Being a Beatles Fan in the 21st Century
When I tell people that I am a Beatles fan, I tend to get one of two general responses: “Wow, me too!!” or “Really? Why? Aren’t they, like, really old or something?” Yes, the Beatles music has been around for a long time, but they are just as popular as ever, whether or not the band actually exists as a unit in the present. The Beatles “1” album, a compilation of all 27 of their number 1 hits, has become one of the best selling albums of all time. It was an important release in Beatles history because it brought a whole new generation of teenagers and kids into their fan base. It’s hard for young people today to be Beatles fans. Some get made fun of in school, some have no one to share information and stories about the Beatles with, and some just don’t know how to go about learning more about the band. This is for all of you, but even those of you who do know a lot, may learn something new.
Beatles Music
The first and most important thing to hear is as much Beatles music as you can get your hands on. Searching music stores and online stores that sell Cd’s is the easiest way to go about this. I consider each Beatles album an essential album, but that may not be possible. It is rumored that the original British albums will be remastered in the near future. These would be the best thing to have. Until then, the majority of the Cd’s available in stores are the British versions of the original albums. These are: “Please Please Me,” “With the Beatles,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Beatles for Sale,” “Help!,” “Rubber Soul,” “Revolver,” “Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “Magical Mystery Tour,” “The Beatles” (the White Album), “Yellow Submarine,” “Let it Be,” and “Abbey Road.” Other current releases have been Capital Albums Volumes 1 and 2, which are the American versions of the original albums with both mono and stereo mixes of each song, and “Let it Be…Naked,” basically a stripped-down, less orchestrated version of the Let it Be album.
If you already have all of the Beatles music on CD or vinyl, buying some solo albums is a good next step. Good starters are George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass,” “Living in the Material World,” “Cloud 9,” and “Brainwashed,” John Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band, “Imagine,” and “Double Fantasy,” Paul McCartney’s “Ram,” “Band on the Run,” “Flaming Pie,” and “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard,” and Ringo Starr’s “Ringo,” “Vertical Man,” “Ringo Rama,” and “Choose Love.” There are many more great albums to find by each individual Beatle, so keep your eye out for them all.
Movies and Videos
The Beatles were involved in five movies over the course of their career: “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Help!,” “Magical Mystery Tour,” “Yellow Submarine,” and “Let it Be.” Of these, only “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Yellow Submarine” are officially available on DVD. The others are sometimes available on ebay, or at your local video rental store. The Beatles “First US Visit” is also available on DVD. This is a great look at the band’s first trip to America and includes clips from their famous Ed Sullivan show appearances. To see all four Ed Sullivan shows with The Beatles in full (along with some original commercials), check out the Ed Sullivan Show DVD set “Ed Sullivan featuring The Beatles”
A fantastic DVD set about the history of the band is “The Beatles Anthology,” a 5-disc set including interviews with The Beatles, their producer George Martin, their roadie Neil Aspinall, press officer Derek Taylor, and many more. It’s a great look at the history of The Beatles from The Beatles point-of-view.
As for DVDs of solo material, things to see are the “Wingspan” and “Back in the US” DVDs, the “Concert for George” DVD, “Lennon Legend” and “Gimme Some Truth (the Making of Imagine)”, and “Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band Tour 2003.” There are tons and tons of DVDs available about The Beatles and solo Beatles. The best of these include interviews or concert appearances by The Beatles themselves. Those that don’t tend to be repeated information, not always factual, and tend to be more boring.
Books
There are literally hundred and hundreds of books about The Beatles. Again, the best of these are official releases by The Beatles themselves or authorized by The Beatles themselves. “The Beatles Anthology” is basically the same interviews that are on the Anthology DVDs, but much longer and much more in depth. This book has it all straight from The Beatles themselves. “Shout” by Phillip Norman is the original Beatles biography. It’s well-thought-of among Beatles fans and considered to be one of the most correct books available. “Larry Kane’s “Ticket to Ride” is a great look at The Beatles American tours by one of the few reporters to be lucky enough to travel with the band. “Lennon Revealed,” Larry Kane’s newest book, is one of the best Lennon biographies around. “Many Years From Now” by Barry Miles is one of the best Paul McCartney biographies. “I Me Mine” George Harrison’s autobiography is great and a very interesting look at how George felt about his life only a few years after The Beatles broke up. Joshua Greene’s “Here Comes the Sun” and Simon Leng’s “While my Guitar Gently Weeps” are also good George Harrison biographies. “Ringo Starr: A Life” by Alan Clayson is one of the few Ringo Starr biographies available. Other interesting reads are “Here There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the music of The Beatles” by Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, “Postcards from the Boys” by Ringo Starr, “High in the Clouds” a children’s book by Paul McCartney, and “Blackbird Singing” a poetry book by Paul McCartney.
Finding Friends and Fans
One of the most difficult things for newer Beatles fans is finding others who feel the same way. Luckily, nowadays, we have the Internet. The Internet has been a huge help to Beatles fans. There are many places to go to find new Beatles-fan friends online. Check out the message boards at www.paulmccartney.com (click “Community) and www.georgeharrison.com (roll over the bottom-right flower petal and click “message board”). There is also a John Lennon forum at www.johnlennonforum.com and a Ringo Starr forum at http://ringoto.jconserv.net/index.php. Check out numerous Beatles discussion groups on Yahoo Groups too. There are some groups specifically for different topics, and for different age groups. Websites like MySpace are also good for chatting with online Beatles friends.
Meeting other Beatles fans is also very easy through different Beatles-related events. Going to see Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr in concert is a fantastic experience. Beatles fans in general are very open-minded, talkative, full of stories and information, and eager to chat to anyone about the band.
If you live near New York City or Chicago, the annual Fest for Beatles Fans is always a fun time. The New York Metro fest help at the Crowne Plaza in the Meadowlands is usually help toward the end of March or beginning of April, while the Chicago fest at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare is held in mid-August. At these conventions, there are many special guests – musicians, authors, and speakers as well as a gigantic shopping place filled with memorabilia, photography and art exhibits, games, auctions, and more. Check out www.thefestforbeatlesfans.com for more info on that.
Another great way to become involved with Beatles fans near you is by finding a local Breakfast with the Beatles radio show on a local Classic Rock or Oldies Station. In Los Angeles look for Chris Carter’s Breakfast with the Beatles. In Philadelphia, Phoenix and San Jose, listen for Andre Gardner’s Breakfast with The Beatles shows. Andre’s show can also be heard via live audio stream at www.wmgk.com (Sundays 9am-11am EST), www.kslx.com (Sundays 7am-9am MST), and www.kfox.com (Sundays 8am-9am PDT). Joe Johnson’s Beatle Brunch is available in many cities across the nation. Visit www.beatlebrunch.com for information on that show. Many of these shows hold local events such as parties and live broadcasts where you can hang out with Beatles fans like yourself!
A final, very expensive way to meet other Beatles fans and learn about their history is to visit Beatles-related sites around the world. If you live near New York City, a great stop is Strawberry Fields in Central Park, a memorial for John. Beatles fans in New York City tend to visit this spot often, so people are around daily. The most crowded, but also the nicest days to visit are October 9th, John Lennon’s birthday and December 8th, the day John passed away. Fans gather on these days as well as other days to reminisce, talk, sing, and play music. In New York, you can also see the Ed Sullivan Theater, the Dakota building where John and Yoko lived (and where Yoko still lives), and CafÃ?© La Fortuna, one of John’s favorite restaurants.
A trip to England is also a great experience for Beatles fans. Visiting London, fans can visit Abbey Road Studios, where most of The Beatles music was created, various Beatles homes and offices, and landmarks from movies and their lives. Fans can take walking tours of all of these places. Visit www.beatlesinlondon.com for information on these tours. In Liverpool, fans can see and go inside John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s childhood homes, see Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane, visit The Beatles Story museum, and take the Magical Mystery Tour around Liverpool for even more landmarks. For more information, visit www.visitbeatlesliverpool.com and www.caverncitytours.com.
And in the end…
As you can see, even though The Beatles are no longer a current band, there are millions of ways for people to get involved in the worldwide community of Beatles fans and learn more about this history of the music. Have fun out there Beatles fans! Maybe I’ll see you around!
