The BeatlesFour Men and a Zebra

On a quiet street

in north London

there’s a zebra

crossing that

attracts almost as

many tourists as

Buckingham

Palace.

O ne sunny morning in 1969 a small group of people went

outside the EMI studios in North London. Road traffic was

stopped for a while a photographer shot a few pictures. It took

just ten minutes to immortalize Abbey Road for one of the most

famous album covers in the history of pop music. Ever since,

the otherwise unremerkable zebra crossing has been a place of

pilgrimage for generations of Beatles fans. Let’s follow in the

footsteps of the „fab four” in London.

T he best place to start is Carnaby Street. Although it does not have any obvious connection with The Beatles it is synonymous with London in the „swinging sixties”. The small shops with colourful clothes and accesories set trends for the younger generation all over the world. The street’s heyday is long gone but fashionable and extravagant costumes can still be found there, as well as sixties memorabilia.

Hysterical crowds

T hen off to the Palladium Theatre where The Beatles played

in October 1963. The place was besieged by fans for the entire

day of the concert and the police could hardly control the

crowds. This show was the turning point in their career and the

beginning of the „Beatlemania”, as one paper dubbed what

happened that day. The next morning the front pages of every

newspaper had long stories and large pictures of the hysterical

crowds. The news hardly mentioned how well or how badly the

group had played but simply how much chaos they had caused.

A few weeks later during a charity concert at the Prince of Wales Theatre, John Lennon made his famous remark: „Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands” and looking up to where the Royal family was sitting, he added: „All the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewellery”. From starting out simply as an interesting pop group, The Beatles had become a sensation everybody was writing about, even the quality dailies which considered themselves too serious to cover pop stories. Sociologists and psychologists started to analyse the phenomenon; Parliament debated the consequences of employing thousands of extra policemen to keep order during their concerts. Manufacturers all over the country competed to get concessions to use the word ‘Beatles’ on their products. Even leaders of the Church of England at their annual meeting discussed whether it was simply „healthy fun” or whether The Beatles were a „psychopatic group” of young men who should be stopped before they did too much damage. It was also pointed out that that one week’s worth of their income could finance the building of a cathedral in Africa.

F rom the Palladium it is only short walk to 3 Saville Row –

headquarters of Apple, the company that ran the growing

Beatles empire. In the basement the famous „White Album”

was recorded and on the rooftop the band played their last-

ever concert. After forty minutes the police stopped it.

Star-struck studio

T he next destination is Abbey Road, the best-known Beatles

landmark in London and arguably the best-known rock

landmark in the world – not to mention the fact that it’s crossed

by the only zebra crossing ever to become a tourist attraction.

EMI studios opened in 1931 and soon become renowned

worldwide. The list of stars who have recorded there is very

ipressive – from a multitude famous classical musicians to Cliff

Richard, Eric Clapton, Kate Bush, Duran Duran, The Manic

Street Preachers, Radiohead and Oasis. The best selling album

ever recorded by a British group, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of

the Moon, was recorded there, as well as the soundtrack to the

film Star Wars.

Cliff Richard

Eric Clapton

Kate Bush Duran Duran

The Manic Street

Preachers Radiohead

Oasis

B ut let’s get back to The Beatles. The album they were

recording in 1969 was originally to be called „Everest” and the

cover photo was to have been taken in the foothills of the

highest mountain on earth. But nobody could really be

bothered to fly all the way to the Himalayas and, as London’s

sunshine was so tempting, the „four lads from Liverpool” just

went outside the studio for the photo shoot. As a result the final

album was simply named Abbey Road.

Is Paul dead?

T he picture not only enshrined the zebra crossing in our

hearts and minds but also added to some crazy rumours

circulating at the time that Paul McCartney was dead. The proof

was apparently that only he was walking barefoot and that the

band looked like a funeral procession: John Lennon being the

priest, Ringo Starr looking like an undertaker, Paul – a corpse,

and George Harrison – the gravedigger. And for those for whom

this wasn’t enough , there was further proof: the registration

number of car parked in the background was 28IF, apparently

meaning that Paul would have been twenty-eight if he had

lived.

E MI studios are not open to the public, as music is still

recorded there. But visitors leave graffiti on the studio’s walls

and often take their own version of the famous album cover

while crossing the street. Nowadays, however, it can be

dangerous and is certainly annoying for drivers. If, after all this

traffic-hopping, you feel in need of refreshment, visit the Abbey

Road Café located in the St. John’s Wood tube station just a few

minutes’ walk from the studios. There, while enjoying an

excellent cappuccino, you can browse through a wide selection

of musical memorabilia and of course listen to the music

recorded round the corner. You can even learn that the first

zebra crossing was painted in 1951 in Slough as part of a nwe

road safety programme. Soon afterwards zebra crossings

spread across the whole of Britain.

T here are many more places connected with the „fab four” in

London. Houses they lived in, registry offices where they

married, locations of their movies etc. But probably the best

place to finish our trail is the New British Library. There, among

some of the most precious music manuscripts of history, next

to Handel and Bach you can see several original Beatles lyrics,

including the words of their most enduring song „Yesterday”,

written by Paul McCartney on the back of an envelope.

George Harrison

John Lennon

Paul McCartney

Ringo Starr

George HarrisonBorn on 25th February 1943 in Liverpool

in England, died on 30th November 2001 in Los Angeles in the USA.

As the youngest member of The Beatles, Harrison was constantly overshadowed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Although „Don't Bother Me", „I Need You" and „If I Needed Someone" revealed a considerable compositional talent, such contributions were swamped by his colleagues' prodigious output. Instead, Harrison honed a distinctive guitar style, modeled on rockabilly mentor Carl Perkins, and was responsible for adding the sitar into the pop lexicon through its complementary use on „Norwegian Wood".

Harrison's tact and the way he has dealt with his inner self should not be underestimated; the „quiet" Beatle seems to have this part of his life totally sorted out.

He supervised the magnificent reissue of All Things Must Pass in 2000, and rumors of a new album began to circulate. This was hampered in 2001 when it was confirmed that Harrison was being treated for cancer.

John LennonBorn on 9th October 1940 in Liverpool in

England, died 8th December 1980 in New York City in New York in the USA.

John Winston Ono Lennon has been exhumed in print more than any other popular musical figure, including the late Elvis Presley, of whom Lennon said that he „died when he went into the army". Such was the cutting wit of a deeply loved and sadly missed giant of the twentieth century. As a member of the world's most successful group ever, he changed lives, mostly for the better. Together with his wife Yoko Ono, he attempted to transform the world through nonmusical means.

Lennon had a brilliant sense of humor and a deeply romantic heart. He could be cruel and unbelievably kind; he could love you one minute and destroy you with his tongue a few minutes later. Opinions as to his character are subjective. What is undeniable, is that the body of songs he created with Paul McCartney is the finest popular music catalogue ever known. His composition „Imagine" was voted one of the songs of the millennium, and for many of us has more power and meaning than any national anthem.

Paul McCartneyJames Paul McCartney, born on 18th

June 1942 in Liverpool in England.

Although commitments to The Beatles not unnaturally took precedence, bass player/vocalist McCartney nonetheless pursued several outside projects during this tenure.

However, despite this well-documented independence, the artist ensured a critical backlash by timing the release of McCartney to coincide with that of The Beatles' „Let It Be” and his announced departure from the band. His low-key debut was labeled self-indulgent, yet its intimacy was a welcome respite from prevailing heavy rock, and in „Maybe I'm Amazed”, offered one of McCartney's finest songs.

Musically however McCartney seemed fired up, singing and playing with an energy not seen for many years. In other areas McCartney might be seen as an overachiever, with his original paintings and his book of poetry.

Ringo StarrRichard Starkey, born on 7th July 1940 in

Dingle in Liverpool in England.Starkey established his reputation as

drummer and he later became acquainted with The Beatles, and having established a lively rapport with three of the group, became the natural successor to the taciturn Pete Best upon his firing in 1962. Ringo – a name derived from his many finger adornments – offered a simple, uncluttered playing style which formed the ideal bedrock for his partners' sense of melody. Although overshadowed musically, a deadpan sense of humor helped establish his individuality and each album also contained an obligatory Starr vocal. The most notable of these was „Yellow Submarine", a million-selling single in 1966.

He undertook many interviews in 1998 when Vertical Man was released. It seemed for once that Starr had something to say about the past, although his apparent anger stems from the fact that he is still regarded as the „merely" the drummer for The Beatles. That is unlikely to ever change, and whilst he may tire of constantly having to recycle the past, to the detriment of his still active solo career; ex-Beatle Ringo Starr was far too important for millions of people.

Lyrics

Eleanor Rigby

Ah, look at all the lonely people!Ah, look at all the lonely people!Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the churchWhere a wedding has been.Lives in a dream,Waits at the window, wearing a faceThat she keeps in a jar by the door.Who is it for?All the lonely people, where do they all come

from?All the lonely people, where do they all

belong?Father McKenzie, writing the words of a

sermonThat no one will hear.No one comes near.Look at him working, darning his socks in the

night.

When there’s nobody there, what does he care?

All the lonely people, where do they all come from?

All the lonely people, where do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the lonely people!Ah, look at all the lonely people!Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was

buriedAlong with her name.Nobody came.Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt from his

handsAs he walks from the grave,No one was saved.All the lonely people, where do they all come

from?All the lonely people, where do they all

belong?

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Picture yourself in a boat on a river

With tangerine trees and marmalade skies,

Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,

A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green

Towering over your head.

Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes

And she’s gone.

Lucy in the sky with diamonds,

Lucy in the sky with diamonds.

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain

Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow

pies,

Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers

That grow so incredibly high.

Newspaper taxis appear on the shore,

Waiting to take you away.

Climb in the back with your head in the clouds

And you’re gone.

Lucy in the sky with diamonds,

Lucy in the sky with diamonds.

Picture yourself on a train in the station

With plasticine porters with looking-glass ties,

Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile,

The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.

Lucy in the sky with diamonds,

Lucy in the sky with diamonds etc.

You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away

Here I stand head in hand, turn

my face to the wall,

If she’s gone I can’t go on feeling

two foot small.

Everywhere people stare each

and every day,

I can see them laugh at me and I

hear them say:

Hey, you’ve got to hide your love

away!

Hey, you’ve got to hide your love

away!

How can I even try? I can never

win.

Hearing them, seeing them in the

state I’m in.

How could she say to me, „Love

will find a way”?

Gather round all you clowns, let

me hear you say:

Hey, you’ve got to hide your love

away!

Hey, you’ve got to hide your love

away!

The Fool on the Hill

Day after day, alone on a hill,The man with the foolish grin is

keeping perfectly still.

But nobody wants to know him,They can see that he’s just a

fool,And he never gives an answer.But the fool on the hill sees the

sun going downAnd the eyes in his head set

the world spinning round.

Well on the way, head in a cloud,

The man of a thousand voices talking perfectly

loud.But nobody ever hears himOr the sound he appears to

make,And he never seems to notice.

But the fool on the hill sees the sun going down

And the eyes in his head see the world spinning

round.And nobody seems to like him,They can tell what he wants to

do,And he never shows his

feelings. But the fool on the hill sees the

sun going downAnd the eyes in his head see

the world spinning round.

He never listens to them,He knows that they’re the

fools.They don’t like him.The fool on the hill sees the sun

going downAnd the eyes in his head see

the world spinning round.

Nowhere ManHe’s a real Nowhere Man,

Sitting in his Nowhere Land,

Making all his Nowhere plans for nobody.

Doesn’t have a point of view,

Knows not where he’s going to,

Isn’t he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man, please listen,

You don’t know what you’re missing.

Nowhere Man, the world is at your command.

He’s as blind as he can be,

Just sees what he wants to see,

Nowhere Man can you see me at all?

Nowhere Man don’t worry,

Take your time, don’t hurry,

Leave it all till somebody else

Lends you a hand.

Doesn’t have a point of view,

Knows not where he’s going to,

Isn’t he a bit like you and me?

Nowhere Man please listen,

You don’t know what you’re missing.

Nowhere Man, the world is at your command.

He’s a real Nowhere Man,

Sitting in his Nowhere Land,

Making all his Nowhere plans for nobody,

Making all his Nowhere plans for nobody,

Making all his Nowhere plans for nobody.

„You’re not talking necessarily about music, you’re talking about history. The Beatles did change the world in many, many different ways...”

– rock critic David

Stafford