"The Beatles!"

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1360596594' post='1973002']
Its 50 years last week since they played in Tamworth according to the local paper, supported by 2 bands one of which was probably just as popular locally as they were at the time.
[url="http://www.thisistamworth.co.uk/s-50-years-Beatles-came-town/story-18022953-detail/story.html#axzz2KbWqakeu"]http://www.thisistam...l#axzz2KbWqakeu[/url]
[/quote]

Give me Gerry Levene and The Avengers anyday.

Please note: This is an attempt to be (mildly) amusing and is in no way intended to imply the The Beatles were not as good as Gerry Levene and The Avengers and that other Beat Groups of the time were available.

[BetaFunk]

Ladies and Gentlemen..............................

[media]http://youtu.be/XCGWYEE3-QM[/media]

Edited February 11, 2013 by BetaFunk

[Jazzneck]

[quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1360596594' post='1973002']
Not really followed this thread, never was a Beatles fan except for maybe the odd Hari Georgeson track in the 70s.

Its 50 years last week since they played in Tamworth according to the local paper, supported by 2 bands one of which was probably just as popular locally as they were at the time.
[url="http://www.thisistamworth.co.uk/s-50-years-Beatles-came-town/story-18022953-detail/story.html#axzz2KbWqakeu"]http://www.thisistam...l#axzz2KbWqakeu[/url]

Interesting to note that in the next weeks paper, people were complaining about them turning up late, in the worst weather the UK has ever known, and only playing for 20 minutes. Mind you, Tamworth people are a bit militant even over 6/- (33 of these new fangled pence)
[/quote]

6/6d in 1963 = £5.47 in todays money!

Counterfeit Beatles £17 this month!

I hope you took to the streets of Tamworth and rioted accordingly.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Jazzneck

[wombatboter]

Recently I wanted to have a tattoo and I wanted to have something which had never let me down on any moment in my life and which made it "better" (also because I picked up a bass because of Paul McCartney) so The Beatles were the obvious choice.
I can't do anything but smile when people put down The Beatles..I think they were amazing songwriters and great musicians.
No one can ever take that away from me...I'll just have another listen to their albums although I don't have to be convinced.
That great feeling when "Penny Lane" comes through on the radio late at night when you're feeling depressed and suddenly you feel better..

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1360597970' post='1973035']
6/6d in 1963 = £5.47 in todays money!

Counterfeit Beatles £17 this month!

I hope you took to the streets of Tamworth and rioted accordingly.
[/quote]
Blimey, that makes the 40 pence i paid to see David Bowie at Kingston Poly an absolute bargain.

[JellyKnees]

You lot want to try working in Liverpool where the whole 'fab four' nostalgia machine gets constantly rammed down your throat... a truly nauseating experience.

I'm not denying their influence or talent etc (although they weren't part of my generation - I'm more of an early 80s kind of a guy - and they aren't really my cup of tea), but Beatle themed hotels ffs.. it's time to move on now.

[JTUK]

[size=5][sub]Gotta say that the musicianship of the Beatles was just about par and adequate at the time..IMO... but they had a lot more than that going for them.[/sub][/size]

[Marvin]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360595882' post='1972978']
Really?

Maybe you lack the imagination to be able to do that.

I don't.
[/quote]

Yes.

It has nothing to do with a lack of imagination. As Steve has already posted it's like saying [i]I could play "Stairway To Heaven" when I was 12. Jimmy Page didn't actually write it until he was 22. I think that says quite a lot . [/i]Or, give me a 1983 Fodera Monarch Deluxe and I'll be able to play every bit as well as Victor Wooten. It's a nonsensical statement.

The Beatles wrote their body of work in a little over 6 years. You're in your 50's and been writing since your teens/20's? You've certainly had the time to convene with other like minded souls and [i][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]come up with a series of albums every bit as varied and interesting as anything the Beatles did. [/font][/color][/i][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]So...?[/font][/color]

[Dad3353]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1360598127' post='1973041']
Blimey, that makes the 40 pence i paid to see David Bowie at Kingston Poly an absolute bargain.
[/quote]

What are these 'pence' of which you speak..?

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1360598096' post='1973039']
Recently I wanted to have a tattoo and I wanted to have something which had never let me down on any moment in my life and which made it "better" (also because I picked up a bass because of Paul McCartney) so The Beatles were the obvious choice.
I can't do anything but smile when people put down The Beatles..I think they were amazing songwriters and great musicians.
No one can ever take that away from me...I'll just have another listen to their albums although I don't have to be convinced.
That great feeling when "Penny Lane" comes through on the radio late at night when you're feeling depressed and suddenly you feel better..
[/quote]
I get a bit tearful when i hear 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da'

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1360599896' post='1973080']
What are these 'pence' of which you speak..?
[/quote]
40 of your Earth pences...........or 40 New Pence as the note on the door said.


I had to raid my piggy bank for the money but hey, it was worth breakin' the piggy to see Ziggy................

Edited February 11, 2013 by BetaFunk

[Jazzneck]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1360599896' post='1973080']
What are these 'pence' of which you speak..?
[/quote]

Pieces of metal which you could use to buy 45s, Woodbines, Watneys Red Barrel, Durex and Old Spice etc. on Friday payday ready for the week-end.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Jazzneck

[flyfisher]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360589548' post='1972794']
But give me and 3 of my musically inclined friends virtually unlimited studio time in a state of the art facility. Give us a sympathetic producer and a team of engineers ready to pander to our every sonic whim. Feed us a diet of previously unheard music and the occasional mind-altering drugs, and then outside of the studio surround us with the cream of innovative artists spanning the whole spectrum of creative endeavour, and I'm sure that we could come up with a series of albums every bit as varied and interesting as anything the Beatles did.
[/quote]

I doubt it, for one simple reason. I don't believe that in the last 50 years there has not been a single bunch of musically-inclined lads (or lasses, of course) who didn't have rich enough parents to indulge their little darlings in enough studio time to churn out a series of albums to world acclaim.

The very fact that it hasn't happened is proof that The Beatles - for whatever reasons - were a unique phenomenon.

Alternatively, perhaps you could argue that an infinite number of monkeys given an infinite amount of time would eventually come up with something to rival The Beatles catalogue?

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1360598127' post='1973041']
Blimey, that makes the 40 pence i paid to see David Bowie at Kingston Poly an absolute bargain.
[/quote]
I still think that 40p to see Yes at the same venue was a bit steep. Now what was that about over rated bands......................

[Dingus]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360589548' post='1972794']
But give me and 3 of my musically inclined friends virtually unlimited studio time in a state of the art facility. Give us a sympathetic producer and a team of engineers ready to pander to our every sonic whim. Feed us a diet of previously unheard music and the occasional mind-altering drugs, and then outside of the studio surround us with the cream of innovative artists spanning the whole spectrum of creative endeavour, and I'm sure that we could come up with a series of albums every bit as varied and interesting as anything the Beatles did.
[/quote]

What a fantastic example of hubris . In some ways I admire your unerring self - belief , because I think that you genuinely believe this .

[Bilbo]

Have stopped reading the thread but the coachloads visiting Paul's house evidences the fact that they are overrated. No-one is worthy of that nonsense.

[flyfisher]

Really? Have you never travelled anywhere to marvel at a work of art, or a historic building, or any other sensory experience? What about people who travel hundreds of miles to a gig - why is any band 'worthy' of playing to 100,000 fans? Or is it only playing to a few dozen people in a grubby club the only thing that's really 'worthy' (which, incidentally, was pretty much what The Beatles started off doing anyway).

This is the same line of reasoning that seems to make certain people dislike Microsoft, Tesco and other successful entities and/or people who have built up a world wide influence. The dislike is fine, it's all subjective after all, but denying the quite obvious influence and impact on millions/billions of lives is, to coin a phrase, nonsense.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360595882' post='1972978']
Really?

Maybe you lack the imagination to be able to do that.

I don't.
[/quote]

To be fair, I have absolutely no doubt that, given unlimited studio time and financial patronage, you'd be able to turn out a series of albums that YOU would consider every bit as creative and innovative as The Beatles.

The trick is to convince a few billion other people.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1360599276' post='1973069']
Yes.

It has nothing to do with a lack of imagination. As Steve has already posted it's like saying [i]I could play "Stairway To Heaven" when I was 12. Jimmy Page didn't actually write it until he was 22. I think that says quite a lot . [/i]Or, give me a 1983 Fodera Monarch Deluxe and I'll be able to play every bit as well as Victor Wooten. It's a nonsensical statement.

The Beatles wrote their body of work in a little over 6 years. You're in your 50's and been writing since your teens/20's? You've certainly had the time to convene with other like minded souls and [i][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]come up with a series of albums every bit as varied and interesting as anything the Beatles did. [/font][/color][/i][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]So...?[/font][/color]
[/quote]

Absolutely. Let me at it.

And if I'm allowed to re-use influences from my "back catalogue" It would be much more straight forward to do.

The difference between what I've done so far and what The Beatles did, is that they had all day every day to work on the songs and recordings. Most of us here have had to juggle school/university/jobs with their musical activities. And then complicate that when all the members of your band have differing levels of availability at any one time, and the actual opportunities for you to come together and write, play and record rapidly diminish.

Looking at The Beatles situation as a creative person the opportunities and later the freedom they had are the important things that go towards being able to produce a varied and serious body of work.

I find it rather sad that there is a tendency for musicians here to throw themselves on their knees with a "we're not worthy!" attitude at the very mention of The Beatles, when instead you should be thinking "I could do that too".

[BigRedX]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1360602328' post='1973153']
To be fair, I have absolutely no doubt that, given unlimited studio time and financial patronage, you'd be able to turn out a series of albums that YOU would consider every bit as creative and innovative as The Beatles.

The trick is to convince a few billion other people.
[/quote]

Exactly!

At least someone else gets it.

[JellyKnees]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1360602114' post='1973145']
Really? Have you never travelled anywhere to marvel at a work of art, or a historic building, or any other sensory experience? What about people who travel hundreds of miles to a gig - why is any band 'worthy' of playing to 100,000 fans? Or is it only playing to a few dozen people in a grubby club the only thing that's really 'worthy' (which, incidentally, was pretty much what The Beatles started off doing anyway).

This is the same line of reasoning that seems to make certain people dislike Microsoft, Tesco and other successful entities and/or people who have built up a world wide influence. The dislike is fine, it's all subjective after all, but denying the quite obvious influence and impact on millions/billions of lives is, to coin a phrase, nonsense.
[/quote]

Going to watch someone famous perfom is not the same as visiting an ordinary house where said famous individual once lived. Some Beatles fans would probably buy one of macca's turds given the opportunity.

[flyfisher]

Some probably would, but that's fan-dom for you and it happens with all sorts of things from people queueing up to see the Mona Lisa to camping outside an Apple store to buy the latest iPhone. It's hardly a phenomenon unique to The Beatles, though it is more apparent because there are so may people who like them. THAT'S the point.

Edited February 11, 2013 by flyfisher

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1360601418' post='1973122']
Have stopped reading the thread but the coachloads visiting Paul's house evidences the fact that they are overrated. No-one is worthy of that nonsense.
[/quote]

I agree with this. Appreciating their music, its influence and cultural significance is not overrating them. Venerating their former dwellings and possesions as though they were some kind of holy relic probably is. Although I did once play in a band with an accordionist who insisted we take a detour of several miles on the way to a gig so that he could visit the statue of Sir Jimmy Shand in Auchtermuchty! We humoured him, but really?

[BILL POSTERS]

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1360597970' post='1973035']
6/6d in 1963 = £5.47 in todays money!

Counterfeit Beatles £17 this month!

I hope you took to the streets of Tamworth and rioted accordingly.
[/quote]

I was about 10, my pocket money was 7/6d so I do remember what it would buy. and it wasnt much. I used to hang around the backs of a few places that put bands on cos I was way too young to get in. 20 or 30 minutes sets would be about average, as one band went out the back door, another one walked in. carrying amps guitars and drum kits. 4 or 5 bands a night, all doing 3 or so gigs at different venues, most of which were owned by Mrs Regan and her husband.I think.

Wouldnt it be nice to get that many gigs now ?

I lived in Brum then, and still dont live in Tamworth.

Edited February 11, 2013 by BILL POSTERS

[Big_Stu]

I find it fascinating on a musicians forum that other users are decried for simply not liking the output of another musician; calling them anything else is ridiculous. Since when was one person's personal taste open to negative posts or ridicule?
I find McCartney's voice, in the main, boring and bland, Harrison's guitar work insipid in the main & Lennon from most accounts sounds like a hypocritical b.o.a.t. which doesn't lend him to open consideration.
[i]I do have a few Beatles recordings, couldn't tell you the last time I played any of it, don't miss it & never find myself humming one of their tunes walking down the street.[/i]
The same could be said of any average punter in the street of any band you care to mention, but because it's The Beatleszzzzz it's makes you tasteless, or in denial? Get [s]Back[/s] real!