From the Editors of PEOPLE comes a beautifully illustrated history of The Beatles that takes you from their boyhoods and cavern days in Liverpool, to the Beatlemania era that swept from the UK around the world, to the Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road years that pushed the boundaries of pop music, and finally to the making of their last album, 1970’s Let It Be. As 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ break-up, People offers a loving look back at John, Paul, George, and Ringo, their music, the moments, the movies, and their lasting impact on fans worldwide
The Story of the Beatles: The Band That Changed Music Forever
The Studio Albums • March 22, 1963, saw the first Beatles LP in the U.K. Over seven years they recorded a dozen others, with some 200 songs (185 of them original). Today, 50 years after breaking up, the Beatles remain the world’s bestselling band.
Yesterday • THROUGH ALL THE MADNESS OF BEATLEMANIA, TO THE PRIVATE MOMENTS OF INSPIRATION, THE MOST CELEBRATED POP GROUP OF ALL TIME BROUGHT JOY TO THE WORLDS THEY CONQUERED
Meet the Beatles! • BORN IN A PORT CITY BATTERED BY GERMAN BOMBS, RAISED IN A BRITAIN STRUGGLING BACK TO ITS FEET, FOURWORKING-CLASS BOYS HEARD THE SIREN CALL OF AMERICAN ROCK AND ROLL AND PUT LIVERPOOL ON THE MUSICAL MAP
Come Together • MONEY WAS TIGHT, SCHOOL WAS BORING, ELVIS WAS GOD: HOW SOME LIKE-MINDED LIVERPOOL TEENS BECAME THE BEATLES
The Beatles in Hamburg • PLAYING MORE THAN 270 NIGHTS IN ROWDY GERMAN NIGHTCLUBS, THE FAB FIVE (FROM LEFT, THAT’S PETE, GEORGE, JOHN, PAUL AND STU) ARRIVED MEDIOCRE BUT, SAID A PEER, ‘TURNED INTO A STOMPING-GOOD BAND’
P.S. We Love You • HOME FROM HAMBURG, THE BEATLES FOUND MAGIC IN A LIVERPOOL CAVERN. FANS BECAME FANATICS, AND SOON THE PHENOMENON HAD A NAME: BEATLEMANIA
On American Shores • WHEN THE LADS HOP THE POND, RECORD CROWDS JAM THE AIRPORT, AND THEIR FIRST U.S TELEVISIONAPPEARANCE. DRAWS A STUNNING 73 MILLION VIEWERS
At the Movies • WITH A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, HELP AND YELLOW SUBMARINE, THE BEATLES LEFT THEIR MARK ON ANOTHER MEDIUM
Curtain Down • AFTER A ROUGH YEAR AND A FINAL LIVE SHOW IN SAN FRANCISCO, THE BEATLES SWEAR OFF TOURING AND RETREAT TO THE STUDIO, WHERE THEY ARE REBORN
The Sgt. Pepper Sessions • ON THEIR EIGHTH ALBUM, THE BEATLES INVENT SOUNDS, PUSH BOUNDARIES AND CHALLENGE FANS: ‘WOULD YOU STAND UP AND WALK OUT ON ME?’
1969: The Year in Pictures • JANUARY SAW THE BEATLES PLAY THEIR LAST CONCERT, ON APPLE CORPS’ ROOF. BY DECEMBER THEY HAD WRAPPED TWO ALBUMS AND WERE PLANNING SOLO CAREERS
Their Last Days • AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER ALL FOUR BEATLES SEPARATELY QUIT THE BAND, IF ONLY BRIEFLY. BUT JOHN LENNON’S 1969 CALL FOR A ‘DIVORCE’ WAS THE REAL BEGINNING OF THE END. PAUL MCCARTNEY TOOK THE SPLIT PUBLIC IN 1970 WITH A STATEMENT AND SOLO ALBUM
CREDITS
People