The songs are iconic, their faces unmistakable. When John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, all cheeky young lads from Liverpool, exploded on the international stage in the 1960s, with their mop tops and infectious love songs it was a cultural earthquake. Beatlemania swept the globe. The Fab Four’s music and lyrics would continue to grow in maturity and sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Abbey Road broke new ground. After breaking up in 1970, the Beatles found both solo success and tragedy, with Lennon’s 1980 assassination and Harrison’s untimely death from cancer. But their music is eternal. This special edition tells their story and includes: The early days, John and Paul: friends and rivals, the women they loved, and going solo.
They’re Still With Us
In the Town Where I Was Born • The four Beatles grew up within a few miles of one another—in Liverpool—and that childhood matrix would inspire some of their most enduring songs
Yes, I’m Gonna Be a Star • A rock ‘n’ roll boot camp in Hamburg, some carefully chosen hairdos, and, above all, a series of ear-pleasing, foot-stomping songs led to almost unfathomable success
Beatlemania: A Phenomenon in Pictures
I’ll Be Writing More in a Week or Two • The Beatles’ extraordinary work ethic produced increasingly original and experimental songs—as well as hit after hit. Meanwhile, audience fanaticism soured the band on touring
Love Is All You Need • The tumultuous late-stage Beatles had this in common with the early years: extraordinary music, and each other
That Magic Feeling, Nowhere to Go • Creative to the end, the Beatles knew they’d run their course
It’s a Love That Lasts Forever • John Lennon and George Harrison are gone, but the surviving Beatles shine on. And some things remain eternal: the music, the songs, the feeling inside
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