FEATURE:
The Digital Mixtape
When I’m Sixty-Five: The Beatles’ Hits and Deep Cuts
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THIS year is a very special one…
when it comes to The Beatles. As the legendary band formed in 1960, I wanted to mark sixty-five years since their formation. Although they did not release their debut album Please Please Me until 1963, the band formed years previously. It is amazing but not a surprise that they are still being talked about all these years later. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr changed culture and the music world! Their legacy is almost impossible to put into words. Before I get to a playlist featuring a lot of their best-known songs and some deeper cuts, here is some background about the band’s formation and earliest years:
“The Beatles were an English four-piece rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960.
The members of the band were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, with John and Ringo playing the guitar, Paul on bass guitar and Ringo on the drums.
In March 1956, John Lennon, aged 16, and a few of his friends from school played in a skiffle band called the Quarrymen. After meeting John in the July of that year, Paul McCartney joined the band as a rhythm guitarist and invited his friend George Harrison to watch the band perform. George then auditioned to be in the band, but John thought that he was too young, however, after several months of persistence, he performed lead guitar in a performance as was enlisted as their lead guitarist.
By January 1959, John’s friends from school had left, and he began studying at Liverpool College of Art. The three guitarists, John, Paul and George, were playing under the name Johnny and the Moondogs, and playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer.
Stuart Sutcliffe, an art college friend of John and band member, suggested that the band name should be Beatals, as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets. They used this name until May of 1959, where they went to the Silver Beetles, the Silver Beatles and then in August, shortened to simply The Beatles.
The Early 1960s
In August 1960, their unofficial manager Allan Williams had booked a residency for the band in Hamburg, but without a full-time drummer, they had to audition for a new band member. They auditioned and hired Pete Best in the same month. Six days after hiring Pete, they left for Hamburg for a 3 and a half month residency. The Beatles played in Hamburg in several different locations, but mainly in the red-light district.
Stuart Sutcliffe decided to leave the band early, in 1961, making Paul the bassist, and they were signed into another contract in Hamburg until June 1962. After their second residency, they became increasingly popular in Liverpool with the Merseybeat movement, but they were growing tired of playing the same clubs night after night.
During one of their performances at The Cavern Club, they met Brian Epstein – a local store owner and music columnist. He became their manager in 1962, after courting them for a couple of months. Brian eventually released the band from contractual obligations in Hamburg a month early in exchange for a recording session.
In April, the band was met with horrific news: Sutcliffe had died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage.
Three months later, Brian negotiated a deal with George Martin, the owner of EMI’s Parlophone label. Their first recording session with George Martin took place on 6th June 1962, at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios. Martin immediately complained about Best’s drumming ability, and suggested a session drummer in his place. The band was already considering dismissing Best, and therefore hired Ringo Starr in August 1962. Starr left his band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, to join them”.
To celebrate sixty-five years of The Beatles, I have compiled an ultimatum mixtape. From their debut single, Love Me Do (1962), through to their last-released track, Now and Then (2023), this is a salute to the greatest band of all time! This year also marks fifty-five years since they split. In their decade of existence, there is no denying the fact that The Beatles transformed the world and left an impression no other artist can match. Sixty-five years after they formed, they are still very much being discussed and dissected. Documentaries and books very much keep them relevant and adored. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr proud of the band’s legacy and occasionally performing together. Even though they split in 1970, The Beatles will influence and find new fans…
CENTURIES from now.