded by narrow streets of pubs, clubs and brothels” (p32, Cross, 2005). They would often have to play for up to eight hours per day but this enabled them to create a very large song library, as Paul recites “but playing like that, you get to have a lot of tunes, if nothing else” (p33, Cross, 2005). They played for forty-eight nights until 3rd October when they were banned for “being too loud” (p348, MacDonald, 1998).

Their initial repertoire began with covers of songs by artists such as Bobby Comstock and The Rooftop Singers and this continued on for a further two years before EMI would consider offering a record contract. Despite an unsuccessful audition with Decca Records at the beginning of the year, their first single was recorded at EMI Studios on Abbey Road in September 1962, and the singles ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘P.S. I Love You’ were released a month later (p81, Everett, 2001).

It was not until February 1963, however, that the release of ‘Please Please Me’ was The Beatles’ first number one single, and the LP remained at number one for thirty weeks (p83, Everett, 2001). Despite this initial success, Gerry and the Pacemakers dislodged them two months later with their number one single ‘How Do You Do It’ (Clayson, 2007). Regardless of the fact that they managed to dominate the UK charts, they were not initially successful in the USA. At first EMI declined to release their singles and passed them onto smaller record companies as “Vee Jay Records release ‘Please Please Me’ in February 1963” (p32 Shuker, 2005), however it is important to note that the single was released in the United Kingdom through Parlophone Records though. It was not until later on for The Beatles as “this all changed with the band’s first US tour in 1964, and the accompanying Beatlemania and chart domination” (p32, Shuker, 2005). The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on 4th February 1964 and were “greeted by 3,000 screaming teenage fans when they arrived at Kennedy International Airport” (p36, Frontani, 2007). This was a breakthrough for The Beatles, as well as future British artists, as they had previously accomplished little or no success in the USA until now. This achievement would go on to be a key factor in encouraging other British bands such as The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and The Who to develop their success in other countries.

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Another aspect that was important to the success of The Beatles was the role of Abbey Road studios. Despite having an album titled after the renowned studios in London in 1969, studio number 2 was “used almost exclusively for Beatle business” which left them “free to create as it suited them” (p131 Frontani, 2007). This freedom gave them the flexibility to write and record whenever they wished as well as being creative with new ideas and creating fusions by mixing other genres into their already successful style. For example, “In ‘Rubber Soul’, the Beatles blend gospel, country music, baroque counterpoint ...

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