The Beatles

JOHN LENNON A POTTED HISTORY

FROM SCOUSER TO AMERICAN.

John Winston Lennon was born on 9th October 1940 during a German bombing raid over Liverpool. Entering the world during such precarious times meant that soon after his birth he was placed under his mother, robust, hospital bed for safety. There was no father at his birth as John’s Dad, Alf, was away at sea. John is named John after his granddad and Winston after the war-time politician and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Strange when you consider that the adult John would be an ardent peace activist.

 At the age of two John found that he moved into the care of his Mum’s sister Mimi and her husband. Not long after this Julia Lennon, John’s Mum, decides to split from the erstwhile Alf and soon begins a new relationship. Reading between the lines it would seem that Julia had more than one relationship which resulted in children. I suppose she would have been thought very wayward in the 1940’s.

 In 1958 Julia is killed by a motorist very near to Mimi’s house where John was at the time. On the 23rd August 1962 John married his long time girlfriend Cynthia Powell. Still married and now a father John meets Yoko Ono in November 1966. Cynthia did not sue John for divorce until 1968.

After Yoko’s divorce to her husband came through, in February 1969, her marriage to John took place. They became Mr and Mrs Lennon in March 1969.

 As music’s Mr and Mrs Strange they certainly were very much of the time. Both of them having artistic talents and living bohemian lifestyles made them popular with the youth culture but a figure of fun to the press.

Following a drug conviction in 1968 the American government attempted to have the Lennon’s deported in 1972. After John and Yoko have a temporary separation they are reconciled in 1975 and Yoko becomes pregnant. John starts a legal battle to remain in the USA and due to Yoko’s pregnancy the deportation proceedings are halted.

In 1975 Sean Ono Taro Lennon is born to John and Yoko. The following year Alf Lennon, John’s Dad, died of cancer. Finally in the summer of 1976 John received his Green Card and was allowed to stay in America. John disappeared from the music scene until late 1980 as he decided to become a house husband and help raise Sean.

In August 1980 John starts recording music again, for the first time in six years. On 9^th October 1980 as Sean celebrated his 5th birthday John celebrated his 40th. By November that year a sensational double album is released. Of course the rest is history.

 On 8th December 1980, late in the afternoon as John left home in, New York, he stopped to give an autograph to a supposed fan. At 10:49 that same evening this fan, one Mark David Chapman, assassinated John as he returned home with Yoko. John was shot and killed and the world wept.

John was to my mind the controversial Beatle. He was artistic, talented, at times wacky, very much of the moment, had strong beliefs and died not only in tragic circumstances, but long before he should have.

John's discography is too vast to list here

PAUL MCCARTNEY A POTTED HISTORY

MACCA

Paul was born James Paul McCartney on June 18th 1942 in Liverpool. Paul was encouraged to be musical by his father who was a self taught pianist. He was originally given a trumpet but was not keen on this instrument. He later swapped it for a Zenith acoustic guitar and so the die was cast.

When his mother died at an early age, he became close to John Lennon who had already experienced a similar situation with the loss of his mother Julia. They both found comfort in playing music. Lennon invited McCartney to join his band The Quarrrymen along with a school friend of McCartney’s, one George Harrison, who joined as the third guitarist. Ringo Starr was to become the drummer in 1962, and this formed the final line up. 
 

The song, "Yesterday," was written by Paul and has been covered by over 2,500 artists. He also wrote the classics Hey Jude, Let It Be and The Long and Winding Road. As a young man Paul had a long standing relationship with Jane Asher but eventually married Linda Eastman in 1969. Linda was disliked by Beatles fans of the day but not as much as Yoko Ono.

Paul and Linda had a successful musical career playing together under the band name of Wings along with Denny Laine and others. They also had a long and very successful marriage until Linda's death in 1998. She had breast cancer.

Paul went on to marry Heather Mills in 2002 but this marriage failed and they divorced in 2006. It was an acrimonious split and the press wrote many sensational stories and there was much gossip. When Paul celebrated his 64th birthday in 2006 it put a whole new meaning on the song "When I’m Sixty-Four," which Paul wrote at the young age of sixteeen.

Many Beatles fans blamed Paul back in 1970 for the degeneration and split of The Beatles. However he has always been a worker and has achieved worldwide success over the years.

 Full discography-

GEORGE HARRISON A POTTED HISTORY

THE QUIET ONE

George Harold Harrison was born on 25th February 1943 and was therefore the youngest Beatle. He was the lead guitarist. He soon became known as the quiet Beatle due to his shy and somewhat introspective personality. As Lennon and McCartney soon became the main songwriters for The Beatles there is little wonder that George was pushed into the background. Also he did not have Lennon's "in your face" personality. However he did write some classic tracks and usually one or two made it on to the albums. When George began performing with The Quarrymen he was only fifteen.

After The Beatles had all become disenchanted with meditation and the mystic east George was still following this more unconventional way of life. Once the Beatles had split George had some solo success and then joined the supergroup The Travelling Wilburys.

Among Harrison's famous compositions are My Sweet Lord, While my guitar gently weeps, Here comes the Sun and Something.

George was married twice.

He married Patti Boyd in 1966 and then Olivia Trinidad Arias in 1978. George sadly died of lung cancer in 2001. 

RINGO STARR A POTTED HISTORY

 THE DRUMMER

Richard Starkey was born in Liverpool on 7th July 1940 in Liverpool. He was to become famous as the drummer in The Beatles but he was not their first. He was the last member, of the now famous Beatles, to join the band. Ringo was the eldest member of the band also but only by a few months.

It was Ringo's Mother's second husband who encouraged the youngster to take an interest in music. Playing with various bands before The Beatles Richie earned his nickname of Ringo by the amount of rings he wore. Ringo met the Beatles in Hamburg when both he and they, were performing. He also stood in for Pete Best a couple of times before actually replacing him as The Beatles permanent drummer.

After the Beatles split Ringo went on to achieve success with some hit albums. During his time with the Beatles he sung as well as writing some of their material. He as also acted.

As a successful drummer pre The Beatles Ringo had his own fa n base already. Many current artistes credit Starr with influencing their drumming style. On a personal note Ringo married Maureen Cox in 1965 and they divorced ten years later. In 1981 Ringo married Barbara Bach.

MORE BEATLES

IMAGINE

THE OTHER BEATLES

Stuart Sutcliffe was the original bassist to join The Beatles.

Just as Brian Epstein was signing The Beatles in 1962 tragedy struck.

On 10th April 1962 Sutcliffe, aged 21, died of a brain haemorrhage whilst in Hamburg.

Despite dying so young Stuart left behind some memorable works of art which show his talent.

He was a member of the Beatles for only eighteen months.

Pete Best was The Beatles original drummer.

He was with them from 1960 until 1962.

Then he was sacked, without explanation, and replaced by Ringo.