The Beatles

What’s All the Fuss About?

LP – long play: an old style plastic record, sometimes also used to mean simply a music record

Goliath – something with a massive size or influence, refers to the biblical character

hype – a lot of promotion, advertising, rumour, reputation

back catalogue – older works (music, literature, art, etc.)

psychedelia – often associated with drugs; a sense of increased perception, sometimes accompanied by severe distortion and hallucinations and by extreme feelings of euphoria or despair

It was half a century ago that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr recorded their first LP. Since then, books, TV documentaries and the music press have told the story countless times of how the Beatles learned their trade, topped the charts, conquered the world, made some great music, fell out, and split up. Over the last 40 years, it has more or less become an established fact that the Beatles are the biggest, the most successful and most famous rock ‘n’ roll band of all time. This fact has become established almost to the extent that to someone unfamiliar with the Beatles, it is easy to miss the point and see ‘The Beatles’ as a distant cultural Goliath; sure no band could live up to that hype.

First listening. Fill in the blanks with the missing words.

1. However, I think even fans sometimes ….. just what made the Beatles so good.

2. Beatles songs like Let It Be and Yesterday are so well known that you ….. and overlook the wonderful songs elsewhere in the Beatles’ …..

3. These are not ….. songs – they’re on famous Beatles …..

4. From an early age the ….. shared varied tastes in music, particularly a passion for …..

5. You can hear their love of rhythm&blues on the early albums, with close ….. on songs like This Boy highlighting not only their ….. talent but also John Lennon’s admiration for Smokey Robinson.

6. A broad taste in music and ….. as musicians enabled the same band who sang She Loves You to also pull off the ….. of I Am The Walrus.

7. It is not these factors that make the Beatles’ music …..

8. The Beatles’ ….. and peaceful message appealed to people round the …..

Second listening. Answer the following questions:

1. Where the Beatles only performers?

2. What singers did the Beatles admire?

3. What did George Harrison become associated with?

3. Why were Britain and the world ready for the Beatles?

4. Who was won over by their charm?

5. What albums are named in the story?