The Beatles are an English rock band formed in Liverpool, England in 1960 evolving from The Quarrymen (John Lennon’s original band with old schoolmates) consisting of the aforementioned John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr with the latter joining last in 1962. They are widely considered to the most influential band of all time by changing the way we listen to and hear music. Growing up when I was younger, I was already aware of their presence around Liverpool. Whether this was with their children’s song Yellow Submarine, (even owning the Lego set at one point), or going past The Beatles mural in Seaforth, or even listening to their music specifically from 1963-65 on their compilation album, 1, on days out with my Nan and Grandad to places like Southport since they would never continue where they left off. This is partially why I hold a grudge to Love Me Do even if I appreciate the track for being their debut single in 1962. However, I still wouldn’t consider myself a fan as I hadn’t taken any real interest into their work as a whole. The moment this changed for me is last year when I listened to their 1967 single All You Need Is Love when the track randomly appeared on my YouTube recommendations. There was something about the song which gripped me despite the formulaic and repetitive lyrics and medley. I consider it to either be Lennon’s echoey, yet soothe sounding vocals thanks to the songs backing track, or perhaps the trombone in the chorus which for some reason I find a unique edition. I immediately decided to listen to more of their work to eventually be fascinated and appreciative of the decisions they made as musicians including their choice to come up with original songs for their first LP (Please Please Me) rather than sticking to mostly covers, the Abbey Road medley of songs on the B-side of the album of the same name, and pretty much everything during the Revolver sessions at a time where touring was becoming exhausting and relentless, creating new and unique methods of music which were unheard of and innovative in 1966 such as the uses of reverse tracks and backwards vocals now that they had more time to experiment. All You Need Is Love is important on itself, not only for The Beatles, but for media in general as it was filmed live and performed at EMI Studios as Britain’s contribution to Our World, the first live global television link broadcasted via satellite in 24 different countries on the 25th of June 1967 with over 400million estimated to have tuned in to watch showing union and equity at a time of war and inequality. The message of the song was a basic yet simple enough for everyone to understand internationally. Within over a year I have still come to listen to their music (including their solo work), laugh at their humorous approach to questions by the press and even own many of their albums (CD), films and other merchandise. I think the song which got me into The Beatles specifically would have a huge impact on someone who wanted to try and get into their work as the message of the song is simple and clear, yet perfectly represents what The Beatles were all about. Even at the hardest of times in the 1960s with the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam and fears of the world ending due to nuclear threats, they were always advocates for peace and love and their music spread this message across the world, quite famously denying playing at concerts if segregation occurred during their US tours. However, if there's one thing I sometimes consider, it would be whether I would have got into The Beatles if I had previously heard All You Need Is Love on the 1 album on days out with my Nan and Grandad, and if I had, whether I would've bothered to have clicked on the YouTube video when it appeared on my recommendations back in May 2021?
“More than any ideology, more than any religion, more than Vietnam or any war or nuclear bomb, the single most important reason for the diffusion of the Cold War was… The Beatles.”
Mikhail Gorbachev
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